Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

       Abolish hated hypocrites, especially after growing up in the manor where the manor lord was so much of a hypocrite that he actually hurt some of the servants. Don't get him wrong, he truly felt grateful that he was taken in, but he just always hated the hypocrisy. So, needless to say when he heard Avid yelling about Vampires, accusing Scott of being a Vampire, making mistakes that he refused to apologize for... Abolish wasn't the happiest. His eyes immediately shot up as Scott made his way out of town, Abolish let out a deep sigh as he got up to follow... he needed to make his allegiances clear, at least to Scott who he wanted to be loyal to, who he needed to be close with.

       As Abolish headed out, he paid no attention to Owen's death glare, he really didn't know what the lumberjack's problem was. It took a bit for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he immediately noticed Scott leaning against a tree, Abolish walked over, earning an amused smirk from Scott.

       "Can we talk, further away from Oakhurst?" Abolish asked, not even waiting for a response as he began walking through the trees.

       "Alright, but this isn't the smartest choice, no?" Scott smirked, following closely behind, the 2 emerged into a nice clearing, it was a nice way away from Oakhurst.

       "I've never liked hypocrites, they pretend to have the 'moral high ground' when they don't even bother to practice what they preach, they call others monsters when they act like monsters themselves. So, why I wanted to talk with you is to make a deal; I'll give you information, stick on your side through thick and thin, and in return you tell me what's really going on, and won't hurt me." Abolish spoke, his eyes staring into Scott's, brown eyes pleading red ones.

       "Very well, but, how do I begin? Avid is correct with me being a Vampire, I turned Pyro, but I haven't hurt anyone else, and I won't turn you unless you specifically ask me to." Scott answered, holding out his hand for Abolish to shake, who did so immediately "It will be a pleasure working with you."

       Abolish had to look away as he felt a blush creeping up his cheeks, giving a meek nod "Agreed, Scott." Abolish mumbled before the 2 walked back to town.

Chapter Text

       Owen knew that he shouldn't follow Abolish, which is why he waited until he heard Scott and Abolish heading back before he headed out. He could see the blush on Abolish's face and felt the instant urge to claw the human's eyes out or to keep fighting the human until it layed there limp. The 2 stopped, probably to ask Owen where he was going, but he didn't stop for a moment, just grabbed Scott's arm before walking off, dragging the elder vampire off.

       "Perfect timing, really. Scott, I've been needing to talk with you. Away from him." Owen gave a pointed look at Abolish before continuing to drag Scott off who now started to walk besides Owen.

       Scott waited, thankfully, for them to be a good distance from Oakhurst before speaking up "So, what did you need to talk about-" He got caught off by an indignant squak as Owen harshly pushed him against a nearby tree.

       Owen let out a hiss, getting in Scott's face "I need some answers, Scott. You clearly weren't old enough to be turned, so explain." Owen glared, Scott tried to push Owen off only to scramble as Owen pulled Scott's feet off the ground, the elders feet squirming.

       "W-what? I'm clearly in my twenties!" It was a lie, one that Owen wouldn't let by as he hissed again.

       "Answer me honestly, Scott; what age did you get turned?" Owen ordered, only turning more aggressive as Scott tried to deflect or lie.

       "Fine... I got turned at 16. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Scott answered, Owen finally let him go.

       Owen hissed, pacing around the area, he clearly wasn't happy with this new information. "16?! You were a child! What sick bastard would..." Owen's eyes widened as he turned to Scott, there was worry as clear as day in Owen's eyes "Was that the worst that happened? Did he... hurt you?" Owen asked, he voice small as though pleading this to not be true.

       Scott sighed and then nodded, dodging eye contact "The elder goldsmiths weren't kind, they..." Scott sighed deeply, Owen saw the tears that Scott tried to keep down "They hit us... if we didn't behave, if they were bored, if we tried to retain our humanity... we either stayed in line or were punished greatly for it... some of the young fledglings were killed because they didn't take to vampirism so well... didn't know how to feed on their own and sire didn't let them feed off of him..." Scott trailed off, sniffling as he tried to hide his tears.

       Owen approved slowly, given Scott enough time to back away, which he didn't. Owen slowly raised his arms before pulling Scott in for a hug, who hugged back immediately "Hey... hey, it's ok, let it out, I'll still be here." Owen mumbled before Scott began sobbing into his shoulder.

