Archive of Our Own

Quackity only needed to set one foot into the Polish Cave to notice how big of a change it had undergone while he was away. He could barely recognise the place now. He walked further in, looking all around, taking in all the differences.

As he strode a little deeper into the cave, he spotted Graf, "heyyy Graf!" he called out to the Pole and approached him with a bouncy step.

"Oh, hi, Quackity," Graf greeted him. He seemed to be on his way out, a bag hanging over his shoulder, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I know, right? I missed you guys," Quackity beamed, "I just wanted to look around and say hi to you all. I see a lot has changed since I was last here."

"Well, I've been working on it for quite a while," Graf scratched at his nape, looking around the renovated base, "I would gladly show you around, but I'm currently on my way to Juan. He's been really busy with his paintings lately and, how he sits locked in his shop all day, he often forgets to eat, so I made him a burger," he gestured at the bag, "also, Ewron doesn't really come here anymore and who knows where Nexe went right now."

"Oh, that's fine, I can show myself around, don't let me stop you," Quackity waved his hand, "Multi should be in his reactor, right?"

The Pole seemed to hesitate. He looked in the reactor's direction with a weird expression, "well, yeah," he finally confirmed, his words came out slow and unsure, "but I don't think it's a good time to see him."

"What the fuck does that mean?" the avian furrowed his brows in confusion. Seeing Multi had never been a problem when it came to him. In fact, he was probably the only one who could come in and out of the scientist's office whenever he wanted. So what was this about?

Graf looked a bit uncomfortable, "he hasn't really been, well," he bit his tongue, "never mind. Either way, he's not accepting any visitors. Even us. I guess you can try, but I probably wouldn't advise it."

"Okay?" Quackity scratched his head, "that sounds weird as hell, why's he acting all mysterious and shit?"

"Well, you can try asking him yourself if you're really that curious," Graf answered hurriedly, "anyways, I gotta go. It was nice seeing you," and with a quick goodbye, he apractically ran out of the cave, leaving Quackity dumbfounded.

The latter stood there for a while, not quite processing the odd interaction he'd just been a part of.

I don't know what that was about, but it was hella weird, he shrugged, but headed to the reactor anyway.

The Polish Cave was not the only place that had changed. The reactor looked completely different as well. Quackity could barely find his way around, though he found that he still had access to all the doors he tried opening.

It didn't really come as a surprise to him, after all Multi had no reason to deny his entry, but it was still a nice feeling, knowing that someone as carefull and distrusting as this crazy scientist deemed Quackity reliable enough to still allow him around and let him this close.

He couldn't help but smile to himself at that thought.

Quackity walked around the reactor unhurriedly. The echo of his footsteps on the cold, hard floor was the only sound breaking the ominous silence, the metallic odour the only thing accompanying him. His eyes scanning around not only found not a trace of Multi, but also caught sight of multiple cameras and Quackity could swear there was at least double the amount he had seen the last time he was inside. The thought of being watched constantly, from all the angles at all times sent a shiver down his spine.

Where the hell was Multi? He should've come out to him at this point. After all, with all the radars and cameras this guy had in every corner of this place, there was no way he was still oblivious to Quackity's presence.

Yet another minute had passed and there was still no indication there was anyone but Quackity inside.

And that's when his mind started to wander. What if the scientist was sick? What if something happened to him? What if the reason he wasn't letting anyone enter was because he wasn't well and he didn't want anyone to know, didn't want to let anyone see his weakened self?

Quackity's throat tightened, anxiety building up in his chest. His mind was set. He had to find Multi.

Without waiting around anymore, he headed straight to the scientist's office.

As soon as he passed the threshold, some kind of crazy looking gun was immediately pointed at his head, “Jesus, fuck, it’s me!” he screamed, instinctively putting his hands up.

Multi’s eyes were colder than the stone walls surrounding his reactor. His expression unwavering, finger resting on the trigger. Quackity could almost see a greenish black aura emitting from the scientist.

As soon as Multi realized what the identity of this intruder was, his sharp, seemingly green glowing eyes softened, murderous intent dying down and he immediately lowered his weapon.

“Quackity?” he rasped, the sound of his own voice surprising even himself. He coughed, put the gun down and leaned on his desk, “what the fuck are you doing? I could’ve killed you.”

“But you didn’t,” Quackity dismissed the question, his attention on a completely different matter now, “are you sick?”

It wasn’t just a hunch anymore. Multi looked like a dead man walking, even more so than he usually did.

His normally pale complexion was now ashen, his cheeks sunken. His figure always straight and proud, now hunched over as Multi was leaning on the desk for support, unsteady on his feet.

And the way he spoke? Quackity had never heard the scientist’s voice sound this… defeated? Tired?

It scared the hell out of him.

On top of that came the fact that Multi didn’t even notice Quackity was inside until he came to the office. That guy was always on high alert. He would never let his guard down if he could help it.

