A/N: Quick little sequel to Cottonmouth Fever
He'd shown up ragged and bloody on Ivan's doorstep.
"You- you have to help me, please, I can't...I'm…" The poor creature gripped him by the front of his coat, sliding down to his knees as tears slipped down his filthy cheeks.
He brushed a concerned hand over the broken toy's face. "Don't worry, pet. I'll take good care of you."
He'd cleaned him up, scruffed the dirt and grime away, restoring his golden beauty. He was just as gorgeous as when Ivan had left him bloody in a filthy alley, death on his tongue.
He crooned over his new pet, amazed by his resilience and his strength. Not many humans could survive having their throat torn out just to become a vampire.
"I hate you! I fucking hate you! You're a monster!"
"Alfred, please-"
"Don't- don't say my fucking name." The golden boy pressed his back against the wooden door like a cornered animal. Ivan reached out to touch him, hushing the violent little creature.
"Shhh, my precious lamb. Look at me."
His treasure's hair was like spun gold. He touched it when he couldn't sleep, nose buried in his pet's luscious throat as he listened to the faint noise of his undead heart slug along.
He ran his fingers through the boy's hair and breathed deep, eyes drooping to the thought of his pet's heat.
"What's wrong with me?" he choked, staring down at his bloody hands. Ivan had refused to clean him any further than his face. "What happened to me?"
"You're better now, my love." He brushed the golden boy's hair away and kissed his temple. "You're better now."
The poor boy never knew what happened. Of course he knew, he hated him for it, he cursed his name every day. But the poor thing would never realize Ivan had freed him from his mortal bindings. He never realized the gift Ivan had given him.
With every kiss and every stroke, Ivan made sure he knew who he was.
His golden boy sobbed into his chest. "Why did this- this h-happen to me? Why?"
"Because I love you." No matter how many lies he told to the boy's face he would never tire of the horror on his cheeks when he heard those words.
"I hate you."
Ivan kissed away the tears that fell, every day, every hour. He made sure he was there to reassure the lamb of his place. He tucked him away in the home like a trophy.
Like a trophy he took him down every day to polish him.
"You're a monster." Daily repetitions were becoming tiresome and Ivan was bored of it.
"I told you to play nice." His little lamb just wouldn't listen to him.
"I can't play nice with a monster."
His precious golden boy never tired, and Ivan never let him. The days he took his trophy off the shelf to polish he made sure he left his lasting impression. The poor creature moulded to him like a warm hand in the snow.
He could see him melt every moment he wasn't free.
"Why do you hate me?"
"I could never hate you, pet."
"If you don't hate me then why can't I leave?"
Ivan watched him sleep, the tired creases under his gorgeous eyes growing heavier with each passing night. The poor creature.
"You will never be free of me," Ivan assured him, pressing a gentle kiss to Alfred's jaw. His little lamb would never be free; his lamb who thought he was a lion had fallen too far into the lion's den.