Archive of Our Own ^beta

Techno knew he could only keep ignoring his landlord's calls for so long before the guy would resort to more drastic measures.

His phone had been blowing up for nearly a week. Techno had set the device to silent ages ago so he often didn't even notice when somebody was trying to reach him, but the missed calls were really stacking up now. If it was urgent, they could send him a text. Those were way easier for his social anxiety to deal with. And in this specific instance, he knew what the person calling him wanted from him anyway, so he saw no reason to pick up.

His back rent was building its way up to a ridiculous amount, and his landlord wanted him to pay or move out.

There was nothing Techno could tell them except "I'm working on it", and he doubted that would satisfy their nagging. His phone started vibrating in his pocket as he left his last lecture of the day and without even glancing at the screen Techno fished it out of his pocket and dismissed the call. He had no choice but to stop by the clinic again today, though he doubted Niki was going to allow him to donate. He'd have to try and throw a pity party to convince her to commit medical malpractice.

Maybe if he told her the alternative was him ending up homeless, she'd be swayed.

The clinic was only three blocks down from the university, still in the upper-class part of the city. Techno listened to music through his headphones while making his way there. The buildings in this neighborhood were rather fancy, highrises with balconies on each floor and which Techno could only imagine were filled with lofts or studios or whatever realtors called them these days to make living in an apartment the size of a shoebox feel appealing. If he could barely afford his own place, he couldn't imagine what the people living there earned. On street level, there were stores and restaurants of all kinds. Many of them were open 24/7 because they tried to attract a more diverse clientele of both vampires and humans.

Niki's clinic was open 24/7 too, allowing her customers to enjoy midnight takeout.

The young nurse behind the reception whose name he always forgot barely glanced at Techno, waving him over to the back with a quick smile. With how often Techno came by, it wasn't surprising that he'd be recognized. He was probably one of their most loyal visitors.

"Techno!" Niki didn't quite cover up that she was surprised to see him, but to her credit, she didn't seem less excited for it. Over the almost four years of knowing each other, they'd grown quite close. Techno would consider her one of his few friends. "What are you doing here, aren't you scheduled to come back next week?"

"I can't just step in for a friendly visit?" Techno asked, sitting down on one of the swivel chairs with wheels on it that Niki kept behind her desk. Techno loved those things, you could spin around in them.

"Of course you can." She laughed. "Uh, give me a sec to finish this?" She held up the butterfly needle and transparent tube she was holding.

Techno hummed with a nod, watching her walk over to one of the chairs. The woman in it was reading a magazine, keeping her free arm outstretched along the armrest so Niki could do her job without her needing to put it down. She was probably a regular like Techno then, familiar with the procedure.

Only two of the other chairs were occupied. One person was in the middle of getting their blood drained, tapping on their phone as the bag lying below on an iron stand next to them slowly filled with red. The other must already be done because they'd been bandaged up and were sipping on a juice pack.

Niki exchanged some words with the woman, making a couple of notes on her chart. The phone in Techno's pocket started to vibrate again but he ignored it, watching as Niki went through the procedure with practiced ease. Cleaning her hands and pulling on gloves, disinfecting the skin where she was going to insert the needle, and sliding it in smoothly. Niki was good at it, Techno knew from experience. He usually barely felt it.

When she was done she checked that the blood was flowing steadily before she took off the gloves and cleaned her hands again, and then finally came back over to him.

"So, what's been going on with you then?" She took the other swivel chair, scooting it a little closer. They should race down the hallways again sometime, Techno thought. That was fun.

"Not a lot. Classes have been pretty boring, same old same old." Lots of deadlines, but that was nothing new. He doubted Niki wanted to hear about those anyway.

"And your landlord?" Niki asked.

"They've been the same old same old too," Techno said cautiously. At least he wouldn't have to beat around the bush for long. Niki was smart enough to know why he actually came by.

"Techno." Her smile was patient, but her eyes were sharp as they narrowed at him. "You're not just here to say hello, are you?"

"How dare you accuse me of having ulterior motives?!" Techno responded in mock outrage. He pushed the chair back until it hit the wall. "I just wanted to see how my dear friend Niki was doing… But since I'm here anyway." He left the sentence there, looking at her pleadingly.

"Our rules for how often people can sell their blood are there for a reason," Niki said. "You can't-"

"I've read the pamphlets, Niki. I know what the rules are. And the risks. But I like having a place to sleep at night and if I don't pay up soon, I'm going to be evicted from my apartment."

Besides, it wasn't as if they'd never broken the rules before. These clinics didn't have to set the same standards as hospitals or blood donated for medical purposes. As long as nobody actually died, the government didn't mind turning a blind eye to what went on there.

A vampire became more dangerous the hungrier it got. It made sense that making their meals readily available to them was a priority. In a very roundabout way, Niki's clinic probably saved more lives than it endangered.

"That bad?" Niki's expression softened. She was empathetic to his struggles since she knew about Techno's past. This malpractice thing was going to be a piece of cake.

(Techno did feel a little bad about that, but he'd make it up to her later.)

"You don't have to do a full batch. Just enough for me to be able to pay the guy tonight," Techno insisted. "Then he doesn't have a reason to kick me out."

She stared at him a moment longer, probably inspecting him for visible symptoms of anemia. Techno waited, sitting very, very still. He needed this money.

At long last, she sighed. "Fine. How much do you need?"

"Five hundred bucks would work," he answered. That should allow him to pay off a third of the back rent. Not much, but it was a start. And he didn't feel like pushing his luck with Niki.

"Get in the chair."

Not wanting her to change her mind, Techno quickly pulled off his hoodie and bunched it up in his lap, already laying out his arm. Niki was still gathering the materials so as an afterthought, Techno grabbed the book he was reading for his literature class from his bag. It was a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and it was the most boring read in the world. But if he wanted to keep his grades up, he'd have to truck through it. Might as well try to get a chapter down while he waited the five to ten minutes it would usually take to donate.

Niki came back to his side, pulling up her chair. She'd brought his chart. "There have been no changes in your health, right?"

"Fit as a fiddle," Techno assured her.

She unraveled the tube and connected it to a blood bag. "No unexplained bruises? Vertigo? Headaches?"

"Absolutely none."

"What about your diet?" Niki asked. "I'm taking it that hasn't improved either?"

Ouch. Techno chuckled awkwardly. Since he was a college student, surviving on energy drinks and cup noodles was kind of his thing. He nodded at his arm as she attached the pressure cuff around it, pulling it tight. "I'm sure there are enough nutrients in there to satisfy them."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Niki shot back. "Eating properly is important, especially if you're going to let your blood be drawn this often." She still had the needle in her hand, making no move to insert it, and for a moment Techno was scared she'd changed her mind. He really needed that money.

Then she picked up the disinfection wipe and dragged it along the inside of his elbow. "Besides," she went on, "what's in your blood does actually change depending on what you eat, so…"

Techno looked away while the needle went in. He was used to this and neither the sting nor seeing blood really bothered him. It was always a bit unpleasant to watch his skin bulge around the steel of the syringe though. Niki used a small piece of adhesive tape to secure it.

"What about your sleep schedule, has that improved?" Niki said.

"I don't think that's on your questionnaire," Techno joked. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Consider it me asking as a friend then."

"I get by," Techno said. "I don't have too much free time."

As was the fate of any double major. Techno had nobody to blame but himself for being indecisive on which branch to go into and thus deciding he'd just do both. His education was one of the things he'd always excelled at, so it made sense for him to throw his all into getting two degrees. He was currently dual majoring in English and history, which left little time for… pretty much anything else.

Which was also the main reason he couldn't get a normal part-time job to earn extra cash (on top of his social anxiety balking at the very thought of having to work in customer service). Selling his blood was much easier and much quicker.

At Niki's disapproving look, he only shrugged a bit. As she went to help one of her other donators, Techno opened his book and started to read. With how dense this writing was, he only managed to finish a few pages before she came back to remove the needle. She'd only drawn enough to fill one small bag from him, much less than she usually would. But Techno wouldn't complain - not when she handed him the envelope with cash that he quickly stashed away in his backpack. There was definitely more money in there than he'd usually get for such a small amount of blood. She must be growing soft on him. When he tried to stand up, Niki pushed him back down into the chair.

"Stay there for at least fifteen minutes," she said sternly. "Do you want chocolate milk or orange juice?"

"Do you happen to serve anything that isn't from the kid's menu?" Techno asked lightly. Not that he disliked either of those beverages, he'd just murder for a cup of coffee right now. He still needed to finish an essay before going to bed tonight.

Sensing his intentions, Niki laughed. "I'm not going to give you anything with caffeine in it, you'll faint."

"Chocolate milk it is," Techno said.

He managed to finish the chapter while he waited and had his drink. When he checked his watch, it was almost seven pm already. If he hurried, Techno could still catch the bus and avoid having to stand around for half an hour before being able to get home. He pulled his hoodie back on and said goodbye to Niki hastily, not even bothering to put away his book and keeping it in his hand instead. He was a bit dizzy but that could be because of a million reasons completely unrelated to the blood thing, surely.

Though it was probably why he didn't notice somebody was coming in through the door at the same time Techno was trying to leave.

Their bodies collided with surprising force. Techno landed on his butt quite embarrassingly - which he'd also blame on the blood draw making him unstable. The guy he'd run into didn't budge an inch, like a brick wall or something. He quickly bent over to help Techno up.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." His voice was smooth, deep but in a pleasant way. His fingers touched the bare skin of Techno's wrist only for a moment while helping him stand but it almost made Techno wince with how cold that touch was, the stranger's skin akin to ice.

Techno looked up into the piercing red eyes of a vampire.

This one looked young. Physically, the man in front of him seemed of a similar age to Techno. Which made it all the more creepy that Techno had no way of knowing his actual age. He had slightly curled brown hair that was long enough to hang in front of his glasses and a kind smile, only a litte undercut by the visible sharp fangs when he grinned. His skin was so pale it seemed almost translucent in the waning daylight.

Daylight that he showed no sign of being concerned about. Yet another indicator that told Techno this vampire could be much older than he looked.

His book had slipped from his hand during the collision and while Techno was still blinking dumbly, the man picked it up for him.

"Edgar Allen Poe, hm? Not exactly the type of literature I'd imagine for somebody who comes here." He gestured at the clinic behind them.

"It's for my literary analysis class," Techno said a bit defensively, before immediately wondering why he felt the need to defend his choice of book in front of a complete stranger. The man smiled, forming wrinkles around his red eyes. His narrow pupils were slightly dilated in amusement.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," Techno said casually. "I don't really like Poe's work. His writing is awfully pretentious."

With a flourish, his book was handed back to him. "I had the displeasure of meeting the guy and I can confirm. He was horribly pretentious from start to finish."

"I imagine you two got along then?" Techno said, eyeing the man's outfit. He looked like he walked straight out of a victorian drama, the long tailored jacket and waistcoat more fit on a cosplayer than a guy who looked like he was in his early twenties.

Surprisingly, the man laughed. Techno smiled a little. Then he felt his phone go off again through the fabric of his jeans.

"I have to go," he said hastily, already shoving his book into his bag.

The man nodded. "Pity. I'm Wilbur Soot, by the way. It was nice to meet you."

"Techno Blade," he threw over his shoulder, already scooting past the guy. "Maybe I'll see you again some other time?" Techno doubted it since he usually showed up in the clinic during the day hours. With vampires being nocturnal, that made the chances rather slim that they'd run into each other again.

"I'd like that," Wilbur still said.

Techno only barely made it to the bus stop in time, sinking down into one of the chairs while gasping from all the running. Niki would give him a lecture about taking it easy after having his blood drawn less than an hour ago, but Techno was more than done with today and just wanted to get home.

The moment he set foot into his building he already regretted that decision.

After all: Techno knew he could only keep ignoring his landlord's calls for so long before the guy would resort to more drastic measures.

Camping out in front of his apartment was not what Techno had expected though.

"Blade!" His landlord was pretty much yelling into his face already and Techno couldn't help but wonder if he'd get out of this by sticking the guy with an assault charge. Probably not, but it might be worth a shot. "Did you lose your phone?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Techno said innocently as if he couldn't feel the heavy weight of it in his pocket.