“I don’t get sick,” Multi clicked his tongue, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well, then what is it?” Quackity was not letting up, “because you’re clearly not peachy.”

Multi only shot him a glare from under his lowered lashes. But the avian was not leaving until he got answers, so he stood firmly in place, determined eyes locked with Multi’s.

After what felt like hours, the scientist looked away at last, as he breathed a heavy sigh, “I’m fine. Well, I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone.”

“That doesn’t exactly answer my question now, does it?” Quackity raised his eyebrows, unimpressed at the scientist’s attempt to beat around the bush.

“Fucking hell,” Multi whispered, exasperated, “you’re not letting me have this, are you?”

He already knew the answer. Quackity only shook his head.

Multi gave another sigh and collapsed into his chair. He placed his hand over his face and seemed to contemplate his next words, displeased.

“I have a… condition, you could say,” he started.

“What condition?” Quackity deadpanned.

“Jesus Christ, there’s no meeting in the middle with you.”

Multi mulled something over in his mind, then looked at his interlocutor, who stood in front of him, arms crossed, expression firm.

“Fine,” the scientist exhaled, defeated, “it’d be easier to just show you.”

Quackity raised a brow at that, curiousity piqued as he attentively watched Multi push himself up from the chair.

And then he slowly slid the lab coat from his shoulders.

The avian felt his heart skip a beat and he swallowed unconsciously.

The black turtleneck Multi wore underneath his white lab coat, had a hole on the back. The material didn’t look like it was ripped - more like the hole was there on purpose.

It exposed a decent portion of the scientist’s back. His smooth porcelain skin a great contrast to the dark piece of clothing.

His back was refined. Though the man was very slim, his spine was not too bony, rather elegant.

Quackity’s throat was suddenly so, so dry.

Then, Multi’s eyes glowed a neon green and suddenly on his back, from thin air, materialized a pair of black, slick bat wings.

His pupils contracted, forming thin vertical lines and he parted his lips, exposing long and sharp canines.

Quackity was speechless. Despite what the vampire could assume, there was no fear within him. Just… awe. To the avian, Multi just simply looked so… enticing like this.

His eyes scanned every piece of the image before him, taking in the details and making sure to carve it all into his mind. Then his gaze fell upon those beautiful wings.

“Can I touch them?” slipped his mouth before his brain could authorize it.

“What the fuck? No,” Multi replied, turning his appearance back to one of an ordinary human. He draped his coat over his shoulders and flopped back onto his chair.

Quackity could only pout at that.

“So, you’re-“

“A vampire, yes,” Multi dispelled the nonexistent doubts, “the reason I’m, uh,” he coughed, “not at my full strength right now, is that, I, well, I haven’t eaten in a while.”

“Eaten?”

“Well, drank, to be precise, I haven’t drank any blood recently,”

“Recently, that is?” Quackity raised a brow. Multi frowned, his eyes seemed to be asking ‘seriously? that’s what you’re concerned about out of everything?’

“A few weeks.”

The avian’s lips formed a thin line, “why?”

Multi massaged his temples, “I’ve got eyes on me now. I can’t go out and feed on some animal, I can’t risk anyone finding out. I’ve got enough enemies as is,” then he looked at the reaserch papers, scattered across his desk, “besides, even if I could just hunt something down and bring it into the cave alive to feed on it in secret… I can’t leave the reactor unattended at a time like this. There are people only waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate it. And there’s still that mess with this fucking clone of mine and-“

“Don’t the other Poles know about this?” Quackity wondered out loud, he couldn’t help but recall the conversation he had before entering the reactor, “Graf said something weird to me when-“

Multi’s body visibly tensed up, his eyes sharp and immediately falling on Quackity’s “what did Graf say?”

The room suddenly felt colder.

“Uh, nothing in particular, he just hinted it might not be the best time to come see you? Guess I found it weird,” he explained quickly, seeing the scientist on high alert, “but just now it made me think he probably knows about you, right?”

Multi hummed, his eyes squinted softly, “he does,” he confirmed, “well, they all do.”

Quackity watched as the vampire’s fist suddenly clenched by his side.

“But I can’t ask them for blood anymore,” his fingers drumming on the desk, “I can’t ask Ewron, he’s working with Ash, he’s betrayed me too many times,” the pace of Multi’s words quickened, his eye twitching, “I never know what Nexe’s thinking or whose side he’s on and Graf? I have a feeling he’s hiding something from me,” neon green glistened in his eyes, “I know he’s hiding something from me. I can’t trust them. Who knows what they’d put in that blood?” Multi’s hands found their way up to his head, pulling roughly at his dreads.

“What the-“ Quackity could feel his hair standing on end. He’d never seen the other lose his composure like this before. Was he having a panic attack? “Multi. Multi. Multi!”

For the first time since Quackity stepped into the office, he approached the paranoid scientist, kneeled beside him and grabbed his wrists to stop him from pulling all of his hair out.

