Written for the last day of Inspired By OQ Week. Inspired by the stunning art made by willow141!
Meeting with a Vampire - OQ AU
Regina shifts her weight from one leg to another and takes a deep breath full of anticipation.
She's standing in front of a club, not some simple club where every mortal can step into; she's standing in front of the one and only vampire club in Storybrooke. To say that she's excited would be an understatement.
It's not the vampires that cause her so much joy; truth be told, she's not even a huge fan of them. She has nothing against the bloodsuckers but she has no desire to throw herself on the table for them to feast on her like some other people do.
The thing that thrills her the most is how angry her husband will be because of her meeting with vampires. Leopold hates them, he and his stupid group of old friends have some kind of underground organization, and Regina doesn't know much about it but she's sure that their main purpose is to murder every fanged monster in Storybrooke.
And, well, Regina hates Leopold as much as he hates vampires.
Spending her evening surrounded by bloodsuckers seemed like the best way to drive her annoying husband crazy.
The door of the club swings open and a very excited Mal greets Regina with a wide smile, her fangs on full display. Regina laughs at her friend and walks into the bar, giving Mal a quick hug, ignoring the way her vampire friend inhales her scent and grazes her neck with her teeth.
"You look very… delicious," Mal whispers into Regina's ear and pulls away, licks her lips.
Regina rolls her eyes but the corners of her lips have quirked up, giving away her enjoyment. Once upon a time when Mal was still a human, she was more than a friend, and Regina doesn't think that the vampire is still interested in her in that way, but she still makes comments about Regina and just how much Mal would like to stick her fangs into her neck.
The vampire grins back at Regina before a deadly cold hand is wrapped around hers. The blonde woman leads Regina further into the club slowly, giving her a chance to take a look around. After all, it's her first time in a club like this.
The inside of the club doesn't seem very different from what Regina's seen in other clubs. The music is playing rather loudly, there are a few drunk human dancers on the dance floor, moving along with the vampires. The place even has a bar, and there's a bartender behind it, pouring drinks to everyone.
The only thing that is different is the seats near the walls – people who are there have their heads rolled to the side while the monsters have their fangs deep in their necks, sucking their blood.
Regina tries to be polite and not stare to that part of the club. However, she cannot help but widen her eyes when she notices an old vampire drinking blood from the very quiet and innocently looking librarian Belle.
Regina would have never believed that the girl could be into bloodsuckers.
"Meet my friend Regina," Mal says when they finally reach the table in the middle of the club where her vampire friends are sitting.
The (dead) people all turn to look at her immediately. The man sitting in the middle has dark hair, blue eyes that are highlighted with eyeliner (Regina has to fight the urge to snort), he introduces himself as Killian and kisses Regina's hand, inhaling her scent.
Somewhere in the back of her mind Regina remembers Mal telling her that he's the owner of the club and he's considered to be the most powerful vampire in Storybrooke.
Regina smiles at him – she doesn't need to have a vampire enemy.
Beside him is sitting a blonde woman and Mal doesn't need to introduce her because it is Emma, Regina's college friend and now the sheriff of the town. Emma winks to her and grins, making Regina smile in return, her eyebrow arching in surprise.
Who would've thought that the sheriff is dating the vampire version of a sheriff?
For a brief moment Regina wonders if Emma's son Henry, a very sweet boy who Regina adores, knows about his mother's affair with the bloodsucker.
Then there's a vampire woman with short blonde hair with black strand between them, which looks rather weird, and Regina knows that the vampire is Mal's girlfriend, lover or whatever word they use to call themselves. She's introduced as Cruella, and the vampire smiles, her fangs shining as she stares at Regina.
"And this is Robin," Mal introduces Regina to the last vampire who Regina's never seen before. He's been sitting quietly at the end of the table, his face serious, no trace of a smile. He doesn't look friendly, not at all. "He's just joined us in Storybrooke," Mal adds when the man nods his head in acknowledgement.
Regina nods her head as well and forces a smile appear on her face. For some unknown reason her heart starts to beat faster when their gazes lock and unfamiliar warmth floods her veins.