"Well, could have fooled me." When Techno tried to slip past them, they braced their arm against the wall to bar his way. "You owe me rent."

"I'm working on it," Techno said. But it was clear that wasn't going to cut it this time. "Here."

He got the envelope and handed it over, watching his landlord tear it open with no regard for civility and thumb through the bills quickly. Their expression only soured. "You got this by serving those freaks your blood on a silver platter, did you?"

"What does it matter to you?" Techno asked.

"I don't want a blood bag living in my residence, frankly."

Oh yeah, because that's what Techno needed. Them being even more difficult. "You wanted your money, you got your money. I don't see what the problem is."

They inhaled loudly through their nostrils. "This isn't nearly enough to cover your back rent."

"I know," Techno said, trying to get past them again but unable to. Man, he just wanted to eat and sleep. What did a guy have to do around here to get into his own home? "But it's something, right? I can get you the rest later."

His landlord scowled, pushing the money into the front pocket of their grimy overcoat. "When is later?"

"When I have the money?" Why did people have to be so dense? "You can't kick me out so long as I don't fall more than three months behind on my payments."

A legal loophole Techno had been staking his sanity on for almost a year now.

Which is why it was so disheartening when his landlord only smirked, pushing off the wall to finally let him through. "That's too bad since I'll be raising the rent next month."

Techno frowned. "You can't do that without giving me notice."

"I've been trying to give you notice for a long while but somebody didn't answer my phone calls. Not my fault the written notice was lost somewhere along the way too." The lie was bold, but more worryingly it was effective. If they were being serious about this, Techno was screwed.

"You wouldn't-"

"All my money by the end of the month, Blade," his landlord said viciously - knowing full well that with only ten days left, there was no way Techno could get that much together. "Or you better start looking for a new place to stay."

---

Techno did look for a new place to stay.

The search lasted about an hour before he had to give it up and resign to being miserable about the results. His building was pretty much the only place that ran as cheap as it did, everywhere else the rent was ridiculously high. If he couldn't afford his current apartment without going into debt, getting anything else was out of the question.

This boiled down his options to either asking his uncle for help or dropping one of his majors.

The first option sounded like a terrible idea. Techno hadn't really exchanged any words with that man aside from the odd holiday greeting since he moved out at eighteen. Techno had lived with his uncle for only a couple of years after his parents died in a car accident, and if those years had taught him anything it was that his uncle didn't have any kids of his own for a reason. He wasn't interested in raising Techno, and Techno doubted he was interested in helping him with the financial aspect of his studies either. That's why he choose a university on the other end of the country and moved out on his own.

The second option… Well, it wasn't any easier for Techno to accept either but it was all he had left. He'd already maxed out what he possibly could get from his university regarding financial support. They'd tell him that if he couldn't raise his income, he'd need to cut down on costs. It was basic math.

By the time he went back to Niki's for his scheduled appointment, Techno had more or less accepted his fate. He just hadn't been able to bring himself to contact his administrator yet to give them the news.

Once again, the nurse at the desk didn't really acknowledge him, correctly assuming Techno knew where to head. But as he rounded the corner into the main room, he almost ran straight into somebody again.

Not any somebody. The same person as last time.

"Is this going to become a pattern?" Wilbur asked, bemused. At least Techno managed to stay upright this time and retain some of his dignity.

"You tell me. Are you going to keep lurking around corners like a creep?"

And just like last time Wilbur laughed. He must be a fan of Techno's scathing sarcasm. His laugh was light, aimless. The kind that sounded like it belonged in a song. "Did you get through Poe yet?"

"I wish. Was he as prone to using homonyms in real life as he was in his stories? Because if so, he must have been a blast at those Graham's Magazine parties."

Wilbur's eyebrows raised a bit in sincere surprise, eyes widening behind the round golden frames of his glasses. "Oh, it was the dullest shit in human memory. I had to attend them because of work and fell asleep multiple times. The drinks were pretty good though, editors do not skim on cheap wine. I'm surprised those types of events are remembered over two hundred years later, is that part of your curriculum or do you simply enjoy flexing obscure history facts?"

"I'm a dual major with a good memory," Techno answered off-handedly.

The vampire inclined his head, lips pulling up a bit. He looked at Techno as if seeing him for the first time. As if seeing straight into his soul. The intensity of his stare sent a shudder through Techno. "Impressive."

"It was while it lasted," Techno commented, trying not to squirm beneath that gaze. Being reminded of his predicament wasn't fun either. Maybe he'd lied. Maybe he hadn't entirely accepted it yet, but he'd have to sooner or later.

Wilbur might have wanted to add something more, but that's when Niki came out of the back office carrying a small carton box, carefully sealed with white tape. The biohazard symbols on the outside left little to the imagination as to what might be inside.

"Oh, hey Techno!" she greeted happily upon spotting him. "Here you go, Wil. These should last you about a week." Those last words were aimed at Wilbur while handing over the box.

"Not at the rate he's eating," Wilbur said. "Phil's getting a bit concerned."

"You can bring him in if you want?" Niki offered. Techno wasn't sure what about that suggestion was so off-putting for Wilbur to scowl at it.

"Yeah, we'll see if that flies with Phil. Thank you though." He turned to Techno. "Good luck with Poe."

"Thanks," Techno said. "Maybe if I drink enough wine while reading, the book will be easier to get through as well." His joke got another chuckle out of Wilbur.

"You two have met?" Niki asked.

"We only had the pleasure of making acquaintances out of each other recently," Wilbur said. "Niki, you never told me you had such an amusing fount at your clinic."

Techno didn't know if he should be offended or not that Wilbur referred to him with such an archaic term, so he stayed silent instead.

"You never asked," Niki shot back. "You folks used to make me deliver, remember? You never took an interest in the other humans at the clinic before."

"Maybe that's about to change then," Wilbur said mysteriously while looking over at Techno. Before he could really respond though, the vampire was already heading out the door. "I hope to see you both again."

Techno watched the trail of that ridiculous trenchcoat disappear around the corner.

"He's weird," he said. Niki laughed.

"Wil's harmless, just theatric," she said fondly. Clearly the two had known each other for a long while. "You get used to him. Are you ready for your appointment?"

He nodded, taking off his hoodie again as he sat down.

Techno wondered how long Wilbur had been getting blood for his coven from this clinic. It was entirely possible he had fed on Techno's blood before, which was a bit of a strange thing to consider. Techno knew that his blood was being sold to vampires, obviously. He'd just never been confronted with it so directly.

The thought really did not horrify him as much as other people seemed to feel it should.

Not that it mattered any, since Techno doubted he'd be seeing the man again anyway.

To her credit, the administrator across from him looked at Techno with an expression that could probably be described as mild pity. As if only for that moment, she was regretful of having to do her job. Not enough for her to make an exception and risk getting fired, but regretful all the same.

Sadly, regret would not keep a roof over Techno's head.

"I'm sorry, mister Blade. It's campus policy."

"Isn't affordable housing also campus policy?" Techno asked. But she did not answer. "Bruh, so you're telling me that even if I drop one of my majors, I'm out of luck?"

"The advance payment is made for the entire school year," the administrator said, tapping her pen on her desk. There was a layer of impatience slipping into her voice, probably because she'd already explained this to him twice. "The rest of the payments are made per trimester, depending on what courses you take. Even if we cut down on your classes, we can't return any money already received."

"Okay..." Techno leaned back, raising his hand to run his fingers through his hair in what he knew was a self-soothing gesture of his. He really needed to dye it again, but lately that had been the last thing on his mind. "Okay, I guess that's that then."

"For what it's worth, we can carry the surplus amount over to next year's bill, so it's not entirely lost. You don't have to worry about that."

That won't stop me from being homeless next week, Techno couldn't help but think bitterly. He didn't want to actually say it out loud though. It wasn't her fault the system was inherently flawed.

So he dropped his hand, doing his best to give her half a smile despite him wasting an hour on this. "Thanks."

He left the building and went straight to the clinic.

"Niki's not in today?" Techno asked the guy behind the desk. The door to the office was closed, which usually wasn't the case when Niki was around.

"She's on a supply run. You can head in if you have an appointment though."

There were two temp nurses on rotation. Since it was a Saturday, the clinic was busier than it had been when Techno was there the week before. He awkwardly idled next to the desk for a while before anybody noticed him. Perhaps they were expecting him to approach one of them, but Techno would rather die than initiate social interaction. He settled on clearing his throat when one of the nurses walked past him to make them aware of his presence.

She stopped, frowning at him and then turning to a clipboard on the desk with a little sigh. "Name?"

"Techno Blade."

Her eyes scanned the page, marking his name once she found it and pulling his chart out of the stack, going over it so quickly he doubted she actually took in any of the information.

"No changes to your health status?"

"None that I'm aware of." He followed her to a chair and sat down. She barely even waited for him to outstretch his arm, grabbing his wrist harshly to keep him still. Techno winced when the needle went in because of how carelessly she went about it.

This was why he usually scheduled his appointments for days he was sure Niki would be around.

He pulled out his book again to start reading, opening and closing his other fist in a steady rhythm to aid the blood flow. But it was hard to concentrate on his dumb literature assignment with his financial problems fresh on his mind.

Even if he went through with dropping a major - probably the English one. You could get published without a degree, you couldn't work at a museum without some sort of higher education - that would only reduce his future bills. It didn't solve the problem of his landlord breathing down his neck over unpaid rent.

He'd gotten the notice that it was being raised next month in the mail this morning, finally.

With the rent going up, there was only so long Techno could keep paying enough to not cross the 'three months of unpaid rent' threshold that would make it legal for that man to throw him out on a whim. He could feel them waiting on it, anticipating the day they could kick him to the curb with malicious glee. There was some analogy to be made there about the sword of Damocles.

"I was hoping I'd see you again! How has the book been treating you?"

The man who had pulled him from his thoughts dragged over a crutch to sit next to him, smile not falling even when Techno blinked at him for a moment. It was the vampire he'd met a while ago. For the life of him, Techno couldn't recall the guy's name.

Techno never had a good memory in that regard. Ask him to remember the exact dates for the start and end of every Chinese dynasty and he could give them to you on top of all the major events that happened during them. For some specific facts, he even had them memorized down to the hour of the day they happened if that was recorded by history books. Remembering a name, not so much.

"You don't remember me, do you?" the vampire asked, face falling a bit. Techno couldn't tell if he was genuinely upset or overacting to mess with him.

"Of course I do," he said. "You're the Poe guy."

The vampire laughed. "Funny, that's exactly what I called you when I told my family about you."

That comment had Techno straightening his spine against the back of the chair, made uncomfortable for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. "There's nothing more interesting happening in your life that meeting me was a notable enough event for you to mention it to them?"

"They like to know what has caught my interest." The vampire's lip quirked up, showing that row of perfectly white teeth with one much more sharp and deadly incisor on clear display. "But I suppose we must reacquaint ourselves then. My name is Wilbur Soot."

"Techno."

"Oh, I do recall. Niki's favorite fount. So how have you been doing since last we met?"

Techno put the book in his lap, resigning to this conversation happening whether he liked to or not. He didn't really mind, Wilbur was likable enough. But wasn't there some unspoken social rule about not forcing people to engage in small talk when they literally couldn't get away from you? Being hooked up to an iron stand having your blood drawn probably counted.

"I'm fine," Techno said dismissively. Wilbur's eyes seemed to pierce into him, staring at him much too intensely for somebody only looking to make casual conversation. "I've been dealing with a personal crisis."

Wilbur did not pry by asking him to explain, which Techno was grateful for. Somebody knowing when to leave people their privacy always was appreciated in his books.

"What about you?" he asked. "Still struggling with your hungry friend?"

"Oh, he's a menace. I swear to god he's trying to eat Phil and me straight out of our retirement funds. I'm glad neither of us will ever grow old or we'd be in real trouble."

Techno snorted. "Yeah, I imagine you guys have quite a return on your investments."

The nurse came back, practically shoving a box of blood bags Wilbur's way without looking at him. Then she turned and checked the needle in Techno's arm. He tried not to squirm as she not-so-delicately fiddled with the tubing, without so much as addressing him.

Wilbur turned his head to watch her walk away. "She must be a delight at private events," he said sarcastically.

