Chapter Twelve
Oh, fuck.
There simply weren't any other words fitting for this situation as he sat on the floor, holding Riku close with his good arm. His other arm was still shot, the shoulder aching and the wrist useless. Swift hunter healing or not, he would still need a few days before he was as good as new. In his current situation though, he didn't have a few days.
Repeating another mantra of 'fuck' through gritted teeth, the redhead fought back tears of fury and panic. This couldn't be happening, not to them, not to Riku. He was helpless, powerless to stop what was happening-Riku had been tainted by vampire blood and there was nothing Axel could do but try to hold him still while the silverette was wracked by pain. How dare that monster condemn his lover to such a fate.
Of course, there was one thing he was overlooking as the convulsions stopped. He would soon be dealing with an aware newborn vampire-and he was spattered in blood. That didn't occur to him yet though, as he was still wrapped up in exactly what had happened. He couldn't help but blame himself for this-he was a hunter, he was supposed to be on the ball, and yet he'd fallen so easily. He'd let his partner down, the one person who was supposed to be able to always count on him.
"…Riku?" he said softy after a moment, running his hand through silver hair.
The one in question stirred a little as he came to, groaning softly. He raised his head, looking to Axel, and the red haired hunter drew back a little instinctively. There was a hunger reflecting in those cyan eyes, and it suddenly reminded him of how close he was to danger.
Well, fuck.
Carefully, Axel eased out from under Riku, sliding to the side, and climbed to his feet. Eyeing the silverette warily, he took a few steps back. "Everything'll be alright," he said, "I promise." What exactly could he do to make things alright? He really had no fucking clue, but he wasn't about to admit defeat.
Cyan eyes followed his every movement as Riku stood. "I'm hungry," he said, voice quiet, "You should stay away." His actions contradicted his words though, as he moved towards the redhead.
"I'll find a way to make things better, I'll fix you," Axel said, taking an equal number of steps back. He stole a glance behind him, making sure he wasn't backing himself into a corner.
"There's no way to do that, and you know it," Riku said, moving closer still.
"Doesn't mean I won't try," the redhead said. There was no fucking way he was just going to accept the fact that Riku was a vampire now and leave it at that.
Another glance back over his shoulder, making sure he had space still, and that was when it happened. He caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and turned, raising one arm just in time to slap a forearm across Riku's chest as he approached, attempting to hold him back. Unfortunately, it was his injured arm and was easily twisted aside.
He leaned backwards to avoid the silverette's grasp and ended up tripping over the leg of the coffee table. Losing his footing, he fell back, crashing through the glass top and bashing the back of his neck against the wooden edge. He was somewhat dazed as he struggled to get back to his feet, but he really didn't have to worry about it as Riku grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him to his feet.
Gritting his teeth, Axel twisted to the side, trying to free himself, but only found himself stumbling as he was shoved back. Hitting the taller table that sat beside the couch, he struggled to keep his balance, knocking over the heavy ceramic lamp in the process. It hit the floor, the bulb shattering and sparking out, but surprisingly the rest of the lamp remained intact. That, however, was the least of his worries right now.
Pushing away from the table, the redhead regained his balance and aimed a swift punch. The blow caught Riku on the jaw, but apparently he put too much force into it or not enough, because he managed to knock the silverette to the floor but not knock him out. Nonetheless, it was a chance to act, and Axel took it, moving quickly for the door. He didn't even make it five steps when a hand shot out, catching him around the ankle, and he tripped, falling hard.
He landed face first on the floor, feeling his nose crack again, and hissed in pain. Pushing himself up on his hands, he started to stand just in time to be tackled, the force of it knocking the air from his lungs. For a second he could just blink up at the ceiling as he lay flat on his back, trying to remember how to breathe. A sudden pain in his shoulder-fingers inadvertently digging into the stab wound to hold him down-brought him back to reality.
Maybe it was just the current situation, but he never quite realized how heavy Riku was until this exact moment as he was being pinned down by the silver haired hunter turned vampire. Axel struggled uselessly to free himself, trying futilely to at least block his neck from being easily reached. He failed on all of the above, as the next second there was a searing pain in the side of his neck as a pair of sharp fangs pierced his skin, sinking deep. At least, the pain made it feel deep.
