Archive of Our Own

When Legundo woke up, he didn't expect to feel a presence intertwined around him. It was comforting, but unfamiliar. He couldn't help but snuggle closer to it. Most days he woke up alone in the cold of the castle, going straight to work on finding a cure to his stupid lovesick disease.

His heart fluttered. Scott? He tried to push his thoughts through the sire-fledgling bond like he had slowly been learning. It was tricky when Scott kept his end of the connection so iron-tight, but it was worth it whenever he got a response.

He tried not to think about how pathetic that was.

However, the bond seemed…frayed. Distant. Confused, Legundo opened his eyes. A man was wrapped around him, eyes completely open and trained on him.

He looked like Scott, before he had gorged on blood.

He was Scott?

Scott smiled, full of warmth and love and Legs could not shake the feeling that it wasn't meant for him. "Good morning, cherry." Then his face shifted into confusion. "Wait, when did you-"

"Go away!" Legundo screamed, falling off of the bed in his panic. Not sire, not sire, not sire-

Shut up!

Not sire-not him-

Strange clothes were on his body. They weren't his doctor robes nor did they resemble Scott's extravagant outfits. He wasn't in the castle. Where am I?

Get ahold of your surroundings, soldier.

"Legs?" Not-Scott's voice sounded wary. It only took a blink before Not-Scott was by his side, hands hovering just over his skin but still hesitant to touch. "You're not in the nightmare anymore. You're here, with me. Cleo, Pearl, Martyn, Drift, they're okay."

"Nightmare…?" Legundo asked hoarsely. Sure, nightmares were common for him, but how would Not-Scott know that? Cleo had known about them, but they both often pretended like they didn't struggle with night terrors, only offering silent support while keeping it hidden from the town.

Nightmares were the least of his worries when his instincts were screaming from the disorientation of having Not-Scott be near him and when he could feel the flowers tugging in his throat.

"Yeah, a nightmare," Not-Scott repeated. Legundo couldn't help but laugh weakly.

"I think a nightmare would be kinder." He finally forced himself to look at Scott-because it was Scott, it had to be Scott-and it sent him bending over to choke out flowers. He hated how weak he was for the man.

"Jesus Christ-" Scott's hand was on his back, rubbing it in circles and Legundo couldn't help but stiffen. His Scott had done that. It had been a tiny spoonful of affection that it felt like he had worked for, and here this Scott was giving it freely without a second thought.

It felt wrong.

"Don't touch me," Legundo snapped brokenly (he sounded so pathetic, what had happened to the doctor that had commanded attention? The soldier that deserved medals?) when the flowers were finally out of his system. There was only one in full bloom this time, but it had hurt regardless. He could already feel his throat stitching itself back up. He scooted away from Scott, not entirely trusting his feet to work properly at the moment. He scooted until he exited the room and hit a corner.

Yeah. He could stay in the corner forever. That was fine. It was easier than trying to figure out the mess in front of him.

"Legundo." Scott was already in front of him again. "Okay, fine, run away and hide in your corner, but you're being strange. Why are you a vampire?"

"You turned me," Legundo answered, because it was all he knew. It had happened. Maybe Scott was having a weird memory episode? But that didn't explain the clothes. They were both wearing strange clothes.

"I what?" Scott's face paled. "Why would I turn you?"

"Good question." Legs was starting to feel a little insane. Scott had turned him. Scott had turned him. He had been living in the castle for the past month or more. It had all happened. He wasn't insane. He wasn't. "I asked for it, but I honestly don't know why you thought I deserved any sort of immortality." Scott's face crumpled.

"You're…okay. Okay. Hm." He started to pace back and forth. "Humor me. What was your turning like?"

"We were by the river in Oakhurst," Legundo slowly started. "It was an opportunity to slow my disease."

"Oakhurst." Scott looked…scared. He had never seen him look scared before. "Oakhurst has been gone for over six centuries, Doc."

"That's not right." Legundo frowned. "You turned me over a month ago." He looked around at the unfamiliar setting and it clicked. "Oh. Oh, no. I'm-I think I'm from the past."

"But not my past." Scott was still pacing. "I know when my Legundo was born. There can't be two of us running around."

"Your Legundo?" The doctor felt himself perk up and immediately felt guilty for it. It wasn't his place to be vying for attention from a Scott that didn't belong to his time. Scott looked at him with-oh. There was pity in his eyes. He slowly approached Legundo, much like one would approach a scared cat.

"I have my own Legundo. He's different from you, but you share some traits." Scott pulled something out of his pocket. It was a strange rectangle device and when he turned the screen around, it revealed…him. But not him. This Legundo looked happier, like a weight had finally been lifted off of his back. Scott swiped across the device, revealing more and more photos of this Scott and other Legundo together. There was Pearl, Cleo, Drift, Martyn-they were all together. They were all happy. They were close.

The yearning in his heart burned. He found himself wishing he could claw all of them out of the device and hold them in his arms. He had pushed them all away in favor of being selfish for once. He was horrible.

But this Legundo…didn't seem so horrible.

Scott was close to him again. "How well do you know my other self?" Legundo opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

There wasn't one simple answer to describe Scott. Really, the answer was more of a question: did he ever know Scott? He had seen many sides of him, sure, but he had yet to decode the intricate puzzle that was Scott Goldsmith. "I live in his castle. He turned me." He coughed out a few petals as the day of his turning replayed in his mind.

"You love him," Scott frowned.

