Since people have had to wait on chapters for my other works I thought to present to them a one-shot. A friend and I came up with the idea one day when we got on the topic of vampires and what jobs they could work at. But mostly it was the topic of what would make for an interesting vampire. Hope you enjoy it.
One might say vampires were addicted to blood. It was their source of life and only substance they could stomach. Yet, vampires had preferences from where the blood came to what type it was. As time moved forward, vampires hid among humans using bagged blood. Gilbert Beilschmidt, once a lord from Europe, came to America for a different life. He grew tired of all the stuffy bats around the area he lived at and so sought new adventure in the melting pot country.
Which is how he found himself with freshly brewed coffee filling his nose as he set about cleaning the counters of a coffee shop, for the fifth time that night. Once lord, now a night-shift employee of a coffee shop. What could he say? The coffee was far from being like the cafés in Europe, but they held the one thing he was addicted to: caffeinated blood.
Normally, he would get his supplier to ship him special ordered blood, but the truck had been delayed in another city. Gilbert's blood bags had run out two days prior. While he was immortal, the itch for blood was best described as an addict needing their fix. For Gilbert it was the caffeine and not so much the blood, he badly craved for. Working at a coffee shop did not help matters.
The door opened to reveal a customer at last. Finally someone to help take his mind off of the missing supply truck. The wind carried with it the scent of recent rainfall and sweet, almost like maple syrup, but the customer was dry. Had it rained earlier while he was day dreaming about being able to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee? It would certainly explain the lack of customers in the store, considering even at night it was rather busy with students.
"Welcome." Gilbert flashed one of his usual grins that earned him sideways glances and phone numbers from most of the female clientele and glares from their significant others. "What can I get for you?"
The stranger carried with him a foreign scent. Gilbert figured he was not from around here, or worse yet, someone who couldn't speak English. To his surprise, the honey blonde curls framed the rounded face of someone who spoke English just fine, if not with a slight accent.
"Just a small latte with whipped cream." His voice was soft, melodious even, but it was only above a whisper.
"Anything else?" Gilbert attempted to keep a level head, but the pounding of the stranger's heart was distracting, Gilbert was almost tempted to lure the poor unsuspecting soul somewhere where the cameras could not reach after he had the coffee of course.
"That's it." The stranger dug around the computer bag he had, the strap digging into his shoulder, before producing a wallet. A red background with a white maple leaf sticker, was on one side, while on the other side was the symbol for the Toronto Maple Leafs. If that wasn't enough to identify him as a Canadian, the different coloured paper money certainly said enough.
"What name should I put on the cup?" Gilbert asked, after exchanging the American money he handed over.
"Matthew." The stranger's eyes sparked to life, hues of purple blending together with the blue behind the thin red rimmed glasses he wore. When Gilbert gave him the change, Gilbert's hand lingered a little longer than he probably should have. With a sheepish smile he set to work.
Gilbert knew asking for the name was a little pointless considering he and Matthew were the only ones in the store, but it was nice to have a name for a face. The stranger, now Matthew had humoured him enough to provide a name, and one that rolled off his tongue in an interesting way. Gilbert wrote the name in eloquent letters with the sharpie next to the cash register. If it was something he was proud of, it was his ability to write rather well from all the practice he had done over the centuries.
Not a word was spoken between them as Gilbert felt the hunger rear its ugly head once more at the scent of the foaming milk and coffee being grinded. Matthew had shifted slightly to his left under the pick up sign lit in the dim coffee shop. Gilbert deftly moved about the area, not wasting a single movement considering he had been at the job for well over a year now. Normally he worked the night shift with one other person, but they quit about two weeks prior. His boss had been rather anxious about leaving Gilbert to cover the store, but honestly what better guard dog than a vampire? But the hunger was going to render him useless if he did not clear his mind from it.
"So, you're from Canada ja?" Gilbert figured he could learn a bit more about Matthew as he stirred the milk and coffee.
"Yes, I came down to visit someone. He's out on a date tonight, so I went to grab a cup of coffee and maybe work on my dissertation." Matthew's cheeks flushed slightly, revealing why he wanted to get away from the apartment.
