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On the early hours of the day Darlin had gotten out of bed –or tried to, at least– while Sam was still asleep. They didn't know what compelled them to get up this early to decide to do the lasting errands in the apartment before leaving for good. And they sure did not know what compelled them to not tell Sam that they were going out, to tell them to go with them. But Darlin just did those things, one after the other. And when they were out of the house the sun was barely even out, it was winter and it was very cold. Sam could come, but Darlin just kept walking.
It was a long walk, so they took the bus, and then the train. Darlin's apartment was in a bad side of town and it was one of the main reasons Sam asked to to live with him at his place. That, and the obvious elephant in the room that was a very traceable blood stain in the couch, and in the carpet, and it the floor, and in the whole place. Ugh, what an awful memory. When Darlin arrived the old apartment they felt quite nauseous but they'd forgotten to eat so there was that. They received a text from Sam as soon as they crossed the doorframe, the smell was less disgusting than it was before, but it could still be felt.
“Where are you?”
“Doing some errands. I didn't wanted to wake you up”
Darlin left the phone on the counter next to the kitchen, they knew Sam would start sending many messages saying how worried he was and how they could've tell him and he'd make them breakfast because he knew Darlin never had breakfast if he wasn't the one making it and how they should've be extra careful because of the Quinn situation.
The Quinn situation. They were getting really tired of the so-called Quinn situation, how they could not do a single thing alone for their own safety. If Quinn wasn't the coward and asshole he is he would've found them sooner. But he wasn't there, and he wasn't anywhere, nobody knew where he was or what he was doing. But he surely wasn't keeping tabs on them. Darlin felt like they were the only paranoid giving a damn about their feud. And it made them feel fucking stupid.
Darlin grabbed the last remaining papers and looked at their phone.
“You should be careful, Darlin. You never know what could happen if you are alone.
You should've told me I could've gone anyways, there's barely any sun out.
Have you had breakfast?
Obviously not, otherwise the kitchen would be a mess.
Tell me where you are and when are you coming back. I'll make you breakfast when you come back”
Darlin smiled, barely. And answer every single text with a sarcastic comment, just to tick him off. They were, partly, annoyed. Darlin was not used to being watched over or told what to do, when to do it and why to do it. They understood that Sam was only caring for them because he cared. But it still made them feel kind of annoyed at times, because of the lack of autonomy they felt they had.
Darlin felt a chill down their back, the whole place was cold, so cold it felt like they were actually outside. Darlin looked around, one window was broken, shattered to pieces actually. How did they not saw that?
“It was me, oopsie.” Darlin turned around abruptly, they could recognize that voice everywhere. It was the same they dreamt about in their worst nightmares.
“Quinn.” Darlin tried to make their voice sound deep but it came out in a whimper almost. There he was. Standing with his arms behind his back, looking at them as he always did, expectant.
“Darlin.” He almost smiled, but his expression was far from contentment. It was like Darlin's expression when they read Sam's messages, amused, but annoyed. “You...”
“You!” Darlin got ready to shift, even if they were scared. Scared because Sam was right at being careful, and yet again, they did not listened. They were scared, sweating cold.
“Wait!” He said. Over a year had passed, Darlin didn't knew what sort of things Quinn did or how much strength he had now, but by the looks of it, he was not well fed, he had black circles under his eyes and his body moved barely, loosing balance. What is this? “You really don't want to do that.”
“Why not? I almost killed you once. And you're here now.” Darlin's fear was being buried by their anger, it was so unfair that he was there and Darlin couldn't move a finger because of the shock. Quinn laughed, a fake, snorted laughter that was even sarcastic.
“You think you could've killed.... me? Don't be ridiculous.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck you right back.”
Darlin laughed, this was ridiculous, why hadn't they killed him by now? Instead they were arguing like two angry teenagers. Darlin looked at the counter, their phone was vibrating. Quinn looked at their direction as well. It was so definitely Sam. Oh God. Darlin aimed for the phone and moved as fast as they could, Quinn did the same, and they both fought for the phone until they both fell to the floor of the dirty kitchen. Darlin was holding the cellphone with all their strength, so was Quinn, and it was a push more from breaking completely. Quinn showed his fangs to Darlin, they immediately flinched, and back away. He was clearly surprised that worked, and got a hold of the phone, looked at the constant name calling.
