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“How did you become a vampire?” It was an innocent question, born purely from the mortals' own curiosity. It was a question of only six words, but one heavy enough to cause Rudolph to nearly drop the blond into the forest from shock. He stopped, turning to look Tony in the eyes, the boy only gave him a confused look in return.
“Why do you ask?” Rudolph spat, still caught off guard by what felt to him like a sudden interrogation. Tony smiled, his stupid perfect smile that Rudolph loved so much. “Why wouldn’t I ask?” He said, a laugh light on his tongue. Of course, Tony would be interested in knowing. He wanted to know everything about vampires, especially the one whose hand he held as they soared over the tall expanse of evergreens surrounding the bed and breakfast. Rudolph looked down, digging a fang into his lower lip, thinking over his choices. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke, sighing and looking up to see Tony with an expecting expression on his face. “I’ll tell you, but not here. I must warn you. It’s not a happy story, mortal.” Tony frowned, then looked confused, and finally after a moment of consideration, his expression landed on a sympathetic smile.
“Alright, let’s go back to the castle.” Rudolph couldn’t help but smile back at him before turning to fly them back to Tony’s room. The flight back was silent, but inside Rudolph’s head fear was gnawing at him. He wasn’t lying that the story of how he became undead was one of sorrow and pain, he worried the mortal wouldn’t be able to handle it. It could be too much for him, what if it made Tony fear him as the realization that he was really, truly dead finally sank in? His nervousness did not go unnoticed by the blond though, who spoke, bumping his shoulder slightly to get the vampire’s attention as they landed on the windowsill of the dimly lit bedroom.
“If it bothers you, you don’t have to tell me-” He was cut off by Rudolph shaking his head and speaking. “No. No, I think it would be nice to talk about it. I haven’t told anyone the story in all the 314 years I’ve been alive.” He looked down at the floor, only letting go of Tony’s hand when both their feet touched the carpet. Pacing forward he started to recount the memory from so long ago. The memory, which should have been fuzzy and unrecognizable from time, was still clear as day in the immortal's head. The day he had become the monster he was today. He breathed out a sigh before speaking. “I lived in a small village, my mother was a weaver, and my father, a priest at the church.” Before he could even really finish his sentence, Tony was cutting in with a near shout.
“A priest? Really?” He looked astonished, like he couldn’t comprehend the possibility. Rudolph rolled his eyes at the mortals' over-the-top reaction to something so simple, suppressing a grin as he continued.
“Yes, a priest, my family was religious. Do you not listen when I say I’m over 300 years old? As I was saying, the village I lived in only had a population of about 500 people, only one being a doctor. And even so, when my family was still mortal, we didn’t have access to medicine to make us better when we got ill. So when Anna unexpectedly came down with what I later found out was pneumonia, none of us knew what to do.” He paused to take a breath, he could still see the image of his dear sister pale and sick in her bed. It was something he could never forget, fated to be seared into his brain for the rest of eternity. “We tried to treat her the best we could with the advice and help from the doctor, but soon enough, my mother had caught it, then Gregory, and then me.” Tony sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him, beckoning Rudolph to sit with him. He did and continued to speak. Tony leaned closer, listening intently to his story with a concerned look, trying to take in and understand every word he spoke.
“As I said, we were religious, extremely so. Everyone was at the time, so we prayed. And prayed. But none of us got better, so my father, not having gotten sick yet, decided to take it upon himself to save his family.” Rudolph shifted uncomfortably, wringing his hands as he spoke. “He had heard tales about a dangerous clan of vampires living some miles into the forest, in an old graveyard no one had visited in decades. He decided that night that having us live on as vampires would be better than losing us forever.” He smiled weakly and felt the sting of tears in the back of his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to blink away the feeling. Tony cautiously set his hand over Rudolph’s who, with his fingers tingling from the warmth, flipped his hand to hold Tony’s. It was a small gesture of comfort, but it still made Rudolph’s chest ache from the tenderness of it.
