Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Hello everyone! I know this is a bit random but I’ve been itching to write with no ideas so I decided to start up this little whatchamacallit. Any and all requests are appreciated, as long as they are not NSFW. We don’t do that ‘round here. Anyways, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments! (Please give me something I need to write so badly please)

Chapter Text

Emizel laid uncomfortably on the cold pavement, curled up in the fetal position in a dark alley. It was pathetic, but he couldn’t help it. He was exhausted, hadn’t slept in days, and his stomach was in agonizing pain. He felt unbearably hot, thus his scalp and forehead were slick with sweat. He couldn’t tell if it was something he ate catching up to him or because he hadn’t eaten in a while, but it hurt. He could barely move, let alone walk. Any time he tried to stand, he’d just collapse from the pain. It felt like there were knives in his stomach, churning and cutting up his insides. He felt like he might vomit.
Next thing he knew, that churning seemed to rise in his gut, and out through his mouth. A heap of bile bubbled up out of Emizel’s mouth and onto the ground next to him with a disgusting belch. He retched as the awful taste of stomach acid filled his mouth, spitting and hacking up as much as he could.

All of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice from the front of the alley.

“Emizel?” Soda called, a hint of concern in his voice.

“Soda..?” Emizel said breathlessly as looked up and smiled weakly. God, it was so pathetic how he could only just lie there.

Soda’s expression softened, yet grew more concerned at the sight of Emizel on the ground. Without a second thought, he rushed to the blonde’s aid, lifting him up gently from under his arms.
“Dude, are you okay? You look like you’re about to pass out!” Soda said, wiping the sweat from Emizel’s forehead.

Emizel winced slightly as Soda lifted him, but he didn’t mind. “I’ll be fine, promise…” He groaned, clutching his stomach with discomfort. “Just a stomachache, haven’t eaten in a while, y’know?”

Soda’s brow furrowed. “The we’re headed back to the hideout and I’ll let you feed on me.”

“Soda, you don’t have to-“

“No talk backs!” Soda cut him off. “You need this.”

As much as he wanted to fight back and insist that he was fine, Emizel just didn’t have the energy for it. Reluctantly, he let Soda drag him back to the hideout.

-

Upon getting to the demon hideout, Soda gently laid Emizel down on the grungy couch they kept in the main room. Emizel’s breath was heavy, despite the fact that he was a vampire and didn’t even need to breath anymore. But somehow, it helped ever so slightly. He was still sweating like hell, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.

“Feeling any better?” Soda asked quietly.

Emizel shrugged slightly. “Eh, ‘s better than laying on concrete.”

Soda couldn’t help but chuckle. He left the room for a moment, then came back with three things; a damp hand towel, a bucket, and a can of ginger ale. He set the bucket down next to the couch, then gently placed the hand towel over Emizel’s forehead.

“It’s not much, but hopefully it’ll help.” Soda said, placing the can on the coffee table next to him.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” Emizel smiled softly. “Wanna sit down?”

Soda smiled. “Sure.”

Emizel sat up slightly so that Soda could sit down. Soda plopped down next to Emizel, who promptly settled his head onto Soda’s lap.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, simply enjoying each other’s company while Emizel would periodically take sips of the ginger ale Soda had brought for his stomach. Neither of them knew how long it had been, nor did they care, but Soda eventually offered his wrist to Emizel.

Emizel raised an eyebrow, but Soda simply held his wrist just above Emizel’s mouth.
“Go ahead, I know you’re hungry.” He said with a loving tone.

“Dude, I’m not gonna-“

“Just do it, you know I won’t back down.”

Emizel reluctantly grabbed Soda’s wrist and put it up to his mouth, sinking his teeth into the flesh as he began to drink.
Emizel was immediately soothed by the metallic taste of blood, almost losing control of himself after realizing just how hungry he was. The moment he swallowed, his raging stomach ache was dulled ever so slightly. He took special care not to take too much, if he didn’t, he’d probably beat himself up about it for the rest of his life. Once he was done, Emizel dug his teeth back out of Soda’s wrist, and licked up the excess blood that was around the puncture wounds.

