Archive of Our Own

Cold

So cold.

Too cold.

It was a wonder, a miracle, he hadn't died from hypothermia yet.

He couldn't see more than a foot in front of him.

He couldn't stand listening to the bickering any longer. Avid's betrayal had fractured the town.

He hadn't meant to test this now. All things considered, now was probably the worst time to test this. But he wanted to see if he could escape, maybe send for help. He wanted to know if it was even possible to get through the fog.

It was so cold.

He shouldn't have done this.

He should've stayed home, back in town.

He couldn't feel his fingers.

Each step forward was painful. His feet were numb.

Why was he still going forward?

There was no end to the fog in sight. It just kept getting colder the further he went.

He thought he could hear movement from behind him. That had to be the cold messing with him. He had been careful, had made sure no one had followed him when he stepped into the fog.

Each step forward only made him colder.

The edges of his vision were starting to turn grey, a bit of black peaking through under that.

His eyelids felt heavy. Heavier than the rest of his body.

Each step was harder than the last. He was fighting his own body to keep himself upright.

It was so cold.

He almost wanted to call out to whatever he thought he heard behind him. That would be foolish. There was nothing actually there. It was just the cold messing with his head. It had to be. If the vampires found him while he was in this state...

It was best not to think about it. Best case scenario, they would just kill him and be done with it. He'd wake up in his bed back in town with a new scar. Worst case scenario, they'd turn him, and he didn't want that.

It was still getting colder somehow. How was there still fog? It felt like it should be too cold for it.

The grey and black around the edges of his vision spread.

He forced himself to keep moving.

There had to be a way out.

He kept his arms as close to his body as he could. His body heat didn't do much. He was too cold, probably.

Still, he kept moving forward.

His body protested with each step.

The darkness consumed more of his vision.

He forced himself to take another step.

With the next step, his body crumpled to the ground, unable to stay upright any longer.

There was snow covering the dirt. When had that happened? How far into the fog had he gone?

He needed to get up. He needed to head back to town, or at the very least, get out of the fog.

An icy blast of wind hit him full force. He shivered. This hadn't been the first wind, but this one was a lot worse.

He needed to move, to keep his blood flowing.

He tried to sit up. He was freezing. His limbs wouldn't work.

His vision was going dark.

He found himself laying face down in the snow. It was somehow colder than the air around him, than the wind slamming into him.

It almost felt nice. That raised alarm bells. The snow was colder than he was, and he was freezing. The snow shouldn't feel nice.

Suddenly, warmth surrounded him. It wasn't the warmth of a person. It was more the warmth of something that wasn't as cold as the surrounding weather. The warmth of a corpse.

That was bad. He couldn't remember why, but that was bad.

He was so cold.

He tried to keep his eyes open. He tried to stay conscious.

He was so cold.

He heard voices. He thought he heard his name. What was his name?

He felt himself being lifted out of the snow.

He had to keep his eyes open.

He was so cold.

The darkness swallowed his vision whole. He had to stay awake.

He was being carried somewhere.

Focus on that.

He breathed in. The cold air bit his lungs, but he managed to catch the scent of the person that was carrying him. Wood, almost like the spruces surrounding the town. A sharp metallic smell that felt horribly familiar, but his brain was too frozen to remember why.

The entire scent was familiar, and part of his mind knew that he needed to get away before something bad happened. But what?

He could feel adrenaline coursing through his body, warming him slightly, but it wasn't enough. His mind felt like a slushie, and he was so tired. His eyes were already closed. It would be so easy to fall asleep.

But it was hard. He always had trouble falling asleep. It was hard to convince himself that he was safe, despite not being on the front lines anymore, even though he hadn't been there in years.

Was he safe? He was being carried somewhere, though he couldn't tell where. Whoever was carrying him was familiar in some way, even if he was too tired and too cold to recall exactly how they were familiar.

He wanted to go home.

He could feel his consciousness starting to slip away. He didn't try to stop it.

He had to assume whoever was carrying him was taking him out of the fog. That made the most sense. Even if it was one of the vampires. Would they even eat someone who was almost frozen to death?

