Contains: MxM (yaoi), smut, violence/blood, (probably) nonconsensual, various other deviant things

Author's note: This chapter has a little more from Leon's perspective. I like writing both Joachim's and Leon's individual views, but if readers have a preference for one over the other, I don't mind switching things up in future chapters. Thanks for the lovely review, by the by, and I hope to hear more from fellow LoI fans~

"Om nom." -Joachim

"I died for your sins, Leon." -Deer

"What the fuck?" -Gordon Ramsay, on Joachim's cooking skills

Chapter Two

As he sank his fangs into the snow-white neck of the unfortunate maiden in his arms, Joachim found his thoughts were surprisingly preoccupied. Not with the girl, either.

Instead, the vampire's mind was dominated by the image of a single man - the blond ex-knight currently captive in Joachim's newly-won castle. Even while Joachim drained his victim and let her lifeless body fall to the forest floor, wiping the corner of his lips delicately with a thumb, he was quite distracted.

He'd left Leon in quite the poor state, and now that the human was technically his servant (or perhaps "pet" was a better word), it was Joachim's responsibility to make sure he didn't die. It was a nuisance, certainly, and the vampire even contemplated heading to a nearby village to grab a few mortals for use as temporary slaves. After all, there was no reason why the new king of the castle should have to feed and nurse his underling. Joachim hadn't saved Leon with the intention of becoming his nanny.

...However, as the white-haired nobleman remembered the endearingly innocent reaction he'd gotten out of Leon earlier, he lost the desire to do anything other than return to the castle as quickly as possible. Joachim was far from the gentle type - in fact, he usually expressed plain scorn for most things - but he also had a rather strong possessive streak. On the rare occasion that something actually caught his interest, he had a tendency to grow obsessively protective, not to mention jealous. It was this quality that drove the idea of letting someone else tend to his new servant out of his mind.

Deciding that housekeepers and cooks could be acquired later, Joachim made one last stop before he headed back. An unfortunate deer met its end at the tips of his floating blades, and its carcass levitated alongside him in a morbidly amusing fashion as he returned home. Joachim's boots never touched the forest floor beneath him, instead hovering almost a foot above the ground, making his passage an utterly silent one.

"Ngh… damn it, damn it all!"

Leon used the last of his limited strength to deliver a savage kick to the bedroom door. He glared at it, teeth gritted, before his tiredness finally started to get the better of his anger.

After several moments, he let out a long sigh. Dragging himself back to the bed, Leon lay his weary body down atop the sheets, draping an arm over his eyes to block out the unpleasant world around him.

His physical state was suffering, but his mental one was far worse. In the span of several days, he'd given up his knighthood, had the love of his life torn away from him, lost to a vampire, and then… agreed to serve the same vampire in question. Leon was devastated and mortified. No matter how much he called out to God for strength, he quickly sank back into an abyss of despair.

And, as much as he adamantly refused to admit it to himself, his faith itself was growing shaky for the first time. How could a benevolent deity ever let something like this happen to a man who'd dedicated his entire life to holy service? How could he let Leon fall into the clutches of a vampire - a blasphemous monster who by all rights shouldn't even exist?

There was the kiss, too. Leon tried to wipe it from his mind, but he simply couldn't. Homosexuality was a crime, a sin against God. The very fact that he thought Joachim was beautiful was dangerous enough. The vampire, however, seemed to have no such qualms about what he'd done. If he attempted to make advances on him again, Leon would have to stop him, surely… but how? He felt paralyzed when Joachim embraced him, like his mind had emptied itself of everything except the sight of the cruel, lovely creature.

Such troubling thoughts swirled around and around in Leon's head, tormenting him endlessly. But his fatigue and injuries soon outweighed even his distress, and sleep started to creep up over the troubled ex-knight. As he repeated a prayer over and over in his mind, begging for forgiveness from both the Lord and Sara, Leon slipped gradually into a restless slumber.

After being locked in a watery prison for what felt like eons, it was more than a little difficult to remember what a "traditional" lifestyle was like. But Joachim was fully aware of how nontraditional his circumstances were as he made his way through the castle, wrinkling his nose at the leftover corpses of the various beasts he'd killed earlier. He was making a list in his head of everything he'd need to do to get the castle back to a respectable state; after all, he couldn't really declare his reign over the area while he was living in a questionable palace of squalor like this one. Maybe just one loyal footman would do… Joachim didn't particularly want a bunch of distasteful mortals running around and smelling up the place.