“Multi, hey. Dude, chill the fuck out,” he said, his face so close he could feel Multi’s panicked breaths on his lips, “even if you don’t want to trust them, you can trust me.”

The ominous glow left the vampire’s eyes as he looked down at Quackity.

“You could’ve just asked me for help.”

Their eyes were locked on each other for what felt like hours before Multi cleared his throat and looked away, pulling his wrists from Quackity’s hold.

Oh, God, was he still holding his wrists? He didn’t even notice.

The avian jumped back to his feet, brushed the nonexistent dust from his clothes and coughed, “I can bring an animal to you.”

Multi shook his head, “no. That would look too suspicious.”

“Well, what about my blood, then?”

“What?” Multi whipped his head towards him, “do you even think before talking?”

“Yes? What’s wrong with what I said? Can’t you just drink my blood?”

“I don’t want your blood.”

Quackity frowned. He shouldn’t have been this offended by it - but he was, “why?”

“I just don’t,” Multi growled, patience wearing thin, “I have to ask you to leave now. I’ve got plenty of research to do.”

“What? But I wanna help-“

“Thank you,” the scientis raised from his chair and gestured at the door, “but, really, I’m fine. I don’t need any help. I can take care of everything. I need peace to focus now”

With that he practically pushed his friend out the door to leave him alone.

What else could Quackity do?

~~

It’s been a week.

A week since Multi revealed his nature to Quackity. A week since he’d seen him last. And mostly - a week of immense overthinking.

Quackity’s been thinking about this vampire friend of his so much he might’ve discovered something new about himself.

Namely, he had caught himself daydreaming about Multi’s fangs.

About touching them, about them sinking into his skin, about lick-

Holy shit. This was bad.

Blood rushed to his face, heating it up and Quackity covered his reddened cheeks with his wings.

But before anyone could blame him - he thought about the important aspects as well. Like how to actually put an end to Multi’s hunger. He thought about bringing him some animal’s blood. It’s just-

“How the fuck do I drain blood from you?” Quackity mused, looking at the sheep nibbling on some grass nearby.

He’d been trying to come up with some sensible solution, but they all just seemed ridiculous the more he thought about it.

Should he cut its head off, hang the body upside down and wait for the blood to dribble out? Was that how Multi would do it? It seemed a bit… intense.

Quackity winced at the thought. He would much rather prefer the other option. He licked his lips.

“How do I convince him to drink mine?”

All that thinking led Quackity absolutely nowhere. The more he dwelled on things the more helpless he felt. What’s more, he hadn’t seen any sign of Multi ever since their last talk, which meant the vampire hadn’t stepped outside in over a week, only getting worse.

In the end, Quackity decided to simply go back in the reactor, talk to Multi and try to convince him to leave for just a short while, satisfy his hunger and come back. He could even watch the reactor for him in his absence.

Or he could offer his own blood again.

Yet, despite his own fantasies, Multi’s words still lived in Quackity’s head. ‘I don’t want it.’ he said. Why didn’t he want it? How could he have been so sure?

The avian’s chest tightened. Did he drink the other Poles’ blood? Or did they just deliver him blood from an animal?

The vampire mentioned he couldn’t ask them for help with that matter anymore because he had stopped trusting them. Did he not trust Quackity? Or perhaps he looked down on him?

No, it couldn’t be.

…could it?

Perhaps, to Multi, they weren’t such close friends as Quackity deemed them to be.

Or could it be that Quackity’s blood just smelled repulsive? The avian pouted, but the mosquitoes love it…

~~

Quackity was not waiting for Multi’s greetings upon entering the reactor this time. His pace determined as he made his way straight into the office.

But the scientist wasn’t there.

It felt like ages, getting lost all over the place, opening and closing the same door a dozen of times, until the avian finally found him, doubled over an examination bed in some sort of an operating room.

There was also a desk there. Documents scattered all over it, some notes in disarray. Messy, Quackity thought absently, Multi hates messy.

Multi’s breathing was heavy, hand covering his face as he swayed on his feet. His lab coat was carelessly thrown over a nearby chair, his back exposed.

Except this time he was already transformed, his wings spread wide and twitching unnaturally.

“This has to stop,” Quackity declared.

Multi’s body spasmed, head whipped around as he hissed at the intruder, baring his snow-white, sharp as ever canines and shot him a death glare with glowing green eyes.

Once he saw it was Quackity who’d sneaked up on him, the vampire’s expression turned from hostile to pained, “what are you doing here?” he croaked, covering his mouth, no longer able to retract his fangs.

“I came to check if you’re okay,” the avian declared, concerned, “which you’re clearly not.”

Multi winced. Every second his body ached more, pain shooting through his bones, muscles spasming, teeth itching to sink into soft flesh and satiate his hunger at last.

With every last bit of strength he held back his instincts, “you need to leave.”

But Quackity was beyond the point of listening, “no, you need to eat,” he emphasized taking a step forward.

“I already told you-“

“I don’t care,” he protested, “it’s fine if you don’t wanna leave here, it’s fine if you don’t want me to bring any animals to you.”