He's handsome, this vampire, but then all of them are stunning in a way, and Regina hasn't heard any stories of him, doesn't know if he likes to lull his victims into the dark hallways and such their blood against their will just like Jefferson does.
Regina makes a mental note to try and stay away from him – after all, she came here to have fun, not to become a meal.
However, Mal sits down beside Cruella and pats the empty place between herself and Robin for Regina to sit down.
So much for staying away from the man.
After ordering a glass of whiskey, Regina shifts a bit in her place, leans against the back rest and turns to her friend. Her eyes roll when she finds Mal and Cruella kissing passionately while Killian and Emma watch with interest. Even some people from the dance floor have stopped their moves to watch the two gorgeous ladies.
She turns away from the scene and looks around the club again. She notes that Belle and her vampire friend had disappeared somewhere, and now their place is taken by Jefferson and some unknown lady. She also feels deep blue eyes boring into her soul from right beside her but she doesn't turn to look at the man, instead she turns back to Mal and starts a conversation.
Regina didn't think she would feel at easy surrounded by those who are actually dead and want to suck all of her blood. Instead of feeling fear, she feels welcome and free around them, and even laughs when Cruella makes a comment about her being a very tempting meal.
The evening goes by rather quickly as Regina engages in the conversation with the vampires. She notices that the new vampire has stayed quiet the whole time, has only muttered a few words, but that was it. So when Mal wraps her arm around Regina, she doesn't push it away, only moves closer to her friend, away from the mysterious bloodsucker.
When Killian pulls Emma to the dance floor, music gets louder. Mal grins to her lover before kissing her again and then goes to dance as well, asking Regina to come with them but Regina shakes her head. She's not much of a dancer, she reminds Mal and insists to stay at the table.
Watching her friend dance, she takes the untouched drink and brings it to her lips. Her whole body tenses when she feels ocean blue eyes piercing right through her again. It makes her shift uncomfortably. It's one thing to ignore him when there are friends around her, but now she's all alone.
Fighting her fear, Regina looks to the vampire. As soon as their gazes meet, he turns away.
Clearing her throat, Regina excuses herself and makes her way to the bathroom. She doesn't know why but there's a strange feeling in her heart, so she tells herself that she'll not return to the table and be with Robin alone anymore; she'll dance with Mal and embarrass herself instead.
Something is off, and Regina's pulse quickens as she makes her way towards the women bathroom. She glances over her shoulder a few times to make sure that no one is following her.
As much as she hates to admit that, she sighs in relief when she's in the bathroom and the door is closed behind her and she's finally alone, away from the bloodsuckers.
It doesn't take her long and Regina exits the bathroom, putting a hand sanitizer back into her purse. However, as soon as the door of the bathroom is closed behind her, she's pressed against it with a deadly cold hand against her neck.
The purse drops from her hands at the unexpected attack and she doesn't have time to start screaming before a palm covers her mouth. It is dark in the hallway and her heart is trying to jump out of her chest, but she forces herself to stay calm and focus on the monster.
"Hello, Regina," the vampire says, and before she can make out who it is his fangs pierce through the skin of her neck. She screams into the palm over her mouth and trashes, tries to push him off, kick him away but it's useless because the more she fights, the harder his hold gets, the harder he starts sucking.
The pain is bad, and she has to fight not to pass out. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thinks that it feels so much different compared to the feelings she gets when Mal sucks blood from her – it feels like a tender magic.
And this is nothing like it.
It feels as if the vampire is trying to tear her neck open, and she feels herself getting weaker, but she doesn't let herself give up, she keeps hitting the attacker, tries to push his hand away from her mouth so she can scream and someone can save her.
It's useless.
Her eyes roll to the back of her head and she thinks she's going to pass out but all of a sudden the attacker is pulled away from her. He growls and Regina is not even one bit surprised when the attacker falls down to the floor and she notices that it is Jefferson.
She tries to focus on the fight in front of her and tries to stay upright, ready to protect herself if someone attacks her again. The vampires might be good at keeping themselves from drinking human's blood but when it is right in front of them, inviting and fresh, Regina doesn't feel so confident about their ability to control themselves.
