Chapter Text
Daniel woke up with the feeling that he’d been put through a woodchipper and hastily glued back together afterwards. His head was pounding, his vision was swimming, his entire body felt weak and cold, and more than anything, his neck hurt.
As he stared at the ceiling, trying to refocus his eyes while everything spun around him, he brought a shaky hand up to the right side of his neck. He sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers brushed the wound, every touch like an electric shock to the broken and frayed nerves there. As he felt around a little further though, it wasn’t the wound he was touching, it was a bandage.
“Don’t touch that, you will make it worse.”
Daniel went to turn his head to the side to find the voice, but let out a pained cry at the motion. He squeezed his eyes shut against the nausea that rose up and tried to stay still until it passed.
The voice tutted at him in disapproval and Daniel scrunched his eyebrows together as he slowly reopened his eyes. Through blurry vision that was steadily getting clearer, he recognized the face that was leaning over him.
“Armand,” He rasped out, eyes widening as he realized just how raw and broken his voice was.
How long had he been out? Was he still at their apartment? What had happened? Why did it feel like there was a large chunk taken out of his neck?
Louis.
Louis had…What? Bitten him?
Daniel’s breathing started to pick up as the panic set in, but he was in no state to sit up, much less run.
“No, no, no, no,” Armand rushed to shush him. He placed a cool hand on Daniel’s wrist. “Rest.”
And the world slipped away from him again.
– –
The next time Daniel opened his eyes, his vision was substantially clearer, and the pain less intense. Still very much there, but he found he was able to push himself slowly to a sitting position to lean against the headboard of the bed he was in.
“Fuck,” Daniel groaned at the ache that seemed to permeate every inch of his body. As he fought to conjure up memories to explain what he was feeling, he took stock of the room he was in.
His room.
Daniel was at his own apartment.
“What the fuck?” He muttered under his breath. Daniel rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before maneuvering himself to the edge of the bed, where he could attempt to stand up.
And stand up he did, though taking a step forward sent him stumbling into his small bookshelf, which then toppled to the ground, taking Daniel with it.
The door to his room opened, and Daniel’s eyes met amber.
“Are you trying to bring the whole building down?” Armand reprimanded him gently, bending down to pull Daniel up, handling him with far too much ease as he sat him back down on the bed. Armand then righted the bookshelf, setting about putting all the books back in their places.
Daniel blinked at him, head spinning. “Why am I here?”
Armand cocked his head at him. “In your home?”
Daniel shook his head a little, hissing at the twinge his neck gave at the motion. “I mean, why are you here? I was at yours, then…”
“Yes, a week ago.” Armand said calmly, finishing up with the bookshelf.
“A week ago?” Daniel raised his voice at that, confusion and panic battling for dominance in his brain.
Armand hummed, not paying him much attention. “Are you hungry?”
“Wait, stop, hold on a second,” Daniel closed his eyes briefly, fingers coming to his temple as a headache started to form. He was hungry. Starving, actually. If it truly had been a week, he needed food. But he also needed to figure out what the hell was going on. “Did Louis-?”
“We can talk more once you’ve eaten,” Armand decided for him. “Your body can only heal so much when it's starving.”
It looked as though Armand had gone into a grocery store and bought the first things he saw. There were whole melons, bags of chips, three rotisserie chickens, an ear of corn, and a loaf of bread. Daniel lowered himself into the chair in his dining room and Armand stepped away from where he had been helping Daniel make the walk here.
Daniel glanced up at Armand, unsure what to do with the wide array of choices, none of which really resembled a meal.
“Eat,” Armand gestured to the table, seemingly unaware of the odd choices. “It’s all for you.”
Daniel didn’t have much of a choice, so he pulled a chicken towards himself, took off the lid, and just dug his fingers in. As he ripped chunks out and chewed, he noticed Armand watching him. Kind of intensely. But he was too hungry to care.
One rotisserie chicken, half a bag of chips, and a slice of bread later, Daniel physically couldn’t eat anymore. He sat back in his chair and turned to Armand. His brain was working again, now that it didn’t have to focus so much on his stomach. And something Louis had said at the bar, a joke made in passing…
“So when Louis had said at the bar that…That he was a vampire. He wasn’t joking.” Daniel didn’t phrase it as a question, but he hoped to whatever god was listening that Armand would refute the claim.
Daniel watched as Armand’s expression shuttered, cutting off any emotion he might have shown. Daniel recognized that look from Polynesian Mary’s. He thought it meant that Armand was angry.
Armand pulled out the chair next to him and sat, crossing his legs and leaning an elbow on the table. “What else did Louis say?”
Daniel shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He felt a little like a child being used as a spy between two divorced parents to fuel their arguing. “Not much, honestly. We never really got to the interview before…”
‘I know for a fact you play with your food.’
‘Well, I surely don’t have them interview me before I kill them.’
‘You want me to kill him? Fine!’
Daniel looked up at Armand with wide eyes, heart starting to pound in his chest. Those words wouldn’t make any sense unless… “You’re a vampire too.”
Armand sighed and reached out to Daniel, but Daniel stood up quickly, the room spinning around him at the movement. He grabbed onto the back of the chair for balance. “No. Are you going to put me to sleep again?”
Armand looked at him coldly. “Daniel, it’s for your own safety. You are far too injured to be moving about as you are now.”
“I don’t want you fucking around with my body!” As the words left Daniel’s lips, his body froze.
He locked eyes with Armand, whose expression was the same, calculating, yet almost bored. Daniel tried in vain to move his arms, his legs, his fingers, anything. They didn’t listen.
