Arthur compelled with the request and slowly lied down on the bed. In this position he felt less dizzy but more threatened. He was alert, eyes intently watching the other's move.

It's never easy to relax in a stranger's home.

"Can I turn on the light?"

"Oh, please do." The a small lamp, that stood on bedside table, was switched on.

Arthur squinted his eyes to see in the lit room. A small space that had a desk in one corner, clothes rack in the other and mess in-between. A lot of posters 'decorated' the walls. There was also the bed that he was currently occupying. And there was Jones sitting on the edge of it. He was a young man, with a nerdy demeanour, topped by wireframe glasses.

"Alfred Jones" the guy said in serious voice and held out his hand.

Trying to be formal after his undignified first reaction; a gentleman should always be calm; Arthur propped himself on the elbows, rising his chin and attempted to sound intimidating "Lord Arthur Kirkland"

"Aw, not a count?"

The vampire rose his brow "No"

Silence.

"So, Arthur" Jones said the other name with a bit of sappy happiness. His smile bright like the sun. Arthur wondered if it would burn his skin. "Arthur" He repeated in a dreamy voice.

"Yes?"

Alfred blinked, his brain getting back on track from wherever his thoughts derailed. "Was just wondering if I should contact you relatives, or someone."

"That won't be necessary. Thank you"

"Oh" pause "I see" the man gave Arthur a friendly smile "You are free to stay until your feel better."

"Thank you again. I will leave as soon as possible."

"But" Alfred hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse to keep Arthur in his bed for as long as possible. "But, there's still sun outside. You can't go"

The vampier tried to understand the reasoning. Maybe there was a medical rule that a person which fainted should evade sun. It even sounded a bit logical. "I'm sorry but what's wrong with that?"

"Well, ya know" Alfred eyes trailed something on the celling. There was a hand, reassuringly placed onto Arthur's knee. "The sun rays and stuff. Definitely not safe for ya."

"Is it because I fainted?"

Alfred chuckled "No, silly".

Now he was leaning a bit too close for Arthur's liking.

"Then what?" Arthur spat out, feeling threatened by the closeness of the other body.

Alfred winked. "Don't worry Arthur, your secret is safe with me"

"What secret?" vampire straightened up, his head clouding with dull pain at the motion.

A light squeeze on the knee. Alfred's hand was warm.

"That you are a vampire."

Arthur wanted to deny and laugh it off. But when he turned to Jones, who was nearly looming over him, with big, expectant eyes and a sweaty palm over his own. He could see that the man's whole resolve to live rested on that one answer. Arthur didn't have the heart to lie; he couldn't do it. So instead he shifted a bit to the other edge of the bed and away from Alfred, turned his head to the wall and mumbled with a shy voice "So, what if I am?"

"That so cool" Alfred squealed.

Arthur blushed, he was seldomly called cool, and sent an uncertain look towards the man "You really think so?"

"Sure." Alfred smiled wider "So, did you meet Dracula?"

"What?"

"Did-you-meet-count-Dracula-?" Alfred repeated slowly, he the same way spoke to patients with concussion.

Arthur raised a brow at this treatment. He decided to act like a noble gentlemen he was, and hold in any sarcastic retort ."I'm afraid I didn't have the pleasure."

The other's eyes lost a bit of shine at that answer. Silence. Jone started to scratch his neck. "That's a shame"

"Well, excuse me for not living in XVIII century."

Alfred blinked "Really? Then how old are you?"

"Twenty-three"

"Ah" another round of neck scratching, was Jones a reincarnation of a dog. "That's how much in human years?"

"Twenty-three"

"Your joking, right?"

"No"

"But, shouldn't vampires live, like, forever?" Alfred brows furrowed.

"That is a ridiculous idea." came a firm reply.

"But, I read about it" the man whined like a child.

Their eyes locked. Arthur's voice was calm, without a hint of sarcasm; tactic he mastered while dealing with his younger brother Peter. "I understand, Alfred, that you must have a vast knowledge on the topic. So I'll let you know a little secret of my kind." Dramatic pause. The man's eyes lit up. "We spread the rumour that we live forever; but in fact, vampires have the same life expectancy as humans. You have to believe me, because this is our big secret I'm telling you."

"Wow" Jones was looking into the vampier's eyes "I… I don't know what to say, Artie. Really. You telling me your secret." He was blushing lightly, Arthur arched his brow at the reaction. At least the his tactic worked. "That means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it"

"But really..." Alfred started but Arthur waved him off

Alfred was thinking over the situation, bitting on his lower lip. He had a thousand questions to ask but it was hard to formulate them at once. His brain was overloaded with excitement. His professional atopilot kicked in.
"How are you feeling now?"

"Fine. A bit weak I suppose."

"Ahh" Alfred got back to chewing his lip. "Should I examine you? Ya know, I'm a doctor. I will be."

"Well" Arthur hesitated, there was no real reason to decline. He was curious, he has never been to doctor's before. He knew a lot about that profession, he was a fan of afternoon medical dramas. "Fine"

Alfred nearly jumped with joy at that, clapping his hands. "Deal"

He sprung out of the room and came back with a stethoscope; a chair was positioned in front of the bed. His face became serious. Feeling the change of atmosphere Arthur sat up straighter on the bed. He wanted to act like a proper patient.

