It was the type of call you never wanted to get-the type of thing that you saw on the news but somehow thought it would never happen to you. How could you ever be prepared for something like this? You couldn't. All you could do when it happened was pray to God that things weren't as bad as they sounded.
Despite not being terribly religious, that's exactly what Fred was doing as he sat in the back of his family's limo, heart pounding, stuttering, and then pounding again as he cursed the speed limits in the city that were keeping him from being at the hospital with his boyfriend right now. Aunt Cass hadn't told him much over the phone-her words had been rather muffled by her quiet sobs-but he knew that it was bad. How could it be anything but? Tadashi and Hiro were in the hospital because last night they'd been attacked by vampires.
Vampires. Fred shivers at the thought. For as long as recorded history could remember, vampires and humans had lived side by side, usually in anything but peace-the long history of bloody wars between them was more than enough evidence of that. There were periods of relative peace when agreements were reached-vampires wouldn't attack and drain humans in exchange for humans not trying to take them out in their territory and providing them with sufficient animal blood (usually gathered from meat processing factories) for them to survive. At present the two groups were supposedly in a peaceful era, although the truth was that no one but the most deluded believed that there was any real peace or goodwill between them. Vampire attacks were down, but that had more to do with increased security in human cities than the supposed peace agreements. San Fransokyo, the city where Fred lived, was supposed to be one of the safest cities in the world. Yet somehow two vampires had slipped past security and made their way into the city to feed on the human blood currently being denied to them. And Hiro and Tadashi, walking home from university together after dark, had been unlucky enough to be chosen as their victims.
Fred was doing his best not to think too much until he knew more-he didn't know for sure that the two brothers were actually dead. But even if they had by some miracle survived, things were never going to be the same. The fanboy squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block out the mental images of the type of suffering his sweet, innocent Tadashi was going to be going through if he had indeed been turned. Part of Fred was slightly scared that his boyfriend wasn't even going to be the person that he knew and loved with the vampire lust for blood coursing through him, turning the most caring man he'd ever met into a ruthless killer-
No! The fanboy shakes his head, refusing to believe that. Turned vampires, with proper help and support, could learn how to carry on with fairly normal lives, being able to live on animal blood or other substitutes instead of having to drain humans. Just look at Hiro's boyfriend, Ezra-he'd been found after a vampire attack that had left both his parents dead and himself turned. One of the police officers on the case, Officer Jarrus, had ended up adopting him, helping him learn how to control his urges and eventually even be able to go back to regular school with other human teens. Life for a turned human wasn't easy-they were often outcasts of both human and vampire societies-but at least they could live, and Fred knew that he would be there for his boyfriend and do his best to help him in any way that he could. He was confident that there was no way that even being bitten by a vampire could take away everything that was amazing and that he loved about Tadashi, and they could make this work. That is, provided Tadashi was actually still alive…
Before his thoughts could spiral into something darker, Fred glanced up and found with relief that the limo was pulling up outside the doors to the emergency room. The fanboy tosses a quick "thank you" to Heathcliff, his family's butler and chauffeur, before practically racing into the ER and up to the receptionist desk.
He barely manages to gasp his boyfriend's name out, almost afraid that he'd be told that he was already too late-the expression on the nurse's face as she looks up the man's patient information was enough to think for one horrible moment that he was. But then another nurse comes up to the desk and informs him that she would escort him to the room so he could see Tadashi and he feels like he could sing for joy.
The nurse doesn't seem to share his enthusiasm, though, instead frowning deeply and saying, "Before we go back, you should know that your boyfriend isn't going to be the same as you remember him. I don't know how much you were told-"
"Yes, I know he was bitten," Fred agrees with a nod. "I'm just glad he's alive."
"You might think differently once you're with him," the nurse answers, looking at him like he was crazy. "Probably would have been better if he'd died than remaining alive and being a monster..."
"How dare you say that?!" Fred cries, feeling a furious flame bursting to life in his chest. "Tadashi is no monster! He is the sweetest, most caring person in the world and I love him more than anything! How can you stand there with that self-righteous look on your face when you have no idea what he's been thr-"
"Sir, please, I have to ask you to lower your voice," a doctor says, exiting the swinging doors that led from the actual hospital into the waiting room. "You're disturbing the patients."