Soda giggled and pulled his wrist away. “Ew!” He laughed. “Gross, dude!”

Emizel grinned. “Aw, afraid of a little spit getting on you?” He teased.

“Well how much would you like it if I licked you?” Soda retorted playfully.

“Maybe I’d like it. Do it, I dare you.” Emizel said with a challenging tone.

Soda grinned. “Bet.” Accepting the challenge, Soda leaned down and licked Emizel’s cheek. He sat up with a smug look of pride on his face.

Emizel chuckled as he wiped the saliva from his cheek. “Kinky.” He teased again.

Soda couldn’t help but get a little flushed, but snorted with laughter. “Dude, the hell?” He giggled. “Since when were you a flirt?”

“Somewhere between meeting you and realizing I like guys.” Emizel replied.
The two laughed for a good while, when all of a sudden, Emizel yawned. Soda took this as code for ‘nap time’.

Soda removed the now room temperature hand towel from Emizel’s forehead and set it to the side, gently stroking Emizel’s hair with pure fondness.

Emizel smiled softly. “Thank you, for everything. You’re the best.”

“It’s nothing, really. I do it ‘cause I love you, man.” Soda replied, still running his hands through Emizel’s hair.

“Love you too, dude…” Emizel muttered as he yawned and drifted off to sleep. He went out like a light, almost immediately emitting a quiet snore as he laid unconscious in Soda’s lap. Careful not to wake him, Soda leaned down one more time to give Emizel a soft forehead kiss. This moment was comfortable, peaceful, even. It left this warm fuzzy feeling in their chests that neither wanted to go away. Whatever it was, it was nice, and it’d be around whenever they’re together.

Chapter Text

Arthur had been a bit more distant than usual. He was usually quiet and stand-offish with everyone, but more so lately, which was a bit concerning to everyone.

Deacon had been particularly concerned.

They had been staying in a slightly dingy hotel for the past few nights. It wasn’t ideal, but it was enough to get by. Grefgore and the twins had been sharing a room while Arthur and Deacon shared another. It made it rather difficult to avoid each other, but somehow Arthur managed.

Arthur sat on one of the beds in the hotel room, gently petting Void as she purred. Deacon entered the room, sighing as he tossed his hat onto the table and plopped down face first onto the bed next to Arthur. Void was momentarily disturbed by this, but she seemed to get over it quickly.

“You’re back late.” Arthur said, taking note of the dark circles under Deacon’s eyes.

Deacon groaned with exhaustion. “Long night.” His voice was muffled by the mattress. “Bunch of damn teenagers were out vandalizing public property… took me two hours just to catch ‘em.”

Arthur suppressed a laugh. Seeing Deacon so exhausted, so vulnerable, was almost endearing. Though he had a certain disdain for how much he enjoyed Deacon’s company. It was that damned blood bond, surely. These feelings were artificial, right?
“I assume you have arrested these degenerates?” Arthur asked, lifting Deacon’s face from the mattress with his hand so they could look at each other properly.

“Mhm…” Deacon replied. He really did look tired, like he was ready to fall asleep in an instant. He seemed to relish Arthur’s touch, moving his hand up to his cheek and smiling into Arthur’s palm.

Arthur instinctively pulled his hand away. Deacon looked at the other vampire with slight concern. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“It’s fine…” Arthur shushed him. “I’m just… not used to affection like I used to be.”

Deacon frowned. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Arthur was taken aback by the question. Why was he suddenly so interested in how he was feeling? There was enough on his mind, and there was no reason to say it out loud.
Arthur stood up, Void leaping down from his lap. He was not going to spill his inner agony to a man who chose to ride a horse instead of using a car for travel.

“Where are you goin’?” Deacon sat up, watching as Arthur made his way to the door.