Gilbert laughed, amused at how prudish some humans naturally were. Although he had to admit, he rather liked the idea that friends could confide in one another to keep out of their relationships and such. In the past, it was not that uncommon for vampires to share love interests among themselves, back when the need for pureblood lines was still a rather large topic. He wondered if still remained the same now? Or had American customs finally rubbed off on Gilbert?
"I see. Well we're open until three tonight, but if you need a place to crash let me know. The apartment I have with a few friends still has a vacant room." Gilbert found himself stumbling a little over the offer. He was overstepping his bounds as an employee, but mostly it was the thought of Matthew drinking the coffee and Gilbert would be able to get his fix of caffeinated blood if he chose to come over. Secretly, to protect the human before him, Gilbert hoped the boy would refuse.
"Thank you. I'll keep the offer in mind." Matthew wet his lips as he watched Gilbert swirl the whipped cream on top of the coffee.
"Here you go." Gilbert placed the drink in front of Matthew.
Matthew nodded his thanks before closing his eyes as he took his first sip, a whipped cream moustache forming. The scent of the coffee and Matthew's maple syrup, it sent Gilbert into a tizzy. The edge of his vision filled with black spots as a clawing sensation of hunger drove him to leap over the counter to take Matthew then and there without even consent. He gripped the edges of the counter, to hold himself steady.
"Um… You're bleeding." Matthew pointed to his own nose to show Gilbert, who backed away from the counter in shame. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Ja, just fine." The reply was muffled from the napkin Gilbert grabbed in haste to stop the blood from dripping on the counter or floor.
"Are you sure?" Concern laced the quiet voice as Matthew set the cup of coffee aside to grab a pack of tissues he produced from the computer bag.
Gilbert nodded his head, regretting the action almost at once when his vision filled with more dots clouding his vision. The tissues were softer than the napkins, but neither helped stop the blood as fast as Gilbert would have liked. It was the only blood coursing through his body at the moment with no replacement until the supply truck delivered. For the moment, getting Matthew as far away from him as possible was the best bet.
"I'm fine, really. This happens sometimes, so nothing to worry about."
Gilbert tilted his head back, groping around for another tissue. Slender fingers, soft and smooth, quickly pushed a few into Gilbert's hand. Eyebrows raised in question, Gilbert rolled the tissue up to replace the one he had already placed to catch the blood before it dripped on the floor.
"I have a cousin who gets nosebleeds from playing American football. I usually have tampons with him, but…" Matthew shrugged, seemly embarrassed about admitting he carried tampons around.
"I hear they work wonders for nosebleeds. Thanks for the tissues, but your coffee's going to get cold." Gilbert's voice sounded a pitch too high and nasally than usual. In the back of his head, a voice whispered how he should entice Matthew to stay and help him so get a taste of his blood to replace the amount he lost. He was slowly losing his grip on the hunger.
"Are you sure? You look a little pale?"
Gilbert wanted to groan at how kind Matthew was being, but he found it a little hard to concentrate on even just seeing straight. A roaring in his ears and black dots swiped across his vision as Matthew reached out towards him, mouth shouting something and eyes wide behind his glasses.
A strange slurping sound cut into the darkness that surrounded Gilbert. It was hard to process what had happened, but he thought he had been standing around worrying about a nosebleed. Not taking a nap. The scent of copper mixed the brewed coffee and sweet maple syrup. Next, Gilbert registered the tangy metallic taste in his mouth as he slowly continued to feed off of someone, the blood sating the hunger clawing at his throat. Steady hands kept his head pressed against the soft supple flesh when Gilbert tried to pull away with a grunt.
Honey coloured curls brushed his face. Matthew was giving him blood. The Canadian's blood was sweet just the way Gilbert loved it, with the hint of caffeine from the coffee earlier. He struggled with himself for a few moments longer about continuing to feed off of Matthew, but he finally pulled away. This time he made sure to push past Matthew's hands. Two small puncture wounds beaded with blood on Matthew's neck.
"A-Are you okay?" Gilbert asked, fearing the judgement he was sure Matthew would have once the pheromones Gilbert's body gave off to keep his prey calm and sedated, wore off.
Matthew's flushed cheeks slowly returned to normal and the dancing purple shimmer of half lidded eyes, opened fully to reveal gentle blue.
"Yes, I'm fine." Matthew pressed a hand to his neck to inspect the wound and stop the bleeding. "I think."