"I-" Fred wanted to argue, to tell this doctor all of the horrible things that this woman was saying about his precious Tadashi, but if all of the hospital staff were as prejudiced as she was…
"I'm sorry," the fanboy finally says, the words tasting like bile in his mouth. "I'm just very worried about my boyfriend and I'm trying to get in to see him."
"Your boyfriend is a patient here?" the doctor asks, his expression softening slightly.
"Yeah, he should have been brought in last night-his name is Tadashi Hamada," Fred answers, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Oh…" The doctor's voice and expression said it all, but his quick show of emotion was almost immediately corrected, the man quickly putting back on his veneer of calm professionalism. "Yes, he is a patient here. But I'm not sure that right now is the best time for him to have visitors-"
"Why? Is he that badly injured?" Fred asks, heart leaping up into his throat.
"No, he's actually doing well, all things considered," the doctor answers carefully. "But I'm not sure if you know exactly the nature of last night's events and I think you need to be prepared-"
"Look, I know that he was fucking bitten by a vampire last night and he probably got turned!" Fred spits, so over this whole fake concern routine already. "I don't care about that, I just want to see him! So are you going to take me to him, or do I have to have my dad-who is Stan Lee, by the way-go to your higher ups and tell them about the incompetency in this hospital?" The fanboy never, ever pulled his dad into things-he wasn't that close to his father, and, besides which, he didn't want to seem like some spoiled trust fund kid who used his parents' influence to get what he wanted. But this was just getting ridiculous, and he wasn't going to waste another moment before getting to see his boyfriend.
"Of course," the doctor finally says stiffly, the professional smile still there but a hint of annoyance showing in his eyes. Fred could care less as the other man leads him through the doors and down the hallway-all that mattered was that he was going to get to see Tadashi.
The doctor led him through a seemingly ridiculously roundabout route through the hospital, almost making the fanboy think he was purposefully trying to delay things, before finally coming to a stop in front of a pair of doors with bulletproof glass as the only way to see through the twin slabs of steel. Fred couldn't help but feel a bit concerned as the doctor scans his access card to let them in-was all this security really necessary? Still, he forces himself to focus on the fact that they were hopefully almost to Tadashi.
As they continue walking, Fred finally spots a familiar figure standing about halfway down the hallway and his heart rises in his chest-Aunt Cass! Not caring what the doctor might think, Fred starts running towards her, calling out her name, needing to talk to someone who actually knew what was going on but not constantly trying to convince him that his boyfriend was a monster now.
"Fred!" Aunt Cass looks up when she hears him calling her name, and Fred can't help but feel something tighten in his chest-it looked like she'd been crying, and never before in his life had he seen possibly the strongest woman he'd ever known actually cry. Still, that doesn't stop him from throwing his arms around her as soon as he reaches her, wrapping her into a tight hug.
"I'll leave you two to it…" the doctors says, seeming a bit uncomfortable with the scene in front of him, before quickly exiting out the steel doors again.
"Oh my gosh, Fred, I'm so glad you're here," Aunt Cass says as soon as they're alone, gratefully hugging the other man back. "I feel like I need to talk to someone with an ounce of common sense right now…"
"I'm right here," Fred promises, glad that he could be of some comfort to the older woman who had become something of a mother to him over the last few years since meeting Tadashi. "H-How bad is it?" he finally manages to get out, not sure he wanted to know but also knowing that he needed to know just how bad things were.
"They're both alive, thank God," Aunt Cass sighs. "Or… You know, as alive as they can be…"
"Right," Fred agrees, trying not to wince at the reference to the fact that his boyfriend wasn't exactly in the normal realm of the living. Still, he hurries on, "Other than that, are they doing okay?"
"They seem to be," Aunt Cass agrees, doing her best to smile even though both her babies had been viciously attacked and all the uncertainty she'd probably experienced since last night was without a doubt tearing her apart inside. "They didn't wake up until a few hours ago… I think the sedatives are making Hiro a little loopy but overall he's as okay as he can be considering everything that's happened. Tadashi… Hasn't said much, . I think mainly he's just been trying to sleep, although one time when I left the room to go to the bathroom I came back to find him cryi-Well, I think he's having a bit of a hard time with all of this… But I think having you here will help a lot."