"Don't take it personally," Techno answered, but then frowned at his own words. "No, actually, do take it personally. She probably just doesn't like vampires."

"Then why would she work in a blood bank that caters specifically to our kind?" Wilbur asked.

Techno shrugged. "They're temps, sent out to whatever assignment they get to fill vacancies. They don't choose where they're placed and an awful lot of them hate the idea of drawing blood for the sole purpose of it going down some vampire's gullet later." He looked up at Wilbur's face, adding a quick, "No offense."

"None taken." Wilbur grinned, shifting the box in his arms and standing up. "You don't seem overly bothered by their behavior."

"Eh, I'm used to it. Niki works with the temps if she has nobody else to cover her shifts. And they're not all as chill as her." Techno didn't have any other way to put it. He'd been selling his blood for long enough to have gotten all the negative feedback about how he was betraying humanity and degrading himself by giving his own body to feed these 'monsters' loud and clear. "Some humans are more bothered by it than others. They don't exactly appreciate what I'm doing here either."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Wilbur said. His face was sincere, empathetic.

Techno had met vampires before, he'd shared classes with them even. He wasn't bothered by their existence. He knew a lot of the myths about them people told to scare others were either outdated information from long before two societies so drastically different and seemingly contradictory in their existence had managed to unite, or they were made up to begin with. Stories of shadowy castles and turning into bats. Vampires were no more likely to own a castle than the average human millionaire and weren't affiliated with bats in the slightest.

But there was something about how Wilbur expressed his emotions, with not an ounce of secretive nature to it, that felt almost… safe, to Techno?

Most vampires used their powers to cover up their red irises. It helped them blend into the human world better, often enough that they became indistinguishable. A vampire with red eyes was either not old enough yet to hide their vampiric eye color or didn't care about people finding out their true nature.

And in a strange sense, the fact that Wilbur didn't mind the world knowing what he was made him feel more trustworthy to Techno.

Also, the outfits weren't exactly subtle.

"It's never bothered me too much," he said. He was too jaded to give a crap about what others thought of him anyway. They'd always find something to give him hell over. If it wasn't the selling blood thing, it'd be something else. "And I really need the money."

"For your crisis?" Wilbur asked.

He was either more perceptive than Techno had given him credit for, or an actual mind reader. Perhaps both. Not a pleasant thing to think about so Techno shoved the thought away.

"Something like that," he said.

There was a muffled buzzing sound and Wilbur got his phone from his pocket, checking the screen. Or maybe calling it a phone was generous, it looked more like an outdated pager. Whatever he saw made him displeased. "I got to go. See you around, Techno."

As he left, Techno watched the nurses scowl even more at his retreating back before whispering to each other. One of them laughed, but it had a cruel edge to it.

Techno wondered if he could report them.

Maybe it wasn't really any of Techno's business and he doubted Wilbur particularly cared, but part of him felt weirdly fond of the guy. He had been nothing but kind to Techno and was pretty funny. He came to get his blood through legal measures, which was more than could be said for some vampires.

Then again, he'd only met Wilbur three times. Were they even close enough to be considered friends?

Long after he was already walking home with another envelope of money in his pocket (one that would only gain him a few more days of peace at most) the thought lingered on Techno's mind.

---

"Maybe stay seated a while longer," Niki told him, taking the cuff off his arm. "Your heart rate is a little low."

"I haven't been sleeping well," Techno said. Pretty hard to sleep when every night was spent lying awake wondering if that night was the last time he'd have a proper bed to sleep in.

"At least you finally got through Poe, right?" she asked with a nod at his book. His page marker wasn't in it anymore, instead lying on top of the cover.

"One more day and I would have thrown it through the window," Techno complained. "I still need the write the whole analysis though." God, he was not looking forward to that. "I need a palette cleanser. Anything that doesn't fry my brain cells. Any suggestions?"

"Hm…" Niki considered it while she got him his drink and snack. "I've been reading mostly historical romance fiction, if you're up for that?"

"Sounds good. Otherwise, I'll just be reading the Princess Bride for the millionth time."

With a laugh, she handed him a small carton of chocolate milk (the kind that kids usually got but Techno knew the clinic stocked them out of convenience) and a muffin. Judging by the wrapper and how it was just slightly off in shape, she'd made it herself.

Which meant it must be absolutely amazing. If there were two things Techno would put his unwavering trust in, it was Niki's taste in books and her baking skill. It was probably why they got along so well.

"How many fantasy elements?" she asked, trying to narrow down a good recommendation for him.

"Either or," Techno said. He could go both ways.

"I'll think of something for your next visit."

He bit into the muffin and immediately failed to suppress a grin. Jup, Niki was always right on the money.

"Do you like them?" Niki still asked. As if his expression hadn't totally given it away.

"I guess they're fine," Techno said casually, earning a poke to his face in reward. He batted her hand away, laughing. "No, they're great, they're great. Have you ever considered starting a bakery?"

"Actually, I have." Niki pulled back, watching him shove more of the muffin into his mouth. She grimaced - half amused and half disgusted. "But I wanted to get my license first and I love what I do so I'm not complaining."

"Being a blood dealer, being a cookie dealer. I don't see the difference." Techno nodded.

"I'm still feeding people, right?" Niki said cheekily.

There came three knocks on the open door, the person who just walked in wanted to make their presence known without intruding upon their conversation. Techno felt like he couldn't even be surprised to see that Wilbur was standing in the doorway.

Today, the vampire was wearing a much more simple outfit. The black slacks might not be the most modern look, but paired with an oversized jumper and scarf, Techno felt it was the kind of outfit he'd see on an aesthetic blog. Combined with how Wilbur seemed to switch from speaking like a victorian gentleman and a regular guy between sentences, Techno couldn't help but wonder if that was a vampire thing.

Maybe you couldn't be alive for that many centuries without getting a bit out of touch with the time period.

"Hi. I'm not interrupting something, am I?" Wilbur asked.

"Wil! Of course not." Niki waved at him. "I can get you your order in a second but I left your paperwork at the front desk."

"Oh, great!" The vampire lit up, visibly excited at this news. "I'll take care of that first then?"

Techno waited until Wilbur had gone before opening his mouth. "I don't believe in fate."

"What?" Niki asked, confused.

"I've never seen that guy before in my life, and now he keeps showing up whenever I'm here. He must be stalking me."

And despite him meaning it as a joke at best, Niki did not laugh. Or even smile really. She looked guilty.

Techno put his elbows on his knees, resting his head in his hands. "Oh, I'm a fool. It was occam's razor all along." The mock distress in his voice got a chuckle out of Niki at least.

"I didn't want to say anything but… a while ago when Wilbur came by he asked to see the scheduled appointments. He wanted to make sure he could drop by for his pickup when you were here."

"And you showed him because giving him confidential information is the most legally responsible thing to do. Niki, I'm appalled." There was no real anger there.

"I didn't show him anything, I just told him when you'd be around. I thought it was nice?"

"You thought the stalking was nice?"

"He's not stalking you," Niki said. "He just likes talking to you. Look, ever since we first met, Wilbur has been a bit-" she hesitated there, choosing her words carefully "-he's never had a lot of friends. And you're not exactly the most social butterfly either, Techno. I thought it'd be a good thing to encourage you two getting to know each other."

Techno felt like he should be angry, but really this was pretty humorous. "So this is like, what, platonic matchmaking?"

"If you want him to lay off you can just tell him," Niki said seriously. "He's eccentric, not a creep. I'm just saying you two have a lot more in common than you think, you'd get along."

"I don't mind," Techno said. "I'm just surprised. I'm not used to people taking a liking to me."

Maybe it was more accurate to say that his general air of disinterest and awkward disposition was wont to scare people off or give them the wrong impression. Techno never bothered to do anything about it because frankly with his tendency towards extreme introversion, the fact that people found him hard to approach was a blessing more often than a curse. Except for when he had to do group projects. Then it was a nightmare.

He got up from the chair, pulling down his sleeve and shrugging into his jacket. Wilbur had come back with a bundle of papers in his hand, and Niki went to the office to retrieve the blood for him.

"How old is your fledgling?" Techno asked.

Wilbur's head tilted a bit. "Hm?"

"The fledgling in your coven," Techno said. "They're who you're getting so much blood for, right? Since they need to feed more than older vampires. Can't be older than a century if they're still eating this much. But they were probably turned over thirty years ago, otherwise they'd be feeding on their sire's blood."

Perplexity steadily morphed into glee and Wilbur smiled at him. Techno felt like this guy was always smiling at him. It was strange, if weirdly endearing.

Wilbur smiled as if even the smallest things in the world could still bring him joy, despite having walked the earth for centuries. Most humans were disillusioned by the time they hit puberty.

"Should I be wondering why you have intricate knowledge of vampire physiology or is that yet another degree you're pursuing?"

Techno didn't know if that was an actual thing. "I had a pretty intense vampire phase as a kid."

"A…" Wilbur blinked at him, back to being confounded. "A vampire phase?"

"Like, a hyperfixation?" Techno said, feeling very clumsy in having to explain. "I was a weird kid. I thought vampires were badass."

"And you've grown less weird with age?" Wilbur asked sarcastically.

"At least I'm not a prick walking around in a brown tailcoat. You look better like this, by the way."

Wilbur laughed, adjusting his scarf. "Touché." He shifted the papers in his hands. It was a pretty sizable bundle, the paperwork Niki mentioned. "Tommy was turned forty-eight years ago so you're pretty much right on the mark."

Niki came back and handed him another box. It seemed to be even bigger than the one Techno had seen him get before. Wilbur said goodbye to them both as he left, smiling at Techno again.

It didn't even feel weird anymore.

---

The book Niki ended up giving him at his next visit was a hardcover, Techno let his fingers trace the rough textured outside. He opened it to a random page, an old habit he'd picked up somewhere. Techno really didn't believe in fate, but sometimes he felt like coincidences were overrated.

"Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love."

He closed it again. This would do.

"You're moving on from Poe then?" Wilbur asked.

Once again Techno found the vampire arriving at the clinic around the same time as him. Thanks to Niki, he knew that was not a coincidence either.

"To greener pastures," Techno confirmed.

"Do you want to come by my home?" Wilbur said suddenly.

Not what Techno had been expecting. "Your home?"

"We have an entire room dedicated to being our private library. As you can imagine, we've acquired quite a collection over the years, some volumes are probably older than me." Techno still didn't know how old Wilbur was exactly, but that sounded impressive.

"Sounds cool," Techno said. Because it really did.

"Great, we can go right now!"

Before he could react Wilbur had already put his hand on Techno's shoulder, starting to lead him outside.

"Wait, you meant right now?"

"Unless you have something else to attend to?" Wilbur said, slowing down his stride to give Techno an opportunity to slip from his hold. Techno didn't know if he could though, the fingers curled around his shoulder were gripping a little too hard to easily slip loose. Maybe Wilbur just didn't realize his own strength. "You could meet my family too, they're home."

Techno considered if he wanted to go along with this. On one hand, sudden changes in plans were his personal nightmare. On the other hand, it was true he had nothing better to do and it was probably more fun than going home and dealing with his landlord's crap. Yesterday, Techno's heating had been cut off.

And he knew that if he went to complain about it, they'd just point to his unpaid fees as the reason. So if his options were to either go home and sit on the couch with three blankets to prevent from freezing or getting to visit a library, the decision was a no-brainer.

Wilbur's house wasn't too far away from the clinic, they walked for about twenty minutes while idly chatting. It was far enough to take them out of the commercial center of the town and into the suburbs that lay beyond, the part of town Techno couldn't imagine he'd ever be able to afford. The estates that were built there were old architecture and he couldn't help but wonder how many of these mansions were owned by vampires. He could imagine them being drawn to buildings that looked like they were constructed in the same era they were originally alive.

The driveway he was eventually led down was gravel. Wilbur's home was… subtle, compared to some of the neighbors. Understated, without marble columns or towering chimneys. Still a lot bigger than what Techno would consider reasonable and the door that Wilbur opened for him was made of solid oak wood.

"Wilbur!"

They'd barely set a foot inside or Wilbur was being accosted by a teenager.