       It took a while, but Scott's sobs eventually died down to quiet sniffles "Better now?" Owen asked quietly, running his fingers through Scott's hair, he knew he was too attached for his own good, but who could blame him, especially when it was Scott.

       "Yeah... thank you... for being here." Scott mumbled, leaning more onto Owen.

       "Hey, it's no big deal. I'll be here, through your rough patches and through your happy moments, I promise." Owen promised, he didn't ever want to leave Scott's side, not when he cared so much. 

       "Okay, good, because I don't want you to..." Scott whimpered, relaxing a bit. It was weird, in Owen's opinion, why would Scott not want him to leave? Before he could ask, Scott stepped back a bit, grabbing Owen's hands in the process and staring into Owen's eyes "Can I tell you a secret?"

       Owen chuckled, he found this part of Scott adorable, why did he have to like Scott this much? "Of course, anything." Owen smiled, he was telling the truth, Scott could tell Owen anything and he'd keep it a secret.

Chapter Text

       Scott smiled as he held Owen's hands in his own, he was happy that Owen knew and didn't hate him for his past and how young he was turned, it was a major relief. "It's just that... well, I'm really glad that I'm not the only experienced vampire here, and I'm glad that it's you by my side instead of someone like Avid." Scott's voice turned a bit aggressive when he said Avid's name, but he just couldn't help it! The so-called 'vampire-hunter' was really annoying!

       Owen chuckled, this wasn't where he thought Scott was going with this, but it still felt like a win over Abolish. "Yea... I'm glad that I get to be by your side, for eternity or however long you'll have me." Owen hoped that it'd be for eternity, leaving Scott would feel like a steak through his cold, dead heart... which couldn't help but do flips whenever Scott shot him that grin. Not that stupidly rehearsed grin, but the grin that said that he was worth something to Scott... like how Louis used to grin at Owen and got his heart racing. "Well... let's... let's head back to town, shall we?" Owen coughed out before looking away, Scott had no idea how special he was to Owen did he...

       Scott smiled and nodded before taking one of Owen's hands and walking with him back to town, it wasn't fair how Scott pulled at Owen's heart strings, how Owen wanted to whisk Scott away and not let anyone near him ever again; like a dragon with its treasures, that's how Owen felt towards Scott.

       When the duo made it back to town, Scott immediately broke off to join Abolish despite getting an annoyed hiss from Owen. The second that Scott was by Abolish his arm was grabbed and he was pulled closer to Abolish.

       "Scott, you're ok, right? Owen didn't hurt you, right?" Abolish sounded concerned as his eyes scanned Scott over for any injuries before relaxing "He better not have..." It was kinda cute in Scott's opinion, how Abolish was so concerned and protective.

       Scott sighed, he needed to pull the act back up, they would judge him if he wasn't the bitch he acted like "Clearly I'm fine, that peasant couldn't hurt me even if he wanted to." Scott smirked, he hated how cocky he had to be, but that didn't stop him from enjoying Abolish's blushes as he pulled up the act.

       Abolish nodded as he looked away, a blush creeping back up his cheeks, why did Scott have to be so... hot? It was like he was a God! Or, well, a God that Abolish would worship, one that wasn't hypocritical and was better than that church's God. 

       "Well, anyways, where's Pyro?" Scott asked, moving away from Abolish and scanning the town, he just needed to know where his fledgling was; his instincts were screaming at him to find his fledgling... if only he had that nest built.

       Abolish looked like a kicked puppy when Scott moved away, but sighed, this was a good way to also get close to Pyro and to tell the vampire that he was on their side!

       Pyro had never been happier, sitting on the ground with Legs running his fingers through the vampire's hair, getting out all of the tangles before he started brushing the unruly hair. It was a relief that he didn't have to compete with anyone for Legs' attention that they knew of, because it seemed really tiring for Owen and Abolish to practically be at eachother's throats all the time.

       Legundo sighed, pulling his hand back and earning an unhappy grumble from Pyro as the doctor reached for the brush "I think that's the last of the tangles, sorry if that hurt at all." Legs said softly as he began brushing Pyro's long-ish and wild hair, the vampire let out a sigh and leaned against their friend, relaxing into the touch.

       "It didn't hurt, you're fine." Pyro sighed, they truly didn't know when the last time someone brushed their hair was, probably before his parents kicked him out... so, years...