"I hope so," Fred agrees fervently. "Can I go in and see them?"
"Of course, sweetie," Aunt Cass answers, gently squeezing his hand.
"Are you sure that you're doing okay?" Fred thinks to ask, wanting to see his boyfriend but realizing that the older woman was probably extremely overwhelmed at the moment and wanting to help out if he could.
"I'm… Doing the best I can," Aunt Cass sighs. "I've been fighting with the doctors ever since I got here…"
"About what?" Fred asks, a bit of fear clogging his throat.
"Apparently the system for taking care of vampire attack victims is worse than I ever imagined," Aunt Cass answers, a caustic note making its way into her voice. "You'd think that they'd be doing everything that they could to try to help the poor people who were attacked against their will, but instead… O-One of the first things the doctors said to me was that I needed to start looking at my 'options', a-and they were heavily implying that I should think about having the boys... 'put down'..."
"No!" Fred cries, eyes going wide with horror. "How- Why- Are they even allowed to do that?!"
"Apparently right now it's considered the most 'humane' way to deal with turned humans," Aunt Cass spits angrily. "They say that way they won't have to suffer through all the changes and risk going feral, but I think these prejudiced bastards are just so scared of what they don't understand that they stop even treating the victims like people."
"That is… That is so fucked up I can't even think about it!" Fred cries. "You said 'no', right?"
"Of course I said no! Hiro and Tadashi are the only family I have left, I would never let anyone hurt them anymore than they've already been hurt!" Aunt Cass answers, seeming appalled that the fanboy would think for even a moment she'd consider that possibility.
"I just wanted to make sure." Fred lets out a tiny sigh of relief before asking, "So, what have you decided, given the 'options'?" He didn't know what the possibilities were, but he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
"I'm doing everything I can to make sure that they can continue on with their lives as normally as possible," Aunt Cass sighs, running a hand distractedly through her hair. "The hospital is going to insist that they both stay here for a week, at least, to 'monitor their behavior' and make sure that they're not going to turn out to be 'threats to society'." The obvious disdain for whoever had spoken those words to her was so thick that her words seemed to be absolutely dripping with it.
"Tadashi wouldn't hurt a fly, there's no way he would ever attack someone!" Fred cries.
"I know that, and you know that," Aunt Cass sighs. "But unfortunately the hospital won't listen to us-trust me, I've tried talking to them, everything I've said has fallen on deaf ears."
"If keeping them here for a bit at least gets them to finally see sense…" Fred sighs.
"That's not even the end of it," Aunt Cass tells him grimly.
"I-It's not? What else do they want?" Fred cries.
"For one thing, the two boys are going to have to be registered as turned, which I've already had to start filling the extensive paperwork out for," Aunt Cass answers, looking exhausted just by the thought. "They claim it's for everyone's protection, but every school or place of work they apply to will instantly see that on their records and it's going to make everything so much harder for them given how much discrimination there is towards turned vampires… On top of that, for the first three months after being out of the hospital, they have to have a police supervisor with them at all times to 'make sure that they don't put anyone around them in danger', and even once that's over they're going to be permanently tagged so that the government can keep track of them at all times to make sure that they don't do anything 'dangerous' or go into vampire areas where they could start 'consorting with the enemy'."
Fred was seeing red by this point-how could anyone think that any of this was even remotely okay? Where was the public outcry against all of this injustice? Why wasn't someone standing up to make all of this wrongdoing known? But then he's met with the harsh reality that no other humans would care-in fact, they were probably applauding the fact that there were these "safety measures" in place to "protect them from the evil vampires".
As if sensing the almost palpable waves of anger rolling off of him, Aunt Cass lays a gentle hand on the fanboy's shoulder and says, "I know. I feel exactly the way that you do, but there's nothing we can really do. There is some hope, though-Officer Jarrus heard about everything that happened and he and his partner, Kallus, have stepped up to take the position as the boys' chaperones. Given they helped Ezra when he was turned, the entire family is offering to help all of us get through this and get back to as close to 'normal' as we can manage as quickly as we possibly can."