He had curly blond hair and a gangly frame. Techno could see his eyes were red, though that was a bit of a foregone conclusion. Wilbur's so-called 'family' would also be vampires, a coven of them.

"If you leave me alone again I will rip your throat out," the teen complained, though the threat was muffled into the fabric of Wilbur's shirt.

Wilbur grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back a bit. "Why are you not in the nest, Tommy?"

Ah, the fledgling.

"Because you fucks abandoned me," Tommy said pointedly. "I'm bored out of my mind too, I don't want to be in there by myself."

"You know damn well that if you keep doing this, Phil is going to chain you to the fucking bed," Wilbur said. Techno found it hard from his infliction to tell if it was a joke or not.

Tommy didn't take it seriously, at least. He rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see him try."

He allowed himself to be pushed off then, though Wilbur kept his hand lingering on the top of Tommy's head. Probably to mess with him, because it made Tommy shove it away and Wilbur chuckle. "Techno, this is Tommy. He's the menace I mentioned."

"I figured," Techno said. "He lives up to his name."

The fledgling gave him a poisonous glare in return and Techno smirked back. Reasonably, it probably wasn't in his best interest to piss off a vampire. But Techno found himself unable to really be intimidated by what looked to be a kid barely of age. Physically, Tommy was eighteen at most. Yet he was this age long before Techno was even born.

Regardless, Wilbur would not bring him somewhere he would immediately get murdered. Techno trusted that much.

"Tommy, this is Techno. From Niki's clinic."

And all at once, Tommy's demeanor seemed to change completely.

"This is him?" he asked, turning to Wilbur. When he looked over at Techno again, it was as if a completely different person was looking at him. In a way, it was kind of unsettling. Maybe not bad - better than being looked at in hatred or disgust or anything.

But Techno wasn't used to being looked at with a weird mix of attentiveness and… whatever that other emotion on Tommy's face was.

"Uh, hi." Not his best first impression but Techno thought it would do.

Before Tommy could open his mouth to reply, a voice cut through the hall sharply.

"Tommy?"

The teen froze, almost to a scary degree before Techno was reminded that vampires didn't need to breathe. Most of them did mimic inhales and exhales with speech, but they didn't need oxygen to survive so if they choose to forgo breathing they could.

That didn't make it less impressive to see.

Even Wilbur straightened his shoulders as if standing at attention a little.

Then all at once, Tommy darted off, fast enough that Techno could barely blink to catch it. A door slammed somewhere further in the mansion and Wilbur started laughing so hard he felt a need to turn around and hide his face in his hands.

"Little shit knows exactly what he's doing," the man who had spoken said, coming down the stairs.

"You're being too hard on him," Wilbur said.

"You're being too soft on him," the man shot right back. "He has you wrapped all around his finger, mate." He chuckled as he said it, clearly not mad.

"Pot, meet kettle," Wilbur said. "Tommy can get you to do practically anything on a whim, I was never that spoiled."

When he got close enough, Wilbur bent forward a bit, allowing the man to put his hand on Wilbur's neck and pull him closer. Their foreheads rested against each other for a moment. There was something intimate in that gesture. Techno didn't need to be a genius to figure out this was Wilbur's sire.

"Techno, this is Phil."

Phil smiled at him, taking a step towards him to reach out his hand. Techno took it and didn't even flinch at how cold it was because he was expecting it this time. His eyes were light blue, but very alert. Shining with an unnatural quality that betrayed the inhumanness that lay beneath.

That glow was about the only thing Techno would have found that stood out to him. For all intents and purposes, Phil looked like a random bloke. Shoulder-length blond hair, a shirt and jeans combination that made him seem like the most non-threatening person on the planet. This image was helped by the half-moon reading glasses dangling around his neck from a golden chain.

"Wilbur has told me a lot about you," Phil said. Those blue irises stared at him, straight through him. Techno was unable to pull away. He was still holding Phil's hand, the grip weak but lingering.

When Phil finally broke eye contact and let go, it felt like coming up for air after being dunked in cold water. Techno took an instinctive step back.

"Sorry I don't have long to catch up. I'm going to make sure Tommy doesn't get into more trouble." He reached out to squeeze Wilbur's wrist once, before turning to Techno and giving him another smile. "I hope we can talk more next time."

They must have stood in silence for a solid ten seconds before Techno finally managed to speak up.

"Somehow, you're not the weird one in your family."

Wilbur shook his head, leading the way towards one of the doors - presumably one that would lead into the library. "We've had a lot on our minds," Wilbur said. Techno didn't know if it was an apology or an explanation, or both.

Any lingering oddness of eccentric vampire families was quickly forgotten at the sight he was treated to next. The library was massive, two floors connected with a spiral staircase in each corner, stacked top to bottom with bookcases. Techno would hardly know where to look first. In the middle of the room were several glass cases, housing what he could only describe as ancient artifacts.

Wilbur caught him staring at them. "Phil loves to collect things. He'll talk your ear off about all this stuff if you let him."

"Let him?" Techno asked while walking over to the nearest bookcase. "I'd welcome him. Heck, I would gladly live here if I could."

"Well, perhaps you can?" Wilbur said, coming to stand next to him. Techno had his hand raised as his fingers scanned the titles.

"Just bring me a blanket and some pillows and I wouldn't leave this room for the next millennia."

"I'm serious," Wilbur said.

Techno dropped his arm. "Heh?"

"Have you ever considered working as an au pair?" Wilbur asked.

Techno frowned, once again thrown off by the vampire's archaic choice of words. "You mean, going to live with a coven?"

"As our permanent, exclusive food source, yes."

"That's-"

Theoretically, it was the kind of thing Techno was vaguely aware of existing. But in that way that he knew that there were different planets within their universe or craters at the bottom of the sea. Others had seen these places, had spoken of them. They were common knowledge.

But they were so far removed from Techno's usual, it couldn't help but catch him off guard.

"We've been having some problems with Tommy, as I'm certain you've picked up on. After talking it over within the coven, we have decided that continuing to supply ourselves with blood from the clinic is too much of a chore. We would prefer a more long-term solution."

"So you want a human to live with you as an all-hours buffet?" Techno asked.

It sounded a bit more heated than he had intended, especially considering he'd already had a conversation with Wilbur about the negative preconceptions some humans had about how he earned an income. Morally, there wasn't anything inherently wrong with the concept of a mutually beneficial relationship between a human and a vampire where one provided blood and the other money.

Wilbur clearly agreed. "We want a human to live with us as a coven member. Or you could consider yourself an employee, if you prefer that. You would allow us to feed and we would allow you free bed and board, and appropriate monetary compensation."

"That's it?" Techno said. "You'd get to draw my blood whenever you want and I get to live here for free?"

"There's a little bit more to it than that, but essentially yes." Wilbur stepped back, away from the bookcase. "We already got the paperwork in order."

Techno remembered the bundle Wilbur had picked up from Niki's front desk a few weeks ago. His voice raised in anger.

"Wait, was this planned?"

And the slight edge of betrayal must be evident because Wilbur whirled around looking almost panicked.

"No!" he said. "No, I promise. Techno, I swear I didn't approach you with ill intentions." Techno squinted at him as if he'd be able to read the lies on that face. But all he found was honesty. "When I met you, we had no idea that this was the course we were going to take," Wilbur went on to explain. "We didn't decide on the live-in human solution until much later after I'd already spoken to you multiple times."

He kept squinting a moment longer but then Techno nodded. "I believe you."

Wilbur face lit up with relief. "I won't deny that after the proposition was brought up, you were the first one to cross my mind. But mostly because any human we hire for this will have to share a house with us, so I'd much prefer it to be somebody I'd actually get along with. And can trust."

That… definitely made sense to Techno. It was different than a normal employee, they were essentially going to be living together. They would want somebody they could stand having around all the time.

Seeing his hesitance, Wilbur reached into his pocket. The card he pulled out was so old-fashioned it almost made Techno chuckle.

At least this guy was consistent.

"If you're not interested, that's completely fine. I would love to remain friends regardless since I thoroughly enjoy your company." Techno took the card and turned it over. There was a cellphone number on the back. "You can let me know if you're interested though."

Techno nodded, shoving the card into his wallet. "Thanks. I'll think about it."

They switched topics after that, the proposition swept under the rug as soon as it had come. Wilbur did not bring it up again, or push him for an answer. Techno left that day with three first-edition books that had been printed long before his literary professor was even born, and a weird tingle down his spine.

When he got to his apartment it was still freezing. He turned the tap to wash his face, but the water remained stubbornly cold too without heating. The decision did not need a lot of consideration.

He texted Wilbur that same evening.

"Before we start, do you have any questions right out of the gate?"

Wilbur was shuffling the papers in front of him around restlessly, pushing them into one uniform heap before separating the pages again and messing with the corners. Techno had never seen him this nervous. Well, not that they'd known each other for very long, but it was still an odd sight. It was more so a stereotype that all vampires were supposed to be cool and collected.

"Not really," Techno said. "You probably have a better idea about how this works than I do."

"There's not really one specific way this works," Wilbur answered. "We did consult with a few other covens before making the decision and from what we can tell everybody has their own preferences. Niki's paperwork should make sure we're legally in the clear though."

"You're telling me live-in blood bag is a regulated profession?" Techno couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice.

"When you're doing it right, yes? Niki made you sign a contract to come to her clinic, didn't she?"

"She did."

And she was probably an outlier for that. Niki liked doing things by the books and it was the reason Techno had chosen her clinic and not another that might pay more. It wasn't worth it to get some transmissible disease through dirty needles or whatever. But knowing this gig came with the same legal protection did make Techno feel a bit more secure in his choice to take Wilbur up on his offer.

He wasn't exactly scared of ending up as these vampires' personal juice pack, it was still nice to know there'd be no nasty surprises.

"Let's go over the terms then," Wilbur said. Finally, his hands stilled, tracing the words printed on the page. "Blood draining will occur once a week at minimum, with about one pint extracted per draining, though we can spread it out over several sessions if that suits you better. Additional blood draws might be requested, however you're always free to refuse those. It'll be touch and go for a bit as we figure out how much blood we'd need to sufficiently feed all of us."

"Who is going to do the draining?" Techno asked.

"Both me and Phil are trained in how to do the procedure."

Techno nodded. He'd probably prefer for Wilbur to do it since he hadn't really spoken to Phil more than once and the guy gave off creepy vibes. But if he could handle the ill-tempered nurses at Niki's clinic he could deal with a scary sire if he had to.

"Niki is going to pop by once a month for a health check-up. Obviously to make sure you're still legible for the job, though we'll also have to analyze your blood content. It will need to meet certain criteria."

"Of course, wouldn't want to feed you cringe blood," Techno said.

Wilbur blinked at the page stupidly before looking up at him and laughing, effectively breaking out of the script he seemed to be trying to stick to. It was most likely something he did to keep his nerves at bay, but Techno liked this relaxed atmosphere better. Yes, this was technically a job interview (in a really roundabout way) but if Techno had to actually approach it as such he'd combust.

"With Tommy's condition we don't want to take any risks," Wilbur said when his chuckle died down.

Techno couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him. If he was going to live with this coven full-time, it was probably better for him to have a complete picture, wasn't it? "And what condition is that, exactly?"

"Fuck if we know." Wilbur dropped the page, rubbing at the crease between his eyebrows that came with his frown. "When he was still feeding on Phil's blood things were normal but since he got old enough to transition to human blood he's been consuming a lot more than he should. We have no clue why."

"Might have something to do with his age? He was turned as a teenager." Techno offered. He hoped it didn't come across as overstepping, but if it was at all a possibility it'd make sense for him to bring it up.

"No, we know other vampires turned as teens and there's nothing unusual about their feeding patterns. Tommy also has always been frail and gets sick easily when he hasn't eaten, at an alarming rate compared to how quickly other vampires get weak without blood."

Techno sat back in his chair a bit. "Is that why Phil is so…" He gestured meaningfully, knowing Wilbur would get what he meant without him needing to spell it out.

"Phil has always been like that, trust me." Wilbur grinned. "Though I will say Tommy's troubles haven't been helping matters. But yeah, he cares a lot about family. We all do."