Was he dying?

He tried to recall the symptoms of hypothermia, but it was hard. Confusion was one of them. Was he confused? It didn't feel like it.

He was so tired.

It was so cold.

Maybe a small nap wouldn't hurt.

As he started to slip away into sleep, someone shook him. They were trying to keep him awake.

He realized there had to be two people. The person who was carrying him couldn't have shaken his face with two hands. Not if he was being carried in a princess carry.

He heard muffled voices. He tried to open his eyes, to see who had found him, but his eyelids felt like they were frozen shut.

He was so tired.

Someone shook his face again, and he heard them say something. He couldn't make out the words.

He was so cold. He wanted to sleep. It was so hard to stay awake.

That smell. Blood. Horribly familiar.

He could hear the screams of men all around him.

His own patient's breathing was shallow, almost gone.

He had to stop the bleeding. He knew that much.

There was so much of it, more than what could logically fit in a human body. It just kept flowing.

It wouldn't stop!

The man was crying. He kept asking if he was going to die.

He didn't answer. He couldn't. He feared that if he spoke he would not be able to keep going with his work. He had to make sure this man survived this horrible, bloody conflict.

The man was young. Probably fresh out of boot camp, probably the minimum age a man could enlist. It hurt his heart that this man was here. He did not deserve to be in a place like this; he did not deserve to die in a place like this.

But he couldn't stop the bleeding.

He could feel the boy getting colder under his touch.

He had failed.

He jolted awake. He was not in his own bed, not in his house back in town. He did not recognize where he was. It was warm. There was a fire roaring in a nearby fireplace, and he was buried under an ungodly number of blankets. It was almost too warm, but he'd take that over how cold he'd been when he dozed off. This was much better. He could feel his extremities again.

He wiggled his fingers for a moment.

He was still tense from the nightmare.

He didn't have his weapon. Or his shield. Or his armor. In fact, he didn't have anything left except his baked potatoes.

He sat up, albeit with some difficulty, and looked around, getting a better look at the room he was in. The bed was surprisingly big, at least compared to what he was used to. There was a chest near the door. He could see his sword and shield leaning against the side of it. He felt relieved that his things were still nearby.

He kept looking around. The room itself was grand, the type of room a noble would stay in.

His relief vanished, replaced by a sinking feeling in his stomach. There was only one place he could think of within the area surrounded by the fog that would have a room like this. The castle. Panic rushed through him, but he forced himself to stay calm. His memory from the fog was hazy, but he did remember that he'd fallen at some point. There had been snow, and then someone had picked him up. He must've been found by the vampires, but that didn't make any sense. He could've sworn he'd been careful to not be seen going into the fog.

He felt his neck and shoulders and wrists. There were no bites anywhere. That was a good sign. That meant he probably hadn't been turned. But he still needed to get out of here.

He tried to stand up, but his legs gave out almost immediately.

The door opened, and he turned just as Louis walked in. The vampire sighed and helped him back onto the bed.

"I certainly hope you aren't trying to leave. You were nearly frozen when Owen and Avid got to you."

"Owen and Avid?"

The news was a surprise to him, especially with Avid's recent betrayal of the town.

"Indeed. Avid and Scott were out flying when the former noticed you slipping into the fog. He followed you while Scott came to tell the rest of us. Owen stormed out once he heard where you went."

"Why?"

"That's not something you need to be worried about right now."

He frowned at that.

"How long have I been out?"

"A few days. I was starting to worry that you'd been in the fog for too long, and you had frozen to death."

Days. The thought was dizzying. He had been unconscious for days.

"I need to get back to town."

He started to sit up again, despite knowing his body probably wouldn't hold his weight yet.

"No. You've been asleep for days. You need time to recover."

"But—"

"Legundo. You are a doctor. You know you need rest."

Louis's voice was scolding. The doctor knew he was right. He knew he needed some time to rest and recuperate before he tried to make the trek back to town, but that didn't mean he was pleased about having to stay within easy reach of the coven.

"We aren't going to let the others hurt you. You don't need to worry about that."