"I mean-" Legundo laughed through the petals. "Love is a bit of a simple word, isn't it?" Scott silently picked up the petals and stared at him, hard.

"Hanahaki disease. I've known of it for several hundred years." He held the petals with care, like he was afraid his claws would slice through them. His Scott often held the petals like he was barely tolerating them. He had thought that was normal-Scott was particular about most things, after all. But now he could see the differences. The excuses and lies he had told himself were starting to break ever so slightly. "It's a disease of unrequited love. You got turned more than a month ago to help with the disease…how long have you been suffering with this? Why would…" He looked down at the petals. "Do you think he's genuinely helping you?"

"He's helped." Legundo bristled, suddenly feeling defensive. "He's gotten nothing in return from me staying in his castle. He should've kicked me out by now, honestly."

"Oh my god." Scott put his hands to his face, rubbing the soft skin and dropping the petals in the process. "Oh my god. What has he done to you?"

"Nothing!" Legundo felt a dam in his chest break, a dam he hadn't realized he had been holding in for so long. "If anything, it's what I've done to everyone else. I'm the one who can't stop loving him. I'm the one that abandoned the town. I'm the one that agreed to be turned into a vampire. I'm the one with this damn disease-"

"No!" Scott bent down, looking him straight in the eyes. Distress was written clear all over his face-another expression he had never seen before on the man. "You're a smart man, Doc. You're purposefully ignoring your Scott's motives and reasons in the name of wallowing in self-hatred and-" He buried his face in his hands. "Why are you both like this?"

"I'm not him," Legundo mumbled, exhaustion settling deep into his bones. "Your Legundo is probably far better than I could ever be." Scott sighed.

"That is exactly the same thing he would say. Doc-Legs, you know what I mean. He's bored." His expression grew pained. "He's bored, and you're his game. He's-he's not getting nothing out of this. He's probably getting some sick sense of glee at watching you jump over hoops at solving something that would be so easy. I know, because I was him once." Legundo didn't know what to say. Scott carefully reached out his hands, drawing close to his hair. "Let me show you what it's like when I'm trying to love you. Please."

"I'm not your Legundo," The doctor protested, despite knowing he was practically shaking for even a scrap of the touch Scott was offering him.

"I'm doing this for you." Scott answered firmly, not moving his hands closer or further away. Legundo swallowed roughly before nodding. Scott carded his hands through his short hair, softly scratching at his head like a massage. It was gentle, practiced and made a pleasant buzz run through his brain. His flowers stayed hidden inside his chest, almost like Scott himself had quieted them. He hadn't realized he had started to lean forward until his forehead bumped Scott's shoulder. The most surprising was that it lasted. Scott held onto him like he was worth something, like it was up to him to choose how much affection and love he wanted to drink from Scott.

Without realizing it, tears were leaking from his face. "Oh," He breathed. His tears were wiped softly away by Scott.

"He broke you," Scott whispered. "And you didn't even let yourself realize it."

"Oh." It was only then he realized something. "If I'm here, then that must mean your Legundo is with my Scott-" He wiggled in Scott's grasp.

"Fuck," Scott hissed but kept his grip tight. "You're right. However, you're not going anywhere."

"But we have to fix this. I have to fix this." Legundo started to claw at him. However, his movements were futile and softened by the fact that he was being hugged. "I don't know how this happened. There was nothing out of the ordinary before I woke up here."

"Maybe you'll just switch back?" Scott offered. Then his gaze darkened. "But I don't want you going back there."

"But you need your Legundo back." Legs continued to wiggle. "He's perfect for you-"

"I want both of you." Scott tightened his grip, only moving a hand to pull his device out again. "Firstly, this is a phone. And I'm going to call a friend or two with it to help. Alright?"

"…Good."

.☘︎ ݁˖

There wasn't any other life Legundo wanted than the one he had now.

Perhaps long ago, he would've wished for a simpler life, one where he could march on and on, helping others until he died. Nowadays, he was fairly satisfied with his simple day schedule.

Wake up to Scott curled up next to him, always on standby for threats or cuddling…or hanging out for the benefits of a living heater.

Tear himself away from his boyfriend and drive to the hospital after eating a good breakfast.

Pass by the corner store and reminiscence on old memories.

Arrive at the hospital, throw on his doctor's coat and do the best he can.

Drive home a little earlier than usual-he had been encouraged to go home early even months after his attempt-and call Cleo using the car's speaker.

And at the end of it all, he would arrive at home, their home, and constantly wonder how he had been so lucky to have such a good life.

But when he woke up, he wasn't at home. The walls were unfamiliar and cold, made entirely out of a dark stone that he didn't recognize. He was in a freezing bed with no vampire next to him in sight. Absentmindedly, he reached for his glasses that were usually by the bed to no avail. Did Scott move him in his sleep for a quick laugh? He knew from experience that the vampire could easily lift him up without a second thought, so it wasn't completely improbable.

Slowly, he got up from the bed. When he looked down, he was wearing odd white clothes. His….doctor's coat? It looked longer than he remembered. Maybe he wasn't fully awake yet.

The room around him was filled with papers and scribbled notes. Legundo had to get close to the wall to decipher any of it. The handwriting was eerily similar to his own.

Lovesick disease? An arrow pointed to a scrap of paper that had been torn out of a book. To remove such a disease, you must cut the love from the roots. However, this will cause the love to never regrow. More scribbles overlaid the text, blurring its contents. No, no, no, no. The rest of the closest wall was filled with medical diagrams and liquid recipes that Legs didn't feel like attempting to understand.