He kept approaching the vampire slowly. Multi had no way to escape, he could only shrink into the corner of the study, hand over his mouth in a futile attempt to hide his appearance.

“But I will not watch you starve any longer,” Quackity declared, his voice steady and determined, “drink my blood.”

Multi seemed to shiver at those words. His eyes suddelny sharp, “I told you I don’t want it.”

The avian frowned, “I don’t believe you.”

With great strain, the vampire stood up straight, put on a facade of being fine and slowly walked towards his visitor, “stop playing a hero. Whatever you say I won’t drink your blood.”

Quackity was not about to be fooled. Though the vampire tried his hardest, his friend could see it all. How tense his muscles were, how wobbly and unnatural his steps looked if you only watched with a keen eye.

The avian quickly scanned the room. Through the corner of his eye, one object immediately caught his attention. On the side of the room, propped up against the wall, as if on display, there was a knife. It resembled the one Nacho had been running around the island with during the early days. Perhaps it was even the very same one.

Before Multi could do anything to stop him, Quackity threw himself in that exact direction and snatched the knife.

It seemed impossible, but at that moment the vampire’s face turned even more pale. He froze, pure panick taking over his body.

He looked at Quackity in disbelief, hands shaking as he raised them in an attempt to calm the man in front of him down. But Quackity’s eyes only held perseverance. He raised the knife.

“Quackity! No!” Multi begged, even his voice was shaking with fear, “Stop this!”

“Why?” the corner of Quackity’s lips curled upward, the adrenaline rush making him brave, “if it is as you say and you really don’t want my blood - you won’t drink it and I’ll leave.”

He looked at the blade, then at his hand, but whatever thought process unraveled in his mind, whatever the blood rushing to his head had caused, he suddenly felt bold and pressed the knife to the side of his neck.

“No! Drop that right now! You have no idea what you’re doing, if you do this, I-“

But Quackity didn’t listen anymore. He’d already made up his mind, there was no room for hesitation anymore.

So he slid the blade across his skin.

Multi screeched. “Uspokuj się,” he muttered to himself as he clutched at his head, “oddychaj, weź się w garść, kurwa!” the words an unintelligible mess to Quackity.

Yet before even a drop of blood could fall, in the blink of an eye, Multi pounced.

The avian didn’t even get the chance to move a muscle. His only warning was a sudden gust of wind and an image of ominously glowing irises flashing in front of his eyes before he was ruthlessly shoved against a wall, air knocked out of his lungs.

He didn’t even acknowledge the sting on the side of his neck for the first couple of seconds, until Multi’s fangs sank even deeper into his flesh.

Quackity couldn’t breathe. The impact he’d hit the wall with left him desperately trying to gasp for air. Soon, he found that he couldn’t move either - his body trapped between the stone wall and the vampire relentlessly pressing into him. He couldn’t tell which would be easier to move.

His vision blurred, knees started giving out, alerts ringing inside his shutting down oxygen-deprived brain.

And then he felt something.

His heart suddenly pounded - faster, stronger. His blood rushed, pupils dilated, senses sharpened. Quackity gasped, air finally hitting his lungs.

An unknown warm sensation spread throughout his body, tingling his skin and making his heart flutter. He became hyper aware of Multi’s fangs still stuck in his neck, of how the vampire’s mouth closed around the wound, how he sucked the blood out of it.

It finally dawned on him. Multi was actually drinking his blood. Directly from him.

And he was doing so with such urgency, so desperately as if his life depended on it. Well, maybe it did.

It made Quackity feel so powerful. To have someone as careful, as calculated as Multi completely lose control, all for his blood.

“See?” the avian licked his lips, “you wanted it, afterall.”

The tingly feeling of his skin subsided, now giving way to sensitivity and a desperate ache for contact. Quackity’s hands twitched at his sides. Before he could control it, they, like snakes, found their way up to the vampire.

One hand travelled to Multi’s back, clutching at the fabric of his turtleneck. The other in the scientist’s hair, pushing his head even deeper into Quackity’s neck.

“Fuck,” the avian gasped, “you’re so greedy, Multi.”

This only earned him a guttural sound from the vampire. Quackity liked that sound.

His breaths grew heavy and hot, his head spinning. A blissful sensation washed over him, his skin on fire, pleasure bubbling in his stomach.

This wasn’t nearly enough.

“Touch me,” he whispered to the vampire, but quickly took matters into his own hands - he grabbed Multi’s wrist and guided it to his lower back.

The scientist obeyed without missing a beat, his palm spread across Quackity’s back, only adding fuel to the fire currently burning inside his body.

He felt a drop of blood trickle down his neck, before the vampire quickly licked it clean. Quackity swallowed hard.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears, dangerous heat pooling in his stomach. His hips jerked on instinct, desperately seeking friction. Quackity whimpered as he found none.