Right. He'd forgotten Louis could read minds.

"We?"

"Myself and Owen. We've gotten the others to agree to leave you alone as long as we take care of you and ensure you don't try to attack anyone."

Legundo let out a dry chuckle and said, "Out of everyone in town, I'm the least likely to attack someone."

"I know. That is part of why the others agreed to let you stay. You've made it clear that you wish to do no harm."

Legundo eyed the vampire and said, "You specified that the others wouldn't hurt me."

"I did."

"What about you and Owen?"

"We will try our best, but I know how possessive Owen can be. It's only gotten worse since he's been a vampire. He likes to leave marks."

That was certainly the truth, and one glance at Louis's neck proved it.

The doctor sighed, trying to think of a way out of this.

"No, there's no way out of this. You will rest, and you will let yourself be taken care of."

"What about the town?"

"I'm sure they can take care of themselves for a few more days."

"I really don't have a say in this, do I?"

"Indeed not. You need to let someone else take care of you for once. Especially since you wandered into the fog."

"I didn't wander in—"

"I know," Louis said, sounding a smidge annoyed. "Why did you go into the fog?"

"I wanted to see if it was possible to escape."

"Did someone not already try that?"

"Not exactly. We went to the fog, but we didn't try to enter it."

"And you decided to go alone?"

"I needed to get away from the town."

"That's understandable, but there are other things you could have done instead of going into the fog surrounding the area. You could've died!"

"I know but—"

"But nothing, doctor! It was a stupid idea. You need to let someone else take care of you for once. You're always running yourself ragged taking care of your fellow townsfolk with hardly a care for yourself."

"I don't deserve—"

"Don't start with that nonsense! I don't care what you think you deserve. Owen and I are going to take care of you, whether you like it or not."

"Why?"

"Because we care about you. You are so smart and handsome and yet so stupid and stubborn about some things."

Legundo paused before he started to protest once he realized that Louis had just called him handsome. He wasn't sure how to feel. He had been called handsome before, but that was in his youth, before the war had gotten to him. He couldn't recall a time in recent years where someone had called him handsome and genuinely meant it.

"You think I'm handsome…?"

Louis went still, and the doctor felt as if he'd done something wrong.

"I'm sorry—"

"You have no reason to apologize. I just hadn't realized that had slipped out."

"Sooo."

"Yes, I think you are handsome. Owen prefers to call you cute."

Legundo almost choked on air. He had never in all his years been called cute. The thought of it was almost absurd to him.

"I said that one time," Owen said from the doorway. The veteran turned to look as the shorter vampire stepped into the room.

"Of course. What do you usually refer to him as?"

"Adorable. They are in fact different. Anyways, how is our doctor doing?"

Legs didn't hear Louis's response. He was too busy trying to wrap his head around what was going on. He had passed out deep into the fog. He should be dead. But Avid and Owen had followed him into the fog. They had rescued him. Why? Avid had just betrayed the town by stealing the stock of holy water, and Owen had always been very hostile towards the town.

Yet the latter called him adorable. It made zero sense. Owen was already in a committed relationship with Louis, and Legs didn't want to intrude on that, despite how he felt about the two. Though the younger vampire had said "our" when referring to the doctor. That only confused him more.

"Doc?" Owen asked. He was cupping Legs's face in his hands. The skin was cold, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the near-hypothermia had been.

He focused on him.

"Yes?"

"You alright?"

"I'm fine. I just spaced out for a bit."

"If you say so."

Owen held the doctor's face for a few moments longer before pulling away and crossing his arms. The sudden loss of that connection was a bit jarring. Legs had always known that his "love language", as his mother referred to it, was physical touch, but he hadn't realized how touch starved he'd gotten during his time in Oakhurst. But he resisted the urge to reach for Owen or Louis. He had been managing just fine so far. He didn't need help from anyone, human or vampire.

That thought earned him a glare from Louis.

"Managing just fine and actually being fine are two very different things, doctor."