       "I'm glad, you will tell me if it does hurt, right?" Legs asked gently as the brush combed through Pyro's hair who only relaxed further. Gods, Legs really did care too much, didn't he. But, he couldn't help it when it was someone as kind as Pyro.

       Pyro rolled their eyes, Legs worried a lot, not that he minded, it was actually really endearing for the vampire "Yea... I'll tell you if it hurts, I promise." Pyro mumbled, closing his eyes and falling into a brief nap

       Legundo sighed as he finished brushing Pyro's hair, the vampire had fallen asleep not long ago and Legs would hate to wake them up, but it wasn't like they could carry the vampire very far, like to Pyro's house, especially not with how cold it was outside, but he also didn't want to wake Pyro up, so Legs did the only reasonable thing and lifted Pyro into his bed gently.

       It wasn't long before there was a knock on Legundo's door. The doctor got up to answer it only to stare dumbly at Scott "How can I help you?" Legundo asked after a few minutes of silence.

       Scott cleared his throat, trying to peer around Legundo and into the doctor's house "Abolish said that Pyro was here?" Scott asked for confirmation as the doctor blocked Scott's view.

       "They're asleep and I'd rather not let you wake them up." Legundo answered with a sigh, Scott nodded.

       "Alright, I was just wondering where he was, see you around." Scott smiled, walking off, leaving Legundo to plan where he was going to sleep that night... he couldn't sleep on the bed as that'd probably be crossing a line, but his back would kill him if he slept on the couch... he could sleep on the floor, sure it wouldn't be the most comfortable, but it would keep him close to Pyro if they needed anything in the middle of the night.

       With that settled, Legundo pulled out a few extra blankets to set up a spot on the floor that he could sleep on.

Chapter Text

       Pyro was warm, it was a... strange kind of warm. Like, not the warmth that you ever felt sleeping in your own bed, but the warmth that you felt when you slept in your best friend's bed and they tuck you in all nice! It was the type of warmth that you didn't want to escape from, like you were out in a blizzard, found shelter, and were now cuddled up in 10 layers of blankets and infront of the fireplace. A hand brushed through his medium lengthed and unkempt hair, it felt nice, he hummed as he leaned into the touch. There was a chuckle and some talking that he didn't care about, but the hand thankfully didn't stop combing through their hair.

       A weight sat down by Pyro's head, lifting it into whomever's lap. They turned and shied into the person's stomach, letting out a 'humph'. "Still tired, huh? Well, as much as I like having you around; Apo will get worried." The person mumbled, still combing through Pyro's hair.

       Pyro let out a whiny noise that they knew sire would disapprove of at the idea of getting up, they just wanted to be curled up in all this warmth. "...nooo" Pyro whined, only curling further into the other's stomach "Just five more minutes..." Pyro yawned sleepily.

       The other person sighed before stilling their hand "But then the food I made you will go cold..." The person sighed, moving to get up, Pyro immediately shot up, stretching and yawning.

       "Fine, fine, I'm up..." Pyro mumbled, looking at Legundo who chuckled and ruffled Pyro's hair before handing Pyro a plate, there was some good-looking food on it... that Pyro couldn't fully enjoy, but the thought was what counted. "It looks delicious, thank you!" Pyro beemed before digging in.

       Legundo chuckled, ruffling Pyro's hair and grabbing the brush "I'm glad, I tried my best... which you obviously deserve, I would give you the stars and moon if I could, you know..." Legundo whispered, Pyro seemed too engrossed in the food to hear Legs. He was never good at keeping secrets, but Legs liked to believe that he kept his small crush on Pyro a secret, even if he didn't want to, he wasn't lucky enough to have someone as good as Pyro like him back...

       "It was amazing" Pyro smiled, looking at Legundo with his pure and innocent smile, the smile that could do no wrong as he got off the bed and sat on the floor so that Legundo could brush his hair, Pyro really liked it when Legs took care of them, it made him feel all warm and fluffy inside!

       It didn't take long for Pyro's hair to be fully brushed and for the vampire to stand up "Well, I should head out... see you later?" Pyro asked cautiously, looking at Legs with pleading eyes as though begging him to agree.

       Legundo got up with Pyro's help, smiling at his friend "See you later, you're always welcome inside, no matter the time. If I’m not here then you can just wait for me to get back." Legundo smiled as he walked Pyro over to the door.

