A/N Disclaimer, I don't own anything, I'm just doing this for fun and to give Sookie and Eric the chance they never really got in TrueBlood. This will be a mix between SVM and True Blood. So someone that died in one might not die here, or some character might not even exist! You'll have to read to find out. Most chapters won't be this long in the future. Without further ado, enjoy!
"I can't believe I'm really doing this," I mumble to myself while I park the car in Fangtasia's parking lot.
I've never met a vampire before and now I'm just going into a bar owned and operated by one. I wish I could just go in there, meet my first vampires, dance, drink, party, and have a good time. I'm not here for fun though, I'm here to try to get information. My man whore of a brother has been taken in for questioning a few times to the Bon Temps police station because two women have been murdered. The problem is, he's slept with both of them. Like I said, he likes to sleep around, so pretty much any mildly attractive woman that goes missing in our town will have a connection to him.
The only other thing Dawn and Maudette, the two women murdered, have to connect them is that they were both recently bitten by vampires. Vampires 'came out of the coffin' a few years ago, a lot of people were scared when that happened. Not me though, I was excited, it also meant I wasn't alone anymore. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I'm a telepath. I've had it for as long as I can remember, and believe me, it might sound cool to be able to hear what people are thinking but it's not. It's a curse, I remember learning about sex by watching my mom fantasize about things she wanted to do with my dad that night, I was five. I wasn't able to keep the voices out until my senior year of high school when I learned to make shields. No one else has this disability so no one knew how to teach me how to deal with it.
Everyone thought I was a freak, including my own mother. She didn't know how to deal with me, I scared her. I think she kind of hated me, honestly. She didn't like feeling that way about her own daughter but she did. My gran was the only one who was always there for me, she loved me and did everything she could to help me and make my life easier. I went to live with her when my parents died when I just turned seven.
I shake my head, now isn't the time to reminisce, I'm here for a reason. I have to figure out a way to clear Jason's name. I know he didn't hurt anyone. My brother is a lot of things, but he's not a murderer. Plus he was devastated when Dawn died. I should know, I was the one that found her, and he was coming over with flowers to apologize for a fight they had. I heard it right from his head.
'Okay Sookie, you can do this.' I try to psych myself up. It's nerve-wracking, knowing I'm about to meet my first vampires. But like I said, I'm excited too. I take a deep breath, check my face in the mirror, and once I'm sure I look as good as I'm going to, get out of the car and get in the back of the long line.
I put my shields up as high as they can go because I'm not even inside and all I've heard is biting, sex, drinking, vampires, kinky sex, and more sex. I take a look at the clientele and see everyone wearing skimpy black clothes, there's a lot of leather and chains. Wow, I really don't fit in with my outfit, I'm wearing a white sundress with red flowers on it. Maybe I should go home and try another night when I can blend in more? No, I can't do that, Jason and Gran are counting on me to fix this.
I look to the front of the line and realize I'm seeing my first vampire. She's beautiful, and blonde, wearing a strapless leather corset with leather pants, she has a glow around her. I've never seen anything like it and she's staring right at me. I smile at her because it's the polite thing to do and she just looks away. I sigh, I realize I don't know anything about vampire etiquette. I'm sure it's different from humans. Well, I can't do anything about it now, I just have to keep going.
It takes a while but I finally get to the front of the line and give her another smile because I don't know what else to do. I'm really trying not to let my nerves get the best of me. She just looks at me like she's trying to read my mind, which is kind of funny when you think about it. I almost let my shields down to hear what she's thinking but decide against it and just wait for her to talk.
"What's your name, doll?"
"I'm Sookie Stackhouse, pleased to meet you," I say and hold my hand out to shake but she just looks down her nose at my hand. After a second I put it down awkwardly.
"Can I see your ID?"
"Oh, sure! How funny. Who'd have thought? Getting carded at a vampire bar."
"I can no longer tell human ages. We must be careful we serve no minors, in any capacity." She looks at my ID and then hands it back to me. "Twenty-five huh? Go on in sugar."
I give her one more small smile albeit slightly awkward and make my way inside. The first thing I see is a vampire dancing on the stage, she's moving sensually and every once in a while moves at vamp speed. It shocks me for a second because I've never seen that before. There's a gift shop with Fangtasia memorabilia, if I wasn't here for an important reason I might have checked it out.
I feel like this looks like what a vampire bar would look like if it were a ride at Disney World. I walk up to the bar and wait for the vampire behind it to come to me. He has long black hair, and his fangs are on full display.
"What can I get you, beautiful."
"I'll take a gin and tonic please." When he comes back with my drink I take it with a smile. "Thank you, how much do I owe?"
