Sheikah: This is a OFC/Vaun one shot. Rae is my own character from a story posted in AO3.
Summery: Masses of strigoi? No problem. Dodging shady humans? Easy. Catching a cold? The most embarrassing thing ever.
Rae couldn't believe her dumb luck.
After barely making through hordes of vampires with snakes for tongues, she had managed to catch a common virus! Rae sighed up for the whole messy package; a reddened nose with a constant flow of snot, an itchy sore throat, and horrid cough that made a frog sound like Lana Del Ray. She shouldn't be that shocked though. Anymore her diet lacked so much, it didn't help stave off nasty floating germs.
Whipping her sensitive nostrils with the seemingly hundredth tissue, Rae sighed and leaned back into the cushy driver seat. Currently, Rae had tucked herself away inside of the SUV's; too pissed off at Gus to look at him and mainly hiding from any strigoi that could inform Vaun, or even the Born himself. She didn't need him to fret over nothing. Plus, she resembled a warmed over zombie. Dark circles of fatigue had shaded the flesh beneath her eyes. Colds were things meant to suffer in silence, unseen beneath piles of blankets.
"This is all Gus' fault anyways..." She grumbled, her throat too raw to raise it to the levels of annoyance that made her eye twitch.
Her newly made friend had returned with Quinlan from trading cash for more weapons and ammo with Creem, complaining about how one of the goons had been sneezing everywhere only to unknowingly snatch up the germ and spread it! Of course Rae being the only living recipient, no matter how many precautions she took, a snow ball fared better in the flames of hell than she evading a cold.
One sneeze in her general direction and it was all over. This morning she woke up with a blocked nose and scratchy throat. She'd managed to dodge Gus every time but Rae let her guard down when he claimed to be feeling better a few days later.
Nope! Lies and slander!
That's how she ended up holed up within one of the six cars that were stored in the large garage. A silly plan had filtered through her muddy brain and she groggily made haste rounding up a small bag of stuff to tide her over until this made it's way out of her system.
Rae was positive she was sweating like a pig corralled next to a BBQ pit wearing this sweater but she was so damn cold!
Oh well, it didn't matter. The guys didn't use this vehicle nearly as much like the others so she'd be good. Curling up in her purple crochet blanket, one of the few items Vaun had retrieved from her old apartment, Rae found a comfortable position and fell quickly to sleep.
Quinlan sighed as he entered through the steel door, the rattle of his stinger echoing in the dimly lit garage.
Augustin had recovered enough to voice the lack of food in the pantry since the cold had stolen his appetite for days; wolfing down the remainder of he and Rae's rations. That had earned Vaun's ire but he was summoned to watch after the newly awaken hunter Lar; leaving he and Rae to go out and scavenge more edibles, yet Quinlan had failed to locate her.
Vaun being tied with the Ancient's last strigoi agent, he was unable to ask his brother in arms. Quinlan didn't wish to push Augustine's newly repaired state so he opted for going alone.
He walked towards the nearest vehicle, keys jingling in his coat pocket when a flaring heat blotch arrested his icy blue gaze. It came from the furthest SUV, huddled into itself. Quinlan studied it from afar, judging if the source came from a pawn of the Masters. There was no way to tell by just the heat signature but the form did not twitch in the passing seconds. Gripping the bone hilt of his blade, the half breed advanced slowly.
Thanks to the dark tint of the glass, he could not tell by some colour sight he possessed when he grew closer to an object. Placing his gloved fingers on the handle, Quinlan cracked the door open enough to glance inside. The stench of fever and perspiration underlined with a delicate scent he knew. The Born's eyes widened an inch. Flinging the door aside, almost tearing it off, the bundle that held the heat came into view.
It turned now and nearly fell into a heap on the concrete but Quinlan caught the groaning blanket in time. Raising the flesh of his brow, the half breed pushed back the wrap to see what he already figured; a flushed and sick Rae.
"By the gods woman..." He shook his head.
Obviously, she had contracted the so called bug from Augustin and disappeared to out here. Why? He could not fathom why mortals did what they did sometimes.
He cared for the girl but her stubborn attitude made him want to rip her half in certain instances. Such like this, barring herself from them for whatever silly reason she came up with. Quinlan shifted her body in his hold better so her weary form would lean against his shoulder. He growled aloud. The Born hated disorder of any kind and this mess just pushed the agenda, no matter how small, back. Then again, as he returned inside the compound, if Gus desired substance so badly, he would have the patience to receive it.
Hurrying down the long stretch of hallway, Quinlan found the Sun Hunter first. The young man was sitting on a wooden stool, grumbling over something the half strigoi gave no damns about.
"Augustin," Quinlan barked, "Do you have any of the medication left?"
Gus jumped at the level of his voice. "Huh? Uh, yeah. What for Mr. Q?"
His dark brown eyes looked at the bundle his boss was carrying. "Um, what the hell is that?"
Quinlan frowned. "It's Rae. She decided it would be a lovely idea to stow away as she caught your cold."
The boy's shoulders slumped. "Ah shit, amiga. Give me a sec, boss." He ran off to grab the little white pills they had found during a clearing.
Gus came back, handing the grumpy vampire the see through orange bottle. Quinlan informed his charge about her belongings in the SUV before he exit to drop the woman off on Vaun when he picked up the gangster yelling, "She took my Doritos!?"
Quinlan rolled his eyes.
"Brother," The Roman called, standing in the threshold.
Vaun was instructing Lar on their weapons and storage when he came across them. The heavily scarred Born glanced up at his voice. Black and red orbs looked to him then quickly landed on the shivering article of covering Quinlan was cradling.