“Somewhere, I don’t know.” Arthur snapped. “I just need to think.”

Deacon wasn’t having any of this. He got up and grabbed Arthur by the wrist, staring deep into the his silver eyes.
“Arthur, you’ve been thinking for the past three days, what’s going on? Why won’t you talk to me? I just want to help you!”

“I don’t need your help, Deacon.” Arthur hissed.

“Why do you have to be so stubborn, dammit?! I care, can’t you see that?” Deacon raised his voice, but took a deep breath to calm down. “Just- just let me help you. Please.”

Arthur couldn’t help but feel moved. Deacon really did care, didn’t he? No, that can’t be right. There was a high likelihood that it was just the blood bond talking, but part of Arthur wanted to believe that Deacon cared.
Arthur was silent, suppressing any urge to cry in that moment. He wasn’t good at hiding it, though. Deacon seemed to pick up on Arthur’s need for comfort in the moment. He surged forward, wrapping Arthur in a tight hug.

“Is this okay?” Deacon asked quietly, tucking his chin in the crevice of Arthur’s neck.

Arthur stood silently for a moment, purely shocked. “Yes… This… this is fine.” He muttered, returning the hug hesitantly.

It was pathetic how much Arthur relished the moment. The feeling of Deacon’s arms wrapped around him made him feel content, like none of the awful things that troubled him ever happened. He felt like he maybe, just maybe, loved Deacon. The thought pained him, knowing it probably wasn’t real. But in a way that felt so out of character for him, he thought it would be nice while it lasted.

“I’m sorry I yelled. I was just frustrated, y’know?” Deacon said quietly, interrupting the peaceful silence.

Arthur made a noise of acknowledgment. “I understand. I apologize for my behavior as well.”

Deacon smiled softly. “Do you wanna talk about it now?”

“Hm. Not yet, I want to do this for just a little while longer.”

They stood hugging each other for a few more minutes, Deacon gently rocking them back and forth. Maybe it would be nice to talk to someone for once, Arthur thought. Maybe this blood bond wasn’t so bad. He hated that he thought that, but he couldn’t bring himself to be logical in the moment. He finally felt a reason to smile, and that was enough to cloud his judgment for now.

Chapter Text

Emizel laid sprawled out on the couch in the Demon’s hideout, as he had been doing so for at least two hours now. He had fed pretty recently, so he wasn’t too worried about eating any other demons for a while. There was no one around, everyone must’ve gone home by then. Emizel sighed and ran his hands over his face, the boredom was killing him.

Emizel was one of those people who couldn’t be left without something to do for more than thirty minutes, and even that was a stretch. So out of boredom, he pulled out his phone and began to scroll social media for a bit. He sat there for hours until his battery ran low, seeing posts from all sorts of people, but there was one constant in everyone he saw; they were happy.
Emizel didn’t usually think about it, but he wasn’t happy. He hadn’t been happy in a long time. Well, that’s not entirely true. Obviously he was happy when he was around his friends and all that, but he was never able to wake up in a good mood. Even when he was a kid this would happen, and it’s not like Jeffery was ever any help.

He came across one particular post that really did something to him. A video of a young boy and his father bonding over building legos of all things. Something about seeing that hurt, knowing he never had that. He held back any tears he would’ve let go, because of Jeffery ever taught him anything, it’s that boys don’t cry.

Emizel didn’t even notice him at first, but he eventually looked up from his phone screen to be greeted by the tanned face of his best friend, Theo.

“Hey man!” Theo said with his classic cheerful tone.

Emizel blinked a couple of times, he hadn’t expected Theo to be there. “Hey.”

Theo tilted his head a little. “You alright?”

“Yeah dude, I’m fine.” Emizel replied with a little bit of frustration. He hated when people asked him that question. “Why? You worried about me or something?”

“You just looked a little sad, that’s all.” Theo replied.

Fuck. Theo had always been really good at everybody’s emotions except his own, he was going to get to Emizel eventually.