“Fuck, man.” Daniel muttered, the words coming out as more of a whimper than he would have preferred. “Please.”
Armand tilted his head at that. He paused, and Daniel’s eyes moved frantically over his face, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Finally, Armand spoke. “Say that again.”
Daniel obeyed without hesitation. “Please. Please let me go.”
“Hm,” Armand looked puzzled. With a wave of his fingers, Daniel could move again.
Daniel all but collapsed into his chair, chest heaving. That feeling was unlike anything he had felt before. He couldn’t fully describe it, the absolute helplessness, the panic. He never wanted to feel that again. After a couple breaths, he risked a look at Armand. “Uh…Thank you.”
Armand narrowed his eyes. He still looked like he was having an inner debate with himself, figuring out some complicated equation. His words sounded as sure as ever though. “You’d do well to remember your place.”
Daniel just nodded non committedly. His mind was still trying to process exactly what had just happened. He supposed it was only just now occurring to him that he was sitting across from an immortal monster and he was just some shitty little kid in comparison. A human.
Daniel should probably consider himself lucky that Armand wasn’t hurting him. At least not yet.
“Can I ask some questions now?” Daniel tried, after he had gotten his breathing back under control.
“I suppose,” Armand crossed his arms as he sat back in his chair. “Just until you need to lie down again.”
Daniel shook his head in bemusement. “Okay, that’s my first question. Why are you taking care of me? Shouldn’t you be with Louis, instead of with the human he tried to kill? That you wanted him to kill?”
“Firstly, I never said I wanted him to kill you,” Armand trailed his gaze down Daniel at that, and Daniel was shocked that he still preened at the attention, as if this wasn’t the vampire who had just taken control of his body against his will. “I didn’t want him to reveal his nature to you.”
“Why? If he was just going to kill me anyways, why does it matter?” Daniel wrung his hands together in his lap, shoulders hunching in on himself as he thought about how he could’ve died. Almost did. “Why not let me believe I’m getting some kind of exclusive that’s going to skyrocket my career before I meet my end?”
Armand tilted his head to the side. “You can’t really believe anyone would read that. At least not as nonfiction.”
Daniel ground his teeth together. He couldn’t deny that now that he was aware it was real, he really did want to interview them. Daniel really did want to get the full story. Wanted to write it down, get the facts straight, release the truth into the world. “That’s not the point.”
Armand titled his chin up, looking at the ceiling as he considered his words. “I knew Louis didn’t want to kill you. That’s why.”
Daniel paused. That didn’t make any sense. “What do you mean? He did try to kill me.”
“Yes, but that was to spite me.” Armand waved his hand in the air absentmindedly, as if that wasn’t important. “Louis saw something in you. And had no problem telling me just how much more he liked you compared to me.”
Daniel was at a loss for words. His lips parted, but he didn’t know what to say. “What?”
Armand hummed. “It confused me as well. So that is why I am here. To find out what makes you…How did he put it? Fascinating.”
“But I’m-...I don’t-...” Daniel stumbled over his words as he struggled to comprehend the fact that Louis thought he was fascinating. Him? “But I’m not…Anything. That can’t be true.”
Armand leaned his cheek on his hand, eyes not leaving Daniel’s. “128 boys he’s brought to that apartment.”
Daniel gaped at that. He was pretty sure Louis had told him 5. But he guessed with the whole vampire thing, it made more sense that way. “Why me?”
“Precisely,” Armand said pensively. “Why you?”
They sat for a moment, just looking at each other. Daniel found himself drawn to the color of Armand’s eyes again. They were definitely orange, though there was a darker ring around the edges. If he really focused Daniel could almost see small specks of..Was it gold?
Armand abruptly stood up. “It’s time for you to rest.”
Daniel couldn’t stop himself from flinching back at the word. “Not like-”
“No,” Armand looked a bit amused at Daniel’s reaction, as if he enjoyed the power he had over him. As if it reassured him. “Not if you go willingly.”
Daniel sighed through his nose in defeat and accepted Armand’s help to his feet. “If it’s just the bite to my neck, why was I out for a week? Why do I feel so shitty?”
Armand’s face twitched in distaste. “You are so eloquent with your wording.”
“At least I don’t talk like a fucking founding father-” Daniel shot back without thinking, then immediately bit his tongue. ‘It would do him well to remember his place.’ Fucking vampires.
Armand only scoffed as they made their way to Daniel’s room. “I am far older than the founding of America.
“To answer your question, it’s because you lost far too much blood. Remember, he not only bit you, he drank from you. Would have drained you if I hadn’t stopped him.”
Daniel tripped over his own feet at that, only Armand’s strong grip on his arms kept him upright. “You stopped him?”
“Yes,” Armand held Daniel up with one arm as he opened his bedroom door.
“Why?” Daniel felt like that was the only word he was saying today. But so much of this didn’t make sense. Not only the story itself, but the motives behind it.
“Because I have Louis’ best interests at heart,” Armand responded, as if rehearsed. “And as I told you, I knew he did not want you dead. I do what’s best for him even if he can’t or won’t do so himself.”
Daniel shook his head as Armand sat him on the bed, not believing what he was hearing. As he settled into the pillows though, he realized just how exhausted all the movement had truly made him, and he felt his eyelids drooping already.
“Okay,” Is what Daniel ultimately went with, more of a breath than a word.
Armand was tilting his head at him in that funny way again, as if calculating something in his head. “Sleep now. It is an important part of recovery.”
Daniel only hummed, closing his eyes without resistance, even with a monster standing over him. The threat was definitely still there, but he found it didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would.
Maybe he should be more concerned about that.