The older vampire settled next to the doctor on one side while Owen settled on his other side. The closeness made him freeze, especially when the two pressed closer against him. His brain was refusing to process that these two surprisingly attractive vampires were willingly cuddling him. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve love! He had killed so many people, and he was trying so hard to atone for those sins. All those things he did to follow orders and stay alive, he was still working to atone for those things.

Louis squeezed him a bit tighter and gently nipped at his neck, causing the doctor to let out an embarrassing squeak. He immediately tried to cover his mouth, but his arms were pinned to his sides courtesy of the two vampires currently snuggled up with him. He felt oddly vulnerable in a way he had tried to avoid since… Well since joining the military. He hadn't been able to let people get so close out of a fear that he would hurt them or scare them away. Yet here these two were. They were refusing to let him push them away like he was so used to doing, and he wasn't sure what to do about that.

"You aren't going to do anything about it. You are going to stay here and let us take care of you," Louis said firmly, nipping at the doctor's neck again and eliciting another squeak from the man.

"But—"

"Shut up," Owen said. His voice didn't hold the harshness and hostility Legundo was used to. It was rather jarring.

"What do I do?"

"Sleep," Louis responded.

"But—"

"Stop acting like a broken record and go to sleep!" Owen snapped, nipping at the other side of his neck. He was much less gentle about it than Louis was, and he nearly broke skin.

The veteran sighed and said, "Fine. I'll try to get more sleep."

"Good," Both vampires said in unison.

Legundo laid back and did his best to get comfortable with two vampires damn near on top of him. It was surprisingly easier than he had expected. Soon enough, he could barely keep his eyes open.

When he woke up again, he was surprised to realize that he hadn't had a nightmare. Usually, he'd wake up from one in a cold sweat and be unable to get back to sleep, but that hadn't happened this time.

As his senses cleared from the half-asleep state, he realized that Louis was gone and Owen was now completely on top of him. He was stunned to see a large pair of bat-like wings stretching from the vampire's back. They were magnificent. He was almost tempted to reach out and touch them, but he restrained himself. There was no telling how sensitive they were; Owen appeared to be asleep, and Legundo would rather not risk potential bodily harm by waking him up in any way, but especially by touching him without permission.

He felt his stomach growl, but he didn't dare move. He could wait until there wasn't a sleeping vampire on top of him, especially when said vampire looked so peaceful and adorable. If he didn't know better, Legundo would've thought of him as harmless. But he did know better, and he wasn't going to make a mistake like that. Some lessons only needed to be learned once.

It took a few minutes to realize that Owen was only pretending to be asleep. It took only a few moments after that to realize that his position on top of the doctor was purposeful. It was most likely chosen to ensure he wouldn't be able to get up and "wander off". It wasn't really wandering if he knew where he was going, but he knew neither vampire would agree with him at the moment.

The door opened, and Louis walked in carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on it. Owen sat up and rolled off of the doctor, rising to his feet and stretching in a way that oddly reminded Legs of a cat.

The doctor sat up as the former mayor of Oakhurst stepped up beside the bed and set the tray in his lap.

"I made you some rabbit stew," He said with a grin that was adorable.

"Thank you."

Louis looked over him one last time before leaving. Owen leaned over and scratched his head for a bit. It felt quite nice, and the doctor found himself almost leaning into it. He resisted the urge to whine as Owen pulled away and left the room. He was a grown man who had seen war. He did not whine.

Instead, he focused on the stew Louis had made for him. He picked up the spoon and started eating. It tasted amazing which surprised him. Louis had been a vampire for God knew how long. He didn't need to eat human food. He survived blood. How was he such a good cook? It was absurd to the doctor.

When he finished eating, he set the tray aside and tried to stand up. He had to lean heavily against the nearby furniture until his legs were used to holding him up again. When he could, he straightened and began walking towards the door. He didn't get very far before Owen poked his head into the room. The two of them just stared at each other for several seconds.

"Go back to bed."

"I'm not tired."

Owen's eyes narrowed, and he stepped fully into the room, blocking the doorway.

"Well, you aren't leaving this room yet."

"Why not?"

"Because you woke like a day ago. You still need a couple more days of recovery before I let you anywhere near anyone else."

