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"What have you done to yourself?"
Tony jerked, hissing in pain at the movement. He needed to focus, on keeping pressure on the wound, on simply breathing in and out. Another vampire showing up was the last thing he needed.
"Unbelievable," Rudolph Sackville-Bagg scolded. The perfect picture of an aristocrat with an edge. A stark comparison to the blonde who wore faded jeans and a hoodie with holes. Pacing around the vampire hunter Rudolph stuck his nose up. "You're bleeding Thompson. Is it not unwise in a vampire-infested graveyard?"
"It's not infested anymore," Tony countered. Gritting his teeth as another nauseating wave of pain washed over him. "I didn't know there was so many, my mistake. Well," Tony managed a wry, split-lip smile. "My last mistake."
Rudolph stopped pacing, "darling. That's dramatic, even for a mortal."
Tony rested his head on a gravestone. Half sitting, half hunched. "If my imminent death offends you then you can always fuck off."
Rudolph tilted his head, smiling to himself. The thirty-two-year-old American never failed to amuse. "Charming as always. You've gone and created a mess again. The clans are in another uproar." Rudolph gestured to the pitiful piles of dust littering the graves and ground. "My father still wants your head."
Tony rolled his eyes, finding that keeping them open was getting damn near impossible. His fingers were starting to numb.
"Oh, you need to keep the pressure on."
Tony's hands were shaking, slipping in the cooling pools of crimson. It was hard, he was tired.
"Thompson, are you listening or have you gone into shock?"
Well aware that he couldn't even reach his other wounds Tony tried to at least keep pressure on his abdomen. Worried that if he didn't unpleasant things might spill out and start the vampire off again.
"Tony?"
A cold hand cupped his face, brushing aside blond bangs slicked with sweat. "You're dying..."
"Well, duh." Blinking continuously Tony could only see Rudolph's silhouette in the dark, cast against a backdrop of stars. Which was a shame, the vampire was nice to look at. But the blinking didn't help, things were getting fuzzy. "Hey, wait a minute. You can have my head when I'm dead. In fact, I'm flattered that it will make so many of you happy."
"It would not make me happy."
"Well, you're dad will get a kick out of it. A good laugh at least."
Tony stiffened as he was scooped forward into the vampire's embrace. "For the record, my father has no sense of humour."
Rudolph pressed closer to Tony than he had ever been. Revelling in the heat, the ever so slight jump in heartbeat.
"After all this time you choose to bite me now?"
Rudolph almost laughed. "You really do flatter yourself. There is hardly any blood left to take. The ground is drenched in it."
"Should have gotten here earlier then," Tony snarked. Unable to stop his head from falling forward into Rudolph's shoulder. Cold hands pressed immediately over his own, stemming the weakening blood flow.
"Yes, I should have."
Tony allowed himself to breathe in the scent, Rudolph never smelt of death or dirt. He smelt familiar. "It's not your fault," Tony slurred. Tounge heavy, "but this is nice."
The vampire scoffed, and Tony felt it through his whole body.
"The blood loss is affecting your brain. The man I know would never call a situation like this nice." Rudolph let one of his arms fully wrap around the bleeding blond. Carefully adjusting them until Tony's back was against his chest. "Although must confess... I have much desired to hold you."
Tony managed a weak laugh, "I knew it. I am devastatingly handsome after all."
"Really Thompson." Rudolph pressed his face into Tony's hair, overwhelmed by the souring scent of blood.
"For what it's worth I wanted you too." Tony didn't remember closing his eyes but they were closed. Still, he could picture the handsome face of the man above him. "Funny isn't it? Maybe in a different life."
Rudolph looked up at the dark star in the sky, weighing the option left open. "I can give you that life. If you'll let me."
"Rudolph," Tony drew in a long, pained breath. "I don't want to hurt people."
"There are many of us who don't. We can live without the blood of humans. You know this, you just like to argue and hunt us down regardless."
"Only the bad ones."
"Think of the time we have wasted. Think about what could be, the choices and the freedom to choose them. We could see the world."
"And annoy your dad?"
"Father cannot change what is in my heart," Rudolph assured. "They all know anyway. You cannot fathom how difficult family reunions are for me."
Tony chuckled, quickly choking on blood which was welling up from the inside. This was the moment. Now or never. With words too far away Tony focused on the fingers squeezing his own. Squeezing back Tony was limp as Rudolph adjusted them both for the final time, the bite never came but the blood did.
Droplets at first and then a cold wrist was pressed to his lips, Tony drank. Drowning on need and thirst. When Rudolph broke the bond, crashing tiredness hit, darkness was drawing in and Tony grappled for consciousness.
"It's alright, sleep now." Arms held him close. A kiss to his forehead. "When you wake up the world will be waiting and I'll be by your side, always."
...
With Tony safely asleep in his arms and wrapped in his cape Rudolph lifted them into the air. Away from the coming sunrise and back to his family home. Anna would no doubt be delighted, his mother would likely find it romantic. His father... well. Frederick Sackville-Bagg would just have to develop a sense of humour after all.