He gripped Multi’s turtleneck at the front and swiftly pulled him closer, making him stumble and slide his thigh between the avian’s legs, “holy shit..” he groaned. The contact sending shivers down his spine, wings fluttering as he bit down on his lip to stop more sound from escaping.

Multi’s hand clawed at Quackity’s back, making him gasp at the immense pleasure, almost sending him into ecstasy. The avian’s grip on the vampire’s hair tightened and he pulled on it until-

Multi retracted his fangs and instantly pushed himself off of Quackity, making the latter cry out from the sudden loss of contact.

Before he could process anything else, Quackity’s eyes fell on the vampire. His hair and clothes in disarray, canines dripping with blood. Quackity’s blood. A drop of it falling from the corner of his lips down to his chin, leaving a bloody trail. The avian ached to wipe it with his thumb. Or lick it clean. On top of it all, Multi was panting, a bright red blush was spread all across his cheeks and ears - a color Quackity had never seen on his face before.

Yet the expression Multi wore was of utter panic. As soon as he snapped out of the daze, his body entered fight or flight mode.

His foot retracted, body twisted as he chose to dash towards the door, but Quackity managed to grab his hand before the vampire fled.

Multi’s body momentarily tensed. He whipped his head around, pulled his hand out of Quackity’s hold, as if scalded, with such force he immediately stumbled backwards, almost toppling over.

His chest was heaving, up and down, at a tempo that seemed impossible. Sharp breaths burning his lungs as he surely hyperventilated.

His panick-stricken eyes darting around the room until they locked with Quackity’s for a split second before Multi winced, clutched at his chest and frantically ran out, knocking over a lamp and scattering the documents from his desk as he clawed at it with his other hand for support on his way to the door.

He was gone before all the papers could even land on the cold floor. Only his hectic footsteps could be heard from the distance until they died down behind some metal doors who knew where.

And then there was silence.

Quackity stood there, frozen. His hand still held out to where he’d grabbed Multi’s wrist.

~~

Quackity was at a loss.

Two forces clashing within his mind - one yielding a sword of crushing guilt, the other a shield of impatience and anxiety. The first one screamed Quackity had made a mistake acting against Multi’s pleading. The second reasoned it had been the only right thing to do.

On one hand he wanted to run back, apologize and beg Multi to forgive him. On the other he reckoned the scientist probably needed some time to cool off. Perhaps he would realize Quackity had only done what he had to help.

He stared at the ceiling. Were someone to ask him about his way from the reactor to his room in the North, he wouldn’t be able to tell them a single thing. Ever since Multi had run out of the operating room, Quackity had been in a daze, minutes morphed into hours, images turned into blur, his mind foggy.

He could only distinguish reality from dreams by the ever-present tightness in his chest. Whether what he did was right or not, being on bad terms with Multi - his heart couldn’t take it.

The more he thought about it the more he wanted to jump right out of his bed and run straight to the reactor. What he would say, what he would do - he had no clue. But if there was just a sliver of a chance to make things right-

As if on cue, on owl hooted right outside his window.

Right. He didn’t even notice when the sun had set.

He sighed loudly. Guess there’s no point in overthinking now. I can’t just waltz into the reactor in the middle of the night, can I?

He frowned. Does he sleep in the reactor? Is there a bed somewhere inside?

Quackity shut his eyes and pressed the heels of his hands into them. Stop thinking about him, for fuck’s sake!

But how could he not?

He lied awake hoping for sleep to finally take him, but even after hours had passed, his eyelids did not get any heavier at all.

He took a deep breath, fingers hovering over the spot where Multi had bitten him. Something stirred in his belly, his heart fluttered.

He pressed and rubbed the wound, eliciting some pain and trying to recreate at least a sliver of the feeling of Multi’s fangs sinking into his flesh.

His face grew hot just from the memory of it and Quackity sucked in his lower lip to chew on it mindlessly.

In the darkness of the night, the quiet in his room was interrupted by the pounding of Quackity’s heart as he recalled the events of the day before, turning the memory over and over in his mind. Warmth was pooling in the pits of his stomach. He sighed heavily.

Suddenly Multi’s panicked expression flashed in front of his eyes.

The way his hands shook as he scrambled to distance himself from Quackity. The way the realization seemed to dawn on him, as his eyes landed on the avian’s wound. The way the freshly gained color quickly drained from his face, giving way to absolute horror.

The way Multi’s dilated pupils met Quackity’s and immediately darted away, as if he saw a ghost or-

…as if it physically hurt Multi to look at him.

Quackity grabbed his pillow and covered his face, “fuuuck,” he groaned into it.

He really did go too far.

~~

Quackity had no idea how much he’d slept that night or if he had even slept at all for that matter.

But as soon as the time felt appropriate enough, he headed straight back to the reactor.

Multi did not come out to greet him.

Quackity’s chest tightened again, anxiety clawing at his poor, tired heart.

It was fine. He had expected it.

He took a deep breath, steeling his resolve and directed his steps to Multi’s office.

The scientist wasn’t there.

