Chapter 25: drained

There had been no further sign of the vampires since Clint's announcement about the blacked out windows. If he weren't so paranoid, Pietro would have almost begun to suspect they'd moved on. He climbed up a short flight of stairs and sneaked down the hallway, moving slower than anyone would have believed possible for him. But he had to be careful. He couldn't risk anything. He finished his sweep of the landing and turned toward the stairs.

"Hey, Pietro," said a chillingly familiar voice behind him.

Pietro turned back around. Lesandra stood there, looking a bit the worse for wear, but smirking at him as though she'd already won.

"Been a long time," she said.

"Not long enough," said Pietro.

Lesandra chuckled, then gave him a sneering once-over.

"You're human again, I see. Impressive."

"I have impressive friends."

"Yes, you certainly do," said Lesandra, circling him tauntingly. "The Avengers. Who'd've thought. I did have some suspicions about you, but then there are so many powered people out there these days I thought 'Naw, he can't be. There's probably plenty of super speedy guys out there.' But no. There's just the one. Quicksilver, the fastest man alive. Though not fast enough to escape a vampire, apparently."

"You just gonna talk all day, or can I get on to killing you now?" Pietro snapped.

Lesandra laughed.

"You're not gonna kill me, sweetheart," she said. "You got this situation completely backward. I'm gonna kill you."

Pietro scoffed.

"Yeah right."

Lesandra's smirk vanished and she gave him a cold, challenging glare.

"You doubt me?" she said.

"Damn right."

"Well, you shouldn't."

"And why's that?"

"Because your filthy little friends killed my family," Lesandra snarled. "They came into my house and slaughtered all of them. So I'm returning the favor. Starting with you."

"I'm not gonna make it easy," said Pietro.

"It'll be easier than you think. You're not a vampire anymore, Pietro. You're a human. Weak and easy to kill. You're my prey, and you know better than anyone the kind of hunter I am."

They were face to face now, and Pietro became aware that sometime in her circling, Lesandra had managed to back him into the wall. His heart skipped a beat and he looked down at her, hoping she couldn't see the fear in his eyes.

"You're a fool, Pietro," she hissed. "A weak, pathetic fool. You could've been the most feared vampire in the world, faster and more deadly than any history has ever seen. But you threw it all away for your little human lover."

"I'd rather have Clint's love than the world's fear," said Pietro.

"And that's why you have to die."

Lesandra lunged forward, teeth bared. Pietro shouted in pain as her sharp fangs pierced his throat, immediately setting a steady stream of blood flowing. She drank deep and Pietro began to feel dizzy. He tried to push her away, but her grip was too strong and she had already taken enough of his blood to make him fatigued. His head was spinning, his vision blurred. Suddenly his knees buckled and he sank to the floor, Lesandra still diligently draining him.

"Please," he said, coughing weakly as his own blood threatened to choke him. "Clint… Wanda… help…"

But he knew they couldn't hear him, he couldn't reach his comm and his voice was too weak now to shout. The world around him began to darken and fade away. Then suddenly, all was black.

Clint followed the sounds of fighting and the smell of blood back down the corridor and into the main room of the warehouse. He arrived just in time to see Natasha stake one of the newborns.

"Clint, where the hell have you been?" said Sam. "You've been radio-silence for a good ten minutes."

"I have?" said Clint.

"Are you okay? You're white as a sheet," said Wanda.

"No, I'm not, I…. where's Pietro?"

"What do you mean you're not okay?" said Natasha. "What happened?"

"Got bit. Where's Pietro?"

"You got bit?" Sam repeated.

"You're a vampire?!" Wanda gasped.

"Yes, I am. Now for the love of all that is holy, where the hell is my boyfriend?" Clint said desperately.

"I dunno, probably with some of the others," said Natasha.

"No he isn't," said a new voice.

Clint whipped around. A pale young woman with red eyes and a trickle of blood trailing down her chin stood at the foot of the stairs, smirking.

"Lesandra," said Natasha grimly.

"What do you mean? Where is he?" Clint demanded.

He lunged at her, grabbing the front of her jacket and holding his stake to her throat.

"He's drowning on what's left of his own blood," Lesandra said, eyes alight with glee. "You should be glad he's dead though, Hawkeye. He won't have to see what's become of you."

"You're a monster," Clint snarled.

"Guess what?" said Lesandra. "So are you."

Clint pulled back his hand to strike, not hesitating a moment before plunging the stake into her heart. The smirk didn't leave her face even as she vanished into dust. Clint let the stake fall to the ground, then bolted up the stairs as fast as he could.

"Clint, wait!" Natasha shouted.

He ignored her and kept running, not stopping until he reached the landing. He froze, a knot of horror and grief twisting in his stomach. Lying against the wall in a crumpled heap was Pietro. His eyes were closed and he was horribly still, a bloody bite wound standing out in vivid scarlet against his pale throat. Clint fell to his knees at Pietro's side and pulled him into his arms.

"Please don't leave me," he whispered, his eyes stinging with tears. "I can't face eternity without you."

Suddenly he paused, listening. There it was again. A heartbeat. Faint, weak, barely holding on. But still beating. Pietro was still alive. Clint stared down at him with wide eyes, a terrible idea coming to him. But it was all he had. He couldn't let Pietro die, not when there was a way he could save him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know you'll hate me for this, maybe forever. But I can't lose you."

He leaned down and gave Pietro a gentle kiss, feeling the warmth of his lips for what he knew was the last time. Then he shifted Pietro in his arms, tilting his head so the side of his neck was exposed. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but he knew he couldn't linger. There wasn't much time. He bent down and sunk his teeth into Pietro's neck.

He licked his lips as he pulled away, tasting a single drop of Pietro's blood on his tongue. Clint understood now why Pietro had been so addicted to his blood before. Just that one drop was so perfect, made more intoxicating by their attraction, he was tempted to lean in again and drink. But he fought the urge.

Pietro began to tremble as the first wave of pain washed over him and Clint held him tight. Tears streaked down his face as the convulsions escalated. He knew how much Pietro dreaded becoming a vampire again and he hated himself for what he'd just done. But he couldn't lose Pietro. Not now. Not with all eternity ahead of him.

He heard three pairs of footsteps arrive behind him and stop in their tracks, three racing heartbeats. Finally Pietro went still.

"Oh my god," Wanda gasped. "Clint, what have you done?"

"I'm sorry," Clint said. "I had to save him. It was the only way."