Unsure what to say to that, Techno stared at his own fingers scratching at the grooves in the tabletop. He couldn't exactly relate. He'd loved his parents, sure, but he wouldn't exactly call them close. Techno never had any siblings and his uncle didn't even care if he existed, basically washing his hands of the whole family thing as soon as Techno turned eighteen.

But that was the kind of thing Techno should be talking about in therapy (if he ever went there), and not with the vampire whose house he was planning to move into to avoid rent.

Wilbur must have picked up the sudden shift in his mood though. "Something wrong?"

"No," Techno said quickly. "Uh, you were outlining the terms?"

"Right." As he'd done before, Wilbur didn't press. He was obviously curious, but respected Techno's privacy. Which meant they'd get along perfectly fine.

This was really just a job. The fact that he was starting to maybe consider Wilbur a friend was something Techno could deal with later.

Wilbur stared at him a moment longer, red eyes that felt like they could see straight into his mind. A trait he had in common with Phil. But then Wilbur cleared his throat and returned to his pages.

"So, your blood… we're going to want to make it as nutritious as it can be so you'll need to start taking daily supplements to make sure you have enough iron and vitamin B12 intake. We'll be monitoring your diet for the same reason. And at each draining, we're going to give you an epoetin injection to keep your red blood cells up. Again, Niki is going to check that your body doesn't have any bad reactions to this."

Techno stopped scratching at the table. This was honestly a bit more involved than he thought it was going to be. Nothing Wilbur had mentioned sounded like it'd be a bad idea - on the contrary, these precautions were put in place specifically to keep his health intact when he was going to serve as a constant blood supply. Still…

"I suppose you want to hear about what you'll get in return," Wilbur said lightly, reading his dubious expression.

Techno smiled back at him. "Would be nice to know what I'll get out of it, yeah."

"Well, first of all, you'll get to live here without cost."

"I do like having a place to live."

Techno had already given his landlord the news. The guy didn't seem mournful to see him go, but that sentiment was definitely mutual. As soon as Techno got his stuff out of his apartment, he would never have to see them again. Maybe he would throw a party to celebrate.

"I can show you around, it's a large property. You'll have your own private bedroom and ensuite bathroom. The kitchen is also pretty much all yours since we don't use it, for obvious reasons." Wilbur laughed at his own joke.

"You're not much of a chef, Wilbur? Now I'm disappointed," Techno said sarcastically. The idea of a vampire chef was somehow comical to him. And slightly horrifying.

"Hey, Phil is actually a decent cook. You can probably tempt him to make you something if you ask nice enough."

Techno would absolutely not be doing that.

"Utilities are included and you'll be paid a monthly salary on top of that. But you will need to go out and buy food for yourself because we don't exactly do grocery runs. Unless you count Niki's clinic."

"Sounds good," Techno said as the paper was turned around and slid towards him. "With your taste in fashion, I'm not sure I'd trust you to buy anything for me anyway. You'll probably get me stoneground bread with drippings of lard for breakfast."

"Har har, aren't you hilarious." As if to prove Techno's point, Wilbur put an elaborate fountain pen down on top of the page for Techno to use when signing his contract.

Techno picked it up and raised an eyebrow at Wilbur. Wilbur scowled at him, which made Techno laugh. "You should just take the L, man."

"I liked humans better when they didn't have the internet," Wilbur sighed.

Techno only laughed harder, quickly scanning the contract to confirm it laid out exactly what Wilbur had said. He signed it with an exaggerated little flourish.

"So when can I move in?"

---

It took exactly two days for Techno to pack up all his possessions, three carton boxes full of crap he had accumulated in his twenty-odd years on planet earth. It wasn't much, but he was never a very materialistic person. He carried them from the bus stop to the mansion, trying not to drop them. When he got to the door, he realized he'd have to put them down to get inside which was a bit of an issue when he didn't think he could bend over without toppling the first box. Unless he could open the door with his elbow?

He tried. It didn't work.

"Do you want some help with that, mate? Or do you enjoy struggling by yourself?"

Techno froze in place, glad the boxes would hide how red his face just got. "I would have managed," he said. "But since you're here anyway."

"Since I'm here anyway," Phil echoed with a chuckle. Techno stepped out of the way to allow the older man to get past him and open the door.

The inside of the house was almost as cold as the outside air was. Techno had goosebumps on his skin underneath his jacket.

"I can help you carry these to your room if you want?" Phil offered. It was a bit funny, considering he was a head shorter than Techno yet probably easily twice as strong if Techno's knowledge of vampire superstrength was anything to go by.

"I don't know where my room is, Wilbur was going to show me around."

"Let me guess, you texted him and he didn't answer?" Phil did not sound annoyed, more like he expected Techno's nod in answer. He turned around and yelled deeper into the house. "Wilbur! Get over here and do your damn job!"

There was a thud from somewhere upstairs - Wilbur dropping something maybe? - and then a series of curses indistinct through the walls.

"He was born before the rise of technology and doesn't keep up with the times. You should hear him harking about the good old days." Phil smiled at Techno. "I guess a lot of the middle generation of vampires is like that. They think the modern ways are silly."

"Can't say I relate," Techno said. He wasn't even aware vampire generations were a thing.

"I suppose not." Phil shrugged. "Adaptability is crucial to survival, especially for our kind. At least Wilbur isn't a Luddite."

"And at least I have a cellphone," Wilbur said suddenly as if he'd materialized out of thin air next to them. With the boxes obscuring his sight, maybe he'd just managed to sneak up on Techno unseen and with very light footsteps. Since he was a vampire though, teleportation wasn't out of the question either.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Phil said, voice rising in pitch to show his affront.

"You literally send your messages by bird. You have no leg to stand on here, Phil." Without asking, Wilbur reached out and easily took two boxes out of Techno's arms.

"Anybody who matters knows how to reach me when they need me," Phil said simply. "Poor Techno here texted you hours ago and you ignored his cries for help. He could have frozen to death on our very doorstep."

"They weren't exactly cries for help," Techno tried but went ignored. What he was witnessing had to be some kind of weird comedy routine banter that was considered normal in this household. And his appeal to sanity was not to be heeded.

"I just forgot to check my phone, no need to be dramatic," Wilbur said.

Phil shook his head before turning his attention to Techno. "I'm glad you've come to stay with us, Techno. If you need anything, you can always ask me." He glanced at Wilbur, more fond than anything. "And good luck with him."

"Fuck you, I'm delightful," Wilbur told him.

"Don't make me regret turning you," Phil said as he walked away. Techno was starting to get used to not knowing if these people were joking or not when talking to each other. Maybe it was safer if he didn't ask.

Shifting the boxes to one arm, Wilbur put a hand on Techno's shoulder to lead him deeper into the house. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

They headed upstairs, where Techno hadn't been yet. There was a hallway to the left and one to the right. Wilbur nodded at the left hallway first, there were only two doors. "Down there is Phil's office and the master bedroom, which is also where the nest is. Overall, you're free to go wherever you want in the house but it's probably smart to stay clear of the nest unless you're invited in by one of us."

"Vampires get territorial, right?" Techno asked. He knew the nest was where fledglings were kept, anyone outside of the coven wouldn't be allowed near it.

"Don't get worried, it's not like we're going to rip your throat out for setting foot in there." Wilbur said it casually, not considering it to be a very daunting statement. Techno gripped the boxes a little tighter. "But it's the heart of the coven, it should be treated as such."

Techno nodded. He would not go anywhere near that hallway unless he was actively dying, duly noted.

"Besides, Tommy is often asleep in there during the day so you shouldn't go inside anyway unless you're prepared to have a grumpy fledgling clinging to you for hours," Wilbur added with a smile.

"He's still nocturnal?" Techno asked. Vampires became immune to sunlight with age and also needed less sleep as they got older. Considering when he was turned, Tommy shouldn't be nest-bound, not to mention Techno had actually seen him the first time he visited this place.

Then again, Wilbur did mention the kid was sickly.

"Tommy gets tired very easily. And Phil is keeping him in the nest as an extra precaution," Wilbur said. There was a thin layer of concern there. So far, Techno had known Wilbur to be a pretty laid-back person. But it was becoming abundantly clear to him that Tommy's situation was making him anxious, and Phil too probably.

Hopefully, Techno being in the house and allowing for more frequent, fresh feedings would help matters some.

When Wilbur turned back to him he was smiling again, mood shifted back instantly. He was either a good actor or really that carefree, somebody who could put his worries aside easily. Maybe there wasn't much difference.

"So this is my room." Wilbur threw the door open like a realtor trying to sell Techno on the interior of a new condo. And it was… quite something alright. As if the set of a 70s soap opera had clashed with a dark academia Pinterest board and the result was vomited all over this bedroom. Techno didn't dislike it though, it really was peak Wilbur.

Several guitars were hanging from the wall, and there was a keyboard shoved into a corner. Clothes were strewn over the floor, on the bed, even on the windowsill. Wilbur's potted plants barely had any room to thrive, though that might also be because of the dark blackout curtains that obscured any sunlight from falling through the window. A typewriter sat on the desk where Techno would expect a laptop to be for most people, next to a wastebasket full of crumpled papers that really screamed 'tortured artist'.

Maybe Phil was wrong and Wilbur was a Luddite after all.

"Looks cozy," Techno said and found he wasn't even being sarcastic. It definitely felt more lived in than some of the anonymous dorms he'd visited from classmates over the years. At least Wilbur's room had some personality to it.

"It's great, Phil never makes me throw my shit away because he doesn't want to be a hypocrite."

"So you're both hoarders," Techno said. His three boxes were starting to look a little pathetic in comparison.

"Collectors," Wilbur corrected easily. He pointed at the door across from his own. "That's Tommy's room. I would show you what it looks like but he'd literally bite me for invading his privacy, so you can just ask him to show you later."

"Coward," Techno told him.

"Have you seen his fangs?" Wilbur said in dismay. "They fucking hurt. Trust me, he's bitten me plenty of times. Phil kept saying they're not too bad but I know from experience he's lying."

Techno grimaced at the thought of sharp canines piercing his skin. "I'll stick to the syringes."

Selling his blood for cash was one thing, letting a vampire feed from him directly was something completely different. Apparently, it was supposed to be tastier - a lot of vampires preferred it over blood bags and even paid extra for it. And it could certainly be done without harming the human being fed on.

Techno had never tried it and while the thought didn't appall him, there was no reason to go there when sterile tubes and disinfection wipes had always done the trick.

"And this is your room."

Wilbur opened the final door in the hallway, smirking at the undisguised shock on Techno's face when he saw where he'd get to stay. His entire apartment would probably fit in this bedroom - which might say more about how crappy his old place was but still. It wasn't really decorated, presumably since it didn't serve any purpose before and just stood empty. But there was a wardrobe so big Techno's clothes would likely only fill one shelf and a very nice desk that must be antique. He'd have to start using coasters because if his cans of energy drinks left rings on the wood, Techno would never forgive himself.

The curtains of this room weren't blackouts, Wilbur could have specifically replaced them because he knew Techno would be staying there. Ironically, there were canopies attached to the bed, which was one of those king-size Elizabethan types that Techno felt might be stolen from a museum. He certainly wasn't going to ask.

"You can change whatever you don't like," Wilbur said, able to read from his face that the decor was not entirely up to modern standards.

It made Techno grin a bit wider. "No, it's… it's nice. About what I expected from a bedroom decorated by vampires, really."

"In our defense, this room hasn't been touched in well over a century." Wilbur walked over and put the boxes at the foot of the bed. Techno followed his example.

"Oh, I can tell."

It wasn't too bad though. With some personal touches, he was sure he could make something out of it. And Techno never much cared for interior design anyway, as long as he had a place to sleep he was good.

Wilbur showed him around downstairs too. Techno had already seen the library, but the rest of the house turned out to be equally impressive. The living room was huge, with a big flatscreen TV that took up half a wall and a large circle couch that looked so soft it might be considered criminal. There was a dining room and the kitchen that Wilbur had mentioned. As was to be expected, it seemed untouched. Like something out of a magazine. The fridge was filled with sparkling water and blood bags.

"I'll need to go shopping soon," Techno said with a frown.

"We used to stock more human food for Tommy, but Phil thought it was the reason he was getting sick so we threw everything out. Since then we've learned that definitely wasn't the case, but you know."