His heart sunk. He turned back and hurried to the operating room, heart pounding on the thought of seeing that place again.

No one there.

Multi must’ve moved to some hidden room or went through some secret passage.

Quackity felt so helpless. He still had access to every door he could find. He hadn’t been locked out. It granted him a faint feeling of reassurance, but on the other hand, agitated him all the more - if only he knew Multi’s location, he could probably access that place as well.

He looked at the camera pointed directly at him. Quackity was practically sure the scientist was watching him through this cold, inanimate object. He could almost feel Multi’s eyes on him.

But the fact that the vampire hadn’t come out to meet him spoke loud enough.

Maybe he still needed time.

So the avian threw one last dejected glance at the camera and reluctantly made his way out, hoping things would get better the next day.

They didn’t.

Another day passed, then another and then two more of Quackity coming to the reactor and the only thing greeting him was the camera lens.

Quackity was tired. He couldn’t take going through another day with anxiety and guilt caging his heart. He couldn’t take spending another night lying awake, thinking about the vampire sealing the distance between them, sucking his blood dry or how fucking good it had felt.

If confessing those feeling was what it’d take then so be it.

Quackity stormed into the reactor, stood in front of the camera that always turned in his direction whenever he entered, and “Multi, I’m done,” he declared.

“I’m sick of whatever this is, I can’t have you hiding from me,” he admitted to the camera, “we need to talk about what happened.”

Silence.

Quackity huffed, “look, man, I get it, I went too far. I’m sorry. Can we just talk?”

“About what?”

Quackity nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped his head around and found Multi standing behind him, hands clasped behind his back.

“Multi! Oh my God, where were you all this time?” the avian asked as he approached the scientist, “why were you hiding from me?”

Multi did not smile when he saw him. It wasn’t all that surprising since the guy barely ever did, though usually whenever Quackity visited him - the corner of the scientist’s lips would curl upwards, his eyes softening.

This time was different.

Quackity could swear he could feel Multi’s icy cold aura as he stood there, back straight, aloof as ever.

“I was just over there,” Multi gestured with his head towards the door behind him.

If it wasn’t for the fact those doors were slightly ajar, Quackity would’ve missed them with how much they blended with the wall. No wonder he couldn’t find them.

“And I wasn’t hiding,” the scientist said flatly, “you just never said you wanted to talk before.”

Quackity choked on air.

While, of course, this was true, there were holes in this logic. Obviously, Multi knew Quackity had been coming here to talk. He just didn’t want to admit he’d been avoiding him and played the distance card instead.

“So?” Multi urged.

“I…” the duck hybrid took a deep breath, “I really am sorry, you know. I didn’t think-“

“It’s fine,” the scientist cut him off, “anything else?”

Quackity started sweating. This was going not at all how he’d imagined.

There was, of course, a certain question that’d been eating at his mind ever since the incident and he’d been losing sanity racking his brains over it.

But it wasn’t exactly a comfortable topic. And Multi wasn’t making it any easier.

For days now, Quackity had been thinking about how blissful it’d felt having his blood sucked out of him. Was he wrong for that, though?

Why had it felt so good? Had Multi found it weird? …or had he felt it, too? Was Quackity a pervert for enjoying it so? For thinking about it so much? For wanting it so much?

Should he even ask that? Or would it make things even weirder between them?

Quackity took a shaky breath, his cheeks heating up.

“This… um- when you,” he licked his lips unconsciously.

Multi raised his eyebrow in question, his posture still flawlessly straight, expression perfectly composed.

It only made Quackity all the more embarrassed to ask.

“When you bit me, it…” he reached to his nape, fidgeting with the strands of his hair sticking out from beneath his beanie, “I thought it would, uh… I thought I would feel discomfort, but it felt…”

“Oh.”

Oh? That’s all you have to say? ‘Oh’?

Quackity’s hold on his hair tightened. He felt shame bubbling up within him, blush spreading from his cheeks to engulf his whole face.

Multi didn’t look the least surprised at his words, his aura still aloof as ever, though Quackity usually didn’t bear witness to it. That’s why he felt even worse now, seeing that even his shameful confession didn’t bring back the side of Multi he was more than used to.

“Don’t worry about it, that’s perfectly normal,” the scientist stated matter-of-factly, reaching to the pocket of his lab coat for some notes.

Quackity was dumbfounded, “huh?”

Multi wasn’t even looking at him anymore, his attention back to the research, “that’s what happens when a vampire feeds on a person. It’s a natural reaction, so no need to dwell on it.”

Quackity was speechless. He’d never felt more stupid, ignored or confused in his life. Or maybe he had. But never by a person he deemed so close.

He felt as if there was now an enormous stone wall separating the two of them. The same kind the scientist had built all around the reactor. And now he put it between them.

Tall and impenetrable cold wall, which Quackity looked at from the very bottom and felt so, so small.

“Is that all?” Multi asked, already turning away, “if so, then I’m going back to my lab.”