"Is it just you enforcing this rule?"

"For now. And since you're next door to mine and Louis's room, it's an easy one to uphold."

"You can't keep me here forever," Legs pointed out.

"You underestimate me, doctor."

"The town will worry. They'll come looking."

"Oh I know. Actually, they already have. They didn't get far enough into the castle to find you."

"You can't keep me here."

"Well, you're not leaving until we let you, so yes, I can."

Owen crossed his arms and glared at the human in front of him.

"Owen—"

"I'm not letting you out."

"What am I supposed to do in here then?"

He shrugged and said, "There's a bookshelf."

"I noticed."

"Why are you still standing there? I've already told you that you're not getting out."

"Yes, I understand that, but you can't stand there forever."

"Once again, you underestimate me, doc."

"You're being ridiculous! I've had a few days to recover, and I probably didn't even need that. Now please just let me go back to town. You don't have to tell anyone."

"Except you were unconscious for most of the time. You still need more time to recover, whether you like it or not. Now go lay down."

Legs almost felt betrayed that Owen had vampiricly commanded him, but he would've done the same thing in his place. In fact, there had been times when he had wished he had such an ability.

Once the doctor had gotten comfortable, Owen watched him for a bit longer before uncrossing his arms and walking over, summoning his wings as he did. The vampire laid next to the veteran and pressed against him as closely as possible, spreading one wing over him to mimic a blanket and to dissuade the doctor from getting up again.

The connection felt nice, and it was something Legundo wasn't used to letting himself have. He was a monster; he didn't deserve such gentleness, such care, such love. He didn't deserve any love, but Louis and Owen seemed hellbent on proving him wrong.

He didn't understand why they didn't hate him. Owen knew what he'd done, had seen all those horrible things when the doctor had let the other feed from him. He must've told Louis in some capacity, that or Louis had found out through his own abilities. Either way, he was baffled by the fact that, despite knowing what he had done, neither seemed to hate him.

"Sleep," Owen said suddenly.

"I'm not tired."

"I don't care. Go to sleep."

"You can't force someone who isn't tired to go to sleep."

"Yes I can. There are plenty of sedatives."

"Do you know how to make an effective one?"

"No, but you do."

"I'm not gonna make a sedative so you can drug me!"

"Why not?"

The doctor just sighed and said "Where I come from, drugging people is a crime."

"Well if you won't let me drug you, I'll just lay on top of you."

Owen climbed on top of the bigger man and made himself comfortable, stretching his wings out as much as he possibly could. Legundo was once again tempted to reach and run his fingers over the leathery material. Was it leathery? It looked to be a pair of massive bat wings, and regular sized bats had leathery wings.

"What are you thinking?" Owen's voice brought the doctor back to reality.

"Nothing," He replied as smoothly as possible. He most certainly was not going to tell Owen what he was thinking.

The vampire eyed him for a moment before saying, "I don't believe you. I'm gonna go get Louis."

He got up and left the room. The doctor continued to lay there. There wasn't really a point in trying to leave. Not yet at least. Owen wouldn't take very long to get Louis, and the absence wouldn't give him enough time to find a way out of the castle, especially if what Owen had said about Legs being too deep in the castle for the townsfolk to find before they were scared off. He really hoped none of them had gotten hurt, or worse, turned. If he wanted to escape, he would have to wait until he was left alone for longer than a few minutes.

The door opened and Owen came in, dragging Louis with him. The older vampire stared at the doctor. He stared back. The former sighed and turned to the younger vampire.

"He's not thinking anything interesting."

Owen groaned in response.

"That's so boring! He was thinking something interesting before I got up to get you!"

"How do you know?"

"He kept staring at my wings!"

Legs felt his face flush at those words. Had he really been staring? That was embarrassing.

"Was he really?"

Owen nodded enthusiasatically.

Louis turned to Legundo and asked, "What were you thinking about when you were staring at his wings?"

"Nothing!"

The doctor did his best to keep from thinking about how those wings might feel. Judging by Louis's grin, he failed. When the two vampires seemed to have some kind of silent conversation, Legs knew he was fucked. He knew he was definitely fucked when he saw a fanged, devilish grin appear on Owen's face. What had he just gotten himself into?