"Ok, Arthur" Jones' voice sounded more professional already. It was still not as good as the main protagonist's. You couldn't get everything in real life."Could you try to describe how are you feeling right now?"

"I have a bit of a dull headache and I feel dizzy when I'm sitting up"

"I see." Alfred pondered. The stethoscope did add him charm, at least in Arthur's eyes. To bad he didn't have the white overall. "Do you remember when it started?"

"When I woke up?"

"And before?"

"I don't know"

"Did the similar things happen in the past? You fainting and all?"

"Not that I know of." Arthur smiled a bit; he felt he was doing a good job as a patient. Their conversation sounded exactly like in his favourite dramas.

"Do you have any health issues?"

"None"

Jones contemplated something for a moment. Arthur eyed the stethoscope in meantime. It was pretty. Shiny. Silver. He was eager to start the real examination. Pity they were in some messy room, not a sterile hospital space. "Maybe it's only the fatigue?" Alfred was thinking aloud "Did you eat your breakfast, Arthur?"

"Yeah, I eat it every evening"

There was a short laugh "Oh right, you are nocturnal"

Arthur nodded

"Okay, so what did you eat yesterday?"

"Some cereals."

"Aaaand?"

"Cup noodles. Around midnight"

Alfred looked at the vampier disapprovingly "That's not enough. You need nutritions."

Arthur shrugged. It would prove more interesting, if Jones finally switched to the medical talk rather then imitated his mother. He held similar conversations with her over the phone every week. It ruined the mood.

"What about blood?" the other asked with a tone of professional staff. That was more like it. "Vampires drink that, don't they?"

Arthur was unsure what to answer. Would his host be biased if he admitted. He knew how writers depicted their feeding pattern, it was either nearly sexual act or some gore ritual. In reality it was neither, most of the blood nowadays would come from transfusion packs. You could choose the flavour.
Seeing the apparent confusion of his patient, Alfred put a hand on his shoulder. "No worries." His tone calm and caring, the one usually used with kids admitted to the hospital. "I need to know so I'll be able to figure out if you're sick."

Arthur was still uncertain when he looked at the other. "We drink blood, but it's not how you think. We just need a bit every few weeks. And we don't pray on people, really, the blood normally comes from donations."

"I see." Jones pondered; rubbing the space on the nose, under the glasses. "So when did you drink blood last time?"

Arthur counted days in his head, his browed furrowed. He didn't drink it last weak, or the week before. Did he neglected the feeding scheduled? "I don't remember."

"Is it possible that you are weak because of that? You can't skip meals." Alfred was at the beginning of another speech, that one he gave to all teenagers with eating disorders.

"I forgot."

"Probably you'll be all right when you drink some. Right?" Alfred puffed his chest with pride when he came up with the diagnosis and cure in one. On contrary Arthur felt disappointed that the whole examination ended. He really wanted to feel the touch of stethoscope.
"You can have some of mine then."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Arthur's mouth watered at the idea of getting a meal but it was not a gentlemanly thing to go around sucking on some lads.

"Why?" The other whined like a child banned from watching television. Vampire blinked, where did the professional man that examined him a minute ago disappear?

"I'll manage, thank you."

"But why? It's not like I'll die, right?" Alfred didn't back down.

"God, no." there was irritation in Arthur's tone.

"Then why?"

"It's just unsightly."

Alfred chuckled, again. Wasn't he taking this situation seriously, at least a few minutes ago. "No need to be embarrassed buddy. As a doctor, I need to get my patients into shape." He winked.

Arthur wasn't convinced. He should decline, obeying the unspoken etiquette, but the headache and dizziness bothered him. The weak feeling probably came from some lack of haemoglobin in the bloodstream. He didn't have any blood back at home, his fridge was empty and it would take a few days to get a new package delivered. Reluctantly he agreed with a nod. Alfred smiled.

"Will I turn into a vampire?"

"No"

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. In fact I am sure" Arthur said sternly.

Alfred was chewing on the lower lip. Arthur had the urge to start counting the nervous ticks. Scratching the neck. Chewing the lip. Pushing the glasses up the nose. "Well, that's a shame"

"Sorry, nothing I can do about it." The vampier staid sarcastically. Was it possible that Jones didn't hear about DNA? Difference of species? You couldn't switch from one mammal to another with a bite. Unless, the dolt thought vampirism spread like a virus.

An arm was extended right before Arthur's nose, ripping him out of his thoughts.

"Here. Take a bite"

Alfred looked at him expectantly. His facial expression was similar to one people featured in pet food commercials had. Happy, inviting eyes. Smile that nudges their pet to take a mouthful of the delicious new flavour. It was distressing. Arthur felt cornered.