"Really?" Fred can't help but feel slightly relieved at that.
"Really," Aunt Cass answers, seeming pretty relieved herself. "Officer Jarrus has already been such a big help already, walking me through everything last night and making sure that the doctors didn't push me into anything that would hurt the boys. He was one of the officers who helped bring Hiro and Tadashi in last night, and he stayed with me until a couple of hours ago when things finally calmed down and I insisted he go home and get some rest. I get the feeling, though, that he'll probably be back pretty soon with Ezra since we both agreed that the boys were stable enough to finally have visitors."
Fred knew that he was going to be eternally grateful for the fact that the Jarrus family was doing for his boyfriend and he was already trying to think up ways to repay them. Still, for now, since he was starting to feel a bit less worried about the two Hamada boys' safety, he really, really wanted to see Tadashi, to prove to himself that his boyfriend was okay, or at least as okay as he could be.
"C-Can I go in?" he asks Aunt Cass, gesturing to the door.
"Of course." Aunt Cass smiles and gently squeezes his hand again before opening the door for him.
Inside, Fred found a rather bleak, sterile room, obviously not created with the patients' comfort in mind (but, then again, why would they waste resources on vampires? the fanboy thinks bitterly.) There were two beds, both of which had occupants who were currently asleep (or at least acting like they were asleep.) Fred could spot Hiro's fluffy raven's nest poking out from under the sheets of the bed farthest from him, so the closest one must have-
"Tadashi." Fred lets out a tiny gasp when he finally sees the other man. He still looked like the boyfriend he knew and loved, but he was just lying there in the bed so pale and still that for a moment the fanboy was afraid that he was actually dead. But then he sees the other man's eyelids starting to flutter open and he lets out a huge sigh of relief.
"F-Fred?" Tadashi whispers, his eyes seeming slightly glazed as he looks up at the other man in sleepy confusion.
"It's me," Fred reassures him, reaching down to gently take one of his hands in his own-it was so cold, he could only hope that maybe some of his own body heat would help warm it again.
"Y-You shouldn't be here!" Tadashi gasps, seeming to become more alert and starting to pull away from him. "I-I'm a danger to you! You don't know-!"
"Dashi." Fred instantly sits down on the bed and wraps his arms tightly around him, hugging him close to his chest. "I do know. And I don't care. I love you, and I'm going to help you get through this, no matter what."
"Fred…" Tadashi still seemed scared, but in spite of himself he was melting into his boyfriend's embrace.
"There we go," Fred gently murmurs. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."
"I-I was so scared…" Tadashi whispers, and the fanboy could feel his hot tears starting to fall onto his chest. "L-Last night… I-I thought I might never see you again…"
"I was scared when I got the call too," Fred answers, arms tightening a bit around him. "But the important thing is that you're okay now."
"I-I'm not okay…" Tadashi answers shakily. "I-I'm a vampire… H-How is that even remotely okay?"
"You're still my Tadashi," Fred replies soothingly. "And human or vampire, that can never change."
"I-I might hurt you, though," Tadashi whispers.
"Do you want to hurt me?" Fred asks simply.
"N-No, of course not!"
"Then I'm not worried."
"W-What if something happens and I can't control it?"
"Tadashi Hamada, you are the most stubborn person I know-no one and nothing can change your mind once you've made it up, and I don't think even any weird vampire urges you might have will be able to override that."
"I-I guess so…" Tadashi gives him a tentative smile.
"See?" Fred grins and gently pecks his forehead. "I have faith in you, so it's time you had some faith in yourself."
"B-But what if something ever does happen?" Tadashi whispers.
"Then we'll both be vampires-I can live with that," Fred answers with a slight shrug-as long as he got to stay with Tadashi, he couldn't care if he was human or vampire.
"Y-You don't mean that…"
"Actually, yes, I do. Hell, you can bite me now if you want me to prove it, I won't stop you!"
"Fred, don't even joke about that!"
"Who's joking? Definitely not me!"
"...You're really okay with this, aren't you?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that for you to believe it?"