Quackity’s stomach dropped. He held out his hand to grab the vampire, but stopped himself last second. He watched Multi’s figure disappear behind the concealed door.

Was this really how it was going to be now? Was he going to become just another person to the scientist now? Did he really just blow it all?

He clenched his fists, nails digging into skin. No. It couldn’t end like this.

With the freshly acquired spirit of a drowning man clutching at a straw, Quackity stormed into the laboratory. It was clear, his move caught the vampire a bit off guard - his body flinched at the sudden noise and a slight surprise could be seen on his face before he composed himself.

The duck hybrid closed his eyes for a second, hyping himself up in his mind before he spoke, “can we please go back to how we were before? I- fuck, I miss you. And I hate the way you’re acting towards me right now.”

Multi blinked. A hint of sorrow tainted his expression, but he quickly hid it, “what do you mean?”, he asked, acting clueless, “I treat everyone like this.”

“Exactly,” Quackity sighed, fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. He looked at the vampire with eyes full of honesty and longing, “I hate it when you treat me like you do everyone else. “

Multi’s breath caught in his throat, eyes going wide.

“I know I pushed you too far,” the avian continued, “I figured you’d lose control upon the smell of blood and I used it to make you act against your will. I betrayed your trust and I’m so fucking sorry.”

His hands started trembling, voice breaking at the last word and Quackity felt his eyes sting, but he knew he couldn’t back down just yet, “but I just didn’t know what else to do. I saw you suffering and you were so stubborn, I just- I couldn’t let you keep starving yourself.”

“You made me hurt you,” Multi muttered, his voice barely audible, his head hanging so low that Quackity couldn’t see the vampire’s eyes from under his dreads, “that was the one thing I promised myself I would never do. And now that I have… what makes me any different from the monsters that have hurt you before?”

Quackity felt his heart shatter to pieces.

He’d anticipated that Multi would hate him, he expected the scientist to be angry, to feel betrayed. But he never would have thought that the reason for that-

Before he could finish the thought, the avian’s vision instantly went blurry, his rib cage suddenly felt too small and, before either of them realized, his wings flapped on their own, feet bouncing off ground as his body dashed forward, crushing into Multi’s and trapping the scientist in a tight embrace.

The vampire’s body went rigid, breath catching in his throat. After a few seconds, his mind finally seemed to catch up with the unexpected events and, panicked, he attempted to slip away.

But Quackity only hugged him tighter. He wasn’t about to let this man run from him again. Ever.

“Stay,” he whispered into the fabric of Multi’s lab coat. He felt the scientist’s body shiver ever so slightly and he would be sure to have missed it if it wasn’t for their bodies being practically merged together. Soon, Multi relaxed and gave up struggling to break free.

The duck hybrid’s hands gripped the vampire’s coat, “you are nothing like them,” Quackity said with a shaky voice, “I swear to you. I would never look at you like that. I would never think of you that way, I-“

He pulled away, grabbed Multi by the shoulders and looked at him with a face full of emotion. The scientist’s eyes were oh so soft. They seemed to shimmer in the dim light as he watched Quackity intently, his attention purely on the other.

“Listen to me,” the avian’s words were slow and deliberate, “Multi, you didn’t hurt me, okay? What happened was my choice and I would do it again. You know why?”

The vampire only kept watching him without pause.

“Because I care about you,” Quackity stated, “I did it so I wouldn’t have to see you suffer, because I hate seeing you suffer. Besides, it, uh-“

His face suddenly flushed, “I guess I liked it?”

“Ah, about that,” Multi spoke at last, “I suppose I owe you an explanation.”

With that he gestured towards his desk in the laboratory, so Quackity could sit on the chair while they talk.

Quackity sat on the desk instead.

The vampire opened his mouth to speak, only to close it back up and just huffed fondly, the corner of his lips curling upwards.

“The thing about drinking blood directly from a person is,” Multi cleared his throat, “my salivary glands produce this substance. It gets into the bloodstream of the person I feed on and increases their blood flow as well as the amount of oxygen carried by their red blood cells.”

Quackity tilted his head, feet swinging in the air.

“It’s basically a mechanism that prevents the person and their tissues from going hypoxic,” the scientist explained, “however, increased blood flow in certain areas of one’s body may cause, well, what you’ve experienced, I assume.”

“Oh,” Quackity felt his face heating up, “um, to be completely honest with you uh… Well, I’ve been thinking about that a lot both before and after it happened and,” he licked his lips, “I don’t think it was just the blood flow thing.”

Multi choked on air, his face flushing a beautiful shade of red. Realizing what he’d just confessed to, Quackity pulled his beanie over his eyes, wings moving to cover his face now turning scarlet.

And then a thought shot through his mind, “wait,” the duck hybrid adjusted his beanie, “does that mean you- well, the other Poles…”

“Fuck no,” the vampire quickly denied, already guessing what the question was about, “I’ve never fed directly on any of them. I only ever asked to draw their blood in the operating room. And before you ask, it doesn’t work on animals either. Their DNA is different, besides it would be useless since I feed on them until they die anyway.”