Emizel sighed. “I’m okay, I promise.”

Theo narrowed his gaze at Emizel. He definitely knew he was lying.

Emizel shifted on the couch uncomfortably, averting his gaze from Theo. “Dude, stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Theo said with a little bit of false innocence.

Emizel gritted his teeth. “Like- that. You’re doing that thing again.”

Theo smirked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do! The—“ Emizel sighed angrily. “That thing where you try and get me to be all ooey-gooey and emotional just by staring at me.”

Theo shrugged. “Eh, it was worth a shot. It worked all the other times I tried it.” He chuckled softly. “Alright, scoot over. Let’s talk.”

Emizel reluctantly sat up to give Theo some room to sit down. Theo settled himself nicely next to Emizel, still looking at him with a smile. Theo was always good at getting to people’s feelings, he was like a professional charmer in a way. It was annoying how good he was at getting people to say things they didn’t want to say.

“So…” Theo said, a little awkwardly. “What’s got you down? You look like someone kicked your cat.”

Emizel sighed. “I’m just… thinking about stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Theo asked.

“Just- stuff. In general. Mostly how vampirism fucking sucks.” Emizel replied.

Theo nodded. “Gotcha. I am actually kinda glad you didn’t turn me, I don’t really envy you on that part.”

Emizel laughed a little, but there was no humor behind it. “No kidding.”

“Is that all, or do you have something else to get off your chest?” Theo said with a light smile.

Emizel ran a hand over his face and rested is head in his palms. He had so much to say, he just didn’t know how to say it. He tried to speak, but instead of words, all he could get out were little sounds of distress. He felt like an idiot, how pathetic he was for not even being able to say what was on his mind. He didn’t cry, though. Boys don’t cry.

Theo picked up on Emizel’s anguish real quick, and immediately wrapped an arm around his best friend to comfort him. He sat quietly as Emizel fought off tears, gently rubbing circles into the blonde’s shoulder with his thumb.

“I just…” Emizel muttered. “I can’t stop thinking about what happened… that night, what could’ve or should’ve happened. I’m- I’m a fucking failure. I always have been and always will be.”

“Hey, don’t say that about yourself.” Theo said firmly. “You don’t show it, but deep down I know you’re a good person. You’re my best friend, nothing will change that, not even vampirism.” His voice was soothing, but it wasn’t quite enough to calm him down.

Emizel shook his head. “I’m not. I’ve used everyone I’ve ever loved, I can barely see anyone as my equal anymore. It scares me, because what happens if I start seeing you that way, too?”

Theo pursed his lips in deep thought. “Then we fix it.” He said. “We find the root of the problem and go from there.”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know what the root is.” Emizel replied. “I just- I don’t wanna lose you too.”

“What do you mean?” Theo tilted his head slightly.

“You’re all I have left, man.” Emizel muttered, his voice breaking slightly. “I barely talk to the rest of the Demons anymore and my dad wouldn’t want to see me anyways. You’re the last person I know that means something to me.”

Theo’s heart was slightly warmed by the idea of being Emizel’s favorite person, but there was still a problem at hand.
“Do those other vampires you know not mean anything to you?”

Emizel was slightly taken aback by the question. “I…” He paused, unsure of what he was even meant to say. Those feelings were complicated. “I don’t fucking know, man.”

Theo nodded and gave Emizel a light squeeze. “I understand. Just remember that you’re my favorite person, okay?”

Emizel nodded slightly, leaning into Theo’s side. “Got it.” He let a single tear fall from his cheek. Pathetic. Boys don’t cry, Emizel.

“Do you want to talk more, or do you just want cuddles?” Theo asked softly.

“Cuddles…” Emizel mumbled, to which Theo promptly pulled him closer, and shifted to lay on his back so that Emizel could lay on his chest.
They laid quietly, wrapped up in each other’s arms as Theo gently stroked Emizel’s fluffy blonde hair. It was nice, this was nice.