"I'll be back soon!" A familiar voice came from outside the room. Legundo whipped his head towards it, having known the voice far too well at this point. Relief filled his heart as he made his way out of the room. It was the part where Scott would show up and laugh at him and would reveal that the fun prank was made to confuse him after he'd been working himself too hard lately. Not that he himself thought he had been working too hard lately, but they often disagreed on that fact.

"Scott?" Legundo called out as he entered the hallway. The rest of the area wasn't much different from the first room, full of dark stone and mahogany floors. Legundo caught a glimpse of white hair before the other man turned a corner. Legundo frowned and raced to catch up with him. When had Scott drank so much blood again?

He followed the man down the hallway and some stairs, eventually going through a door and into the outside. They were surrounded by a sprawling forest with no other landmarks in sight. Scott was heading straight into the woods and the doctor had very little choices except to follow. Finally, Scott stopped harshly, nearly causing Legs to run into him.

His outfit was strange, too. It reminded him of the Dracula vampire costumes that were often sold at Halloween-the same kind that Scott loudly complained about whenever he saw them-so it was odd for him to be wearing such a thing.

Had something happened to Scott? Was he having some sort of episode of his own? A vampire illness?

"Scott!" He tried again when the vampire didn't answer. He reached out and laid a hand on Scott's shoulder, hoping to prompt him to actually look at him. "Where are we? Are you alright?"

Scott whipped his head around, fangs slightly bared. "What." Annoyance and disgust were written clear on his face and Legundo had to muster everything inside of him to not step back.

"…Scott?" His voice came out smaller as he stared at the man in front of him. It was Scott, but it wasn't his Scott. The look in his eyes was wrong, far too cruel and sharp for what they normally were. The vampire blinked in surprise before his eyebrows furrowed.

"You-" He reached out a hand and grabbed his chin, tugging him forward with barely any effort at all. Legundo nearly stumbled on his feet from the force of it. Scott laid a thumb on his lips, prying them open and peering inside like he was looking for something before glaring at him directly in the eyes. "Human." What?

"Uh-" Legundo felt his brain slightly short circuiting as Scott stared at him like he was trying to see through him. It was intense and caused a blush to rise to his face.

"Why are you human." It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

"I don't know? Why wouldn't I be?" He laughed a little nervously. "Scott, you're acting weird." Scott stared at him a little bit longer before stepping back and brushing his hands on his vest. A smile brightened his face and it looked so wrong that it itched at Legundo.

"Right. My apologies. Come with me and I'll explain everything." Scott waved a hand before disappearing deeper into the woods.

Despite every instinct screaming at him that something wasn't right, Legundo followed him. He trusted Scott, even if this form of him was…strange.

He trusted him.

⋆˚✿˖°

The most striking difference of this Legundo was his eyes. There was a deep exhaustion in them that could only be connected back to someone who had been barely holding on for a very, very, very long time.

Scott knew it had been him to do so. Maybe he wasn't that man anymore, but there were often times he could feel it brimming at the surface. Times when he would stop and consider that doing things the easy way would be better than trying the hard way. When control would be better than brute force.

He remembered a night of white snow dyed red and sometimes it felt like he could finally breathe.

But he knew better. Humans were no longer his dolls. Some of them were…less than desirable. But he had improved at unearthing his empathy for them. Somewhat.

It pained him to know there was a Legundo out there who had not only interacted with that old version of him, but had been completely broken because of him. Somehow, the man had less of a presence than his cherry did, like his spirit had been stuffed into a jar and dimmed.

The thought of that happening to his doctor pained him even more. It made sense that somehow, the two Legundos had switched places-across timelines or universes, he wasn't sure-but without a clear indicator of what occurred, there wasn't much they could do. But it didn't matter when he had a feeling he knew what his other self would do.

Cat and mouse. His Legundo was new. Intriguing. Different from the Legundo he had likely grown to predict and know. And if he also assumed his Legs had an attraction to him?

Scott imagined the other Scott kissing his doctor and cruelly teasing him with affection that meant nothing and it angered him. It angered him equally so to see a vampire fledgling like this Legs be neglected so intentionally. He could see the tell-tale signs of most fledgling growing pains from the first couple of days, except it had evidently been longer than that. His skin was far colder than most vampires; either from a choice of not drinking blood or a starvation tactic of some sort. He could also tell that he was constantly reaching out for the sire bond-every so often, a glaze would come over his eyes, whether it was subconscious or not.

God, it had been so long since he had gone near a fledgling.

"Scott?" Cleo entered the apartment, a bewildered look on their face. Scott hadn't moved from the floor ever since he had started giving Legundo physical affection. The other vampire had melted near instantly, and he had to admit it was nice to have someone that embraced his sometimes clingy nature rather than try to run away from it. (Ahem. His Legundo.)

As soon as Cleo entered the room, Legundo thrashed wildly in his grip. Hesitantly, Scott unleashed him, allowing the man to scramble towards her. Cleo's eyes widened and he could tell the moment they clocked that he wasn't the doctor. He hovered near her, like he wanted to hug her but was scared to get too close. "I'm sorry," He shakily spoke. "I'm sorry, I ruined everything, I'm sorry-"

"Legundo." Cleo snapped their fingers. "Legundo. It's okay. I don't even know what you're apologizing for."

"Right, right." Legundo seemed to come back into himself slightly. "Right." He slowly stepped back. Cleo instantly walked by Scott, dragging him over to his room and shutting the door.