Fred couldn't help but grin when his boyfriend wraps his arms tightly around him, whispering, "How did I find someone as amazing as you?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing," Fred answers tenderly, starting to stroke the other man's hair. Tadashi contentedly nuzzles into the touch, and the fanboy continues the motion, wanting to do anything he could to bring some sort of comfort to him. Eventually, though, his arm gets tired and so he's forced to go back to more standard cuddling.
"So, anything cool about being a vampire that I should know about?" he asks playfully, hoping to lighten the mood in the room.
"I haven't really had much of a chance to figure that out," Tadashi answers, giving him a tentative smile since he knew what he was trying to do. "I mean… I think my sense of smell is stronger. Like, a lot stronger. Which kind of sucks since we're in a hospital…"
"Ooh, yeah, I can see where that would be bad," Fred agrees, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Still, who knows, maybe it could come in handy eventually!"
"Maybe…" Tadashi agrees uncertainly.
"I mean, enhanced senses-you could totally be a superhero or something!" Fred declares eagerly.
"I'm a vampire, not Spider Man," Tadashi reminds him, but he actually laughed at that-that laugh meant the world to Fred. If he could actually get him to smile and laugh, maybe he could actually give his boyfriend some hope.
The fanboy was just trying to figure out how he could get his boyfriend to laugh again when suddenly there's the sound of knocking on the door and a familiar voice calling, "Can we come in?"
"Oh, Officer Jarrus, yes, please come in!" Aunt Cass calls back, looking relieved that it was another friendly visitor instead of one of the doctors.
A moment later the door opens and then, before the policeman can even get inside, his son races through the opening and over to the other bed in the room.
"Hiro!" he cries, taking one of the younger man's hands in his own. "Oh my gosh, Hiro, are you okay?"
If the other teen had been sleeping, he wasn't now.
"Hey, Ez," he quietly croaks, his throat sounding parched-now that Fred thought about it, both of the guys seemed majorly dehydrated.
As if coming to the same conclusion, Officer Jarrus asks the two boys, "Have they fed you yet?"
"No, no one's given them anything," Aunt Cass answers on their behalf. "They've mostly just been sleeping because of the sedatives, though, so…"
"That's no excuse," Officer Jarrus answers sternly, starting to open up the bag he had with him. "The type of negligence in these hospitals when it comes to vampires-it's a disgrace, that's what it is. They should have fed them as soon as they had them stable! I'm glad I at least thought ahead to bring these just in case... Here." He gently presses what looked like a silver juice pouch into Tadashi's hands and then heads over to Hiro's bed to give him one as well. "Drink up-you need all the nourishment you can get right now while your bodies are still adjusting."
"I-Is this… Blood?" Tadashi asks tentatively, staring down at the pouch and looking like he was going to be sick.
"Not real blood, no," Officer Jarrus answers, giving him a sympathetic smile. "It's a type of blood substitute that some of my friend in the forensics lab have been developing. Ezra's been testing it out for the past few months to see if it actually satisfies a turned vampire's need for blood, and so far he seems to be doing fine with it."
"They've done a pretty awesome job of being able to make it taste like different things too so it tastes a lot better animal blood," Ezra adds encouragingly.
"Huh…" Hiro, seeming more awake now, considers the pouch in front of him before finally shrugging and saying, "Well, as long as it's not real. Is there a straw I'm supposed to use, or...?"
"Hiro, you have fangs," Ezra answers, playfully nudging him. "Just bite into it."
"Ah." Hiro looks down at the pouch again before shrugging again and carefully biting into the pouch. There was a full thirty seconds of silence as everyone watches to see his reaction, and when he finally pulls away, there's a thoughtful expression on his face. "Not bad, actually," he admits with a slight smile, wiping away the bit of artificial blood (which, fortunately the scientists had thought to color the more neutral color of chocolate brown than bright red) that had gotten onto his face with the back of his hand. "It almost tastes like a hamburger, if a hamburger could come in liquid form."
"That's what they were going for," Ezra chuckles. "They've gotten pretty inventive-there's pizza, steak, even bacon flavors! You can try them out and see what you like best!"
"I'm oddly excited to try them!" Hiro laughs.
"You can try them later," Officer Jarrus says kindly but firmly. "For now, keep drinking that, you need you energy."
"Sir, yes sir." Hiro gives him a playful salute before turning his attention back to the pouch.