Techno closed the fridge door again. "I can get him some stuff too if you want."

"You'd do that?" Wilbur asked.

"I mean, if I'm out anyway, might as well." Techno assumed that was just common roommate courtesy. He was going to share a house with these people, he might as well act like it.

"He likes practically everything that's sweet," Wilbur said in a hushed whisper, a little conspiratorially.

There were large ceiling-height windows that allowed them to see out into the garden. Phil was tending the plants, kneeling down to pull out the weeds. When he noticed them watching he smiled and waved. Wilbur waved back.

"It's probably a lot to adjust to. I never liked moving," he said.

"You've moved a lot?" Techno asked.

"In the period before humans found out about our existence, yes."

Oh right, Techno found it easy to forget exactly how old Wilbur was until he'd say something completely insane that suddenly reminded him. But with that comment, Wilbur had to be turned before the start of the 18th century. The thought kind of made Techno's head hurt, so he decided not to dwell on it.

"But I do believe that with some effort, you'll really come to like it here. Really come to like us."

Techno was still looking out the window, watching Phil at work. With how ridiculously rich Phil probably was, it struck Techno as odd that he'd decide to do his own gardening. Perhaps he just enjoyed the activity? When he turned his head again, Wilbur was staring at him.

Hopeful? Longing?

A blink and then it was gone. Maybe he was just imagining things.

Techno relaxed his shoulders. "I think so too… on one condition."

"Condition?" Wilbur asked.

"You guys need to start turning on the heating because I'm freezing over here."

Wilbur blinked at him, stunned, before breaking out into a deep, breathless laugh. "Oh for sure. I always forget we don't feel the cold."

"I do and I can assure you, your fricking mansion isn't much warmer than your fridge is," Techno said, pulling on the sleeves of his jacket.

"If that's all we need to do to keep you, gladly."

And he had to turn away from Wilbur's stare then before he read too much into it.

---

"You promise you know what you're doing, right?" Techno asked dubiously.

He'd gone into this with full confidence, but watching Wilbur clumsily tie a knot had robbed him of any certainty that he'd be able to come out of this with his arm intact.

"Niki tested me on it and everything, I know how it's done."

That statement was slightly undercut with how Wilbur fiddled with the butterfly needle, struggling to get it attached. Techno knew he shouldn't judge too harshly, as long as Wilbur didn't literally pop his vessel and let him bleed out on the floor somehow, it'd be fine. Niki was only able to do it as fast as she did because of years of practice and ingrained muscle memory.

But also, he'd like to survive his first official draining as a live-in blood bag.

"Can you do it faster, I'm starving over here?"

Tommy was slouching in the chair opposite Techno, body draped over the table pathetically. He was a little wilted - dull eyes, slow movements - but he was definitely playing up the theatrics as well. Techno reached into his pocket and threw the chocolate bar at him, effectively hitting Tommy in the face with it.

"I got this for you to tide you over," he said.

Tommy scowled at him, though there was no heat in it. He'd shown Techno his room earlier and it was a lot closer to what Techno was used to expecting when it came to a teenager's bedroom. Tommy owned several retro game consoles he was clearly proud of. Techno kicked Tommy's butt in three separate games he owned and shattered his high score in several others. Tommy cursed him out for ten minutes before demanding Techno teach him his tricks.

Really, they were gonna get along great.

Picking up the chocolate bar, Tommy tried to keep up the frown until he saw what it actually was that Techno threw at him. Then he couldn't stop grinning. "You got this for me?"

You'd think the kid never got anything, the way he lit up at the slightest consideration. "Uh, yeah."

"Good news, I've just decided you're my new favorite person," Tommy said while ripping into the wrapper.

"I thought you hated me for using a blue shell in Mario Kart."

"I can change my mind," Tommy answered, mouth already full of chocolate.

"I'm the one who told him to get it for you in the first place," Wilbur complained. He traced his finger along Techno's inner arm, checking for a good vein. When he found one he disinfected the skin with the wipe like he'd been taught. "Ready?"

Techno nodded.

The needle went in pretty smoothly. There was a bit of a pinch as Wilbur wiggled it around, trying to make extra sure he'd actually inserted it properly. But then he secured it with the tape and Techno could hardly feel it anymore.

Wilbur held the bag in his hand, checking to see if it filled properly. Techno knew it would - and if it wouldn't he'd feel the pushback pressure and tell them. But he didn't say that out loud.

Staring at the tube the blood was flowing through, Wilbur licked his lips.

"Do you need to feed too?" Techno asked.

Red eyes snapped up to meet his, pupils dilated. Wilbur tilted his head. "Nah, I like to wait."

"Until what?"

"Until the last minute," Wilbur said. "Tastes better that way."

Techno clenched and unclenched his fist around nothing. He should really get a stress ball or something.

"You're so fucking weird," Tommy said.

"We can't all be fledglings with bottomless pits for stomachs," Wilbur shot back.

The way he was talking about Tommy's condition now was such a stark contrast to before it made Techno suspect Wilbur and Phil might be purposefully trying to conceal how out of their depths they were. This was further confirmed by Tommy throwing the wrapper at Wilbur angrily (quite ineffectively, mind you).

"I'm not a fledgling. I'm a grown man."

Wilbur ignored him. Instead, he busied himself with detaching the first bag from the tube and attaching a new one. These bags were smaller than the ones used at the clinic.

"Here, eat before you wilt away completely." Wilbur held the bag out for Tommy to take.

When he took it, the younger vampire wasted no time sinking his teeth into it. Since Techno had never actually seen a vampire feed on bagged blood, it was a strange sight.

But then again, it wasn't like he'd expected them to drink from mugs or anything.

"Man, this is way better than storage!" Tommy said, pulling the bag back. His lips were stained red with blood.

Techno's blood.

There was a tingle that ran all the way down from his shoulder to his wrist. He was a bit dizzy too. Techno wasn't really keeping track of how much blood they were drawing, but then again that was Wilbur's job, wasn't it?

"Because it's fresh," Wilbur said. "It's healthier too." He pulled off the second bag and put it on the table before drawing out the needle and grabbing a bandaid. "How are you feeling, Techno?"

"I'm fine," he said. It wasn't too much worse than when he donated at the clinic.

"Stay seated, I'll get you something to drink. You put stuff in the fridge right?"

Techno nodded again, rubbing slightly over his arm. There was some soreness, though nothing he'd be concerned at. Overall, Wilbur did a good job. He watched Tommy empty the first bag in a matter of seconds, then reach for the other one.

"What does it taste like?" Techno found himself asking, suddenly morbidly curious at seeing the speed with which Tommy was drinking.

Tommy hummed around the bag in his mouth. It made a slight popping noise when he pulled it loose. "You want a taste?"

"Not unless you want me to hurl all over the floor," Techno said. He couldn't imagine stomaching blood. Quite literally he wasn't built for it - especially compared to Tommy.

"Yours is kinda sweet. And like, rich. Like cinnamon."

"Mine?" Techno asked. He wasn't aware blood could have different tastes.

"Maybe it's just because it's warm, but it's good. I like it." Tommy shrugged.

Techno wasn't sure what to say to that. 'I'm glad I'm doing my job well' ? That felt like a stupid thing to say, all things considered.

So he just stayed quiet and sat there, watching Tommy drink the rest of his blood with a smile.

Techno was adjusting to life within the coven… reasonably well?

It really wasn't too different from sharing your home with a bunch of roommates. Very strange, partly nocturnal roommates. Techno didn't spend all his time in the mansion: he went to his classes and often studied in the campus library - a habit he'd developed because his apartment used to be small, smelly, and cold. He didn't really know what vampires did on a daily basis, presumably some of them had jobs. Phil and Wilbur definitely seemed to go out semi-regularly, but Techno hadn't bothered to ask where they were going.

Tommy stayed home. He slept a lot because of his illness, though when he was awake Techno often found himself spending time with the kid. They played video games or sometimes Tommy would watch tv and Techno would just sit next to him and read, occasionally giving some commentary on what Tommy was watching. With Poe taken care of (he'd gotten a pretty good grade on his paper thankfully, making suffering through dense literature worth it) they'd moved on to Frankenstein. Techno found Mary Shelley's style a lot easier to cope with. Tommy watched a lot of 90s shows and also nature documentaries for some reason.

Techno's first paycheck had come in and he'd used it to buy some stuff for his room. Still not big on interior design, he had stuck to a few plants, a fresh set of sheets, and coasters for that antique desk. Techno also got a rug because apparently this house was built before the invention of heated floors and he couldn't stand waking up if the cold wooden floor would be the first thing to greet him. The rest of his paycheck he had used to pay off back rent to his old landlord.

Because it turned out the world hated him on a very real, very personal level.

His phone went off again and Techno picked it up with a sigh. He only got a glance at the incoming text before the screen went dead, but it was enough for him to see a pretty impressive string of expletives. His landlord had such a colorful choice of words.

Ignoring it, Techno turned back to the papers in front of him. Who the heck still gave homework that actually required a pen to fill out? Most of his professors stuck to digital assignments. He tapped the fingers of his other hand on the table, too wired to sit still and concentrate but too stubborn to stop trying to focus. Which really wasn't very helpful because this meant his brain was in this weird stand-still mode instead. His phone pinged once more.

Techno picked it up quicker this time, unsurprised to find it was still his landlord trying to get in touch. How come even moving out hadn't rid him of that guy?

"Is something wrong?"

Phil's voice made Techno physically jump, going so far as to drop his phone in the process. Phil laughed at his reaction, walking around to stand beside him.

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't know you were that preoccupied with what you were doing, you were just sighing a lot so I thought I'd check."

Techno didn't point out that it really wouldn't have made a difference if he had or hadn't been paying attention, because Phil would have managed to sneak up on him anyway. Vampires made hardly any noise when moving around. It was creepy, though from what Techno could tell they didn't really do it on purpose. Their footsteps naturally didn't make a sound and nobody announces their presence every time they walk into a room.

"It's fine," Techno said. He put his hand back on the table, making a deliberate effort to keep his fingers still this time.

For his entire time living there, he'd gone through the trouble of trying to make sure he wasn't alone in a room with Phil too often. It wasn't anything personal, Phil hadn't done anything toward Techno that would make him uncomfortable around the older man. But he was a sire, and an ancient one at that. Whether Phil was aware of it or not, Techno couldn't help but feel the difference much like he could feel a difference between Tommy and Wilbur. It was hard to describe since it was more of an instinctual thing than a sensical one.

And being around Phil made Techno feel a bit like a prey animal caught in a snare, watching the predator circling him while deciding when to strike. Phil wouldn't hurt him, obviously he wouldn't. That didn't make the feeling disappear.

But today Wilbur wasn't home and Tommy was asleep and Techno decided to study at the kitchen table because his room took the longest to get warm with their central heating, what with how drafty this old house was.

"Are you sure?" Phil walked around the table to get to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of sparkling water.

Techno watched him from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, it's fine. Just my landlord still giving me trouble."

"How so?" Phil asked. He wasn't looking at Techno, opening one of the cupboards to get himself a glass. He had to stand on his tiptoes to reach because he was rather short and the cupboards seemed to be made for somebody of Wilbur's height. Automatically that made Techno smile slightly.

"I still owe him back rent," Techno said. He finally drew his gaze away, looking at his phone instead with a small frown. "He's trying to claim an additional payment for me breaking the lease despite him being the one who was going to throw me out in the first place." In hindsight it was kinda funny how much that man hated vampires for being leeches, considering he was currently trying to drain Techno for every penny he was worth.

"Oh," Phil said. A single syllable uttered with soft contemplation. He walked around the counter again, standing right next to Technoblade then. When he grinned, his incisors were clearly visible. "Do you want me to take care of him?"

Techno swallowed. "I- I'm not sure if-"

"If you don't want to make a big deal out of it, that's understandable." Phil pulled a chair back to sit down. "But what he's doing sounds totally illegal. I have connections with lawyers, if he's trying to fuck you over I can ask them for help."

Ah…

Techno blinked at him dumbly.

"What?" Phil asked, looking a bit taken aback. Taken off guard by Techno's reaction, perhaps?