“He came back two days later to find my mother, Anna, Gregory, and I verging on the end stages of the disease. He tried to assure us that it would be alright, that we wouldn’t have to worry about being sick soon enough. But of course, prayers for health couldn’t help him for long, and soon enough he too started to succumb to the illness as well.” Rudolph felt a tear start falling down his face, but before it could reach his chin he felt Tony’s warm hand run across his cheek, wiping it away. He leaned into the touch, practically falling against Tony’s shoulder.
“A week later, the clan finally came after nightfall, but they were almost too late. My mother, my father, Anna, Gregory, they were all gone. They had been for a day, maybe two. I was too sick and weak to really tell. They came into our home, speaking a language I couldn’t understand at the time, and surrounded my loved ones, biting them one by one. When they got to me, I was too scared to move, I couldn’t have even if I wanted to. I was the only one that was turned while still alive.” He pulled his hand away from Tony’s to wipe his face, the tears pouring now, and his breath came out in sobs. He tried his best to talk through it while the mortal rubbed comforting circles on his back. “When you die before being bitten, you lose the memory of your mortal life. I learned that when we all came to. I was the only one who recognized them, they couldn’t even recognize me. The clan had to explain everything to them, from what my father had told them. It was awful. There’s nothing more lonely than being the only one left to mourn people who aren't even technically dead. People I see standing before me every day, knowing that I’m the only one who can mourn the loss for them, and it’s my fault because I couldn’t even remind them of what was missing, of what was gone.” He was irate, sobbing and practically yelling at the poor mortal boy, fangs glinting in the soft light as he babbled. He felt hysterical, his chest felt tight, like his ribs were trying to crush his lungs. Tony reached out, taking Rudolph’s face gently in his hands, his hands that practically burned Rudolph's skin. He was chewing at his bottom lip, trying to find the words he wished to say.
“Rudolph, it’s not your fault your family didn’t remember their life, you didn’t need to remind them of anything. From what I see, you all still love each other the same as back then, right?” He spoke softly, oh so softly, in a voice that made Rudolph only sob harder. Tony always managed to be so sweet, such a comforting presence, even at the vampire’s worst he chose to be close to him with not even a hint of fear. With tears still streaming down his face he pulled Tony into a tight hug, burying his face into the boy’s shoulder and feeling himself almost melt into the embrace. Truly, how on earth could one mortal be so warm? Every inch of him that pressed into Tony felt like it was set ablaze, his hands tingled with electric shocks that traveled through his whole body. Despite his heart not beating, he felt warmth bloom in his chest when Tony wrapped his arms around him as well. Through his sobs Rudolph couldn’t think of anything else, his mind filled to the brim with all the affection he had for the mortal in his arms. Affection he hadn’t truly felt in centuries. Tony. The only mortal he’s come to trust, the one he’s come to love, a mortal that could make him feel really, truly alive. Alive and happy for the first time in over 300 years. He was reminded of a memory from centuries ago. Long blond hair, grass, patches of flowers and dirt, and warm hands holding his. Fuzzy memories flooded his mind, a boy, just like the one holding him now. Rudolph had held a boy like this before, had kissed a boy before. In the flower garden behind his father’s church. He leaned back, wiping the falling tears from his eyes, and looked up at Tony. His sweet Tony, a brave boy with a heart of gold. Quick-witted and so, so alive. He placed his hands on the mortal’s face, cupping his jaw and pulling him towards him.
Yes, Rudolph had kissed a boy before, but kissing Tony Thompson was something else. Tony, the boy who saved his family from harm, who hurled himself into danger for someone he barely knew. Who always knew what to say to him to calm him down. Rudolph didn’t know if he still believed in God or not, but he did know that at the very least, angels did exist. And that Tony Thompson was one plucked straight from heaven, just for him. An angel in a red hoodie and scraped-up blue jeans. An angel for him to hold, to love.