"Before you say anything, we're not out of range for vampiric hearing." Scott put his hands on his hips. "And no, I don't know how he got here. But he's from another universe and now our Legs is there and I don't know how to get them to both stay here. Because that other universe isn't good."

Cleo slowly rubbed their forehead. "Right. Say that again but slower."

.☘︎ ݁˖

They were by a river. It wasn't one he recognized-the entire area wasn't one he recognized, honestly-but when he dipped a finger in it, it was cold.

Freezing temperatures seemed to be a common thing. It didn't make sense-summer was still ongoing, so how could it be so cold in this area? Scott didn't even take a look at the river, his entire attention focused on him. "How are you?" He asked, a pleasant and harrowing smile still on his face. Legs didn't like it.

"I'm fine."

"Have you felt ill lately?"

"No?" Legundo hesitantly responded. Where was Scott going with this? "What about you?"

"Hm?" Scott sounded like he wasn't paying attention. "Mm, oh, I'm better than alright." Legundo stepped closer to him. Scott's grin turned a little crooked. "What? Can't go five seconds without being close to me?" Legundo clammed up. The direct flirting was so familiar yet so different to the Scott he knew. It was pointed like an arrow, like he knew it would hit him in the heart.

If Legundo didn't know better, he would almost claim it to be Scott's weapon.

"See, this will all make sense soon." Scott moved himself closer to Legundo until his face was almost in his neck. "Just stand still and I'll show you." Alarm bells rang in his head as Scott's hand suddenly stroked the back of his neck, like he was trying to calm a dog.

"Scott." He warned as he noticed Scott's fangs poke out of his lips. "Scott, we talked about this-" As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, he realized how stupid they were. He already knew this wasn't his Scott. Why was he trying to pretend like he was?

His thought process was stopped instantly by the fangs in his neck. He screamed and withered in his grasp, somehow managing to wrangle his way out of the deadly vice. Scott snarled from where he had been pushed away as he wiped blood off of his face. "Darling, this would be easier if you just trusted me."

"I don't!" Legundo shouted as blood ran down his neck. He slapped a hand to the wound to try and stop it from bleeding more. "I don't know who you are, but you're not anything like my Scott!" Scott seemed momentarily confused.

"What are you talking about?" Legundo seized the opportunity and ran the other direction. Scott laughed as he ran. "It's cute that you think you have any chance of getting away from me!"

Run.

His heart thumped in time with the spurts of blood that squirted out of the two new pinpricks on his neck.

"What matters is your happiness. I just want you to have your happiness for as long as you can. I just…don't know what kind of person I would be without you and it scares me to know that you could be gone someday and-"

Run.

He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know if the branches that snapped around him were from the wildlife or the predator that was hunting him down.

"I hate that it scares me."

Run.

He felt like he was going to pass out, but he had to keep going.

"I've never been scared of anything more than losing you in my entire life."

Run.

⋆˚✿˖°

Legundo scrolled through the pictures as the other two talked. He could hear them perfectly, but he found himself not wanting to pay attention. It was better to not know what was being said.

Instead, he tortured himself by looking at all of the photos. He found himself lingering on the ones with his other self and Scott, usually on dates or doing something goofy.

He didn't deserve that sort of life. But he found himself wishing he could have it. The flowers stirred as he thought of his Scott doing similar things and caused him to kneel over and cough flowers out.

It hurt. It hurt that he couldn't have all of this. Cleo had looked at him with concern instead of hate. Scott had given him love despite barely knowing him.

Maybe he could've had it all. Maybe he had just done things differently, been different, been better. Something could've lead him to a similar path this universe tread on. More flowers flowed out of him and he could feel his vision start to blur. Sure, the vampirism healed the disease, but too much at once and he could feel its effects lacking. "Legs!" Cleo was next to him with a towel, gently dabbing his face every minute he wasn't throwing up the flowers.

"I told you it was bad." Scott was on his other side, rubbing his back again.

"It's-it's fine-" Legundo tried to salvage any dignity he had left. "I've been dealing with this by myself for a while."

"By yourself?" Cleo questioned. Legundo couldn't meet their eyes.

"Ye-no. No, Scott helps sometimes. Not anybody else. Nobody in town liked that I got turned."

"More manipulation," Scott muttered angrily. He reached up and held Legundo's face. "Legs, I'm so, so, so sorry. I'm sorry I was ever the type of person to do this to you."

"Why are you apologizing?" Legundo pushed his hands away despite everything inside of him screaming not to. Suddenly, all of the affection and genuineness was overwhelming. "I can handle myself. I'm going for a fly." He shifted into his bat form and fluttered out the window, ignoring the shouts of the other two behind him.

He ignored the flashing lights and tall buildings around him (how had everything in the world developed so fast? What was the medical field like now? What about the army?) and barreled straight for the woods.

.☘︎ ݁˖

It hadn't taken him long to find a town. Legundo ran into it, looking around for any signs of life.

He hadn't expected the first sign of life to be Cleo. He immediately ran up to them, smiling. If there wasn't Scott to rely on, then he could at least expect her. "Cleo!" He panted. "Listen, I'm being chased by-"

When Cleo saw him, their expression changed near instantly. They angrily pointed a finger at his chest and he shut up. "You have some nerve showing up here," She growled. Legundo froze. This wasn't Normal Mad Cleo or Concerned But Also Mad Cleo.

This was "I'm going to skin you alive and hang you on my wall" Mad Cleo. And the anger was directed at him, full force.

"What did I do?" Legundo threw out his hands. "I'm asking genuinely! Because I don't know!" Cleo paused.