"Um, certainly." Arthur wrecked his mind about the next step. He swallowed the uncertainty with a loud gulp. In his whole vampire life he never drank from a 'biological container'. Not that he never tried. A few times he nearly scored the first base, so to say, trying to munch on some poor drunken soul. He never succeeded.
For 23 years Arthur got all the necessary blood from transfusion packages. He would drink a whole container once every two weeks, heating up the liquid in microwave beforehand. It wasn't bad, a tad tasteless perhaps.

Arthur tentatively opened his mouth and took a small nip at the outstretched hand. His fangs barely grazed the skin. The taste was in between salty and warm. Small bite. Nothing. Another bite. And another. Vampire's teeth were sliding on the flesh but couldn't rip throughout it.
Arthur felt ridiculous with his mouth stuck to Jones' arm, trying to bite into the vein. It kept shifting under the skin. He looked like a puppy trying to munch on an oversized bone. Adding to his frustration was the fact that taste of flesh kept him over-salivating. He felt the substance spreading from his lips to the arm. After fifteen minutes into this degrading process Arthur's eyes filled with tears of anger.

Alfred chuckled.

The vampire sent him a glare. It wasn't very intimidating because of the saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.

"Artie, It tickles" Jones was laughing like a schoolgirl at that point. Only he was twice the size of any girl.

That was it, Arthur spat the hand out. He felt a lot of emotions, ranging from mildly to very unpleasant. His cheeks were burning.
It took another half of a minute for Jones to stop chuckling. He whipped an odd tear from the corner of his eye.
"Having trouble there, Artie." The vampier shot an icy glare at his host and pouted. To add to his frustration Alfred ruffled his his hair. "What's wrong?"

Arthur sighed. He suffered enough embarrassment for a day. "Can't get your vein."

"Oh" Pause. Neck scratching. Arthur thought that by know he could probably guess the next move. Jones was scrutinizing his own, now damp, arm with interest. The vampire felt the blush creeping in, he was sure it was ungentlemanly to coat somebody's arm with saliva.

"You should try to suck in this place" Alfred leaned closer to the vampire, pointing him the space on the inner side of his hand, just above the wrist. His finger drew an invisible circle on the flesh."It's usually the place we try to put the needles with our patients."

Arthur was concentrating, trying to see the blood vessels under the skin. It was something vampires supposedly did. Or could do. All he saw was bit of skin in different shades. His host for once noticed his confusion and started to rummage through the pockets of his jeans, fishing out a red sharpie. "Look" Alfred drew circle and an arrow pointing at it. And a smiling sun. Just for encouragement. "Try biting into this one".

Arthur aimed and bit through the skin. Warm, tasty liquid started flowing out from a small vein. It was good, nothing like the heated up blood he ate normally. Fresh. After a few sips, the headache became milder. Remembering the manners, he didn't slurp.
Arthur was all the time looking at Jones' facial expression. Unsure if it could hurt when he sucked the liquid out. Alfred's face was pure bliss; red cheeks and half-lidded eyes.

Alfred shifted slightly, his second hand making it's way to Arthur's shoulder.
"Don't' worry. You'll get better at it."

Arthur couldn't help but feel warm. Firstly, taste of fresh blood made him pleasantly hot. Secondly, a total stranger was comforting him. Normally his brothers would be rolling on the floor, laughing at his incompetence.

"You know, Artie" Alfred chirped "When I started my studies I also had problems. Ya know, sticking the needle into the vein." Arthur could feel him staring at the back of his neck "One time there was this old geezer. I had to take a blood sample from him. His veins kept shifting all the time and I just couldn't hit them. I aimed at one and it would just stretch to the side. It should have been easy, but ya know, how old folks blood vessels are. Those dark blue ones, under their thin skin. Actually, they only appear blue because the subcutaneous fat absorbs low-frequency light, permitting only the blue wavelengths to penetrate through to the dark vein. They often have blood cloths too. Anyway, I really had a hard time there, then a nurse came and did it in blink of an eye. Funny." He chuckled. "Well, now I'm a bit better"

Arthur wanted to say "How fantastic" only his mouth was full. Mind the manners, never speak with your mouth full. Not for long anyway. Halfway thought Jones' monologue he lost his appetite. The guy really knew how to be a turn off. He took last few sips and withdrew his fangs.

When Arthur turned to glare at the man, he was met with a face so cheerful it was creepy. "Felling better, huh?"
The vampire's face was placed in between two big hands, Alfred rubbed circles behind his ear with a thumb. At least he had nice blue eyes.

Alfred made sure, as in didn't let out, Arthur from his flat until the evening. Observation reasons. He also found it necessary to drive the vampire home, Arthur complied. Alfred felt the need to tell his guest every little story he remembered. At the end of the day, the vampire had information about everything. From the worst meal his host ever had to his dog nap patterns.

Throughout the drive, something in the back of Arthur's mind kept saying that it was not wise to let Jones know his address. The convenience of getting a lift was greater. They stopped in front of the mansion. Arthur turned to the other man "Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you." He extended his hand. Got a firm handshake in return and exited the car.

okay, that's all folks for today. I'm rechecking the things I write for fanfiction more times then my dissertation for BA. If you spot fail grammar please let me know, I know it's lurking somewhere there. I'm probably the most vain person around, I check how many ppl read my stoties multiple times during work.