'Oh nothing, I just thought you were proposing you'd murder a guy for my sake' was something Techno wouldn't be caught dead admitting out loud but it definitely managed to bounce around his skull rather prominently. He tugged at his hair, messing with his braid so his hands could have something to do.

"I feel kind of stupid for not thinking about that earlier," he said instead. It was only half a lie, because he did wonder why he hadn't thought of that before - though that wasn't the reason for his reaction. There was no way that what his old landlord was doing could be called legal though, Phil was right. Techno forced his arm down again. "Thanks for the suggestion. If he gives me any more trouble, I might take you up on your offer."

Phil hummed, drinking from his glass of water. Techno didn't know if vampires required additional hydration on top of the blood they drank to survive or if Phil was only drinking sparkling water as some sort of enrichment.

With a lot of effort, he tried to pull his attention back to his homework, though it was hard with Phil sitting less than three feet away - either oblivious to Techno's struggle or maybe ignoring it on purpose. Techno should be writing about the international politics that lead to the downfall of the Roman empire, not getting distracted by Phil.

Easier said than done when the other man wouldn't wander his eyes away from him, seemingly studying every move Techno made.

Just as Techno was starting to feel close to snapping at him, Phil awkwardly cleared his throat. He seemed almost… hesitant when he spoke next. "Can I ask you a question?"

Techno pushed his back against the chair and looked at him, surprised. "Sure."

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

Techno's blood ran cold in his veins, leg twitching with a fight or flight instinct that arrived much too late. If he didn't want to be hunted, he shouldn't have allowed himself to be lured into the literal den of a coven. He was an idiot if he thought this ridiculous arrangement would end in any other way than with his corpse being buried beneath Phil's beautiful chrysanthemums in the garden.

He exhaled and met Phil's eyes. For once, he was grateful they were blue. Even if Phil hiding his vampiric nature was part of some big ploy to instill a false sense of security in humans, it made Techno feel better.

"Because you're the kind of guy who sits next to me and stares at me without saying anything for a solid five minutes," he said.

Phil stayed stunned for a couple of seconds. Then he laughed again, much like he did before. His chuckle was deep and pleasing, easy to listen to.

"Yeah, that's fair enough." Phil sat back and smiled. "I actually wanted to apologize but didn't know how to phrase my words. I fear my cold and distant behavior of the first few times we met might have made a wrong impression."

Techno didn't really feel like Phil had been cold or distant with him. Polite, definitely. But that was to be expected from somebody who was practically a stranger. There was something more pressing on his mind though, and as usual curiosity burned away at the lingering anxiety that occupied his brain.

"Why do you talk like that?" Techno asked.

"Like what?" Phil said, still smiling sheepishly but visibly confused.

"Like a bad impression of a 19th-century salesman, but only sometimes. Sometimes you talk like a normal person. Wilbur does it too. It's kinda weird, not gonna lie."

"Do you know how hard it is to keep up with changing vernacular, mate? It's a fucking chore."

And the candid nature with which Phil admitted that made Techno laugh. It was about the reason he expected for Wilbur's archaic speech too.

"Yeah, it must be hard being literally immortal," Techno said then. He smirked a bit, amused at Phil's roll of the eye.

"It has its upsides. But downsides too, believe me."

"Like what?"

"It's a real pain when your favorite shows keep getting rebooted and they're always worse than the original."

Techno laughed again, louder this time. Phil leaned his elbows on the table, steepling his hands. His voice got quieter, a hushed whisper as if his next words were sharing some immeasurable secret.

"And you haven't truly suffered until your favorite food gets discontinued because the company that made it retired their business."

"Geez, that sounds terrible." Techno shook his head. His phone vibrated again and he picked it up, but it was a call rather than a text this time. "Give me a second, I have to take this."

Phil gestured for him to go ahead and Techno stepped outside to answer. He closed the door behind him, though he wasn't entirely sure it even made a difference. Phil's hearing might be good enough to pick up on Techno's half of the argument anyway.

When he was done he resisted every inch of his body that wanted to chuck his phone through the window after he hung up. He turned around and walked back into the room.

Phil was looking at his homework.

He pushed the papers back when Techno came over. "Sorry, this sort of stuff interests me."

"Because it brings back memories?" Techno asked.

"Oh gods no, this was a little before my time." Phil pushed up from his chair. "Though I do have some items in my collection from this period if you're interested in seeing them."

Techno didn't need to be told twice. Between Phil trying (and succeeding) at buttering him up and his landlord yelling abuse into his ear for his refusal to overpay, he wouldn't be able to return to his essay even if he wanted to. He would grasp any offered distraction with both hands.

"Please. I don't think I can wrangle my brain into writing more right now anyway," he said.

Phil led him to the library where Techno had been with Wilbur too. Last time he was there, Techno's attention had been drawn to the books more than anything. This time, he allowed Phil to show him around. His collection was even more impressive with his added explanations, recounting the history of each piece by memory.

"I don't have them sorted by their age, which might be confusing. But I've sorted them based on where I got them, or who gave them to me." Phil traced his finger along the glass of one of his display cases.

Techno hummed his understanding. "A lot of museums would be jealous of this place."

"They shouldn't be," Phil said. "The stuff I keep here isn't too unique. It only carries a lot of sentimental value for me. When you get to be my age, you start to hold on to things. Maybe a little too much so."

There was more hidden behind that statement but it wasn't Techno's place to pry.

They continued talking late into the afternoon, Phil showing him random items with wild stories attached that Techno didn't know he should believe yet he could see no reason to doubt them either. Phil had lived a rich life, one Techno enjoyed hearing about.

When Wilbur came home, they were still sitting in the library, deeply engrossed in a conversation about the merits of the Roman's method of warfare.

---

"Your vitals are still fine," Niki said as she detached the cuff from around his arm. "Your blood pressure is a little low, but I think that's to be expected. How often have you been donating?"

Techno rotated his shoulder, the limb was a bit sore from him keeping it in the same position for a while. "Twice a week, usually. They don't take as much as you guys though."

"That's good. And you're still taking your vitamins and stuff?"

"I think Wilbur would have my throat if I didn't," Techno said.

She smiled lightly, starting to put the materials she used for his health check away in the big doctor's bag she'd brought. It made her look so professional. "As he should. I'd be next in line when he's done with you."

"Bruh…" Techno hung his head in defeat. "You know I can take care of myself, right?"

Refusing to answer, Niki finished packing and closed her bag. "I'm glad you and Wilbur are getting along still. Moving houses can't have been easy for you, but you're happy, yeah?"

Techno wasn't an idiot, he knew what Niki was doing. She was the reason he'd moved in with a coven, she was the reason he had become a live-in blood bag.

And she wanted to make sure he wasn't regretting the decision, because if he did, knowing her, Niki would never forgive herself.

"I'm really glad I moved," Techno said firmly. "Though Wilbur probably cares about the vitamin thing more because he's worried about Tommy than he's worried about me," he added as an afterthought. At the moment, Tommy was the only one who had fed on his blood.

"I don't think that's the case," Niki said.

Techno shrugged, suddenly feeling like he needed to change the subject. "Are you busy or do you have some time? Because I can make tea if you want to stick around."

Niki checked her watch. "I have some time."

"You can tell me all about how much you miss having me around," Techno said as he got up to make her something to drink.

"Bold of you to think your playful gloating will work when I actually miss you."

---

With each passing day, Techno could feel himself ease into his new living situation more. Walking around didn't feel like he was intruding into some stranger's house anymore. Wilbur and Tommy asked him to watch a movie and Techno said yes. He wasn't even avoiding Phil as much as he used to.

And apparently, that level of comfort went both ways.

"I'm bored," Tommy complained - before promptly throwing himself face down onto Techno's bed. Techno had been studying in his room when the fledgling walked in unprompted and without knocking, and as a testament to how used Techno was getting to this whole thing he didn't even blink twice at Tommy invading his privacy without question.

"What do you want me to do about it, Tommy?" he asked, not looking up from his laptop.

"Entertain me?"

Techno snorted. "And how do you propose I do that?"

"I don't know?! I'm bored, if I knew what I wanted to do I wouldn't be bored now would I?" Tommy pressed. He sat up, rubbing his face. Something had him agitated and Techno didn't know what, but he got up to deal with it because this distraction wouldn't leave on its own.

"We could play some more video games?" Techno suggested.

"If I have to spend even more time staring at a screen my brain might genuinely get damaged," Tommy said with a scowl. "Don't tell Phil I said that because he doesn't deserve to know he's right about something."

"I think Phil is probably right about a lot of things." Techno felt confident making that assumption for the sole reason that he knew it would piss Wilbur and Tommy off.

"Phil only thinks he's right because he's older than us. And that's kinda unfair when he's the oldest person in the whole damn world." Tommy rolled off the bed to stand up and crossed his arms.

"Really?" Techno couldn't hide a lingering trace of interest. Phil was definitely the oldest vampire he had ever met but the oldest in the whole wide world? Doubtful.

"Maybe not but he's the oldest one I know," Tommy said. "A lot of the other ancient vampires have crumbled to dust, good riddance."

The casual way with which Tommy mentioned other vampires dying was both amusing and horrifying.

"Okay, but for argument's sake let's pretend Phil is right sometimes-" Techno ignored Tommy's muttered 'he's not' - "What would Phil tell you to do when you're feeling like this?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know? He'd probably tell me I'm frustrated from being cooped up in the house too long and to go take a walk or something."

"Are you? Frustrated from being cooped up, I mean."

Tommy opened his mouth, then closed it again. He frowned, silent for a long moment during which Techno suspected he was trying to judge if that was the source of his weird pent-up energy.

"It's basically cheating," Tommy said then.

"What is?"

"Him knowing what I need to calm down. It's basically cheating because it's some fucked up sire thing, like mind reading but even more creepy." Tommy looked vaguely upset. "He's not even my real sire but whatever."

"What I'm hearing is a walk would help?" Techno tried. Tommy was going to keep bothering him otherwise. "I could use some fresh air anyway." And maybe framing it as something Techno needed too would make a difference.

Indeed, his words made Tommy's expression shift. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

When they opened the door, Techno noticed the sun was shining pretty brightly for a late autumn afternoon. He shielded his eyes from the glare before looking down at Tommy. "Do we need to bring you a parasol or something?"

"It's fine for a little while," Tommy said. "As long as we're not out in the sun for hours."

"Okay." Techno started down the driveway, slowing down so Tommy could catch up. "Uh, where are we going?" He didn't know his way around the area. Whenever he went out, it was straight to the nearest bus stop, not to sightsee.

"There's a little playground down that way where I go with Wilbur sometimes," Tommy said, pointing down the street. The afternoon light made his skin seem even paler, his eyes even more sunken. He was wearing a scarf over his turtleneck but still looked cold. Techno made a mental note to have Tommy feed tonight despite it not being time for his draining yet. Wilbur wasn't lying when he said Tommy got sick fast without a constant supply of blood.

The playground they ended up at was nostalgic in that odd way places sometimes were when you'd never been there before but had visited a million other places just like it. There wasn't anybody around, since it was the middle of the day and most kids were still at school. But Tommy probably had expected as much. He took a seat on one of the swings and Techno took the other one, pushing himself back and forth a bit.

As much as Tommy was the one who suggested their walk, Techno was really glad to be outside. He could feel his muscles ache because he didn't really stretch them enough, his spine was probably bent like a pretzel half the time when he sat at his desk.

"How long do you think you'll be staying?" Tommy asked suddenly.

Techno dug his heels into the sand, stopping his momentum. "What?"

"Like, how long do you think you'll be living at the house with us? Until you're done studying, right? So how many more years is that?" Tommy tilted his head to look at him.

"I won't have my degree for another two and a half years," Techno said.

"That's a while." Tommy nodded to himself. "I mean, not for us. That's nothing for us, but it's also a while. Maybe you can stay when you're done with school though, that'd be pog."

Stay after he was done with his studies? Techno hadn't considered that. If he had a job and a more stable income, he wouldn't need to sell his blood just to pay rent anymore.

"We'll see," he said lightly, feeling a sudden urge to not let the conversation turn heavy. The mere thought was making his head spin. "You guys might be sick of me by then."

"I won't be!" Tommy said vehemently. "If there's anything I'm sick of it's being forced to stay home by myself all the time. I can't wait until I get to go out like Wilbur does."

