Right, I'm... kind of resolving that cliffhanger from last time. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

"What? Why?" Vlad raised his head, shot Robin a withering look, and passed him a book from the nearest shelf, bookmarked with a note in the Grand High Vampire's familiar handwriting. 'Just in case.' It was some kind of book on ancient lore, and Robin wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at for a moment. Then he saw it.
A vampire so weak as to fall in love with a victim is both unworthy and physically incapable of conferring loyalty upon him through fangs on flesh. Such a-
Robin looked up, beaming. "But this solves everything!" Vlad smiled back at him.
"I thought you knew. Good thing, too; I made some discreet enquiries at Council and it turns out that remedy of Bertrand's is still occasionally used after all. As a poison."
"If we'd known, do you really think we'd have spent all this time... researching...?" Robin trailed off, frowning.
"What's wrong?"
"You know how thorough Bertrand is with research. He found an ancient poison, but not this?" It was Vlad's turn to frown.
"What are you saying?"
"D'you think he knew?" The answer came from the doorway, causing them both to turn towards the source of the voice.
"Of course I knew."

Bertrand sat in their new library and watched Robin turn pages, increasingly frustrated with his task. The vampire could intervene, of course, and tell him the answer he was seeking could be found on page 394 of the book cushioning his left elbow, but that would completely defeat the point of the exercise. For Robin, that was improving his research skills so he could help Bertrand in his work. For Bertrand... Well, he was prepared to admit, in the privacy of his own mind, that it was mostly an aesthetic pleasure.

Bertrand thrilled at the sight of Robin, absorbed in his work and surrounded by books, sitting in a library that was just theirs. The books were almost all Bertrand's, apart from a shelf of Robin's favourite supernatural fiction - which, though he didn't know it yet, would cause him untold anguish in years to come as he reached for a reference text and found himself taking notes on Johnny Fang, PI: Blood and Justice for the fifteenth time. Seeing Robin so at ease among Bertrand's treasures made the vampire feel oddly warm inside. The slight furrow of the boy's brow caused a bat to flutter in his lover's stomach; the groan as he closed another book and pulled another towards him made him want to bend the boy over the desk and- he caught the errant train of thought, stopped it in its tracks. Breathers are breakable. He had to remember that with regards to Robin.

The boy was back to flicking pages by the time he'd got both mind and body under control, wincing as one sliced his finger. The injured digit was halfway to its owner's mouth when Robin suddenly froze, looking for all the world as if he'd been caught eyeing somebody's last Rolo.
"Sorry, B, d'you want this?" He knew he should resist, but Robin's blood, freely offered... The temptation was too great.

He dropped into a crouch at his breather's side and slowly, carefully wrapped his lips around the damaged finger, sliding them down until he had Robin's entire finger in his mouth, sucking gently to ensure any lingering dirt from the book's pages found its way not into the boy's vulnerable circulatory system, but into the formidable digestive system of the vampire. He was being slow and careful to ensure his fangs, threatening to descend at any moment, didn't hurt Robin, but judging by the fascinated intensity of his stare, the way he trembled and licked his lips... Robin's mind was somewhere different. Bertrand's followed it gleefully into the gutter.
"Coffin, now?" he managed around his breather's finger.
"I haven't found-" Bertrand made a frustrated noise and pulled the relevant book from the messy pile on the table, flicking to page 394 and slamming it down in front of him.
"There. Coffin."

Robin pulled his finger back, the blood having stopped, and frowned at his lover.
"You knew it was there all along?" Bertrand scooped him up and began carrying him upstairs, suddenly feeling very bold and thoroughly happy.
"Of course I knew."

Vlad saw Robin turn towards his lover, observed the expressions on their faces, and made an undignified break for the exit, brushing past Bertrand on his way out. Robin barely gave him time to shut the door before he began demanding answers.
"Oh, of course. You didn't think to tell me?"
"I wasn't aware that you were the only one allowed to have secrets now." Bertrand's voice was steady, restrained, but Robin could hear the ice creeping into his tone.
"We're back to that? How long are you going to hold that against me?"
"Can you blame me, when it's still going on? It scares me, Robin!"
"What, you're afraid I'll leave you?"
"I'm afraid I'll lose you." Bertrand's expression spoke only of concern, but Robin knew better than that. He'd seen the book.

"You say that like you love me," He took a deep breath, aware that he was shouting, trying to make his voice sound calmer, "but now the truth's out, Bertrand. We both know you'd rather drink poison!"
"I do love you! I'd drink poison for y-"
"Is that really the only way you could think of to get rid of me without upsetting your precious Chosen One?"
"Don't drag Vlad into this-" He could see Bertrand's point; it hardly seemed fair to involve Vlad in their private disputes, but he was always a factor where Bertrand was concerned and while he didn't blame the Chosen One, he wasn't going to ignore that fact either. Still, he didn't need to keep talking about Vlad – he was no more than the motivation for Bertrand's scheming.

"You knew I wouldn't let you take the potion, you didn't want to be stuck with me forever and this was the perfect solution to keep your hands clean-"
"You're wrong." He changed tack, then, in the face of Bertrand's mounting desperation.
"Were you hoping I'd leave you when you were crippled? Is getting rid of me worth that m-?"
"That's not-" Bertrand's voice was raised now, trying to cut through Robin's furious diatribe. He simply continued louder than ever.
"Because I wouldn't have left you, I thought you loved-"
"I do-"
"Then why, Bertrand?"

The sudden silence seemed deafening after all the shouting. Robin spoke softly, then, knowing Bertrand would be able to hear the heartbreak in every syllable.
"Tell me why."