Chapter 15
~o~
It was surreal being back in the familiar little brownstone after everything they'd been through. Everything was exactly as they'd left it. Even the shattered whiskey glass all over the floor in the living room. The problem was that Arthur felt like a completely different person. He strode into it a stranger in his own home. Everything that he learned, saw and experienced... He knew that he would never be the same ever again.
Had it really been less than a month since he had been kidnapped?
Regardless of the fact that their entire world had been turned on its head, Arthur and Alfred felt obligated to play host to the bedraggled remains of the Watchers. Eduard and Toris were set up in the second bedroom and Ludwig in the study. All were given showers and fresh clothes, which Arthur took advantage of as well. He never thought he'd been so grateful for hot water in his entire life.
Alfred even went so far as to bring out lemonade to the tiny group when they settled in the living room. On a little tray with glasses and straws. The entire situation was laughably comical.
Except no one touched the lemonade.
Eduard was still in pain from his gunshot wound. Toris couldn't look either Arthur or Alfred in the eye. Ludwig... just didn't seem like the type to enjoy lemonade. So Arthur sipped it for Alfred's benefit, though he wasn't feeling particularly thirsty either. Once he set the glass down, he turned his attention to Ludwig. "So, will you explain what exactly happened? You seem to be the only one that knows what is going on."
Ludwig nodded curtly, then went into a clipped account of all of the events preceding Vlad's demise. By the end of it, Alfred looked ill and had retracted from Arthur's side. The author only scooted closer to him for every inch that Alfred backed away. "So... you're saying that I actually was dead," Arthur said, frowning at the Captain. The thought was disturbing no matter what way you looked at it. No wonder Alfred had been so distraught. "And that somehow ties in with how Ivan was able to destroy Vlad?"
The Captain frowned, tapping a finger against his knee as he contemplated the question. "I will admit, I do not completely understand it myself. However, I will say that Ivan is... was one of the best kept secrets in the Watchers. He was the true leader of the organization. Actually, it is more accurate to say that without Ivan there would not have been, nor can there be, the Watchers. Whatever he was is the very core of our entire organization. A superhuman entity able to combat the forces of evil, no matter what they were. He was... anti-natural, as opposed to natural and supernatural."
"That explains why his blood nearly poisoned me," Alfred commented dryly. At the alarmed looks, he clarified, "From when Arthur shot him."
"...Right, yes, that is also why his nature would have been deadly to Negrescu," Ludwig said, growing sombre. "I did not realize that he had planned to do that. I don't think he even considered it himself. At least not until we saw how truly dangerous Negrescu was. I did not even know he could pass on what he was. However, now there is someone to take his place. Ivan made sure of his succession." At this, all eyes landed on the Brit.
"Wait. What?" Arthur cried out incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me? I never even wanted to join the Watchers in the first place! How am I suddenly in charge of you all? I absolutely did not sign up for this!"
"You are a perfectly competent replacement," Eduard replied, folding his arms over his chest as he ignored several parts of the author's question. "I doubt Ivan would have been so willing to put an end to Vladimir in such a way if you were not handily in place. Besides, you do not need to be in charge if you do not want to. Ivan had lived so long that he delegated duties to Watcher factions all over the world."
A pause. "Wait, there's more of you?!" Arthur cried out in horror. Eduard seemed particularly offended at this, but Arthur didn't care. Where was their backup when they needed it?! "And besides that- I'm just a writer! I don't have any business being part of any secret world order! Can you just take this thing off me and just be done with this?"
"I am sure you would go back to being dead if that happened," Ludwig replied, though Arthur was half-convinced that he was making that up. Alright, perhaps 40-60.
"Besides, there are several benefits to the position if you are willing to listen," Eduard interjected, pushing his glasses up. Arthur remained stubbornly silent, so Eduard was forced to continue on, "For one, by any normal Watcher regulations, Jones would be slated for extermination by now. However, Ivan had been showing him special favor, so he has gotten away with much more than he should have. Now that Ivan is gone, he no longer has that protection in place."
Unless I step in, were the unspoken words. Arthur glanced over to Alfred's miserable face, giving the boy's hand a squeeze.
"In addition, you would get a stipend from the coffers of all the Watchers from around the world." Arthur expected Alfred's eyes to get a particular sheen to that. They always did when income was mentioned. However, he looked just as despondent. "Of course, there's also the immortality."
Suddenly, the vampire stiffened, his expression hopeful when he turned his eyes to Arthur. It was too much hope. Arthur couldn't let himself be careless with it. "Right, about that. What's the catch?" Arthur demanded, turning back to Ludwig. "Am I going to burn up in the sun? Only be immortal but not have immortal youth?"
"No, we saw no ill effects with Ivan," Ludwig replied shortly, "If there were any, he did not let us know about it."
Eduard couldn't help but butt in again. "It is more a matter of... Living too long, I think. You've seen Ivan. His thoughts, his reactions, they're... They weren't..." At this Eduard struggled to put his thoughts to words. After all, how did one really explain Ivan?