Owen stalked closer, moving like a predator. His wings were spread slightly behind him, and he moved slowly, his eyes fixed on the doctor with unnerving intensity. It made Legundo want to run.

He shifted slightly, moving just as carefully as Owen. Maybe if he was lucky, he could get past the two vampires and out of the room, maybe he could even make it to the end of the hall before they caught up, maybe he could get further than that.

Louis moved to block the doorway, now grinning just as sharply as Owen. Fuck. There went his shot at getting out of here.

Owen prowled closer. Legs shifted the blankets off of himself a slight bit more, moving slowly and carefully in the hopes that the winged vampire wouldn't react.

He wasn't that lucky.

Louis glanced at Owen, and he pounced, pinning the veteran to the bed. He sat atop the human, straddling his hips. The doctor did his best to not think about how that felt.

Owen stretched one of his wings towards the doctor and said, "Go ahead."

"What?" Legs hated how his voice cracked and how high and squeaky it sounded.

"Go ahead. If you're curious about how they feel, I'll let you feel them, as long as you stick to the edges."

"Really?"

This had to be some sort of trap, right? Surely, it was a trap. He didn't deserve this. What if he hurt him?

"This isn't a trap. You aren't going to hurt me."

"But—"

"Shut up and take the offer already!"

"Okay…"

Legs reached up and gently grabbed the outstretched wing. He ran his fingers along the leathery membrane. It was surprisingly soft, almost like running his fingers through fine velvet material, like what the royals in the capital wore. As he ran his fingers over the soft leather of Owen's wings, the aforementioned vampire started to purr. His arms wobbled slightly, and for a moment, it almost seemed like he was just gonna let his weight drop on top of the human under him. Thankfully, he didn't, and instead, he carefully lowered himself down until he was laying on top of the man, pinning the doctor down. He buried his face in the crook of his neck where it met his shoulder, and that made Legs freeze.

Having him so close had his pulse speeding up, especially since he forgot how sensitive his neck could be.

A brief moment passed before Owen said, "Oh~? Is your neck sensitive, Doc~?"

He could feel his face heat up at those words. Shit. Why did he keep forgetting that Louis could read minds? And that he could communicate with Owen without speaking out loud.

"No."

It was a lie, and they all knew it.

"Really~?"

"Yup."

"So you wouldn't mind if I did this~?"

"Did what?" He hated the way his voice cracked.

Owen bit his neck, being careful to not break the skin. The noise Legundo let out was in no way dignified.

"That was adorable~" Owen purred before biting down again. Legs let out another whine, the action almost involuntary.

Owen giggled against his throat. The brush of air against sensitive skin made him squirm.

The vampire clicked his tongue and said, "Did I say you could move?"

He shifted his weight to pin the human against the bed more effectively. In the doctor's opinion, he was enjoying this far too much.

Owen giggled again and said, "Enjoying this too much, dear Doctor? I disagree~ I think can enjoy this much more than I currently am~"

A shudder ran down the doctor's spine at those words. When he got back to town, he would need to look into finding a way to keep Louis from reading all of his thoughts.

"When you get back to town~? I don't recall saying we were gonna let you go, dear Legundo~"

He could tell that the use of his name was intentional. The vampires didn't need a doctor, not when they could heal in a few minutes to a few hours, a day at most for small injuries.

"You can't keep me here—"

That earned a sharp nip to his neck, with a hint of fang. It stung, but it wasn't actually painful.

"You underestimate us, Legs~ We can keep you here as long as we want."

"Alright, that's enough teasing him."

"But Louis—"

"Owen."

"Fine."

The younger vampire huffed and climbed off of the human.

"Can I at least have a little nibble?"

"No."

"But he's so tasty!"

"Really?"

Owen nodded enthusiastically.

"Still no. Can you go check on the stew for me please?"

"Of course!"

Owen left the room, leaving the human alone with his sire.

"So," Louis said, turning to the frazzled doctor.

