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"He's fine." Louis said, more to himself than the other vampire sitting in the room.
Legundo hummed, watching his husband pace back and forth across the room. The doctor was much better at concealing his worry than Louis was.
Owen had never been late to one of their meetings before. Whether it was rain or shine, hot or cold, Owen was always right on time.
Louis kept pacing. "Maybe he's sleeping in today." The mayor suggested, even though they both knew how unlikely it was.
Legundo's fingers drummed on the arm of his chair. "That would be good. He does need to sleep more." He glanced at the window as if Owen was suddenly going to appear.
"What if one of the townspeople is giving him trouble?" Louis fretted.
"We'd hear it, right? That tends to draw a rowdy crowd."
Louis nodded. He hesitated for a moment. "Do you think he might have someone else he's meeting up with? Maybe someone finally came to their senses and decided to be nice to him." The elder vampire sighed. "I'm afraid that the idea of Owen having more friends isn't as appealing to me now as it was months ago."
"Months ago we hadn't decided that he'd be a part of our coven." Legundo pointed out logically. "Besides, even if he started spending time with other people, he'd still have to come to us for the salve I make for his boils." Legundo didn't hide how pleased he was at the dependence Owen had on his medicine.
They lapsed into silence for a few moments.
"I'm going to go check on him." Louis declared, heading towards the door. "Will you stay here in case he shows up and I miss him on the way?" He glanced back at Legundo and smiled gratefully as the other nodded.
Mornings had always been hard for Owen. When every movement ached, all he wanted to do was continue to lie under his ratty blanket and keep sleeping. The only thing that got him moving was the spiteful will to live no matter how many of the townspeople wanted him dead. He just had to get up, keep moving, and spend another day cutting wood.
This morning was harder than most. Owen had woken up with a cough that shook his entire body and nausea so bad that he was certain he would vomit if he tried to eat anything.
Still, he forced himself to get out of bed and grab his axe. If he could still physically work, then he had to, even if he felt terrible doing it.
After a few hours of working — although the minimal progress he'd made could hardly be considered anything — Owen realized that it was close to when he was supposed to meet with Louis and Legundo. He glanced at his pathetically small pile of wood. Owen didn't have time to sit around with the two men. Besides, he knew that they'd get super worried if they saw him sick. Maybe it was because Legundo was a doctor, but both of them always got very overbearing if he was sick or hurt. He didn't fully understand why, but it was better to just wait to see them again until he was better.
Owen wanted to believe that they'd be sad that he wouldn't show up, even though he knew they likely wouldn't care. He had known Louis for a few months, and Legundo for even less. Just because the two of them had become the center of Owen's world, didn't mean that he was the center of theirs.
For a moment, Owen considered going simply because Legundo was a doctor and would surely know how to help with whatever sickness gripped Owen right now. Legundo was the only doctor to ever make a salve that could actually soothe Owen's skin, even though the doctor couldn't cure his illness. But, the doctor had refused any payment from Owen, saying that having enough wood to fill the fireplace of the mayor's house was more than enough (Owen knew the medicine he was given probably costed a fortune, and he wondered when he'd acquire enough debt for Legundo to refuse to give him more). Owen didn't want to take more from the kind man.
He would hate to impose on the two of them so much that they wouldn't want him around anymore. Owen couldn't imagine going back to a life without the warmth of their shared house and the soothing sounds of their voices as they talked about this thing or that.
Sometimes, particularly on days where he felt extra bad like this day, Owen would imagine a reality where he too lived in that house. A reality where the two men had as much love for him as they did for each other. Owen would never see that dream become a reality, though. They were married for god's sake. Why would they ever want a sickly man to be a bigger part of their life?
"Owen!" Louis' voice broke through the lumberjack's musings.
Owen's head snapped up and he saw the mayor coming quickly towards him. Louis looked worried? Was that what the mayor was looking at him with? Owen couldn't imagine why. He was ninety percent sure that today's meeting wasn't supposed to be about anything important. Weren't the two men just inviting him over due to politeness?