However, her legs have given out underneath her and she collapses to the floor, her back pressed against the hard bathroom door and she hears shouts and screams, but her vision is blurry and she's probably lost too much blood already to be saved.
All of a sudden someone kneels in front of her. Her heart starts beating even faster in her chest, and she narrows her eyes trying to make out the person in front of herself, trying to figure out whether she needs to fight or not.
"Are you alright?" a deep voice asks and Regina tenses again when she realizes that it is Robin. She doesn't know if he's a friend or an enemy, and she really doesn't have any strength to figure it out now. So instead, she stares straight into his eyes – if he decides to kill her, at least she'll not die weak, she's not going to beg him to spare her.
Regina's breath hitches in her throat when Robin brings his wrist to his lips and bites himself. She's read many books about vampires as a teenager so she's not surprised when he presses his bleeding wrist against her trembling lips.
She doesn't want vampire blood in her system, but she's not eager to die either so she opens her mouth. She groans at the taste of it and the vampire only whispers something that she cannot make out and leans over.
Robin inhales her scent and groans before the tip of his cold tongue makes contact with Regina's bleeding neck. It makes Regina tense and she closes her eyes tightly, already expecting the burning feeling to become worse when he bites her.
However, Robin pulls away from her immediately.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself," he admits, and Regina would have laughed at his sheepish grin if she wasn't on the brink of dying.
"Regina, are you alive?"
She chokes on the blood in her mouth when she hears a familiar voice and pushes Robin's wrist away from her lips. The blood traces down the side of her chin and down onto her already ruined white top, and Regina grimaces before she opens her mouth to reply, "I'm here!"
Mal is beside her in seconds and she inspects the wound carefully in the dark, trying not to cause Regina any more pain than she already is feeling.
"That bastard," Mal grits her teeth. "I'll kill him, I swear, one day I'll kill him. But first I'm going to torture him."
"Yeah, fine, whatever, just take me home first," Regina asks quietly, groaning when she moves her shoulder a bit. Damn it, it still feels as if someone is trying to rip her throat open, but at least she doesn't feel like dying anymore. Thanks to Robin's blood she's starting to feel a little bit better.
Mal takes off her scarf and presses it against Regina's wound, apologizing when Regina groans. "I have to stay here, I have to-"
"I'll take her home," Robin cuts in, staring straight into Mal's eyes. "You go and torture him for the both of us, make sure he never touches anyone ever again," his voice is full of determination, and Regina turns her head a bit to the side to look at him.
Mal is staring at him too, her face emotionless, before she huffs and nods her head.
"If a hair falls from her head, I'll end you," Mal hisses out before pecking Regina's forehead and disappearing in the dark hallway.
The vampire gets up from the floor and stretches his hand out for Regina. She still doesn't trust him but she takes it anyways and tries to stand up, praying that Mal was right when she chose to trust Robin.
Her body is still shaking too much, so Robin leans over and picks her up from the floor before carrying her out of the dark hall, and Regina's not sure if she really saw Mal tearing Jefferson's throat apart or was it just imagination.
"How did you find me?" Regina asks when Robin puts her in the passenger's seat in her car. "Did you plan all of this? Asked Jefferson to attack me so you could only end his job? "
Robin rolls his eyes at her before closing the door. He walks around the car and gets in, then switches on the engine and drives out of the parking lot in silence.
For a moment Regina wonders if he has a driving license.
"I heard Jefferson talking to the bartender about your husband. He thought that sucking you dry would make your husband furious. It would have pleased Jefferson." Robin finally says, not turning away from the road.
Oh.
"Don't you want to kill me too?" she asks, shifting a bit in the seat so she can see him better. "My husband is ready to hunt you, all of you, down."
"You're not like him," he states and Regina wants to laugh – he knows nothing about her yet he says things like that. "But I tried to stay away from you for most of the evening, if you didn't notice. I heard stories about what Blanchard wants to do to us, but after watching you tonight, I don't think you're involved."