"Ah, this should do. Hmm… yes." The vampire mused to himself as he salvaged some cloth bandages from one of the castle's washrooms. He was unsure why Walter had been keeping them around, but the mere recollection of that horrible man made his stomach churn, so Joachim spent little time dwelling on it.

If someone had told Joachim that his first night in his new castle was going to be spent looking after a mortal, he surely wouldn't have believed them. But yet here he was, carrying an herbal paste, some bandages, and his best attempt at a cooked "meal" for the wounded ex-knight. Yes, he had levitated the deer into a roaring torch and roasted it whole, and yes, he had sliced it into pieces with his flying blades, but all that mattered was that it could be eaten. He didn't claim to be some sort of expert cook.

Although the plate of venison was not exactly beautiful in its presentation, Joachim had also discovered some incredible vintages of wine tucked away in a cupboard, and one bottle floated alongside him, accompanied by two cups. After uncorking it and sampling a little, the vampire happily figured it would wash down the "meal" deliciously, regardless of how the meat was cooked.

It was admittedly a bizarre state of affairs, and several times already, Joachim almost decided to just give up and turn Leon into one of his own to save all of this ridiculous trouble.

What stopped him was the memory of that incredibly sweet, untainted blood on his tongue - but not only that. The delight of pulling the innocent blond slowly down into the depths of depravity was going to be unparalleled, and Joachim intended to relish every moment of it.

"Wake up, already! I didn't go through all this hassle just so you could die on me."

An annoyed voice slowly pulled Leon back into reality. His blue eyes hazily blinked open, gradually focusing on the scowling face of the pale man before him, shaking his shoulders.

Then, Leon abruptly realized he'd been stripped down to only his trousers. There was a dull stinging sensation on several of his wounds, but they'd all been wrapped tightly in bandages. All of his other clothing and weapons appeared to be discarded in one corner of the room.

"You… what did you do while I was asleep?" Leon winced as he tried to sit up against the pillows propped behind him. He gave a suspicious look at Joachim, who simply rolled his eyes.

"Don't ask foolish questions. Here, eat and drink before you decide to drop unconscious again." Before he knew it, Leon was getting a plate and cup shoved into his lap. As he realized what exactly was happening, however, it took all of the blond's willpower to keep his jaw from dropping.

Joachim had… prepared him a meal? It looked like some sort of steak, but it was hard to guess from what kind of animal. The meat seemed slightly charred, but the smell wasn't unappealing, and it was probably quite edible. A knife and fork rested on the plate, and the cup leaning against it was filled with a dark red liquid that was likely wine.

Leon couldn't believe it. The monster - the vampire had not only tended his wounds, but brought him food, too? Such behavior seemed so out of character for a cold, proud man like Joachim that Leon simply sat in stunned silence for a few moments before finally forming words.

"Why?" he asked simply, causing the vampire to raise an eyebrow. "Why are you doing all of this? Surely - surely it'd be far easier to just let me die and obtain a mortal in good health, if you're so desperate for a servant…"

Joachim testily pursed his lips together as he poured his own cup full of the exquisitely aromatic wine. "Are all knights so idiotic, or do you happen to be a special case?" He shot Leon a flat look, seating himself on the bedside after dusting it off with one hand. "Don't question your good fortune, nor my own misguided mercy." The vampire motioned impatiently for Leon to eat, and the blond's eyes dropped back down to the plate before him, still somewhat in disbelief.

Finally, a small smile rose to Leon's lips. He didn't understand how he could still smile after everything that happened, but the situation was so unexpected that he was unable to keep from feeling slightly amused. Joachim was catching him off guard at every turn, and Leon definitely didn't trust him one bit, but… it was hard to deny that the effort the vampire had gone through was a little endearing. Was it really possible for an unholy monster to possess some remnants of humanity?

"Very well. You have my thanks," Leon murmured at last, feeling slightly awkward about offering such words to the man holding him captive. Still, his stomach was empty and his throat was parched, so he set into his impromptu meal with no further objections.

Joachim watched him with a curious expression, but the blond did his best to ignore those piercing grey eyes. Instead, he swallowed the somewhat overcooked venison and washed it down with the remarkably refreshing wine, a bit of his strength seemingly returning with each bite. Now that Leon's wounds were bandaged, the persistent pain in his body was slightly less overwhelming, and the cloud inside his mind started to gradually clear.

However, after he finished all he had been given, Leon paused. He glanced up to see that Joachim was now staring off into space, seemingly mulling over something with a slightly gloomy look. The silence didn't feel uncomfortable - or at least, more uncomfortable than anything else - but the former knight cleared his throat to hesitantly pose a question that occurred to him.