"Tadashi, you need to get eating too," Officer Jarrus says when he notices that the elder Hamada sibling hadn't touched his own food yet.
"I… I really don't know how I feel about this…" Tadashi answers, eyeing the pouch warily. "I-Is there any possible way that maybe I don't actually need to-?"
"As much as I wish there was, this is the best option you have," Officer Jarrus tells him.
"It's a lot better than animal blood, trust me!" Ezra says reassuringly.
"I've actually tried a bit of it myself, it really isn't that bad," Officer Jarrus adds.
"Y-You've tried it?" Tadashi asks, looking surprised.
"Of course-you don't think I'd let my son eat something experimental like that without testing it out myself first, do you?"
"I-I guess not…" The new vampire looks down at the pouch again-if a human could drink this stuff and think it wasn't gross, then maybe…
"Dashi, please-drink it for me?" Fred says softly, gently squeezing his hand. "I don't want you making yourself sick because you're not eating."
"C-Could you maybe not watch?" Tadashi mumbles, not quite meeting his eyes.
"Tadashi, are you not eating because you're scared of what I'll think?" Fred asks, frowning slightly.
"M-Maybe?"
"Oh my gosh, Dashi-I wouldn't care if you were drinking actual blood if that's what you needed, how could you think I'd mind you drinking something that looks like chocolate milk?"
"I-I… It's not just that…"
"Then what is it?"
"M-My fangs…"
"Your fangs?" For a moment Fred's mind had a hard time computing what he was saying and then the realization comes to him. "Dashi, are you embarrassed that I'll see your fangs?"
"...Y-Yes…T-They're weird!"
"Tadashi Hamada, for the sake of all that is good and holy, get a grip on yourself! Do you think that I care if you have fangs or a tail or scales or claws or anything else like that? Of course I don't! You are amazing, and you always be the handsomest man in the world to me no no matter what you look like!"
"Really?" Tadashi asks, giving him a tentative smile.
"Yes," Fred answers, grinning when Tadashi's smile widens enough so that he can actually see his teeth, including his new fangs. "See? Was that really so hard?"
"N-No," Tadashi admits. "T-They don't look weird to you?"
"Not a bit," Fred replies, pressing a quick but firm kiss to his mouth. "Now are you going to drink your pouch or am I going to have to find a way to feed it to you? Because I will find a way, and it'll probably be a lot harder than just drinking it by yourself-"
"Fine, fine, I'll drink it!" Tadashi sighs before tentatively biting into his pouch.
"So? How is it?" Fred gently prompts after giving his boyfriend a chance to drink some of it down.
"...Pretty much exactly how Hiro described it. It feels kind of weird, but it's not bad," Tadashi answers with a small smile.
"I'm glad." Fred gently pecks his cheek. "Now go on, finish it off, you need everything you can get in you right now."
"'Kay," Tadashi agrees, gently nuzzling up against him before returning his attention to his pouch.
While he was working on it, Fred look over towards the door where Officer Jarrus was talking to Aunt Cass about all the support programs that were available in the city for turned vampires, including group counseling and college programs that were specifically tailored to their needs. Then he looks at Hiro, who had finished with his pouch, and sees him and Ezra playfully joking around with each other, Ezra welcoming him to the "fang club" (and, in a low voice that definitely wasn't meant for the adults in the room to hear, detailing a few of the ways their make out sessions could be improved now that they didn't have to worry about accidental biting each other.) And then he finally looks down at the man in his arms, who he loved and wanted to protect more than anything. When Fred had gotten the call that morning, he'd been afraid that everything was over-that he had lost the most important person in his life. And, if the way that everyone seemed to be treating the newly turned vampires in this hospital alone was any sign, things weren't going to be easy for them. But Tadashi was still alive, and, even with the fangs, he was still the sweet, amazing person that he'd always known he was, and Fred was still completely head-over-heels for him-if anything, now more than ever he knew that he would do anything to keep him safe and happy. There were still a lot of changes ahead, but with support from their family and friends, they would make it through this and find their new "normal". All that mattered was that they were together. And, when Tadashi catches him staring down at him like the ridiculously in love nerd that he was and flashes him another shy, fang-filled smile, he knows that he had never looked more beautiful.