"Umm, hold on." Gilbert leaned forward slowly, waiting for Matthew to flinch. When Matthew sat perfectly still, Gilbert lapped up the remaining blood and cleaned the wound before pressing a tissue on it. "Just apply some pressure and it should stop. You should stay seated for a while though, in case you get dizzy."
Matthew chuckled at the statement before Gilbert realised both of them were sitting on the hard tiled floor of the coffee shop. He groaned remembering he was at work and should not be getting lost in a human's eyes. The gravity of his situation was slowly dawning on him. He had just taken blood from someone in front of a camera for not only his boss to see but to use against him to figure out that vampires still lived. Starting to breathe a little faster and a bit shallower, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Gilbert, right?" Gilbert could only nod. "Don't worry. Every coffee shop from this chain has a weak spot where the cameras don't reach. I just didn't think vampires still existed."
Gilbert blinked a few times trying to comprehend Matthew and control his breathing. Did he just accept Gilbert for being a vampire without any sort of explanation? No. This was all just some sort of dream Gilbert wanted to wake from.
"I just took your blood and you're not screaming or thinking either of us is crazy? Instead you just think vampires exist and accept it as easy as that?"
Matthew nodded, mirthful blue eyes no longer under the euphoria from the pheromones.
"How can—"
"That explains why you only work at night and have cold hands." Matthew's face lit up in understanding as Gilbert's only scrunched up in more confusion. Had he taken too much blood and left the Canadian delirious?
"How do you know I only work nights? This is the first time I've seen you here." Gilbert crossed his arms when he felt blood drip from his chin. Feeling self-conscious, he quickly tried to wipe the blood off, but found he merely spread it around instead. Giving up on the matter for the moment, Gilbert waited for a reply.
"Remember, how I said I was coming down to visit someone? Well, it was for a job and they hired me as a manager. It was just going to be for a year or so and since I needed the money to pay for bills as I worked on my dissertation, I thought why not." Matthew gave Gilbert a fierce look of determination. "But my friend said they were going to ask you to take the position of manager, but you refused because it would mean you had to work part of the day shift."
"So, if you're supposed to be the new manager why didn't you tell me?" Gilbert rubbed at his tired eyes.
"I thought to come and see why you were so special. Turns out it's because you can't possibly hold a daytime job." Matthew nodded his head for emphasis.
"So…What happens now?" Gilbert was unsure how to handle the situation. His most kept secret was just revealed to his new boss essentially.
"Now? Well, I mean you don't normally feed on customers right?" Matthew blinked, innocent eyes trained on Gilbert who shook his head. "Thought so. Otherwise there would have been weird moments on the cameras, and strange reports in the newspapers. Unless you have the security guy under your control."
"Of course not dummkopf. I'll have you know I drink from bagged blood provided for me. The supply is running late and I hadn't eaten for two days…that is until a few minutes ago." Gilbert fell quiet towards the end, feeling guilty. "Does it hurt?"
"The bite? Nope. Although, I have to admit it was rather interesting." Matthew smiled, a blush quickly rising from his cheeks. "When you drink from people, does it always happen like that? First a prick and then just this strange calm?"
"I-I don't know. The last time I fed on a human was around World War II." Gilbert wanted to shake Matthew, or even pinch himself to make sure he really wasn't dreaming. "But I do remember we give off pheromones that are supposed to keep the prey we drink from sedated."
Gilbert shrugged.
"So how long have you been alive then?" Oh wait, that would be rude eh?" Matthew attempted to get off the floor, only to have Gilbert attempt to pull him back down with little success.
"You shouldn't move yet. Besides, how can you just accept this and treat me like anyone else?" Gilbert finally managed to yell at Matthew, despite hope swirling in his chest.
"Simple. I know a man who believed and saw in fairies. He proved it so why not vampires? The blood sucking was new, but you needed it from the looks of things and had no choice. Besides, you didn't kill me so what's to worry about? I'll keep your secret."
Gilbert figured it would be a living hell to have the cute Canadian work beside him on night shifts. Now he really had resist tempting the other with coffee and drinking from him once again.
"Guess you're my new addiction," Gilbert muttered to himself quietly as Matthew headed toward the counter towards his coffee.