The avian breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason it comforted him a lot, knowing he was the only person to have ever experienced that with Multi.

“So then,” he wondered, “even if you didn’t wanna bite me, why didn’t you just ask me to drain my blood like the others?”

The vampire shook his head, “I could never ask that of you. It’s not just lending me some materials, it’s not just helping with some reaserch, that’s- it’s too big of a thing to ask. And,” he looked at Quackity with an unreadable expression, “I didn’t want you to look at me like I’m weak, like I’m dependent. I didn’t want any more people to know. Especially you.”

His eyes had that greenish glow again.

“The Poles know about it and, when I’m- at times like this, they…” Multi’s eye gave that weird twitch again and he raised his hand to tug at his hair again, “I feel like they look down on me, like they-“

“Multi,” Quackity caught his wrists before the scientist’s fingers reached his dreads, “no one here thinks you’re weak. If anything, they’re scared of you.”

Multi’s gaze shifted. He looked into the duck hybrid’s eyes so intensely Quackity felt like he stared directly into his soul. The vampire’s expression turned vulnerable, his voice soft as he spoke, “are you scared of me?”

The avian’s heart fluttered, butterflies in his stomach going crazy. He offered Multi an honest smile, “how could I be scared of you?” he asked, fingers reaching to brush the scientist’s cheek, “when you show me this side of you.”

Anxiousness flashed on the vampire’s face, but Quackity swiftly smoothed his furrowed brows with his thumb, “you moron stop overthinking, I can hear the gears turning in your head,” he chuckled, “I don’t think you’re weak either, I just meant-“

But when he looked at Multi’s face again, the laugh suddenly died in his throat. How long have their faces been this close? Quackity felt his face growing hot again, his stomach doing flips.

He could feel the vampire’s breath on his mouth, Multi’s eyes focused solely on the avian, as if Quackity was the only person to exist.

The duck hybrid’s gaze involuntarily landed on the scientist’s lips and, heart pounding, he swallowed hard.

Before the reason caught up to what his body was aching for, Quackity quickly sealed whatever distance was left between them and captured Multi’s lips with his.

The vampire froze, eyes going wide. But it only took him a few seconds to get his grip.

And with that, he immediately jumped into action and deepened the kiss, his body leaning over the desk, pressing closer to Quackity’s. His hand landed on the nape of the avian’s neck, fingers getting burried in the other’s hair sticking out from under the beanie.

Quackity wrapped his legs around the vampire’s waist, earning himself a low groan.

Oh, what a sweet sound it was.

In turn, Multi bit his lip and, as Quackity gasped, the vampire used it as an opportunity to slide his tongue into the avian’s mouth. He kissed him with such desperation and hunger as if he’d been starving for it his entire life, just like the time when he drank his blood.

Desire burned in Quackity’s body, blood rushing through his veins and his heart felt like it would jump right out of his chest.

Their tongues danced together, breaths grew heavier, hands started wandering.

“Wait,” the duck hybrid breathed, “we should slow down.”

“Fuck,” Multi pulled away, “I’m sorry, I didn’t-“

“Hey,” Quackity grabbed his lab coat firmly, pulling Multi back to him, “can you chill the fuck out?”

The vampire blinked, panic and guilt still evident on his tired face.

“It’s me,” the avian looked into his eyes, his tone steady, as if he’d expected this reaction, “I kissed you. You didn’t cross my boundaries, alright? I wanted it.”

His words were slow and deliberate. He wanted to hammer them into Multi’s head so the other would never overthink or misinterpret it again.

“I still want it,” Quackity assured. He softly brushed the back of his fingers along the scientist’s cheek, “I just think we should take things nice and slow, hm? One step at a time.”

Multi’s lips were parted slightly as he listened to the avian’s words.

“Just like when you drank my blood- I knew what I was getting myself into and I don’t regret a thing,” the duck hybrid’s words were soft, his expression more affectionate than ever, “I don’t want you to ever hide from me again. I’m on your side, okay? Always. You can trust me. Whatever you get yourself into, we’re in it together.”

The scientist’s lower lip trembled, the movement barely noticable and, it could as well just be the light, but Quackity could’ve sworn he saw tears glistening in Multi’s eyes.

The vampire burried his face in the crook of Quackity’s neck. The avian’s palm gently stroked Multi’s hair. And if he felt the fabric of his clothes dampen where the other’s face rested, he kept it to himself.

Quackity never wanted this person in front of him to suffer any hardships ever again. He knew it was impossible. Pretty much the entire island was against the scientist and there was still plenty of trouble yet to come his way. But at the very least he would never let Multi suffer because of him or go around hungry again and, whatever was going to happen next, Quackity would be there, right by his side.

And so he pressed their lips together once more and, all these feelings and unspoken promises, he conveyed to Multi in an honest kiss.