Chapter Text
Tony likes to think that everything is falling to place, that his friendship with Rudolph and his family will last forever, that he will continue to have adventures on every night of his life. But the truth comes crashing down on him on a sunny Saturday in the morning, Tony and his parents were having bratwursts for breakfast, when he nearly choked on milk, a phantom ache enveloping his chest and stomach.
"What?"Exclaims outraged "Why do we have to leave on monday?" Tony could hardly believe it! He's never been so happy in his life and now he has to leave the source of that happiness!
"We know Tony, but your father and I just recived a job offer we can't miss, we have to move to another city and everything, and you know that takes time and you'll need a new school" Explains Miss Thompson, with a calming tone, she knows how hard it must be to Tony, he never had too many friends, and now that he's made one he's forced to leave him behind.
"But I dont want a new school, and I dont want to go anywhere!" He doesn't want to cry in front of his parents but he can feel the itchiness on his throat and the warmth of tears on his eyes, he forces himself to speak again "And we cant leave Rudolph and his family like this, they have nowhere to go and you know that the people here hate them!"
He knows he has no chance to win this argument but he tries anyways, Tony doesn't trust the couple that run the hotel, he believes that the moment the Thompson leave they will try to harm or throw out the Sackville-Bagge family, because they were scared of vampires and he can't let that happen.
"Think about it this way Tony, you'll have a new school and a chance to start over, have new friends, you know we can't be responsible for this, I understand you like them, but they're vampires Tony, vampires!" His dad talks as he can't really believe what he's saying "They could eat us at any moment, and even if they only drink animal blood as you said, they survived this long, they have to be able to take care of themselves and they don't need you to do such a dangerous thing for them"
"But I dont want to go anywhere and I dont need new friends, I already have one here!" He tries one last time for the sake of trying, but he knows there's no winning.
"You know we won't change our minds, so please just stop Tony, stop it's not like you won't be able to comunicate with him or write him letters" His mother looks afflicted, and Tony doesn't like that look on her face, it makes him feel guilty, so he slowly stands up and starts walking to his room with his head down, he ignores his father asking if he's not going to finish breakfast.
The moment he closes the door tears start falling from his eyes, he knows he shouldn't cry, there's nothing he can do, and he's only known Rudolph and his family for two weeks. Tony feels helpless, he doesn't want to leave the best friend he ever had.
He walks towards his bed and lies down ignoring the wardrobe he knows his bestfriend is sleeping in, and there's no way he's able to stop the little sobs that escape his mouth, impotence envelops him, and he wishes things were different, he tries to remain silent, Tony doesn't want to wake Rudolph, but it's already too late.
"Tony, are you okay?" He hears the slightly rough but smooth voice of Rudolph.
"I'm okay" He mumbles, but the sniff that comes after betrays him.
"Are you crying?" Rudolph asks softly, a small sob is what he hears as an answer, worried, he tries to open the wardrobe's door but he hisses in pain when the sunlight hits him.
"No, don't do that!, I'm okay" Tony tries to convince him, scared that the little vampire hurts himself, he dries his tears and tries to control his voice.
"Liar, I can smell your tears, what happened?" Rudolph asks, he sound genuinely concerned, a few moments go by without an answer, and Rudolph is tempted to try and open again the wardrobe's door, and just as he's extending his arms to do so, Tony answers with something that freezes him on the spot.
"Can you turn me into a vampire Rudolph?" Tony asks in a small voice.
"Well now, that can be arranged" Rudolph says in a weird voice, like he's trying to sound lighthearted but failing to do so. "But why? You can't mean that, you don't know what that means" Rudolph sighs his hand caressing the door longingly, there's no way Tony knows what he's asking for, Rudolph would give everything if it meant becoming human again, but if becoming a vampire is something Tony truly wants, then he'll be right by his side
"That you're free, that no one ties you down, to have adventures everynight, and to meet cool vampires" Tony answers, Rudolph lets out a bitter and quiet laugh at his naivety, and rubs his forhead.
"If you think for one second that our clan has no rules, you are very wrong, I've also lived more than three hundred years, and my parents still have the last word, I can play and fool around, but that doesn't take what I've lived, even if my brain is still the one of a seventeen years old boy because Im stuck with that mindset" He starts explaining, Tony forgot his tears quite a while ago, and he's attentively listening with his head on the feet side of the bed, staring at the ceiling with an arm under his head. "But most importantly, no blue skies Tony, no birds Tony, no flowers in the sunlight, just this constant night"
"Im sorry Rudolph, I didn't know" Even if Tony asked to become a vampire, he knows inside that he couldn't, that he's only upset right now, and if he did became a vampire with this mindset, he'll regret it in the future.
"I know, although being a vampire does have it's perks" Rudolph says with a yawn, he really should be sleeping now. "For example, we can take a flight tonight to cheer you up, and you can tell me what made you upset, okay?"
"Yeah, thank you Rudolph"
"That's what friends are for"
Tony knows this is not the end of it, that tonight he may end up crying again, and making Rudolph sad, and his family upset, but Rudolph is his friend, even if he can be a little whimscal, and they'll find a way, together.