Chapter 2

"Honey, I'm home!" Alfred declared upon entering his home.

The sound of silence was what greeted the blonde, and he sighed deeply before closing the door.

"Well so much for humoring myself," Alfred muttered as he took off his jacket and threw it on his couch nearby.

He walked into his kitchen to get something to fill his stomach and as he decided on ramen his phone rang. He fished the device from his pocket, knowing who was calling by the ringtone and answered the call.

"Yes, oh brother of mine?"

"Are you okay?" was the first response and Alfred just gave a chuckle at his worrisome brother.

"Yeah, Mattie. You know how it is. Spend like, 4 hours with leeches on your nipples and get one step closer to death," Alfred joked, but Matthew didn't laugh.

"Alfred you shouldn't joke like that. You know how serious this is and I worry that every time I call that you won't answer! I'm your older brother and I have to watch out for you!"

Alfred rolled his eyes as he watched his ramen spin in the microwave.

"Look, I'm fine okay! You need to chill out—and before you even say anything else," Alfred gave a short pause and changed his exasperated tone to a flighty one. "I have news!"

"…What kind of news?" Matthew asked and Alfred could practically see the suspicious look on his brother's face through the phone.

"Good Ol' Dr. Kirkland-Bonnefoy has—" at that moment the microwave beeped and Alfred gave a delighted "It's done!" and quickly tried to snatch it out of the microwave.

"AL!"

"Oh right, right," Alfred said with a light laugh as he tore off the plastic on his ramen. "Okay, so… I'm getting a home nurse."

There was a long moment of silence then a high pitched, "Really?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm getting up there in age," Alfred said as he used chopsticks to stir his noodles, "but yeah. So he's a vampire of course and his pretty hot if I don't say so myself."

"Alfred, I swear to god if you try to bang your nurse I will—"

"Oh come on, Mattie, I'm not that lonely to go for my nurse! Anyway, he's name is Ivan and he'll be coming to live with me in a few minutes... hours… I don't remember, but soon."

There was another long pause then a sigh.

"Alright, but I want to meet him too."

"Well just come over whenever you get the chance—AH fuck! Hot!"

Matthew laughed loudly through the phone knowing full well what had just happened.

"Hopefully that nurse can save you from burning your mouth so often," Matthew said through his laughter.

"Fuck you," Alfred said though it sounded jumbled as he tried to fan his mouth.

"Well, I gotta go Al, but I'll stop by as soon as I get a day off from work!"

Alfred bid his brother goodbye and started to eat more tentatively. By the time he was finished his mouth was throbbing and he felt exhausted. He'd usually take a nap after his treatments, but he decided to forgo it this time around since he had to prepare for Ivan. The man hurriedly move through his house to make it look like a civilized person occupied it. He cleaned up old dishes, trash, and closed his blinds and curtains. He knew that vampires had a sensitivity to the sunlight, even if the old myth of the sun being deadly to them was not completely true. Vampires could be out in the sunlight, but they did get weak from long exposure. Being out in the sun too long could be fatal, although some vampires had higher tolerances towards to the sun than others. And since he didn't know of Ivan's tolerance, it was better safe than sorry.

He then tidied up the guest room that Ivan would be using, which took him a good hour to do. By time he had managed to make it look homey and sneezed himself out of the room, his doorbell rang. He hurried down the stairs to the front door and found the face he had seen on a screen only hours before looking down at him. Ivan was much taller and broader than Alfred expected, and he felt a bit shy just looking at him. The vampire held a black umbrella over his head, making him look more mysterious and alluring. He looked like any other human—except for his luminescent eyes, which glowed in the shade of the umbrella.

"Good afternoon, I'm Ivan Braginsky, your home nurse," he said, his words laced with an accent that surprised Alfred.

Alfred felt his brain blank out for a moment before processing what Ivan said. He then looked down Ivan's body to see him dressed in solid deep blue scrubs. The color really brought out how pale Ivan was. Alfred then looked back up to see Ivan smiling ever-so-slightly which made him swallow thickly.

"Yeah, uh, I'm Alfred Jones, your patient."

Ivan's slight smile seemed to increase just a tad.

"It's nice to meet you, Alfred."

"Nice to meet you too…" Alfred said.

The two stood looking at each other for a while longer before Alfred gave a loud "OH!" and slapped himself in the face.

"Shit! Sorry! Sorry! Come in! Damn it!"

Alfred cursed at his forgetfulness and Ivan just gave thanks and closed his umbrella before picking up his bags and walking into the home. Ivan let out a delicate sigh of relief as he was no longer in the sun and inside a lamp lit front room.