"If you're trying to say he didn't care about the world, that's not true," Alfred suddenly cut in. Arthur looked over at him in surprise. "He did care, a lot. Or else he wouldn't have been a doctor, trying to help people. He wouldn't have started the Watchers. He wouldn't have sacrificed himself to get rid of Vlad. He wouldn't... He wouldn't have kept his promise to me to keep Arthur safe..." he added softly, eyes falling to his hands. "It's so hard to care that much, when everything around you dies. All the time. I think he kept trying to be detached because it was too painful otherwise."
"Alfred..." Arthur murmured, astonished. It did... make sense. Of course, it would be another immortal who understood Ivan's perspective.
Toris finally broke into a small smile. "Now I think I see why Ivan showed you special favor," he said quietly. "It is very rare to see any good from your kind." Alfred flushed at that, though his expression remained stubbornly sombre.
Eduard turned back to Arthur. "So, will you work with us?"
"I don't see how I really have a choice," the author growled. He looked to Alfred again, but the vampire gave him a tiny smile and a thumbs up. Well, nice to know that he had support at home, he supposed. "Now, exactly what am I supposed to be doing as the so-called core of the Watchers? You do realize that I have a day job I need to get back to. I'm fairly sure that my editors will be ready to hang me once I get back in touch with them."
Well, that was not entirely true. He was a writer after all. Their ilk was prone to be at the mercy of their muses. So they might forgive him this small transgression.
"Contrary to what you might think, the Watchers are not normally battling ancient evil overlords every few weeks," Eduard assured him. "However, there are several administerial duties that need to be taken care of. For one, you should visit all the other Watcher groups. You will also need to assist with recruiting efforts and bolstering the Watchers' finances."
Like hell Ivan actually did any of that, Arthur thought indignantly. If they thought he was going to be some pushover, they were very sadly mistaken.
"Regardless," Ludwig said, "I will get in touch with the other Watchers to at least let them know what has happened." He gave Eduard a hard look. "However, we all need some time off." The Captain rose from his seat and gave Arthur a nod. "Thank you for letting us stay. I will make sure that we leave in the morning." With that, he and Toris picked Eduard up and helped him back upstairs to the guestroom, leaving Arthur and Alfred alone together.
The author let out a long, shaky breath. "So..." he said softly, looking over to his boyfriend, "this immortality thing. How do you go about it?" He honestly expected something like a giddy laugh, some poignant thoughts on life or the universe, a declaration of unending love.
However, what he got instead was Alfred grabbing his shoulders and giving him his most serious expression. "Write a shit ton of books. Make millions of dollars. Get a really, really good financial advisor. Because you're in it for the long haul."
~o~
A great sigh heaved out of the vampire as he stared at his computer screen down in his basement. He was back on probationary programming duty for his company. There had been no getting around the fact that he'd pretty much blown them off for months while he was steadily going under Vlad's control. Not that he could explain he'd been brainwashed by an evil overlord, so he'd cited personal issues at home and begged for his old job back.
Not that he really needed it. Arthur paid off the rest of the mortgage on the brownstone and he was making tons of money off of his new urban fantasy series. (Critics raved about the gritty realism.) In fact, he was off jetsetting around the globe, promoting his books and meeting Watcher groups on the sly. Leaving Alfred at home with more free time than he knew what to do with.
Honestly, he never thought that not needing to live paycheck to paycheck would be so... boring. He was little more than a glorified houseboy. It sucked.
It wasn't exactly Arthur's fault though. He was living better, not worse, than before Arthur moved in. Nor could he begrudge the work that Arthur was doing. Despite constantly moaning about what a terrible inconvenience this entire Watcher situation was, Alfred could tell Arthur secretly loved it. It brought out all the best parts of him, making him more passionate, more confident, more determined. Already he was making waves, lobbying powerful contacts for funding and backing, improving recruiting figures, upgrading all operations and equipment until the Watchers ran like a well oiled machine.
Plus the Watchers even brought Alfred back to being best buds with his old housemate again, when Kiku randomly showed up as a new recruit to one of the training sessions Ludwig was running. When they weren't at meetings, Kiku even came to the brownstone to hang out and play video games.
Still... It just... didn't seem like enough now. Like he was living only half a life. The sun was gone from him, which meant he went back to slinking around in the basement during daylight hours, avoiding crowds outside at night. Things were better.
But now he knew what he was missing.
Alfred frowned, trying to kick himself out of his melancholy. What should he be complaining about? He had a rich, immortal boyfriend who adored him. He was living comfortably for once in his undead life. He was actually making friends with some of the Watchers, like Kiku and Toris.
Still...
A sigh escaped him and he pushed himself away from his computer, too unmotivated to continue. Maybe he just missed Arthur. He never knew what to do with himself while Arthur was away. Where was he now, London? The author was probably having an amazing time back in his old stomping grounds. He had even raved about how the London Watchers were sooo much more organized and on top of things than the NYC splinter-group. Big whoop-de-fucking-doo.