Regina nods her head slowly and her heart beat picks up a bit – there's a huge chance that other vampires know about Leopold's plans too, and maybe, just maybe Jefferson wasn't the only one who wished her to die.
"I also can say that you're different as well. You're obviously not a vampire, but when I licked your neck, your blood was… different." Robin adds, snapping Regina out of her mind.
She tries not to tense at his words and only shrugs at him nonchalantly but doesn't offer an explanation. It's enough that Mal knows about her powers (which, of course, have failed her during the attack).
They spend the rest of the drive in silence.
The car stops in front of the house and Regina sighs in relief when she notices that the lights are turned off in the house. She's really tired and she doesn't have strength to explain to her annoying step daughter why someone wanted to rip her throat open and why a vampire had to take her home.
Regina groans when she shifts in the car and turns to open the door. A cold hand lands on her and she groans again before turning to look at Robin.
"Let me help you," Robin asks and gets out of the car in his vampire speed.
He opens the door for her and helps her out of the car. Once she's standing on her feet, she wobbles, so Robin wraps his arm around her waist for support and slowly helps her walk to the front door.
Regina unlocks the door with a spare key that they're keeping under the roof since she's left her purse back at the club and opens the door.
"You have to invite me," Robin says when his arm tightens around her waist.
"So you can kill me?" Regina asks, arching an eyebrow at him. "No, thank you very much."
"I could have killed you when I was driving you home," he points out. "You're too weak to go on your own."
Regina is so tired, the only thought on her mind is how she's going to sleep, so she rolls her eyes at him and mutters a quiet 'come in'. Robin thanks her and walks her into the house and then after Regina's instructions to her bedroom.
As soon as they're in the room, Regina falls down on the bed and groans when the pain pierces through body. Gritting her teeth, she shifts on the bed until she's laying in a more comfortable position.
Robin clears his throat, making Regina turn back to him. She cannot help but roll her eyes when she catches him staring at her neck, licking his lips.
"You can lick it, if you want," she says quietly and removes the scarf from her neck.
After all, he saved her life. He deserves a little treat.
Robin tries not to move too eagerly but he still ends up on bed beside her in record time. He inhales deeply and leans over, moaning when his tongue traces the wound.
"If you bite me, I swear you'll not leave this house alive," she warns and it's a useless threat that Robin chuckles at, but assures her that he'll behave.
He starts licking her wound and Regina hisses when he touches the most damaged parts of the skin. Her eyes close as his hands move to her shoulders and grab her, holding her in place as he licks harder and harder, getting lost in the taste of blood.
All of a sudden, sharp fangs graze against her already damaged skin and Regina gasps brokenly.
"What the hell are you doing?" Mal exclaims and Robin pulls away from Regina immediately, his bloody fangs making Regina close her eyes for a moment.
"It's alright," she finally says while Robin licks his lips and gets up from the bed. Mal sends him a deadly stare. "He was just… cleaning up the mess," Regina adds with a smirk and Mal rolls her eyes at her before turning to look back at Robin.
"Your witch friend is fine," Robin tells Mal, making Regina's eyes widen in surprise. He knows, damn it! "I did my job, nothing bad happened to her. So now I can go." He turns to look back at Regina, "Rest. You'll feel better soon."
"Thank you, Robin," she says sincerely and he smiles at her one last time before walking out the room.
"Regina-"
"Not now," she cuts off Mal and turns away from her friend, lets the heavy eyelids close. "It's been an awful day and I would like to get some rest now."
"You need to drink more blood to heal," Mal insists as she sits down on the bed and brings her wrist to her lips but Regina shakes her head.
"I'll heal my wounds myself, now please leave me alone," she says, rolling onto her side away from Mal.
Mal groans at Regina's stubbornness and tells her to move a bit, and when Regina complies the vampire lies on the bed behind Regina, wraps her arms around her. "You'll be just fine," she whispers into Regina's ear and Regina nods her head in agreement.
The evening was a complete disaster, but she now not only smells of vampires, she also has a huge scar all over her neck to show her annoying husband every single day for the rest of their lives.
Mission accomplished, Regina think and closes her eyes, letting the sleep claim her.