Universe: Vampires

Trope: Enemies to lover


When Dan felt his consciousness returned, he didn't want to open his eyes. He knew if he acknowledged the outside world it would be real. He would remember the pain and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He would feel the burning ache of white hot hunger and the lust to hunt.

"Hey, I know you're awake," a soft voice whispered near his ear, "You can open your eyes. You're safe."

So he did. And it was oddly underwhelming. The only thing that was different was the man kneeling beside his head. Dan was used to an entirely different expression on him; one of contempt and anger, and the strain of effort. Now, he looked worried. Concerned, even.

Dan had never seen a vampire look concerned before. But that was not what was in the front of his mind at the moment.

"You," he growled, and surprisingly it did sound like a growl. It rumbled in his chest, and caused the other jump just a bit. That gave Dan a little burst of pride. "Why have you brought me here, Lester? I think one of the last people in the world I want to see is you."

Expression hardening, Phil Lester rose to feet so he was now looming over him. Dan sat up very quickly in response, which normally would have given him a head rush. But now, he felt nothing but energy inside him. He considered moving to stand as well, but he decided to wait. He was taller than Phil; standing could be used as a power move later on.

"Unbelievable. I pull you from a nest of Incubi and you still hate me," Phil retorted.

Dan narrowed his eyes. "And that's a surprise? You've done nothing but express your own hatred for me since we met."

"You tried to give me up to monster hunters!"

"And you tried to kill me!"

Phil's eyes blazed, and when he blinked they were no longer blue. Now they were red, like fresh blood. "I saved you."

"No," Dan said, his tone low and threatening. He couldn't see himself, but with the heat of his glare and the condition he was now in, he knew his own eyes were a matching shade. "You changed me."

With a sudden snarl, Phil pounced. Dan was surprisingly prepared and took it full force. Their limbs tangled together and Phil's teeth snapped at various parts of Dan's exposed skin. The brunette didn't quite understand what the point of that was until he realized something: he was newly changed. He was stronger than Phil was.

In two strokes Dan had flipped them over so Phil was on his back, and he had his hands pinned over the other's head. Phil's eyes flashed, and he hissed at Dan, teeth bared. They were silent for a few moments while they sat there and caught their breath, and in those few moments all their sudden anger at each other seemed to calm a bit. However, the lingering animosity would not go away just because Dan had an advantage for the time being.

"Why," he began, "do you hate me so much?"

"The vampire hunters–" Phil began but Dan squeezed his wrists so hard that he cut himself off with a cry of pain.

"Why do you really hate me? Going back to even before the hunters." Dan had known all about Phil before he gave up his name and location to London monster hunters. From the second they met, Phil's disdain rolled off him in waves. Dan thought it was just because he couldn't be eaten, but he was going to get to the bottom of this right now.

Phil visibly swallowed. "Compulsion," he replied. The special kind of magic or whatever vampires use to lure in their prey. "It doesn't work on you."

"What? Why?" Dan questioned sharply.

"I don't know," the older vampire snapped back, "It's been like that since the beginning. When we met, I tried to get you to follow me home, remember? And you just thought I was mental. You were the first human I'd ever met who has been able to deny me."

Dan narrowed his eyes. He did remember. "You're mad that you can't control me?"

Phil nodded. "Not that I could anymore, considering you've been changed. But while you were human, it was the most frustrating thing I'd ever felt. That's why I kept you around, even when I discovered you c–"

Dan cut him off with a sharp snarl. He never wanted to hear the word cancer again.

"Fine. Blood toxicity," Phil corrected with an irritated expression, "I wanted to see what I could do. Obviously it didn't work because you still tried to have me killed."

"What would you have done if it worked, anyway?" Dan asked.

At this, Phil smirked. He squirmed under Dan's weight. "Let me go and I'll tell you."

Although he was still irked over the entire situation, Dan moved off of him. He straightened up, fixing his shirt and brushing off. Even after being tossed around in a scuffle, Phil still looked immaculate. Dan thought he would be immune to the natural allure by now.

"Well?" Dan prompted.

Phil gave him a look, and then took a breath. "I would have done what any vampire would have. Lured you here, drained you dry, and that's that," he responded.

"You can't lie to me anymore," Dan said with a stony expression, "I know you're not that simple. You wanted me to want to come with you. That's why you were so frustrated when you couldn't compel me."

Phil closed his eyes again, looking away, and when he looked back they had returned to blue. "Yes, I also would have had some fun with you. You're attractive, Dan. I'm attractive. And you would have liked it."

"Sounds a bit dodgy," Dan commented.

"Yeah, well, so is killing people and drinking their blood," Phil retorted with a frown, "There are several lines that are blurred here. I take what I can get, and if I had my way, you would have been begging for it."

"And then I'd be dead."

"But here you are."

Dan studied him a moment. He wondered what it would have felt like, Phil's compulsion, to be completely at his mercy. He wouldn't be in the situation he was in now, undead and bonded to Phil Lester for all eternity. Or until the hunters found him. Well, there was one thing… Phil did, technically, save Dan's life. He had been dying, dying slowly and painfully from the inside out. Perhaps having to deal with a few hours of burning pain was worth not having to suffer from years of it.

Dan pushed himself to his knees and moved himself closer to Phil. The latter gave him a confused look, unsure, but before he could react any more Dan cupped his face and planted a kiss right on his mouth. Phil responded without hesitation, but he was still quick to pull away.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Saying thank you," Dan replied, "You deserve it."

Phil swallowed and gently shook his head. For the first time, his confidence slipped away. "You shouldn't–"

"Don't tell me what I shouldn't do. If I didn't want to, do you think I would have chosen to kiss you?" said Dan, raising his eyebrows. Phil shook his head, a small grin growing on his face. "Exactly. So shut up and kiss me."