"Why are you bleeding? Did he bite you?" Cleo squinted at the wound. "Why would he bite you if he's already turned you?"

"Is me being a human really that surprising?"

"You're human?" Cleo blinked, clearly surprised. Legundo groaned.

"Legundoooo!" Scott's sultry voice echoed from somewhere close to the woods near the town. "I really didn't think you'd be so bold to run here, but I'm not complaining!" Cleo grabbed onto his shoulders.

"We'll figure this out later. Run to the Pale Wood-"

"I don't know where that is." Cleo's eye twitched.

"Run north from here. Straight. Don't turn at all. There's a small hideout in the crypt there. I'll keep him distracted."

"Thank you, Cleo." Legundo felt like he was going to cry. At least something made sense in this world.

"You're still in deep shit." Cleo rolled their eyes. "But if you've somehow been….reverted to your previous self, I'm not letting you be swayed by him again." Again? Previous self? Legundo couldn't help but linger on that part of her sentence as he started to run again.

Run.

The wound still hadn't scabbed over yet. He'd have to bandage it with his clothing once he arrived at the hideout.

Run.

Maybe then, he would finally have a chance to catch his breath and figure everything out for once.

⋆˚✿˖°

Legundo huddled in a random tree in the forest, crouching on a branch. He was just so disoriented. He had been telling himself he hadn't fallen for Scott's manipulation-and yet, based on what this Scott was saying, he somehow had.

Maybe he was just so rotten from the inside out that his Scott couldn't help but drag him along because nobody else would be monstrous enough to even bother with pretending to love him. He slowly reached for the ring that he had be given out of habit and-

Right. Different clothes. It wasn't there. Legundo found himself reaching for the same spot multiple times as if it would summon the promise ring back on his neck. A shot of panic burst through him as he realized he had no trace of his Scott here. Then another wave of embarrassment washed over him as he realized how much he had gotten used to having even a little bit of Scott's presence. Like the ring was a trophy for playing along with Scott just long enough to be rewarded for running in the hamster wheel.

He wished he would swap back already. He didn't deserve to be given unconditional love. His whole life he had worked for things he wanted, so why should it be any different with his Scott? Yet, at the same time, he found himself deeply terrified at the prospect of swapping back any second. How could he face his Scott knowing there was another that was better?

How could he face his Scott knowing that if he had just been better, he could fix him?

"You have that in common, you know. Running away." A bat-shaped Scott said as he flew down and tucked himself in the nape of his neck. Directly on top of his bite mark. Scott couldn't help but scoff. "Other me's work is so sloppy. He was afraid you would get away from him, likely."

"Him? Afraid? Of me?" Legundo laughed weakly. Scott's bat eyes stared hard at him.

"He only has control over you because you think it's the easiest path. I know that if you really tried, you would be able to see that for yourself."

"I want him to love me," Legundo whispered. "But I still don't know why."

"How long have you been alone, Legs?" Scott bumped his nose against the bite wound, like it was paint that would just rub off. "How long has it been since someone has tried to love you?" Legundo slumped.

"A long time."

"And he knows that. Hanahaki disease progresses the stronger the love for the other person gets. He probably made it worse on purpose."

"But what if, deep down-" Legundo waved his hands. "You exist! There has to be some part of him that is genuine! There has to be some sort of truth…"

"You're not going to find it. And if you do, you're not going to understand it."

"Then what else do I have left?" Legundo's voice broke. "The town hates me, the coven doesn't like me either, I'm a monster, and what kind of doctor am I if I end up siphoning blood from my patients?" Suddenly, Scott shifted into his human form and settled into the doctor's lap, a determined look on his face.

"You're going to have me, for however long that may be. And if you do go back, you're going to do me a favor and get over Scott Goldsmith. Your body is quite literally tearing itself apart for him and you're not doing to do that to yourself anymore."

"But you don't even know me." Legundo objected. "What if I'm worse than him?"

Scott gripped his chin and pulled him closer. "I killed more people and animals than I could ever count. My Legundo was in the army and poisoned an entire town and is still haunted by it. If you're going to be worse than anyone, it'll be hard to beat the two of us."

"…He did?" Legundo slumped. "Another thing we have in common." What was so different about him? What was so inherently unlovable about him?

"I recognize that face. You're thinking too much." Scott smiled and kissed just next to his lip. "Let me fix that." Legundo felt his lips part open in shock and the other vampire took that opportunity to kiss him softly, like he was a thing that was made to be loved. Like he was trying to undo what his Scott had molded him into, to take him apart one by one and rebuild him again in the way that he saw him.

Legundo tried to pull away from him. "I don't deserve this-" Scott started kissing him again.

"I think you do."

"I don't-" Another kiss.

"You do."

"Are you lying?" Another kiss.

"I'm not."

"You have to be lying." Another kiss.

"Why would I lie to a handsome man such as you?" Legundo found himself blushing. It was a flirting that he was unused to, a flirting meant to be played by two people instead of one. Something to be given back instead of something to react to. Scott smiled again. "See how much nicer it feels?"

"Yeah." A stupid grin was on his face and he didn't know how to get rid of it. "Yeah, this feels nice."

.☘︎ ݁˖

The hideout was dusty and had barely anything in it, but it worked. There was some food tucked away and he quickly scarfed down some of it.

Running for his life had made him pretty hungry.

Legundo leaned against the wall and caught his breath. Right. Time to sort out what he knew.