"Rae?" He left the confused strigoi and crossed the room, worriedly staring down at the female.
Lar blinked, the second pair of protective eye lids snapping. It smells awful.
Vaun turned and hissed at the vampire. "Shut up," It silenced immediately. The younger Born looked to Quinlan.
What happened? Where was she?
He released Rae into Vaun's desperate hold. I believe Gus has passed on his sickness. She was sleeping in one the cars.
The hunter swept a lock of wet hair off cheek with gurgling groan. She looked so much worse off than Augustine.
Quinlan reached into his trousers pocket. He had some left over.
Vaun practically snatched the medicine from his brother and darted out of the room like a shadow.
Lar stared at Quinlan from the other side, his expression carefully constructed to be blank. The half breed entered the chamber. There was something off about this one.
He tilt his head, gazing down at the strigoi.
If you have something to say, by all means, free your mind of it.
It was mute for a moment, like he expected, until a brief flicker of it's personality came through. I do not like you, either of you; but more so you, Quintus.
Aahh, he hadn't been called that in many a century. The former gladiator stalked over to the undead solider. It reeked of the Ancients but a faint scent of former self was mixed in. They allowed it to be sentient? He narrowed his piercing arctic hues at it. This creature would be watched, carefully.
Bold, I like that. Quinlan was mere inches from the hunter now. It makes pushing your limits that much more entertaining. He allowed himself to smile, a display of sharp fangs that promised much, much pain to come.
Rae sighed, wiggling into the softness beneath her aching bones. Her eyelids fluttered, a dark surrounding that was familiar. She forcefully pried them open once recognition clicked in her foggy mind. How'd she get back in her room?
"Careful, you'll get dizzy if your rise up too fast." Vaun's duel harmonics growled.
Her surprise ignored the advice and Rae quickly rose up on her elbows. The action made her brain swim. He semi glared at her from his leaning position against the wall.
"When... how did I get here?" She asked, voice hoarse.
Vaun grabbed a small cup from her shelve and walked over to her side. He said nothing as he handed her the glass. Rae saw it was water and hastily gulped it down. The Born yanked it away before it was drained completely.
"Heyyy..." She whined, weakly attempting recover the liquid.
Vaun gently pushed her back. "Take the rest with this." He produced a tiny familiar pill. Oh, well cat is out of the bag. Rae took it from his covered palm and threw it in her mouth. Swiftly finishing off the water, she set the cup on the floor.
"Sooo, you found me?" Rae asked, sheepishly peeking up at Vaun.
He set his jaw firmly. No, I did not. Quinlan happened upon you and located me.
'Great...' She could tell he was fuming over her stunt.
"Sorry?" Rae offered meekly.
Vaun actually snarled at her. "Sorry wouldn't help you if your condition worsened, Rae! There are no more hospitals if such a thing occurred! I wouldn't be able to do anything..." He trailed off.
She instantly felt like an asshole. It was selfish and childish of her to do what she did. Rae glued her misty eyes on the floor. "I know. It was really stupid of me but I didn't want to add more stress to anyone, especially you."
A flat sigh left the dhampir. "I'd rather be aware and handle any baggage you carry than be left in the dark. I am more stressed out, as you put it, after learning of what you did."
"Keep rubbing salt in the wound, Vaun." She whispered, messing with her damp hair.
He crossed the distance between them in an instant. Gently her head was raised so she would look at him. "I am not mad at you. It is more concern for you and irritation at myself. I should've noticed sooner."
Rae pursed her dry lips. "I just woke up with it today. Don't beat yourself up over that."
Vaun said nothing but removed his hand from her chin. They stared at one another until Rae could feel the medication begin it's work. She had felt somewhat better when first awaking, the fever must have spiked and she rode it out. Her droopy gaze noticed she no longer wore the sweater and black jeans from before.
"You changed my clothes?"
He looked at her like a parent explaining something simple to a child. "Well yes, the fever had caused the clothing to become damp. You were shaking from the chill so I removed them and gave you new ones."
A light blush of red dust rose on her cheeks.
"You saw me naked then." She witnessed the corners of his Glasgow smile kind of mouth twitch.
"I've seen you without clothes many times already." Vaun touched their foreheads together, scenting the rise of blood underneath her skin.
Rae gave him a tired smile. He made a churr noise, the sound rumbling deep in his throat. Exhaustion surged, making her yawn. Vaun shook his head. He could smell the medicine flowing through her blood and taking effect. "You're tired." She nodded. Reaching out, he took off her glasses and set them carefully on the ground near the top of the cot.
"Stay with me 'til I fall asleep?" Rae asked, rubbing her hazel eyes.
He chuckled at her sleepy behavior. "Of course,"
Vaun lifted her off the make shift bed and sat down. She moved so her lower half was laid between his legs. Rae nestled into his chest, the gear and hoodie removed earlier. She could feel the solid warmth beneath. He grumbled, laying his cheek on her skull.
Comfortable?
"Mhmm," She was already beginning to doze off.
He drew lazy circles over her waist and back, the motion soothing. The pair laid together for an unknown amount of time. Vaun shifted to nuzzle her neck, placing his lips on her pulse; the beat strong and alive. He purred, unable not to bite and lick at it. Rae fought to stay awake but it was in vain as the meds forced her system to rest.
The Born relented on his actions, sensing her troubled state. "Sleep, love, I'll be here."
Claws raked through her dark brown waves, caressing the strands.
Rae didn't reply. She only tightened her grip on his undershirt. Darkness crept in from the corners of her vision and soon she fell into a content sleep.