His phone buzzed by his elbow and he eagerly snatched it up, reading Art at the top.
Alfred, I have a present for you.
Alfred frowned, letting out a huff of annoyance. Were gifts supposed to make him feel better about Arthur running off to where Alfred couldn't follow?
...Okay, maybe they would a little.
What is it? he typed in eagerly.
Come upstairs and see.
Eyes wide, the vampire all but dropped his phone and ran upstairs. He looked around the living room, the place void of people and the usual clutter of spellbooks, beer bottles and laundry completely untouched. He pouted.
Only to shriek a second later when two arms wrapped around his torso from behind. "Jesus Christ!" he cursed loudly, whirling around on his boyfriend who was howling with laughter. "I told you not to do that!"
"Sorry, sorry," the author replied, trying unsuccessfully to stifle his giggles as Alfred glared at him. Alfred had no idea why Arthur liked using his anti-nature to scare the bejeezus out of him. Seriously, why remind Alfred how creepy it was? However, Arthur was somewhat forgiven when he pressed a greedy, wanting kiss to Alfred's lips, stealing the very breath from his lungs. "I missed you..." he murmured, tracing his fingers along the vampire's jaw.
"Then don't leave," Alfred replied petulantly, which only gained him a pained look from Arthur. The vampire immediately regretted the words, though maybe not the spirit. "Sorry," he muttered, pressing a kiss to the Brit's cheek. "You said you had a present?"
"Is my presence not present enough?" Arthur asked, suddenly grumpy.
"Hmm, that depends..." the vampire said, giving his boyfriend a long, considering look. He wrapped his hands around his lover's waist, bringing the warm body closer. "How quickly can I get you into bed?"
Arthur's eyes sparkled with delight. "How quickly can you get your clothes off?" he asked, his fingers tugging at the vampire's belt. Pretty soon more clothes joined the ones on the floor and up along the stairs.
~o~
Afterwards, the pair of them curled up together in bed, limbs entangled underneath the thin sheets. Arthur's fingers brushed over his shoulder, tracing along the cool, smooth skin. "You're beautiful," he murmured, the words warming Alfred more than fresh blood ever could. The vampire smiled back at him, humming tiredly in response. Then a sharp icy chill went through him when Arthur continued, "I'm going to miss seeing you like this."
"W-what does that mean?" Alfred demanded, bolting up to a sit. Was Arthur going somewhere? Was he leaving him? He didn't find some pretty little limey in London that he liked better, did he? "Why would you miss me?!"
"Love, calm down," Arthur hushed, sliding his hand over the vampire's shoulder to pull him back down beside him.
"Then don't say stuff like that," Alfred shot back. Because seriously, why would anyone say something like that if it wasn't bad news? Sometimes he hated the Brit. It seemed like Arthur only lived to tease and torture him.
"Yes, yes, perhaps it was badly phrased," the author admitted, his cheeks heating. "But I do actually have a present for you. Just wait here." Arthur slipped out of bed and down stairs. It still unnerved Alfred that he had no idea if his lover was still in the house or not once he was out of eyeshot. For all he knew, Arthur was packing up his things and hailing a cab to get away from his clingy boyfriend.
Alfred let out a sigh of relief when Arthur returned to the bedroom. However, his eyes fell on the little velvet box in Arthur's hands, he stopped breathing all over again. Smiling, the Brit sat down on top of the bed crosslegged, holding the little box out to his lover. "This is for you."
...That didn't exactly sound like a proposal. Frowning, Alfred quickly took the box and flipped open the top. Inside, he found a ring that looked like it was made of polished bone. The vampire immediately recoiled from it, dropping the ring box onto the sheets as though it were a burning coal.
"Love, it's not what you think," Arthur said quickly.
"Oh yeah? Kinda looks like bone to me," Alfred snapped, his voice high and strained.
"...Alright, yes, it is," the author admitted, making Alfred let out a shrill laugh. "But, it's from the Urea Ring we recovered from Vlad. The Watchers have been studying it and they managed to replicate one of its effects. Just the good one," he added quickly when Alfred stared at him incredulously. "You'll still feel the Want, you'll still need blood. The original never took those away. Vlad had just masked it to use you. However, we can get around that. You have before, love."
"Wait, the good one..." the vampire repeated slowly, his eyes widening with realization. "You mean..."
A slow smile broached Arthur's face, his brilliant green eyes glowing with warm affection. "How do you fancy a trip to Bali with me? Fake passport courtesy of Interpol."
"Never even heard of it," the vampire breathed, before his own face broke into a shaky, elated grin. "Sounds awesome." He glanced at the ring again. "Does it really have to be made of bone? Because that's super creepy."
"Yes~" Arthur replied with a laugh, giving his lover's cheek a quick peck. He brought up the ring, holding it to the vampire's hand. "Welcome back to the sun," he spoke softly, slipping the ring over Alfred's finger.