       Pyro nodded ecstatically, heading out, he knew that Scott wasn't in the village, because he couldn't feel their sire close by, so they decided to head off to their house, probably answer to Apo's questions...

       Scott couldn't feel freer, sitting on a quilt next to Owen, relaxing into the lumberjack's side as they ate some raw pork. Owen ran his fingers gently through Scott's hair, trying to coax the elder vampire into relaxation as they ate and talked gently.

       "You're a lot nicer than the other vampires that I've been around" Scott mumbled, closing his eyes briefly as he grabbed Owen's hand in his own, he was glad he had a friend like Owen close by.

       Owen yawned, oh how he wished he could wrap an arm around Scott, but his hands were preoccupied either combing through the elder's hair or holding Scott's hand. He loved how Scott dropped the act around him and trusted him. "I'm glad you think that. But, from where I'm sitting, it's impossible to be mean to you." Owen hummed, he had so many other words to throw in, but he couldn't say a single one, oh how he wished he could just whisk Scott away from everyone else...

       "I only think that because it's true." Scott argued, but Owen didn't hear any of it as he was distracted by a rustling in the bushes.

       "I'll be back, stay here." Owen got up, much to Scott's disappointment, before heading towards the sound.

       When he got close enough, he could see the suit that Abolish usually wore... oh, this will not do! Owen pounced, claws out to hurt the human, who barely had enough time to dodge. Owen regained his balance as he charged again, swiping at Abolish. Abolish kicked at Owen's stomach, who slashed Abolish's face in retaliation, only getting more aggressive with his attacks. It wasn't long before Abolish bolted out of there, his clothes and skin all clawed up and Owen sporting some nice bruises.

       Scott poked his head around the brush to look at Owen with concern "Are you ok? I heard your hisses, but clearly didn't get here in time..." Scott trailed off, going over to help Owen, he didn't mention how he had watched the fight; how he liked watching 2 guys fight over him...

       The two headed back to town and the first thing Scott noticed was that Abolish wasn't hanging outside, he was probably being patched up by Legundo if Scott was correct with the extent of the claw wounds... but, who was out was Pyro. Perfect moment to tease his fledgling while making sure that Pyro was ok!

       Scott sauntered over to Pyro, a teasing smirk on the elder vampire's face "So... Legundo, huh?" Scott asked, startling Pyro into becoming a flustered mess as the fledgling tried to deny the allegations that Scott just shot at them.

       "W... what? I don't... what would give you that idea?" Pyro struggled, trying to come up with something underneath the watchful eyes of Scott.

       Scott chuckled "Well, for starters, your reaction made me certain, not to mention how you stayed the night in the doctor's house, and how you look at him." Scott ruffled Pyro's hair, earning a flustered groan from the fledgling.

       "You better not tell him! He most certainly doesn't like me back." Pyro grumbled, meeting Scott's eyes only briefly before looking away.

       Scott sighed "Fine, fine, not until you're ready. But, trust me, he does like you back." Scott wasn't heartless, he wouldn't tell anyone about Pyro's small crush until his fledgling was ready. "Would you like to help me build something while Legundo is busy?" Scott asked, already heading out.

       Pyro scrambled to follow behind Scott "Sure, what are we building anyways?" Scott didn't answer the question, just led his fledgling towards the castle ruins.

Chapter Text

       Pyro followed after Scott, curious on what they had agreed to help his sire with. Pyro couldn't help but gape as the ruined castle came into view, they could tell it used to look magnificent, even though none of that greatness existed. Pyro immediately set to work as Scott set to work on tearing down the old foundation.

        It didn't take that long for the crumbled walls to be torn down in either of the vampire's opinion, and they started tearing up the old wooden floors, Scott had a different plan for the castle after all and the old just would not due. Scott sauntered over to grab some of the stone that he collected earlier, it was a nice black stone that would fit a Vampire's esthetic. The 2 got working on the outline of where the new castle would stand, they were going to make it grand, that was for sure.

       Once the outline was finished, Scott led Pyro into the crypt and to where the old nest was hidden. Scott pushed at the wall until it moved out of the way with a creek, revealing a nest room, it was curved up into a dome with a big nest of blankets and older material objects. At least the walls were made of natural stone so they weren't crumbling, however the blankets looked so old and the other items... they needed to throw everything else out.