"I'm so sorry," Alfred said again as he closed the door. "I haven't had people over, well except for my brother, in a long while."

Ivan gave a hum to this and faced Alfred who was blushing darkly. Ivan found himself thinking it was cute and amusing to see how flustered his patient was.

"It's alright. It's happened more than once," Ivan said, giving Alfred another one of his slight smiles.

"Oh, okay… So, um, I have a room for ya upstairs. I'll help ya with this," Alfred said then moved to grab some of Ivan's bags, but the nurse picked them up before Alfred could.

"I can carry them. I don't need you to strain yourself, you have just recovered from an episode," Ivan said and Alfred just rubbed the back of his neck.

"Okay… Well, follow me then."

Ivan gave a nod and picked up the suitcases effortlessly, carrying them and his broad frame gracefully up the stairs. Alfred would have sworn that Ivan wasn't even behind him if he hadn't heard the luggage bumping together occasionally. When they got to the room, Alfred opened the door and let Ivan in first.

"It's not much, but I hope it's okay. If you need darker curtains I can get some," Alfred said as Ivan set down his bags.

The vampire looked over the room, noting its calming color scheme and scenic photos hanging on the walls. He looked at the window straight ahead to see dark brown curtains in front of it but some sun still filtered through.

"I believe I will be fine," Ivan finally said then turned to Alfred who smiled at him.

"That's good! But if you change your mind, just tell me," Alfred said. "Oh, and those doors on the right are the closet and bathroom, and out here in the hallway my room is right at the end of the hall."

Ivan leaned out of his room to see Alfred's door.

"I can give you a tour later when you're settled."

Ivan arched a pale eyebrow at hearing this and found himself looking at Alfred with interest. Alfred easily took notice of Ivan's wondering eyes.

"What?"

Ivan lessened his stare and looked away from Alfred for a moment.

"Most patients I care for aren't very… delighted to have me," Ivan said, and before Alfred could even ask why that was Ivan continued. "But thank you for your hospitality, and I would like that tour later."

Alfred looked at Ivan, a bit confused, but shook it off to nod his head.

"Alright, well, I'm going to be downstairs if you need me."

Ivan nodded his head and watched Alfred turn and walk down the stairs. Once he was out of sight Ivan slipped back into his new room and began to unpack. He already felt at home as he started to fill the closet and dresser with his belongings. It was such a common thing for him in his ten years of service as a medical vampire. He had cared for many patients over those ten years, and each home he'd been in felt more like home than his actual dormitory the hospital provided. His room there was a simple one bedroom apartment and held the bare minimum of personal objects. He only used that room to rest between shifts and home care jobs.

Ivan honestly didn't know why he even got into the medical profession. He remembered years ago about talking with his coven about what they would do since the war had ended, but from there the years just blended together. He honestly didn't mind his job though; it paid well, and he got to do new things and meet new people, but it had its faults. He had his share of unwelcoming patients, and then watching patients that he'd come to like pass on. He was getting better at not letting those things bother him, of course—he had to, for his sanity's sake.

Ivan set his last bag down on the bed and opened it up to find his medical supplies and Alfred's medications. He checked each item and once satisfied that everything was still accounted for and functioning, he placed it at the foot of his bed and left the room. He eyed the photos of scenery and family scattered on the walls as he headed to the first floor of the home. Once downstairs he found Alfred asleep on the couch. His blonde head was tilted back in a way that was surely hurting his neck and his limp form slouched. The TV was playing for an unconscious audience and Ivan stepped towards him to look him over critically.

He had already read Alfred's file and knew he had undergone treatment just this morning. Ivan could hear the blood in Alfred's veins moving along normally, as well as his heartbeat. He moved his violet eyes up Alfred's smooth neck to his sleeping face to see freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks. He knew blue eyes were hidden behind the heavy eyelids and looked further up to see a pair of glasses resting against Alfred's forehead. Ivan reached forward to remove the glasses and admired the blue and white frames before setting them on the table. He then gently moved Alfred to lay down properly on the couch and removed his shoes. He grabbed a blanket that he spotted on an arm chair and laid the colorful fleece over him.

Ivan admired his work for a moment, then moved gracefully to sit in the arm chair near the couch. He turned the TV's volume down enough to where if anything loud happened it wouldn't disturbed Alfred then changed the channel to something of interest. There Ivan stayed dutifully until Alfred woke up.

So, this is planned to have like... 20ish chapters. I'm currently working on Roller Blades and Bite Marks bcuz its the shortest new fic, so once that's done I'll get back to this. Shouldn't take me long to get that done though! Thanks for reading and reviews welcomed!