"Louis, what are you doing here?" Owen asked, not being able to hold back a harsh cough after he spoke. He trembled as the coughs raked his body, making him gasp for breath which only caused him to cough more.
When he finally got it under control, Owen looked up to see Louis looking terrified. Owen grimaced. The human had learned that both Louis and Legundo reacted badly to seeing him more sick than he usually was.
"Sorry." The lumberjack mumbled clearing his throat and looking away from Louis.
Before he could move a step, Louis' arms wrapped around Owen's middle and pulled him against the mayor's cold body. "You're sick." He hugged Owen closer. "You're sick and you're out here working in the snow." Louis' voice grew more upset.
Owen froze, unsure of what to do when Louis was holding him like a teddy bear that he couldn't bare to put down. "I'm only a little sick. It's fine."
"A little!" Owen flinched at the volume of Louis' voice. The mayor sighed and spoke quieter. "My apologies, Owen. I did not mean to shout. Let's get you to the house and I'll have Legundo look over you."
Owen squirmed a bit in Louis' hold. "No, that's alright. I'm fine, really."
Louis didn't let him move an inch. "Owen, I'm bringing you back to my house. I'm not going to let you exhaust yourself while you're sick." His voice was gentle yet firm, like a parent telling a child that they needed to go to bed.
"I've got work to do—"
"Shhhhh." Louis cut him off. He gently used a hand to tilt Owen's face up until they were making eye contact. Had Louis' eyes always been so red? They were really pretty, like polished rubies. Owen felt himself relaxing as he kept staring. The rest of the world faded into a soft buzz of background noise. "That's right, sweet thing. You're going to listen to me, alright?" Louis sounded so caring. Owen couldn't help but lean into his touch more. "You're going to take a little nap for me right now, ok? And when you wake up, you're not going to try and leave the house without me or Legundo with you." Owen nodded, barely processing what was being said. All he knew was that Louis was telling him to do something and that he should definitely do it. Louis smiled. "Good. Now, close your eyes and go to sleep."
Owen's legs buckled as his consciousness was snatched away from him. The last thing he felt was being lifted by strong arms into a safe hold.
Louis could admit that hypnotizing Owen was perhaps not the most moral thing to do to the man. Even if he looked so adorable and peaceful in Louis' arms like this, it was still probably wrong of him to force his will upon the human.
Acknowledging that, however, did not make Louis feel bad for what he'd done. His coven had been hurting himself, and as the eldest one in their group, it was Louis' job to make sure that the hurtful behavior stopped.
Another positive of this situation was that Owen wouldn't be spending any more time in that dreadful cabin for now. Louis knew that Owen was proud that he'd been able to build a home for himself when he was only fourteen, but that didn't stop the vampire from hating the building. It was sparse, nothing comfortable in sight, and could never keep the indoors warm whenever it was winter.
If these coming days went Louis' way, the human would never spend another night in that place. Owen was sure to feel terrible with the combination of his usual ailment and whatever he had caught. It was the perfect time to offer their miracle cure to him.
Owen woke up to warmth and softness all around him. He hummed happily and snuggled closer into the comfort. He felt the grip around him tighten.
Wait. Who was holding him? Owen's eyes snapped open to come face to face with a sleeping Louis. He craned his head to see that Legundo was against his back. Owen blushed as he realized his position.
At first, he began to move to get out from between them, but then he felt Legundo nuzzle his face against the back of Owen's neck. The human froze, heart pounding. He really should get out of bed and maybe even go back to work. He was already behind on the amount of lumber he needed to sell at the end of the week. The idea of going back into the snow made Owen frown. He wanted to stay in this warmth for a little longer. Maybe he could give in, just this once, and only because he'd wake the two other men if he moved (although why they had decided to sleep with Owen cuddled between them was a question he didn't feel like pondering when he was sick and tired).
When the human drifted back to sleep, both vampires opened their eyes. Legundo purred, breathing in Owen's scent. The doctor's pupils were tiny slits and Louis had to hold back a laugh at how deep into his instincts he must be. Louis couldn't blame him, having their soon-to-be fledgling between them was one of the nicest things Louis had ever experienced.