With a grunt of pain, biting down on his lip to prevent anymore noise, he struggled harder. The pain mingled with fear was good for something at least; it sent adrenaline pumping through his veins, giving him some strength back, and he reached up with his good hand, tangling his fingers in silver locks and yanking hard. He received a pained hiss as he jerked Riku's head back, fangs freeing from his neck, but obviously the blood lust had too strong a hold on him-Axel couldn't see anything of the man he loved in those cyan eyes right now.
Fingers dug deeper into his shoulder wound and he temporarily weakened, his grip on Riku's hair loosening. It was all the new vampire needed, and he swiftly struck again, fangs sinking into the redhead's neck a second time, just above the first bite wound. Now Axel understood why it was so rare to hear of a human escaping or surviving a vampire attack-not only was the pain nearly crippling, but the natural instinct was to panic.
He was struggling not to do that himself, forcing himself to take a deep breath-think, think. You've got a vampire attached to your neck drinking your blood like there's no tomorrow. Not to mention that it's Riku. Think, think, fucking think. Wait, what about-?
Green eyes flickered up and to the side, where the lamp had fallen earlier. From where he lay, he couldn't reach the lamp itself, but if he stretched out his good arm, careful not to disturb Riku-not disturb him? What a joke-he could just grab the cord. Wrapping his fingers around said cord, he slid the lamp over, trying hard to ignore the pain in his neck, and the quiet wet sounds that accompanied it, or the way his vision was starting to grow dim.
Awkwardly grabbing the neck of the lamp, he raised it up high-silently asked for forgiveness, but he had to do this-and brought it smashing down. The result was instantaneous-and exactly what he was expecting, thankfully, though he had to close his eyes to protect them from flying ceramic shards. After a small jerk in surprise, Riku collapsed, out cold.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the redhead dropped whatever was left of the lamp off to the side before wrapping his mobile arm around Riku, fingers tangling in silver hair. This was not something he wanted to have to go through again, at least, not this violent and uncontrollable. He probably wouldn't survive if this happened again, actually.
"Fucking hell," Axel said hoarsely, wincing a bit as the action tugged at the wounds on his neck.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
He awoke all at once, teal eyes snapping open as he gasped in a breath like he'd been drowning. He hurt all over still, though not quite as bad as before; it was more manageable now. The blonde was shivering badly though, his skin covered in a cold sweat, and he wondered vaguely if this was some part of the healing process-he'd never been this injured before after all. He just knew he felt awful and he wanted to find Xigbar and curl up in his arms-his sire would be able to make him feel warm.
Sliding from the bed, Demyx dragged the comforter with him, wrapping it around his thin, bruised and shaking shoulders and made his way across the room. He could hear soft voices from beyond the closed door, but in his current state, he really couldn't make out what they were saying at all. One of them did sound like Xigbar's voice though, and the other he just couldn't place right now.
Easing the door open just a bit, he peered through the crack, wincing a bit at the light in the next room-his bedroom was blissfully dark in comparison. He froze at the scene he saw though, eyes widening and heart doing a sickening dance in his chest. There was Xigbar, sitting on the couch, with that Roxas kid pulled close on his lap. Since when did that happen? Did he get the kid when he went to save Demyx?
He still couldn't hear what they were saying, but just the simple tone of Xigbar's voice-that sly, seductive pitch that Demyx had only ever heard directed at him-made his stomach churn. He was jealous, he knew it, he'd admit it, but he couldn't help it. For years he'd been the only companion in his sire's life, and now it looked a lot like he was being replaced-at least, that's how he saw it.
The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach only grew as he watched Xigbar turn the blonde boy's head to the side gently with a finger under his chin, and leaned in close. Demyx gripped the door tightly, pale, trembling fingers making marks in the wood as his sire sank his fangs into Roxas' neck, the action appearing so soft and tender. His breath caught in his throat, a few shuddering breaths causing a small flare of pain from his still mending ribs.
This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening. He was just having some nightmare, right? He most certainly was not watching Xigbar bite into his own wrist and offer the wound to Roxas, no he was not. Because if he was, that meant he was standing here crying silently while his sire made a new vampire-a replacement for Demyx.
Dropping his eyes away from the scene, he eased the door shut again and made his way back across the room. Flinging himself down on the bed despite all his injuries, he buried his face in the pillow and began to sob.