"It's on the house."
"Oh, uh, thank you. Do you mind if I ask you a question?" He doesn't respond, he just stares at me so I decide to take that as a yes. I take out the pictures of Dawn and Maudette. "I just have a couple of pictures I'd love for you to take a look at. Do you recognize either of these two women?"
"Yeah, I've seen them both here before."
"Great, thank you, and do you also happen to remember who they hung around with?"
"That's something we don't notice here. You won't either." He says with a dangerous undertone he didn't have before.
"Okay, then. Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time." I'm about to take the pictures back when he holds up the picture of Maudette.
"This one, she wanted to die."
"How do you know?"
"Everyone who comes here does."
I don't really know how to react to that so I thank him again for my drink, leave a tip, and walk away. I sit down at an empty table and look around. There are a few more dancers that I didn't see when I first came in, some men some women. There's a stage with what I could only call a thrown on it, sitting on the thrown is probably the most handsome man I've ever seen. He's a walking Adonis, he's tall with long blonde hair and blue eyes…eyes that are staring right at me. I blush and look away. I wonder who he is, his glow is brighter than all the other vampires I've come across tonight so far.
I take a few sips out of my drink and think of what to do next. I can't help but take another quick look at the man on the thrown, and he's still staring right at me. This time is different though, I feel almost like there's something almost pulling on my brain. It's a strange feeling that I've never felt before. I tilt my head sideways in confusion and look away.
Okay, I'm here for a reason, maybe if I talk to some humans I can find a regular who knows something? Or maybe a waitress, most of them are human. Yeah, that's a good place to start. I'm just about to wave one over when the woman who carded me walks up to the table.
"Your presence has been requested, sugar."
"What? By who?" I ask, dumbfounded.
"Eric, the owner of this bar." She turns and points to the man on the throne and he's looking right at me again. I feel a shiver of excitement but shove it down and focus on what's important. Maybe he'll have the information I'm looking for, so I follow her up to the stage. When I get in front of him I smile.
"Hi, I'm…"
"Sookie Stackhouse." Eric interrupts.
"How do you know my name?"
"I never forget a pretty face, you're in my vault." The woman vampire points to her head.
"Great, that's just great," I say kindly, if not uneasily, this is a lot to take in. I look to Eric. "It's nice to meet you." I hold my hand out to shake and he looks at it for a second then instead of shaking it, he grabs it lightly and places a kiss on it. I shiver, and not from the fact that his hand was cold.
"Well, aren't you sweet."
"Not particularly."
He huffs a laugh and turns his face to the vampire, I still don't know her name, and starts speaking in a language I don't know. She replies in the same language. He turns his attention back to me.
"Come, take a seat." He says while he waves his hand languidly over the smaller throne next to his. As I sit, some minds slip through my shields and I hear the jealous thoughts coming my way from all the customers. Apparently, this is not something that happens often.
"Miss Stackhouse, forgive me for saying this but you don't seem the type to come to a place like this."
"This is my first time here, actually." I look at the woman who's standing behind Eric. "You're the first vampire I've ever met." I turn my attention back to him, "I've come here tonight because some women were murdered in my town and they don't have much in common. One thing they do have is that they were both recently bitten by vampires."
"What stake do you hold in these murders?" He asks plainly.
"Well, the other thing they have in common is the fact that they both slept with my brother. I know he didn't hurt them so I want to do what I can to clear his name."
"Forgive me for saying this but from what I've seen, it is not uncommon for family members of criminals to believe in their family's innocents even when it is not true."
I feel my chin wobble and my eyes get misty and I have to stop myself from crying because I know that is normally true. But I know Jason isn't like that and I saw his face when he showed up while I was discovering Maudette's body. Those emotions couldn't be faked. So I harshly wipe away the stray traitorous tear that fell, sit up straighter, and speak with certainty.
"Yes, I know that's normally the case but I know that is not what's happening here. My brother is innocent, I have no doubt."
He stares at me for a long time, unreadably until he finally asks, "Do you have pictures of them?"
"Oh! Yeah, I do." I say while taking them out of my purse and handing them to him. I'm starting to get a headache from almost crying and holding my shields up for so long so I have no choice but to let them down and hear all the thoughts flood my mind. I realize that the vampires are blank to me. So before I think better of it, I say almost dreamily, "I can't hear you."
He looks at me strangely. "I didn't say anything."
"Oh, sorry."
He looks at me for a second longer before turning his attention back to the pictures. "They both offered themselves to me. This one I sent away but this one I tasted. I can assure you, she left the bar safely and satisfied." He says with a smirk.