He was in an unfamiliar world. True. His Scott and his Cleo were nowhere to be seen. Just like in a movie, he had somehow been transported to an alternate universe when he was asleep. However, what kind of alternate universe he had been transported to was yet to be determined.

He had taken his counterpart's place. True. Based on the clothes he wore and the fact that he didn't wake up next to another Legundo made it obvious that they had somehow swapped-or he had somehow cannibalized the other Legs into non-existence. The first one was preferable. If they had swapped once randomly, there was a chance they would swap back randomly. He could only hope that his counterpart wasn't also twisted and that his Scott would deal with him just fine.

Then he thought of Scott trying to turn him and his throat went dry.

Something bumped his chest and he startled in surprise. He had been so busy running that he hadn't noticed it earlier. Carefully, he reached a hand down and pulled up a necklace. There was a golden ring attached to it. The ring had words etched onto it that he had to hold close to his face to read.

Amor tussisque non celatur. -S.G.

"Love and a cough cannot be hidden," He murmured to himself. It was a promise ring, often exchanged between lovers or soon-to-be lovers when they couldn't commit fully to a relationship. He remembered the papers on the walls-a lovesick disease? Had his counterpart been in love with Scott so much that he had gotten sick from it? It was clear he treasured the ring if he kept it on him.

Then Legundo remembered how Scott had acted. How quickly he switched up on him and how he was currently hunting him down. How could his counterpart be in love with someone like him? He felt sick as he looked at the ring.

Maybe there was a reason it was on a necklace instead of his finger.

Nothing was adding up. Legundo sighed and massaged his head to prevent a headache from forming. God, if only he had his glasses. He sat down on the floor and curled up on it, finding himself missing the touch of his Scott. The bite wound throbbed as he thought of him.

Slowly, he drifted off, drinking up the memories of a springtime he could no longer reach.

⋆˚✿˖°

When they had gotten back to where Scott lived, Legundo had disappeared into the room he woke up in. He couldn't bear to be near Cleo, so Scott had to eventually send them home. Cleo hadn't figured out a way to help regardless, being just as blindsided as the other two. Scott had thanked her for trying.

Every second Scott wasn't with him, Legundo was afraid he would blink and be back in the castle. It was agonizing. He craved the attention that this Scott had given him, so much so that his flowers hadn't acted up even once.

"How do you feel, darling?" Scott appeared in the room. He had been attempting ordinary tasks around the-apartment-ever since Legundo had melted into the blankets. It was funny to hear Scott's grunts of annoyance as he tried to take the trash out. He suspected that, like his Scott, the man had barely done any manual labor in his life. Most importantly, it was nice to have the other so close by. His Scott easily disappeared into the expansive walls of the castle that it was far easier to run into Pyro or Shelby than it was to run into him. He wondered if it was another tactic that had been used to string him along.

"Fine," Legundo mumbled as he tightened the blanket around himself. Scott slid into bed with him, nestling into his back like he had always meant to be there. "Can…can you tell me more about your Legundo? I'm just…curious."

"Where do I start?" Scott chuckled. "I met him in the middle of a road. Well, he didn't notice me for a while, but eventually I just kept coming back to the same spot to watch him walk by. You have to understand, he fascinated me." He reached up and massaged Legs' shoulders as he talked. "Later on, he stabbed me." The doctor let out a confused laugh.

"Did he?"

"He did!" Scott excitedly confirmed. "He was challenging. I liked it. We talked to each other more and more and then I realized I loved him. It was strange. I've never loved someone like an equal before. However…I thought I would hurt him. Yet, I found myself always enraptured by him again."

Scott had never treated him like an equal. Surely he had messed up somewhere. In the process of declaring himself unlovable, had he shown to Scott that he wasn't built to love either? What was he doing here? He had kissed this Scott like he was meant to be in this world. He wasn't. Surely he was the one leading everyone on. He was a deceiver, subconsciously choosing the right things to say so that nobody would think less of him. His Scott had to have seen through it and that action surely stopped any sort of humanity in the man from surfacing.

"This isn't helping you," Scott broke through the silence that had been created from Legundo drowning in his thoughts. "I can tell."

"It is," Legundo protested. Hearing about his other self was like stabbing a knife into his heart, but the sting felt too good to stop stabbing.

"It doesn't tell you much about our world. It's only making you feel worse about yours."

"Why are you so good at reading me here, too?" Legundo grumbled. "I can't hide anything."

"It's a dastardly skill. I'm just too good at everything." Legundo suddenly turned over and kissed him, not even realizing he had done it until pulled away.

"Ah," Scott blushed, a smile breaking over his face. "See? Isn't it better when you're allowed to give?" Legundo felt himself shut down and turned over again before sinking further into his mind.

"…Yeah."

.☘︎ ݁˖

He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up to being kicked in the side. He yelped and rolled over, dust getting all in his hair and clothes. Instantly, he was on the defense, standing up and preparing to fight. He caught a glimpse of white hair and immediately threw a punch. "It's me," Cleo deadpanned as they dodged the hit.

"Did you have to kick me?" Legundo crossed his arms as he tried to calm his fast beating heart.

"It woke you up. Start explaining."

"I don't know. I know I'm not the Legundo you know, I'm-from a different universe? I don't even know what town we're in."

"So you didn't do anything to cause this?" Cleo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No! All I did was go to bed and I woke up in this messed up world. Now, you start explaining. Why are you a vampire? Why does Scott want to hunt me down?"