       Scott had already started to gather up the old stuff when Pyro crouched down, helping gather the stuff to take out "I, uh, can carry those out and grab some new blankets!" Pyro spoke up, grabbing Scott's attention... why did his sire look so down? Was Pyro's sire ok? Was it something Pyro did?

       Scott nodded briefly before looking away, why did he have to be so sentimental? "Y... yea, please do... thanks" Scott mumbled, handing over the probably diseased materials, they wouldn't do for a growing fledgling "And then get yourself cleaned, that stuff probably carries enough diseases to kill a growing fledgling." Scott tried to make his tone lighter, but judging by Pyro's expression... he failed miserably.

       Pyro smiled, trying to put their sire at ease before carrying the materials out. They stopped by the river before thinking better of just washing it down the river and building a fire to throw the things on. Once the materials were nothing but ash, he put the fire out and headed to town.

       The town was on crisis mode, but Legundo truly shouldn't be talking; he's been in crisis mode ever since Abolish walked into his office all scratched up and bleeding, but thankfully it didn't take much to stop the bleeding and it didn't hit any arteries. When Legundo finished patching Abolish up, he immediately asked what happened, to which Abolish replied that it was a wolf, but not to worry... that didn't help, especially since the moment Abolish saw Owen he tried to fight the lumberjack, leaving Legundo to try and hold the 2 apart (thankfully Ren helped). 

       2 days have passed since then and neither Scott nor Pyro had been seen since. Avid was convinced that Scott has killed Pyro, which didn't explain why Scott was also gone... gods, Legundo hoped that Scott hadn't killed Pyro... any time that Abolish or Owen volunteer to go find the duo, they almost fight, leaving the town to separate the two...

       Legundo was broken out of his thoughts by the warning bell, he saw Avid ringing it and trying to stay away from Pyro, it was... confusing. "Help, guys, help! Scott's dead and Pyro's killed him!" Avid cried, Pyro looked absolutely terrified and confused.

       Pyro held his hands up, eyes wide with fear "Wha... no! I didn't kill Scott, I wouldn't!" Pyro pleaded, Ren stepping forward.

       Ren sighed, placing a hand on Pyro's shoulder "Ye have to see it from our perspective, laddie. Ye left for 2 days and return without Scott, don'cha know?" Ren spoke with his... 'cursed' tongue, trying to calm the scolar down.

       Pyro only seemed to freak out even more "Wha... what? 2 days, no... we... we've only been gone for a few hours!" Pyro mumbled, shaking until Legundo walked over to them.

        Legundo pulled Pyro into a hug, he knew that Pyro didn't do anything and truly believed what they were saying "It's been 2 days, Pyro. I know that you haven't hurt Scott, so how about you tell us where you two were so that we can find him?" Legundo asked gently, Pyro curling up into Legundo's chest.

       Pyro thought it over before speaking "We... we were rebuilding the castle ruins, I... I swear that we were only gone for a few hours!" Pyro whimpered, tugging at Legundo's heart strings.

       Owen was... upset when Abolish wouldn't agree to let him go search for Scott... and, well, Pyro, but more importantly Scott. Anytime Owen tried, Abolish was there just begging to get attacked when he was also heading out of town, if only the other town members would let him!

       So, when Pyro came in and told them where Scott and the fledgling were, Owen immediately turned and high-tailed it out of there. He hadn't even noticed the fact that Abolish was following as he neared the castle ruins, all that Owen cared about was the elder vampire that was in the ruins.

       Scott emerged from the crypt just as Owen began the dash to the crypt, the past lumberjack almost barreling the elder vampire to the ground, but luckily Scott stood steady.

       Owen held Scott tightly, not wanting to let go "Scott, you had us worried! What were you thinking, running off without telling anyone for two days?!" Despite Owen's exasperated words, his actions showed just how worried he truly was.

       Abolish walked over, not interrupting the two vampires, but clearing his throat "All of us, even Avid was worried... I think he'll stop calling you a vampire... but, he might start calling Pyro a vampire." Abolish spoke with hesitation, but it made sense because of how easily Avid jumped to blame Pyro for Scott's unconfirmed death.

       Scott sighed, why did Avid have to go after his fledgling? This was going to be a pain "So, should we head back so that they don't kill Pyro or continue to blame him for my 'death'?" Scott asked, but didn't wait for a response before beginning to head back to town.