"Yes?" Legs responded as he sat up and made himself comfortable.

"Owen says you're tasty. You've let him drink from you?"

"I have. It was meant to be a show of trust."

"Did it work?" The vampire asked as he walked over and climbed on top of the doctor.

"I'd like to think so."

"May I have a taste?"

"Well, I can't really stop you at the moment."

"Right. Please try not to struggle too much."

"I've been through worse," The doctor said as he tilted his head to the side to give Louis easier access. The vampire smiled softly and made sure they were both comfortable before leaning down to bury his face in the other man's neck.

"Are you ready?"

"Go ahead."

Louis lifted his hands to cradle Legundo's head. He took a deep breath even though the doctor knew he didn't need to breathe. When the vampire finally sank his fangs in, there was barely a pinprick of pain before it faded. Just like when Owen had fed from him, it felt oddly comforting, even as he felt himself getting weaker. A loud purr rumbled from the vampire on top of him as he fed.

However, unlike Owen, Louis pulled away before Legundo's vision started to go dark. He placed a gentle kiss to the bite mark, and Legs shuddered at the odd sensation of feeling his skin fuse back together. Then a second later, the kiss registered and his mind went blank.

When the world started to register again, he became aware that he was on someone's lap with his head pressed against their shoulder. Their fingers were tracing patterns across his head. When he tried to lift his head, they gently pushed his head back down.

The person was talking, and he realized that the voice belonged to Louis.

The memories of what happened just before his mind went blank came flooding back, and his face heated up. He felt Louis chuckle, and that just made things worse.

He tried to sit up again, and Louis let him this time.

"Are you back with us now?" The vampire asked patiently. It was at that moment that Legundo realized that Owen had returned while he'd been blanked.

He nodded, trying not to think about how he hadn't had an episode like that in months, about how those episodes had never been triggered by something so… benevolent before.

"How long has it been since…" He trailed off.

"Since you blanked? About an hour."

Oh. He felt horrible. He mumbled an apology and hid his face in Louis's shoulder again. The vampire held him tightly.

"You have no reason to apologize, dear."

The use of that pet name affected him more than he was willing to admit. Out loud anyway. Louis probably already knew thanks to his ability. He wasn't used to being held with such gentleness. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve the love and affection Louis and Owen seemed so willing to give. He was a monster.

"I disagree," Louis said softly. "You deserve all of the love and affection we can give you and more. Your past does not entirely make up who you are. You have done monstrous things, yes, but you've also done much good in the world since then."

"But—"

"Shhh. You have no need to protest. Nothing you can say will change how we feel about you."

Legundo fell silent and just sat there in Louis's lap, letting the older man hold him.

After being in town for so long and being the oldest person there (besides Cleo but he was the only one who knew their secret), it was strange to be around people who were much older than him.

He suddenly froze. The town. How long had he been away? How many days had it been since he'd gone into the fog and nearly frozen to death? Louis and Owen had told him he'd been unconscious for a "few" days, but how many was a few to them? He'd been awake for a day, maybe two. It was so hard to tell in this place since the curtains were almost always drawn, blocking out most natural light.

Abolish was still in town, and the doctor knew the man had some medical knowledge, but there was only so much he could do without someone more qualified. He had to get back to town. He had to make sure everyone was okay.

Louis's grip tightened as Owen let out a low growl. They both seemed to sense his fervor.

"You don't need to leave yet," Louis said soothingly. His hold around the doctor was firm.

"I have to get back to town."

"No you don't," Owen growled, almost sounding angry.

"What if someone needs help?"

Louis cupped Legundo's face om his hands, forcing the younger man to make eye contact.

"They have each other. They'll be fine for a bit longer. You don't need to leave yet."

Legs recognized the use of the vampiric command ability, but he was powerless to stop it. He could do nothing except accept those words as truth. He nodded slowly.

"You're safe here," Louis said softly. The human nodded again. He was safe here. He could stay for a little longer.

The fight and fervor to leave drained out of him. He didn't need to leave yet.

He slowly let himself fall asleep in the vampire's arms. He could stay here and rest for just a bit longer.