"Oh, okay," I say with another blush. I'm about to thank them and say goodnight when I hear a thought.
'Where the fuck are they? Backup was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago! I can't handle a raid on my own, these fucking vampires would tear me to pieces.'
"Eric, we have to get out of here. The cops are coming, there's going to be a raid!"
"Tell me you're not an undercover cop." He says and I can swear I hear disappointment in his voice. He grabs my wrist and holds it tightly.
"I'm not but that man in the hat is." The grip on my wrist becomes softer and he uses his thumb to rub where it was gripped tightly.
"Even if you're right, we do nothing illegal here," Pam says.
I relax a little until I hear the thoughts of a man in a bathroom who's getting fed on by a vampire. "No, there's a vampire named Taryn feeding on a man in the bathroom right now."
Just then, police in riot gear burst through the front door. Next thing I know, Eric is carrying me bridal style out the back door. I hear him say something to the woman in that language that I don't know and she leaves with vamp speed. I let out a scream when I look down and we're no longer on the ground and hide my face with his chest when the wind becomes too much. He moves his hands around so he's more cradling me than carrying me. I think I'm in shock, that's the only explanation I have for not asking questions like where we're going.
"Shh, it's okay." He says trying to calm me.
I realize I'm shaking. I don't know if it's because of the cold or just the situation. We finally land about ten minutes later and about thirty seconds after that I get the courage to pull my head away from his chest. I don't know why but I'm not scared, maybe it's because I know I'm safe with him. It's probably a foolish thing to think about a man I don't know. No, a vampire I don't know, but I do. When I finally look around I realize we're in my front yard.
"How did you know where I live?"
"Pam's vault."
Oh, I guess that's her name. He puts me down and I feel a pang of regret at the loss of contact. I shake my head because that's ridiculous, I just met this man about a half hour ago. I take a few steps away to get some distance and clear my head. Is this what I've heard about? Is he controlling me with his mind? Is that why I feel like I'm losing myself in him and why I feel so close to him, so trusting of him?
"How did you know that the police were going to raid us? Sookie, what are you?" He asks, bringing me back into the moment.
"I'm a waitress," I say, avoiding the first part of his question although I don't think I'll be able to get out of this one.
"Sookie…" He says chidingly. "Do not play dumb with me. You knew that was going to happen before it did, and you were able to dismiss my glamour like it was nothing. Now tell me, how did you know about the raid?"
His glamour? Is that his mind control? So does that mean that everything I'm feeling is just me right now? I don't know how I can get out of this, and I already feel like I can trust him so I guess I just have to tell him the truth and hope for the best.
"I'm a telepath," I say simply and look away because I don't want to see the disgust or disbelief on his face that I normally see from people when I tell them.
He was quiet for a long time, so long that I look back at him and he has the face of someone with deep concentration. Eventually, he speaks. "You can't hear vampires, that's why you said that you couldn't hear me earlier."
"Yeah," I say a little mistified, no one has ever accepted the fact that I'm a telepath so easily. I guess it makes sense because he's different too.
Somehow, without noticing we moved closer together again, and at some point, he wrapped his arm around my waist and my traitorous body is happily leaning into him. God, what is this feeling I get being close to him? I can't explain it, and honestly, right now I don't care enough to think about it, I just want to enjoy it. So I lean more deeply into him. I've never been able to enjoy the touch of a man because touch amplifies my telepathy.
The farthest I was able to get with someone in terms of intimacy was a few kisses from JB Durone, he's a handsome man from my town that I went on a few dates with. He's sweet as all get out and dumb as a box of rocks and even his dirty thoughts were easy to deal with. I couldn't seriously date him though because like I said, he was not the sharpest tool in the shed so we had nothing to talk about.
"Miss Stackhouse, I enjoy spending time with you. I'd like to see you again."
I feel a blush come over my cheeks, "I think I'd like that too."
"I know right now you're focused on clearing your brother's name. I can help you if you'd like."
Oh wow, I'm the worst sister ever! I completely forgot about the real reason I went to Fangtasia tonight when Eric swept me up and flew me home. "How?"
"Well, you said the women were all recently bitten by vampires, correct?" At my nod, he continues. "Well it's simple then, we go to the local watering hole and flaunt the fact that I'm a vampire and we're together. You listen in, see if we hear anything, and go from there."
"Okay, that's a good idea. The local bar is actually where I work, Merlotte's. I have a shift tomorrow night."
"Good then, I'll come by after sunset."
"Wait, what about my car? I need it to get to work tomorrow and it's in your parking lot."
"I'll have someone drop it off. May I come in? I'd like to give you my number in case you need it or if your plans for tomorrow change."