"Only the doctor-your other self-can answer that, really," Cleo said softly. She looked down and rubbed her shoulders. "One day, he was fine. The next, he started to hide away and keep things from the others in the town. Then, he let Scott turn him and things have crumbled in the town ever since. Scott and Owen have been turning everyone they can, even if they don't want it."

"Why would I want to be turned?" Legundo laughed bitterly. "I've struggled living with my actions for years now. I don't need centuries."

"What actions?" Cleo turned sharp. Legundo paused. They didn't know. They didn't know about what he had done. Hell, who's to say his other self had done the same things he had?

"If you don't know, then it's not my place."

"Fine." Cleo stood up and walked the other direction. "Stay here for as long as you can. But there's not much I can do to help you now. Just stay away from the castle and you should be alright."

"Thanks anyways!" Legundo tried to sound chipper as she disappeared. Nausea churned in his stomach as he stared at the promise ring. With the way Scott had had no doubts about turning him, there was no way his other self had agreed to such a thing. Yet, he had woken up inside of the castle, hadn't he? That had to be Scott's abode. If the other Scott truly didn't like his other self and didn't care what he thought, then why did he allow him to live with him?

He laid down and tried to go back to sleep. He just wanted to go home already.

⋆˚✿˖°

When Legundo let himself be conscious of the world around him again, it was involuntarily. He'd be happy to spend the however much longer he had curled up next to Scott in a warm bed, but the absolute pang of hunger that rolled through him was hard to ignore. Most of the time, he could ignore them, but in all of the activity it was possible he had forgotten to push past the hunger until it was too late. He let out a little noise of pain that alerted Scott to him. "Is something wrong?" Scott asked dazedly.

"No." Legundo answered a little too quickly. Instantly, Scott was up. As he worriedly peered at him, another hunger pain racked through his body and he curled himself up more.

"Oh. You're just hungry. Come on." Scott's shoulders lost their tenseness as he beckoned for Legs to follow him out of the room. Legundo followed, still unused to the caring side of Scott. He buried the feeling that he didn't belong there and let himself be taken care of. He hovered over Scott's shoulder as he opened a strange, cold metal box and pulled out a canister of blood. He didn't even have to look at it for long before the scent of sweet blood hit his nose. He hated how good it smelled, yet he didn't object when Scott poured it into two cups and handed one to him. "I will warn you, it's human blood." Legundo's eye widened. "But it's voluntarily given, donated blood. You have nothing to worry about." The doctor sighed in relief before lifting up his cup.

"Cheers?"

"Cheers." Scott grinned, lightly tapping his cup against the other's. He frowned as he patted his pockets with his free hand. "Dammit. I left my phone in the other room." He set the cup to the side and walked away. "Hold on, darling. I'll be back in a second."

"It's okay. I'll still be here when you come back." Legundo teased as he lifted the cup of blood to his lips. Then, the world snapped and shifted back to how it was before.

Just as he had been about to sip on some blood, he found himself tied up in ropes and sitting on the ground. Scott-and based on the striking white of his hair, it was his Scott-was close to him, looking like he was about to bite him.

At the sudden reappearance of his sire, Legundo found himself bending over and throwing up petals. "Hm," Scott mused. "It looks like you're back to normal." He sounded as if he had made a decision to eat oranges instead of apples for the day. Like the switch was a normal occurrence that warranted no surprise.

"What did you do to my other self?" Legundo questioned as he cut through the ropes with a claw.

"I was trying to help him get back. Problem is, he was quite easily spooked." Scott said smoothly, already moving to extinguish the candles around them. They were at Scott's coffin, he realized.

"Why are we here?"

"Convenience."

"Why were you about to bite me?" Scott paused and turned around.

"What's with all the questions?" His lip curled slightly, and Legs knew he was in a bad mood. "You don't usually ask these many questions, darling." The petname was like a slap to the face, a mockery of the kindness he had received before. It was only then he remembered their bond. He had gotten used to it being so far away that he had forgotten it would come back. He could tell the moment Scott felt his emotions.

"You met someone important in that other world, didn't you?" Scott cooed. "Who?"

"It was you," Legundo mumbled. "A…different you." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted voicing them. A strong sense of guilt racked through him, one that he wasn't entirely sure was his own.

"It doesn't matter what other version of me you met out there. I'm the one you have. I'm your sire. I saved you." His smile turned sweet. "I only want to help you." A warm and fuzzy feeling coursed through him (and it was so similar to the feelings he had felt with the other Scott, so intoxicating that he couldn't help but want for more) causing him to nod.

"You're right. I'm sorry for mentioning it."

"Let's go back to the castle." Scott gently grabbed his shoulder, a pantomime of his other self. "I think you deserve some rest and some food."

Petals fell slowly out of his mouth as he was led back to the castle. It was where he belonged.

Pain racked through him as he imagined the other Scott again and it felt good to hurt.

This Scott was the only one he was allowed to have. This Scott was the one he deserved, no matter how much of a toy he was to him.

.☘︎ ݁˖

Legundo woke up with his entire world flipped on its head, quite literally this time around. He was dangling from the ceiling as rope looped around him and kept him there. When he tried to move, dizziness overtook him.

He wondered how long he had been hanging out for. There was infinite darkness in front of him, meaning he had no way to tell the passage of time. Even if the lights were on, he had a feeling his bad vision would make it impossible to see anything anyways. The minutes dragged on as he dangled in the air with no other company but his thoughts.