“S, a, m, m, y. Hmm.”
“Give me the phon-!” Quinn pushed Darlin to the ground with his free hand on their chest, and his knee in their stomach.
“Calm down, or I'm going to bite you.” Darlin laughed. Quinn pushed his knee harder against their stomach and Darlin started to cough. “What is up with you? You've grown soft.”
Darlin didn't say anything, and instead attempted to bite Quinn, really leave a mark, like they once did, like he once did to them. Their teeth grew sharper and as they were touching Quinn's pale skin he backed away. Grabbed them by the neck of their black shirt, and pulled them away from him as his arm could. Darlin's head was almost hanging as they drifted their eyes from Quinn to the phone. He noticed. With one hand he broke their cellphone in tiny little pieces, all falling to the ground.
“You piece of shit!” They once again prepared themselves to punch, but Quinn tightened the grip on the clothing, and looked at Darlin with that same furious expression he once did the last time they saw each other. Darlin just stared.
“Let's do something right here and right now in this disgusting apartment of yours. A truce.”
“You are demented.”
“I am very weak, Darlin. I can't fight you right now, and by the way you're responding to my punches you can't do it either.” It was true, and they didn't know why their body had not cooperated, as soon as they saw Quinn, they just froze. “Until one of us leaves this horrid place, let's not harm each other. Okay?”
“Fuck you.” Was all Darlin said. And apparently it was a yes to him because Quinn loosened up their grip on their clothes. They were both pretty much in the kitchen floor, wanting to kill each other. “You broke my phone.”
“Of course I did. I don't want you to call upon your pack of dogs while I'm at this state.” He got up and went to the counter, resting his upper body in it. Darlin did the same on the other end of the kitchen, looking directly at him.
This was so... Bizarre. Darlin had imagined countless of scenarios where them and Quinn see each other again. They'd imagined he would find them thanks to a third party snitch, that the pack would've find him and bring him to them to beat the shit out of him. At the amusement park at night, making vampires his allies, during an exhaustive search for his whereabouts. Hell, Darlin even thought they would see him at the guys double wedding. Not here, like this. In their old apartment, cold and too weak too fight. Them too frightened and unprepared to kick back. It was almost embarrassing.
“You asshole.” Darlin said, because they had no idea what else to do, or to say, how to act.
“You brute.” Quinn said back, with a snobby kind of smile. “Do you have anything to eat in here? Besides... You know, you.” He didn't knew. Or at least, not until he really saw the place. Quinn was probably looking for them, following the stench of blood left behind the living room floor, had he thought they till lived there and came to find them? But why now? And why like this? So unprepared and careless? It wasn't like him. Darlin's head was going a hundred miles per minute. They couldn't understand a single thing that was happening.
“What are you doing here, Quinn? Did you already betrayed all your newby vampire friends?” Darlin crossed their arms and looked at Quinn directly in the eyes.
“The word "betrayal" is rich coming from you, dear. Considering...”
“Considering what? That you went insane and I had to do something about it for our safety? Is that betrayal for you?”
“Oh, you must think you did the right thing. Like you always do, Darlin always knows best, they always do the right thing, and I am just a monster. Is that how you see me?”
“That is not true.”
“What isn't?”
“None of what you said it's true, Quinn.” He looked at them and for a moment his angry expression soften in confusion. “I don't think you're a monster, you're so much less than that, I just think you're a leech and a rock on my shoe.” Quinn straightened up quickly, and smiled like he got the best news ever.
“Then why did you flinched just now?”
“I didn't flinch.”
“Yes, you did.”
“You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?”
“Is it not obvious? I was looking for you.” Quinn walked towards Darlin very slowly. “A little bird told me what have you been doing lately. Reconnecting with old friends.” Darlin looked at him on alert, preparing to attack, even if their hands felt numb and shaky.