"Sure," I say as I start walking to the door. "Wait, so the needing an invitation thing is true?"
"Yes."
"Can I disinvite you if I needed to?"
"Yes, it's simple though I hope you will not. There is a murderer on the loose and if you were to need help, I'd like to be able to get in to get to you."
"How would you know if I'd need help?"
"Well, that's something else I'd like to talk to you about…"
"Wait!" I say, cutting him off once I get close enough to the house to realize Gran is still awake waiting for me. "My Gran is awake, so if you come in you'll have to meet her."
"Will it be a problem that I'm a vampire?"
I giggle, "Only for your patients, really. She'll ask you a million and one questions, probably starting with where you were during the civil war."
"She will not be scared of me?" He sounds genuinely confused by that thought.
"No, she's been wanting to meet a vampire since yall first let yourselves be known. It was actually her suggestion that brought me to your bar tonight."
"Well, I must remember to thank her then."
I feel a blush creep on my face again and after a second clear my throat. We're at the front door now. "So, what do I say to invite you in?"
"You should say, "Eric, won't you please come in and ravish my delectable self until the sun pulls you away from my sated body." He says with a leer and I feel my blush grow deeper. I roll my eyes and try to pretend like what he said didn't affect me as deeply as it has then open the door.
"Just give me one second, my Gran would tan my hide if I didn't give her at least a minute's notice about having a guest coming over." He just smirks in response and I run into the kitchen where Gran is doing dishes. "Hey, Gran…"
She cuts me off before I can finish, "Oh, Sookie! I'm glad you're home, did you learn anything interesting?"
"No, but Gran, I've found someone who might be able to help. He's just going to come in a second to give me his number before he leaves. I just wanted to let you know."
"Oh! A guest, how nice. But this late? It's almost three in the morning!"
"Yeah, I know. He brought me home. He's the owner of the bar."
"Sookie, is he a vampire?" At my nod, she continues, "How exciting!" She fluffs her hair and straightens her night coat, "How do I look?"
I giggle, she looks so excited. "You look beautiful Gran, like always."
She rolls her eyes and huffs. "Well, what are you waiting for missy? Don't leave the man waiting on the porch. Gosh, I wish we had some of those True Bloods."
I wince, "Yeah, me too." I open the front door, "Eric, won't you please come in?"
He gives me a smile that weakens my knees, but I ignore it and step back to let him enter. Gran walks forward with her hand out, ready to shake, and says. "Hello, Mr…"
"Northman, Eric Northman," he says and shakes her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Adele Stackhouse. Welcome to our home. I'm so sorry to say this but I don't have any True Blood to offer you. I must admit, you're the first vampire visitor we've had here."
"It's quite alright, Adele. I was a surprise guest, after all. No harm done." If he only knew, I know Gran, she'll be kicking herself in the butt because of this for weeks to come and you best believe she'll send me to the store first thing in the morning to rectify the problem.
"Well, I'm sorry all the same. Now, Sookie told me you think you'll be able to help with the problem my other grandchild has gotten himself into?"
I walk over to the end table we have by our phone and grab a piece of paper and a pen to give to Eric while I listen to them talk.
"Yes, I think I might be able to offer at least some assistance. I am in charge of the vampires around here, so if humans are disappearing with attachments to vampires, it's my duty to fix the problem as soon as possible. Even though it wasn't a vampire who did the crime, the public will still use this as ammunition against vampires." He scribbles down his number and hands the paper back to me.
"If you don't mind me askin', how are you sure that it wasn't a vampire who did the attack?"
"Were the humans drained of their blood?"
"No"
"Then it wasn't vampires. Forgive me for being harsh but most vampires are better at cleaning up their messes. Unless it's some wet behind the ears newborn and if that's the case, they'd be drained too."
Eric looks surprised when Gran's only response is "Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. Can I ask you a question?"
"You may."
"Where were you during the civil war?" I can't help but chuckle, and Eric looks at me with a smirk.
"I assume you mean the American Civil War, I was in my homeland actually. I hadn't been there for almost three centuries before that and decided it was a good time to show it to my progeny."
"Three centuries? Dear lord, I have so many questions how old are you then? And where is your homeland?"
I'm just as interested in the answers as Gran is and was also wondering what a progeny was in terms of vampires but I didn't want to bombard him with questions when he was doing us a favor.
"Come on Gran, you know I'm mighty interested in the answers to your questions too but Mr. Northman is doing us a favor, he didn't sign up to be interviewed too."
"Oh dear me, you're quite right, Sookie. I'm sorry Mr. Northman, I let my excitement get the better of me."