"Have you… eaten?" The moment the words left Leon's mouth, Joachim abruptly looked back at him, eyes widening. "If you haven't, I… well, I could…" He trailed off, averting his eyes in embarrassment when Joachim continued to stare at him with an increasingly amused expression.

"You would let me drink from you? Even as weak as you are?" A wolfish smirk curled on Joachim's lips. "I believe that crosses the line from selflessness into stupidity."

Leon scowled, shaking his head. "I'm not on death's door. I may not possess your unnatural powers, but these wounds won't kill me. Have you forgotten how sturdy mortals are?" His reply caused Joachim to snort derisively, but Leon continued, compelled by his sense of honor. "If you need it, then drink from me - if only a little." Although Leon doubted his own sanity a little after hearing his own offer, he also felt less shame than he expected. Giving into a vampire was undoubtedly a blasphemous act, and yet for some reason, the blond didn't have the sense that he was doing something wrong. It was simply the repayment of the strange debt to Joachim he found himself in.

The vampire narrowed his eyes faintly at Leon, as if to scour his features for any hint of mockery or malice. To prove his honest intentions, the ex-knight gazed back at him, even though it was difficult to meet that piercing and perceptive stare.

At last, Joachim broke the tense moment by leaning down to set his near-empty cup down on the floor. Leon was briefly confused as to what the white-haired man's intentions were, but that puzzlement soon changed into surprise.

"J-Joachim! Not there, I meant for you to drink from my wri-"

"Quiet." Leon's flustered protest was cut off by a single cool word from Joachim. The vampire had swiftly moved on top him, pinning down his arms and leaning down towards his neck. It was all too similar to how Leon had been fed upon after losing their battle, and when he realized what was happening, the humiliating memory suddenly rose to the surface.

He instinctively started to struggle a little, but Joachim firmly held him down. Cool lips brushed against Leon's ear, followed by a soft but commanding murmur. "You'll reopen your wounds if you squirm like that. Just lie still… since you were the one who offered yourself to me, after all." Joachim's voice took on a pointedly seductive note at the end, making the blond's breath catch in his throat. Like before, the strength left Leon's body, and he soon ceased his movements beneath Joachim.

Something sharp brushed against his neck. It was as if the razor-sharp points of two tiny blades were caressing Leon's skin, tracing along it so delicately that the sensation quickly grew maddening.

"Ngh… make it quick, then…" When Leon heard his own voice, he immediately bit his lip. Why did he sound so breathy and weak? There was no way he spoke in such a high-pitched tone normally… was it anxiety?

For a moment, he had the sense that Joachim was smirking again. He could feel those cool lips curling against his flesh, and even the soft flutter of breath as the vampire exhaled what had to have been a tiny laugh.

And then, those fangs abruptly pierced into him. The sudden pain made Leon cry out, his eyes tightly closing as his fingers balled into fists, but he didn't start struggling again. He bore the lingering agony while the knifelike sensation pierced deeper into his skin, wondering how simply being bitten could possibly hurt so much.

Slowly but surely, however, that pain faded away. What replaced it was an unusual warmth, one that began in Leon's core and started to spread through the rest of his body. It was a numbing tingle at first, and yet as the seconds passed, the feeling slowly grew more delightful. It sweetly pooled around the blond's hips, and with the remnants of his rationality, Leon realized with horror that he was completely hard.

"Ah… haah… Joa- chim…" In little more than a whisper, he breathed out Joachim's name. As soon as it left his mouth, Leon felt the vampire release his hold on his wrists, only to slip his hands down below Leon's hips. Joachim pulled him upwards, grinding down on him simultaneously, and a distinct hardness rubbed against Leon's own bulge with obvious eagerness.

If the ex-knight had more control over himself, he would've liked to condemn the vampire and push him away for such a sinful act. But as Joachim fed slowly on him, causing that humming sense of pleasure to steadily mount inside his body, Leon could do nothing more than moan and weakly arch his back. He dimly heard a heated growl from the vampire, who was clutching Leon as tightly as he could without causing further injury to him.

Somewhere, in the far recesses of Leon's waning consciousness, an odd happiness welled up. For whatever reason, in that moment, he thought that he couldn't hate Joachim no matter what. Even if what they were doing was a crime - no, if Joachim's very existence was a crime - there was no darkness nor spite in Leon's heart that could make him see the vampire as anything more than a pained, lonely soul… just like Leon himself was, now.

The blissful dizziness in his head grew until the world turned dark. As he fell into an even deeper slumber than before, the last thing Leon felt was the vampire's arms squeezing him. Joachim's body was cool, and yet somehow, those arms were so very warm.