“Who told you that?” They looked down to Quinn's hands as he got closer and his hands were shaking too. But Darlin doubted it was because he was frightened, he was very weak.
“I have my ways, people, contacts. They've also told me they've seen you around with a man a lot.” Darlin's eyes went to Quinn's faster than they could control. He had no expression at all, completely serious.
“You are such a cunt.” He turned around to face them, smiling again.
“Was that calling you him? I bet it was. He's so annoying, right?”
“Is that why you're here? To question me about my relationships?” Darlin felt suffocated by Quinn's sudden proximity and walked towards the window, feeling the cold air in the back was good since they felt their body heating.
“Absolutely not, God knows I'm the last to question that. I'm just having fun. I know this is not where you really live now, you moved in with him, how so romantic, Darlin. I hope you've gotten the domestication you so wanted.”
Darlin did not have the patience for this, they were having the most bizarre morning of their entire life, and that's saying something. This felt like a cruel, stupid joke on them. Having Quinn not only in front of them after months of night terrors about their meeting, but both of them being too weak to fight, and him throwing a tantrum now?
“What I really want is to kill you with my bare hands. Being malnourished makes you dumber than usual.”
“Touché.”
“They will come, you know? It's been hours and I hadn't answered their call.”
“They're babysitting you now? How depressing.”
Now Darlin was getting actually angry.
“I suggest you to leave before they made you their appetizer.”
“Maybe I'll kill them first. After I'm done feeding from you, what do you think of that?”
“I'd love to see you try, in the state you're on you can't even hurt a fly.” Quinn looked at them, incredulous. But gave up on keep arguing, and just rested his back against the wall. Darlin couldn't believe they were scared of the pathetic man in front of them. “Look at you, you're as violent like you've always been.”
“Oh, this isn't me being violent. You should have seen me months ago, I could've killed you with just one arm. And I'd do it now if I wasn't so... Weak” Darlin was looking at Quinn, thinking of all the ways they could just kill him, there and then, it would be hard without making a mess in the entire place. But Quinn had already broken the window, the floor was full of dry blood, so what did it mattered? They could just wait for Sam and for the others to come, he already knew where Darlin was anyway.
Last time they fought they both had been in a state of fury, not thinking clearly at all. Now he seemed the complete opposite, not even relaxed, he was tired and clearly hungry. Darlin knew how hunger affected a vampires instincts and senses, they were most definitely sure Quinn was trying very hard to control himself around Darlin and not hurt them right now. They were both in danger by being together in a room, completely alone.
There was a silence in the apartment, for a brief moment Quinn let his entire body rest against the wall next to the window while looking at Darlin. They paced around the same spot frantic. They couldn't let their guard down around him, even if Quinn seemed like he did, he was always nice before punching you in the face or biting you in the arm.
There was a sound on the door and the were both alert now. Somebody knocking.
“Darlin?” It was Sam. It was Sam's voice on the other side. Finally. No. Wait. What if Quinn killed him? What if Sam killed Quinn? Darlin couldn't run towards the door, Quinn could catch them, he was faster.
“It's open!” They said as loud as they could so Sam could hear.
It all happened so quickly. Quinn grabbed their arm so firmly and so hard it was going to leave a mark, most definitely, and bit them. Darlin screamed in pain and surprise, tried to pull away from Quinn's hold but they couldn't. Darlin started moving away but he just pull them closer and they used their leg to push him away. Finally, Quinn pulled back and left the same way he got in.
“Darlin!” When Sam opened the door, Quinn was gone, no trace of him behind except the bite he left on Darlin. They looked at Sam and his expression was of terror and fear, how bad did they looked right now?
“Sam... It's Quinn, he was here.” Darlin could feel their body losing mobility and their sight was hazy, they tried to stand still.
You're a wolf, damnit, you can take it.
“Quinn?! Now?!”
“Yes. Tell everyone that he's in town. Tell...”
Darlin could not take it, and they passed out.