Chapter Text
For once, Dark was relaxed. He finished his work for the day, and surprisingly, no one barged into his office with some nonsense for him to deal with. A wine glass filled with a good amount of blood was swirled lightly in his hand, and in the other was a book he’s been meaning to read. It’s what he deserved after all his tedious tasks.
His peaceful solace was short lived, however. It always was short lived.
“Dark?” Bim knocked on the door. “We need some help…”
With a heavy sigh, Dark let Bim in. “What’s the problem this time?”
“Uh, well…” He shifted under Dark’s emotionless gaze. “It’s that new guy, Eric.”
Immediately, Dark tilted his head and glared at Bim. “What did you do to him?” His new pupil was to not be messed with under any circumstances, not unless someone has a death wish.
“It-It wasn’t me!” Bim squeaked. “It was the Jims! They wanted to play a prank on Eric, and scared him with loud noises… now he’s hiding under the couch. None of us have a tiny bat form so we can’t get him out.”
“Where are the Jims?”
“I don’t know, hiding from you probably?”
Dark didn’t waste anymore time. He stormed out of his office, leaving Bim behind, and went to the living room to investigate. He’ll deal with the Jims later, no one escaped his punishments. Right now he had a bat to save.
Just as Bim described, there was a lot of chaos surrounding the couch. Dr. Iplier was crouched down looking presumably at Eric, coaxing the bat with reassurances. Wilford was shining a flashlight under the couch in a vain attempt to help. Dr. Iplier immediately straightened up when he noticed Dark. “Oh thank god you showed up,” he sighed. “I can’t get him out of here.”
No words were said as Dark made his way to the couch. Well, at least nothing was said to the others. He grabbed the flashlight as he looked under the couch. “Eric? Where are you?” Soon after he saw Eric’s handkerchief in a small heap. It twitched slightly upon hearing his voice. “You’re not in trouble, it’s okay.” A tiny head poked out from underneath the cloth, revealing Eric’s tiny bat form. Eric was more fluffed up than normal due to his cloth hiding space. If he wasn’t surrounded by his fellows, he would coo at the distressed vampire’s appearance.
A soft squeak left Eric’s trembling lips. He cautiously inched forward towards Dark, clumsily dragging his handkerchief along with him. Dark cast a quick, but stern look at the others. The silent command made everyone leave as soon as possible, though Wilford did chuckle at him and pat him on the shoulder.
“You’re safe now, darling.” His tone was much softer as he spoke alone. “Come along now, I’ll take you to my office.”
Eventually Eric crawled out and looked around, handkerchief held in his mouth. He didn’t protest when Dark gently scooped him up and held him in his hands. Hugging his handkerchief close, he curled up Dark’s hand and continued to shiver. In his bat form, Eric was no bigger than Dark’s palm, easily one of the tiniest bat forms amongst the egos. Undeniably adorable, but Dark wouldn’t say that out loud.
The trip to his office was quiet. When Dark closed the door behind him, he made his way to his desk and placed Eric on it. The bat squeaked quietly into his handkerchief, looking anxiously at Dark as he gazed at his scared form. Dark’s expression was often unreadable, but now Eric could have swore he saw a hint of sympathy.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
Instead of a tiny bat sitting on the desk, Eric changed forms and sat hunched over, legs dangling off the table. Dark didn’t protest his position.
“Th-The Jims… they - they snuck up behind me and, um, and they scared me,” Eric instinctively hid the scar on his neck, fingers twitching as they touched the ridged marks. He retracted his hand away as if he was shocked, instead using his hand to clutch at his handkerchief. “I’m… I’m sorry…” he said with his head hanging low.
“There’s no need to apologize.”
He kept his head down as he desperately fought away tears, shaking his head slightly at Dark’s comment. He shouldn’t have been so scared, so pathetic. How dare he cower in Dark’s presence and waste his time?
“If it’s any consolation,” Dark started, “I will be talking to the Jims later today about their behaviour.” Eric stayed silent at his comment, now pulling at his handkerchief. Dark’s eyes softened ever so slightly, but the gesture went unnoticed. Various words and sentences buzzed in his mind, yet none of them seemed right for his new pupil. He mindlessly glanced at the scar peeking above Eric’s shirt collar, commenting to himself how new the marks looked. A freshly born fawn sat before him, and it felt like it would take an eternity to teach him how to stand.
“Dark…” Eric’s weak voice started, “I can’t, um, I-I can’t-” His voice cracked and interrupted his thoughts. Quiet sobs were the only sound within the otherwise silent office.
The sound rang in Dark’s ears and made him frown. “You can’t what, darling?” His voice was uncharacteristically soft as he stepped cautiously closer to Eric. The younger vampire flinched when he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, but Eric tried his best to relax soon after, though Eric was still shivering profusely.
“Can’t… c-can’t…” Coherent words barely left his lips. He took off his glasses in haste and buried his face in his handkerchief.
“Take your time,” Dark softly cooed, “It’s okay.”
Dark’s form was blurry from the tears, but Eric peeked up from his handkerchief. Through his unfocused gaze, he managed to see glimpses of Dark’s worried expression. “I can’t - it-it’s too much! Everything… it’s too much…”
“I understand. This is a hard environment to get used to.”
Eric whimpered, tongue tied. The scared, innocent look he gave Dark was enough to make any monster pity him. It was a look that made Dark feel more man than monster.
“Everyone is afraid when they first change,” Dark continued. “It’s a normal occurrence. Why, I remember being afraid when I was your age.”
“Really…?” Eric sniffled, disbelief clear in his frail tone. “Um, when - when did that happen?”
Dark pondered for a moment before shrugging. “Sometime in the 1920’s. This is going to be a slow process, but I’ll be with you every step of the way.” He reached over to his desk and picked up his leftover wine glass of blood, offering it to Eric. “You should drink.”
When Dark said that Eric realized he was starting to feel hungry. However, his shaky and unsteady hands made holding the glass a difficult task. Good thing Dark kept a firm grip. As the blood shook within the glass Eric retracted his hands again and placed them firmly on his lap. “Sorry,” he murmured.
“It’s alright.” Dark, instead of putting down the glass, reached over and held Eric’s hand to guide it towards the drink. Eric’s hand was still shaky, but Dark managed to help him until he could put the glass to his lips. “I’ll always be here to help.”
Eric drank a good amount of blood before pulling away. Dark’s words resonated with him, echoing in his mind. He has never heard such words before. “You promise?” He looked up at him with hopeful eyes, utterly surprised when he saw him nod back.
“You have my eternity.”