"It's quite alright Adele, they're actually a lot more interesting than the questions I normally get. I don't know exactly how old I am, you lose track after a while but I know I'm a little over 1000 years old. My homeland is what you call Sweeden today."
"Oh my, over a thousand years old, I can't even imagine! The things you must have seen in your time." Grand says, astounded.
"Wait, Sweeden a thousand years ago? Isn't that the time of the Vikings?"
Eric smirks at me before he responds, "Yes, it was."
I wait a few seconds for him to elaborate but he doesn't. "I'd really like to hear more about that, Eric. But right now, we've been distracted. We have to focus on clearing Jason's name." I look at Gran, "Tomorrow, Eric is going to meet me at Merlotte's and we're going to let it be known he's a vampire and we'll make it seem like we're a couple. Then I'll listen in to see if I hear anything incriminating from the patrons."
"That's a great idea, Sookie!"
"It was actually Eric's idea, Gran."
Thank you so much, Mr. Northman! You don't know what this means to me. Those two are my babies and I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to them."
"Please Adele, call me Eric. It's no problem at all, Mrs. Stackhouse. I'm happy to help, especially because it gives me more time to be around your lovely Sookie here." He says, gesturing at me, which makes me blush.
Gran just gives us a knowing look but doesn't comment anymore on it. Instead, she stands up and holds her hand out for Eric to shake. "Well, thanks all the same Eric. Now, if you'd excuse me, it's way too late at night for an old lady like me. Please, feel free to come by tomorrow after your mission, I'll make sure to have True Blood for you." She says, confirming my hypothesis about being sent to the store first thing tomorrow.
Eric stands up and instead of shaking her hand, he kisses it like he did to me earlier tonight. It makes Gran blush. "Of course, I'll stop by. See you then Adele."
She smiles again then turns around and makes her way back to her room for the night. I look at Eric, suddenly feeling shy because we're alone again. I let out a poorly timed yawn, I guess I'm getting pretty tired too, "Well, thank you again for taking the time and answering some of Gran's questions. I'm sure if you come by tomorrow she'll have a notebook full of many more, ready to ask you."
Eric chuckles and the sound makes me all tingly. The way he's looking at me right now makes me feel I'm the only woman in the world. Or I'm the only one that matters to him, anyway. It makes me shiver in the best way possible. "Well Miss Stackhouse, this was certainly an interesting night. I'll let you get some rest as well, I cannot wait to see you tomorrow."
"Thanks, Eric. It was nice meeting you." I respond, not knowing what to say.
'Nice' didn't feel like enough to encompass the emotions I've had since meeting him. I hold out my hand to shake as a goodbye. Instead of shaking, he grabs my hand and pulls me willingly into his arms. I sink into his hold and enjoy the feeling of being in someone's arms and not being bombarded with their thoughts. After a few seconds, I start to pull back when his grip around my waist tightens. I pull my head back to look at him questioningly. When we make eye contact his grip on my waist turns into a caress and he leans down slowly, obviously coming in for a kiss.
He's moving slow enough that I could turn my head or tell him to stop if I wanted. After a few seconds of thought, I decide I don't want to, so I close my eyes and lean in. His lips were sure and intense, much like himself. It started innocent enough until he pulled me hard up against him and I let out a gasp at feeling his hard muscles, everywhere. When I gasped his tongue darted into my mouth and he started exploring. I tentatively join in, I've kissed a few men in my time but not many French kisses. It wasn't long before I got more sure of myself though, so I join in with gusto.
After a while, I don't know how long because I got lost in the kiss for a bit, I realize his hands are moving around to places I'm not quite comfortable with. Especially with someone I just met a few hours ago. So I go to move my hands to his chest to push away when I realize they're already there. Wow, seems like I was doing some exploring myself without even realizing it. Wowza, this man has an amazing chest, so firm. Maybe I should move my hands to his butt, that looked award-winning. I mentally shake my head, focus Sookie, and push away from him. When I pull back he's looking at me with a stupid, sexy, smirk. I'm about to tell him we have to slow down when he cuts in.
"It has been quite an enjoyable evening Sookie, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."
I'm still a little airheaded from the amazing kiss so all I can do is nod my head dazedly. He smirks again then bends down and gives me another quick, but just as passionate, kiss then uses his vamp speed to leave. I stand there for a few seconds dumbstruck, then shake my head and head upstairs to get ready for bed. It's really late, I'll save my shower for the morning. So I brush my teeth, get into my pajamas, and fall on the bed. I think I fall asleep before my head hits the pillow.
A/n: Please, let me know what you think! I know this fandom isn't as popular as it used to be so I'd like to know if anyone reads this!