"You are a problem, did you know that?" A voice that was clearly pissed off came out of nowhere, causing him to flinch and chafe the ropes against his skin. Slowly, candles were lit in the room and Legundo could identify that he wasn't in the castle, but a different sort of stone area. A coffin was on the floor in the middle of the room. Still, even with the light, he couldn't see who was talking.

"Am I?" He mused, trying to goad Scott into talking again. Because of course it was Scott.

"I know you're not from here. I heard your conversation with Cleo." Scott continued as his voice circled the area. Legundo cursed himself for not checking if he had been followed. "And that makes you a problem. Without my Legundo, the town will reconcile. Without him, they will kill my fledglings and I. Without him, I'm going to be terribly bored." His voice took on a snarl. "And nothing ends well when I'm bored, Doctor."

This was the terror Scott Goldsmith had been; the cowardly monster under all of his flirting and schemes. He hadn't realized how much of an issue he would become with this Scott's plans. The other man was being desperate. And when a predator was desperate, they ripped apart anything they could. "What are you asking for, Scott?" Legundo kept his voice even despite the undercurrent of dizziness that overwhelmed him. Suddenly, Scott became visible in front of him, anger written clear on his face.

"You're going to let me turn you. You're going to play along like you were my Legundo all this time. And if you do, the town stays safe from being razed down into ashes." He tilted his head. "There may not be people you know in that town, but trust me when I say they're very dear to my Legundo. If you swap back and your frankly fragile counterpart learns you fucked up…"

Legundo thought of his own reaction if he had come back to his world and found his friends dead. Then he thought of a fragile, vampire version of him learning the news and shuddered. He would be on a path of no return. If he could save his other self from the pain, then who was he to refuse? "Fine. Just let me down first before you turn me." Scott rolled his eyes before transforming into a bat and slicing through the rope. Legundo groaned as he fell flat on his back. "Could you at least be nicer to your meal?"

"You're the worst meal I'll ever eat," Scott shot back. Legundo started to untie the rope, but a hand on his own stopped him. "I'm not giving you an opportunity to run away."

"Fair enough," Legundo mumbled, settling down to be completely still. As Scott got closer, he couldn't help but wish that if he was going to be turned into a vampire, it would be by the hands of his own Scott instead of this unforgiving, cruel monster.

Then he blinked, and he was back home. A cup of blood was in his hands (too close to his lips, far too close) and he was so startled by the horrible scent of iron that he dropped it. The cup shattered into pieces, muddying the kitchen floor with its disgusting redness. He found himself staring at it even as it dampened his clothes and soaked into his shoes. "Legundo?" Scott's voice drifted from somewhere he could not identify and he immediately stiffened. It had to be his Scott, yet his body was already preparing for it to be that Scott, back and ready to finally mold him into what he wanted him to be. "Legundo?" Scott called again, rounding the corner into the kitchen. "What was-oh."

"Was I about to drink blood?" Legundo found himself asking dumbly. "Am I-" He hurriedly slapped his hands to his ears and then his teeth, checking for any signs of pointedness. "Did he-oh god-" His hand went to his neck and he winced at the pain that erupted from it.

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked, before recognition lit up on his face. "Cherry?"

"It's me." Legundo nodded, still feeling out of breath. Suddenly, his legs felt wobbly and he fell. Scott was there to catch him, guiding him around the shards of glass and onto the nearby couch. "Good. Good, I haven't….haven't gotten a chance to catch my breath." He turned to Scott, voice pleading. "Am I human?"

"As human as you'll ever get," Scott reassured. "Legs, did you meet him?" Legundo silently nodded. Scott looked distressed. "Was it bad? Don't lie."

Legundo turned away before nodding again. He winced as more pain burst from the bite wound. He had forgotten to bandage it in the hideout and the adrenaline that pumped through him had been too strong for him to really remember it was there. Scott zeroed in on it. "He tried to turn you."

"Twice," Legundo corrected wearily. Scott inspected the wound, his frown getting deeper as he looked.

"It's somehow even messier than the other Legs'. He didn't even give a damn if you survived the turning or not." He leaned closer to the wound, practically shaking with fury. "Can I-"

"Please." Legundo interrupted him. "Whatever you need to do to get rid of him." Scott licked the wound, vampire venom closing it with ease. In no time at all, it was like the other Scott had never even gotten near him. Then, he sunk his own teeth into his neck softly. No blood was taken, but he had embedded his fangs deep enough inside to leave a mark. Legundo flicked his forehead.

"You were meant to stop at the healing part."

"What?" Scott blinked innocently. Legundo shook his head with a smile and leaned into his boyfriend's shoulder. Then, he hid his face in Scott's sweater as he hitched a sob. He found himself gripping onto his clothes, as if they would help keep him tethered to his own world instead of being torn away again.

"I missed you," He sniffed, embarrassed at his composure but found himself not caring. He was alone with Scott, so it didn't matter. Scott had seen him half-dead, for goodness sake.

"I missed you, too." Scott kissed him on the cheek. "But I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to your other self. He was…so broken. And now he's back with him." Scott slumped. "I wanted to have both of you."

"What was he like?" Legundo asked, curious by Scott's demeanor. He had expected his other self to be a loose cannon of some sort based on how everyone in the other world had acted. A secretive and cunning man that still cared about the people he loved, maybe.

"He was worse than you at physical touch. If you said one nice thing to him, he melted and then got mad at himself for reacting. But he was as kind as you. I think you would've enjoyed his company."

"What do you think will happen to him?"

"I truly don't know," Scott smiled sadly. "So you might as well tell me all about your adventures."