Chapter Text
The sound of the manor door slamming open startled all from what they’d been previously doing, including Jesse. He’d been sleeping in Valentine’s room most of the day, having nothing better to do. Well- besides hunt vampires, but he hadn’t been doing that much lately, per Valentine’s request. Jesse sat up with a groan, lifting a hand to run his fingers through his messy curls. He simply threw on his coat, as he hadn’t changed out of his hunting gear before falling asleep. Jesse had a feeling Valentine wouldn’t be too thrilled about that.
As he stepped out of the room, he’s met with the sound of several voices fussing and freaking out. He stood at the top of the stairs. Placing a hand on the railing, he looked down to see what the commotion was. There stood Valentine by the doors, surrounded by several fledglings. Jesse’s eyes widened at the sight. Valentine was bleeding. His vest was stained crimson around the stomach, and blood seeped from his lips and nose, pooling at his chin and neck.*
“ENOUGH!” Valentine suddenly snarled, voice booming through the large lobby. “LEAVE ME ALONE.” He narrowed his eyes and pushed past the other vampires. He stormed up the stairs and past Jesse, not even bothering to spare the man a glance.
Jesse stared dumbfound at the door of the room Valentine had entered, watching the closed door as if something new might happen. Eventually, he sighed and stepped forward, reaching a hand out towards the knob. Surprisingly, it opened. Jesse stood in the door, locked on the sight of Valentine viciously trying to undo the buttons of his vest, only to fail miserably and let out a string of curses in Italian.
“Go away!” The count hissed, head whipping up to scold what he expected to be a fledgling, only to be met with Jesse, staring at him with concern in his eyes. Valentine frowned and looked back down. “You should leave. I look like an utter fool.”
“I ain’t gonna do that, Val.” The hunter shot back, brows furrowing in irritation. Despite how often Valentine wanted to help him, the other never wanted help himself. It was infuriating. Jesse sighed and crouched down in front of Valentine. He lifted his hands as he began to slowly undo the buttons of the vest and the blouse underneath.* “You fucking dumbass, how’d this even happen?”
Valentine let out an irritated sound, like he was being inconvenienced by Jesse’s attempt to help. He was silent for a while, before he finally spoke up. “A hunter had snuck up on me. He’d tried to pierce my heart but missed when I struggled and instead pierced my stomach.” Valentine seemed embarrassed by the fact he’d actually been hurt. Much less by a human of all things.. he explained his other injuries after much coaxing from Jesse. Cross-shaped burns on his arms and neck, a nosebleed, and a cut on his tongue from accident biting it while fighting.
Jesse sighed and stood up. He left the room, only to return minutes later with medical supplies and a damp wash rag. Valentine tensed as he watched Jesse, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t need help. It’ll heal in a few days time.” Jesse didn’t seem to listen, instead focused on cleaning the bloodied wound on Val’s torso. He sat up and wiped away the blood on the vampire’s lips and nose, which had already begun to dry.
“And here I thought you were meant to kill me.” Valentine mused, tilting his head, only to wince in pain from the burn. Jesse frowned and stood up, grabbed Valentine by the chin, and tilted the man’s head back to get a good look at the burns. He made a small “tch” sound and sighed. “Just be quiet. I don’t have to help you. I just am.”
Val scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Delightful.. my knight in shining armor has arrived..” despite his complaining, he sat through Jesse’s care, wincing every so often as the man applied cream to the wounds then wrapped them. Eventually, he was all patched up, much to his dismay and insistence that he didn’t need bandages. Valentine just huffed and muttered a begrudging “thank you..”
The vampire watched as Jesse put away the supplies. As the man turned to leave the room for the last time, Valentine grabbed Jesse’s arm with surprising strength. He stared up at him rather pathetically if you were to ask the hunter. “..Don’t go…” “please- stay with me…” Jesse blinked in shock as Valentine proceeded to pull him back and haul him onto the bed. The vampire pushed Jesse against the pillow and crawled on top of him. He placed his head on Jesse’s chest and let out a content sigh.
“Pathetic leech.. thought you wanted me to leave you alone.?” Jesse teased, tilting his head to the side as he stared down at Valentine. “Silence, Caro.. just- just let me have this..” Jesse chuckled and placed a hand on the small of Valentine’s back. He remained silent and almost completely still as the other lay on top of him. Valentine soon fell asleep, Jesse following soon after..