"I thought you said you're already a big man?" Techno asked, amused.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Phil and Wilbur to get the memo," Tommy said seriously.

Techno nodded. "I'll be honest, it probably kinda sucks to be turned as a teenager. Are you just forever not going to be allowed to drink?"

"Nah, it just means that whenever I do drink it'll be a crime. And that's way fucking cooler than any old sire drinking wine and smacking their lips at it." Tommy pushed off properly, the old swing creaking metallically with the motion.

Techno got dizzy looking at him so he stared at his shoes instead. Since he wasn't living paycheck to paycheck anymore, he should probably get a new pair sometime.

"I don't really miss being human, honestly."

At the highest point, Tommy jumped, landing rather wobbly on both legs. Techno got up too, in case he was going to fall over. But then Tommy turned around.

"We should head back. I'm exhausted."

"I can carry you if you want," Techno heard himself say without giving it a second thought.

He saw Tommy's eyes widen and as comical as that was, Techno really couldn't pinpoint why he had even offered. Tommy was a vampire, he didn't need Techno to carry him anywhere. Then again, the fledgling was also obviously unsteady on his legs, small and trembling a bit in the crisp autumn air. Maybe Techno had been growing fond of the kid, would anybody blame him?

Tommy squinted at him. "You're lanky as hell, you know."

"I used to run track," Techno said. He also used to fence and play violin and did a lot of other things his dual major had robbed him of the time to do. But that was beside the point. The point was he'd definitely be able to carry a scrawny teen for the ten minutes it would take to get home. "Also, you don't look too heavy. Has anybody ever told you you should be eating more?"

"Only all the time," Tommy said while coming up to him.

Techno turned around so Tommy could climb on his back. Tommy's arms braced around his neck. "Yeah, you weigh nothing," he said as he started to walk in the direction of the mansion.

"Shut up." Tommy tucked his chin against the crook of Techno's shoulder. He closed his eyes and it was a little unnerving that Techno couldn't feel his chest move, couldn't feel him breathe. He'd gotten more used to how cold vampires' skin was since he got into contact with it more often than he used to, but the 'literally being dead' thing still managed to be disconcerting at best.

So Techno just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

"I lied, actually," Tommy said softly. "There's a bunch of shit about being human I miss. Like food and school and going to the arcade."

"You can probably experience a lot of those things as a vampire too," Techno pointed out. It sounded like sickness was keeping Tommy from doing those things more than being a vampire would.

"Maybe," Tommy muttered.

When they got to the mansion, Techno stumbled up the stairs with Tommy still clinging to his back. In spite of his confidence earlier, it was actually getting a bit troublesome to lug Tommy around. The fledgling pulled on his shoulder.

"I want to sleep in the nest," he said. His voice was quiet, laced with exhaustion. Closer to a whine than any actual pronunciation. It tugged on some vague protective instinct Techno didn't even think he had.

Who knew that even a human could be affected by a fledgling's neediness?

Techno stared down the left hallway. He hadn't gone there in the over a month he had lived there. Wilbur said it was no big deal. Wilbur said it was okay if Techno had permission. Still, it felt like a daunting choice. But he didn't want to not put Tommy in the nest when he was tired and sick, that'd be even worse than him going there. If Wilbur or Phil caught him, he could just explain the situation to them.

Techno lifted Tommy higher up onto his back and went to the master bedroom.

It looked startlingly similar to his own in the way it was furnished. Where Wilbur and Tommy had put effort into making their rooms look like they somewhat fitted in with the time period, Phil's room had that air of belonging in a gothic novel. It was dark, the curtains weren't blackout but they were made of a green, heavy velvet material. There was an antique desk that seemed to match the one in Techno's room, all sturdy mahogany. Phil had two old armoires and candles instead of proper lamps, because obviously he would. On the walls there hung several oil paintings.

The main difference was the bed. Or the nest, as Techno should say.

It was round and large and heaped high with pillows and blankets that made it look like the coziest thing on the planet. Techno wasn't even near it and he could easily imagine how somebody would be able to sink into it with the lightest pressure. It could probably fit an entire coven.

Carefully, Techno put Tommy down in it and reached out to cover him with a blanket. When he pulled away, Tommy caught his wrist in a firm grip.

"Stay?" he asked. He looked up at Techno with those pleading red puppy eyes that would be sure to break anybody else's heart.

Techno tried to pull away. "I can't, Tommy."

He felt itchy and wrong with every second spent in this room, intruding on something he shouldn't. He wasn't part of this - he wasn't like them. He was there because Techno needed a place to stay and they needed somebody to feed on and that was it.

That had to be it.

"Why not?" Tommy insisted. "Come on, don't be a jerk, it's cold otherwise-"

"I'm not part of the coven."

Tommy's hand fell away as if those words had burned him.

And Wilbur was too good an actor for Techno to see through him, Phil was plain unreadable to him. When it came to Tommy, Techno would have to be an idiot not to be able to tell the disappointment on his face. The hurt. Had Techno done something wrong? Had he screwed up some unwritten vampire rule he'd hardly been aware of?

"I'm sorry," he said without really knowing what he was apologizing for.

"Yeah…" Tommy rolled over to face away from him, pulling the blanket up higher. "It's whatever."

So he left because he didn't know if he was allowed to stay.

Techno knew he had screwed up with Tommy.

He didn't know exactly how he had screwed up. Or, well, maybe he did. Obviously Tommy was mad at him for not sharing the nest. But Techno felt completely out of his depth as to why it was such a big deal and how to make it up to Tommy.

The fledgling had been avoiding him for nearly a week. The house had never felt emptier to Techno, with Wilbur basically coming and going at odd hours throughout the day and Phil secluding himself in his office for 'business calls'. Techno still hadn't asked either of them what they did, if they had specific vampire jobs or something. At this point, he didn't think he could ask without it being awkward. So he did what he always did when something was bothering him: completely ignore the problem and focus on something else.

Which wasn't very hard to do because Techno was getting swamped with assignments for his classes. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept for more than six hours straight and the exhaustion was a perfect distraction.

He was sitting on the couch working on a paper he had to submit by midnight, blinking at how much his eyes stung because he stared at the screen for too long, when he heard somebody come down the stairs.

Wilbur was out and Phil never made noise when he moved around. It had to be Tommy coming downstairs. He'd been sleeping a lot lately. Probably another episode of his illness acting up, but Techno didn't think it was his place anymore. Maybe it never had been.

Yet when he saw Tommy freeze in the doorway, face scrunched up into a scowl directed at Techno sitting so innocently on the couch, he couldn't help but open his mouth.

"Hey," Techno said.

Tommy didn't look angry, or upset, or sad. He looked something far worse than all three of those things combined. Guilt coiled up in Techno's stomach unpleasantly, making him vaguely nauseous. Or maybe that was because he hadn't eaten since breakfast because he got hyperfixated on his homework.

Tommy made himself lean stiffly into the side of the door and act casual. It wasn't very convincing and almost made Techno laugh, but also if he did that he might be ripped to pieces. So instead he waited.

"Hey," Tommy said. "I see you're still here."

Techno bit his tongue, hard enough that it almost made him flinch. He should say something. He knew he should.

He couldn't.

"I'm going out for a walk." Tommy waved his hand dismissively. "So if Phil asks where I went, tell him for me."

"I can come with you," Techno offered.

He hoped it would make Tommy happy, considering it was a peace offering of sorts. Techno wanted Tommy to know that despite his reluctance earlier he didn't mind hanging out with him. And where words often failed Techno, actions picked up the slack.

Techno hated his old apartment but at least he hadn't needed to navigate what it was like having roommates. Social anxiety was scarier than any old vampire myth.

But his suggestion seemed to have the opposite effect. Instead of being happy, Tommy's expression darkened.

"It's fine," he bit out. He pushed off from the door. "You don't have to force yourself."

Techno frowned. "I'm not-"

Before he could really say anything Tommy was gone and the door slammed behind him. Techno sighed and rubbed at his face again. Why did relationships have to be this complicated? At this rate, he was going to start missing being completely friendless and alone most of the time.

Instead of worrying about it, he continued with his work, losing himself to the symbolism of Frankenstein. The silence was nearly stifling - normally Tommy would be sitting next to Techno watching one of his documentaries while he worked. Techno knew more about the native migration patterns of salmon than he ever cared to just because he picked up stuff from the programs Tommy put on. By the time evening came around and Wilbur returned, Techno had almost managed to not feel like absolute crap about the nest situation anymore.

Or he would have if it wasn't for Phil being way too perceptive for Techno's liking.

Techno was already on edge because Phil was watching Wilbur drain his blood tonight.

He'd found himself gradually growing more and more comfortable around the sire, that strangely unsettling and partly instinctive feeling that Phil was dangerous and needed to be kept away from was being drowned out by a soft sort of affection. Techno liked Phil, they'd talked and hung out a few times after Phil's faux apology about his initial impression. With his current understanding of Tommy's illness, Techno also couldn't fault Phil for perhaps being more guarded about who he let near his coven. On top of him kind of grasping that immortality was likely to screw a bit with a vampire's sense of what humans found normal behavior, Techno didn't hold it against Phil. The two of them were pretty chill now.

But 'pretty chill' would not keep the instincts completely at bay.

And something about sitting there while Phil watched a plastic bag slowly fill up with Techno's blood was very unnerving. Techno wondered if it was impolite of him not to ask Phil if he was hungry. Like a host not offering their guests any snacks?

"Then you just wait until it's done," Wilbur said. "It usually only takes a few minutes, but it depends on the vein."

Phil nodded. "I was taught how to draw blood so long ago, I wanted to see somebody else do it again before giving it another shot."

"Are you going somewhere?" Techno asked, looking up at Wilbur. He saw no other reason why Phil would suddenly be interested in taking over the task from him. Wilbur had been doing it every single time so far.

"I'll be out of town for a while," Wilbur said and didn't elaborate. Techno was planning to ask, maybe this would be a prime time for him to find out what the heck Wilbur did when he went out all day. Phil clicked his tongue before Techno could open his mouth.

"Are you going to eat before you leave?" the sire asked sternly. "It's been forever, Wilbur."

"I know," he said. "Maybe."

"Wilbur…"

"I'll get to it."

But then Phil looked around as if he only just noticed that the room was empty aside from the three of them. "Where's Tommy? Doesn't he eat the blood fresh?" There was some sharpness to his voice. They'd mentioned that fresher blood was more healthy, maybe Phil was concerned because the entire point of taking in a live-in blood bag was for Tommy to feed better. Thanks to Techno, he wasn't.

Oh, there was that guilt again.

"I don't think he wants to be around me right now," Techno said, pressing his back into the chair.

"Is he really still being a dick about that?" Wilbur asked. Techno had told him what happened because he'd noticed that Tommy was pissed off almost instantly.

He had not told Phil though. "About what?"

"I... he asked me to sleep in the nest once. When he was sick." Phil's head whipped towards him so fast Techno could swear his own spine hurt in sympathy. Vampires must be immune to whiplash.

Phil did not sound angry when he asked, "And?"

"And I refused," Techno said, pulling his shoulders up to his ears.

Phil blinked at him. And kept blinking. Wilbur chuckled and leaned in to redo the strap around Techno's arm and start to remove the first bag from where it was attached to him. He then proceeded to attach the second. "Yeah, that's about the reaction I had."

"I didn't know he would be there already," Phil sighed. "But of course he fucking would, he's Tommy."

"What?" Techno asked, once again increasingly confused. This was becoming a pattern.

"Right then." Phil pulled back a chair and sat down. "Techno, do you know how a new vampire is made?"

"Literally everybody knows that," Techno answered, shifting in his chair. He knew Phil wasn't bringing up something so obvious for no reason. This all tied into why Tommy was upset. "A vampire bites a human to turn them."

"Yes, but it's not that simple. I could bite you right now and it wouldn't make you into a vampire unless I wanted it to." Phil's eyes narrowed a bit, the icy blue somehow feeling more menacing than Wilbur's pure red ones ever had. "That is why a vampire can feed on or even kill a human if they want to. Intention matters. It's what makes them a sire."

"I knew that too," Techno said. He was no less confused, but he was interested in where this was going.

"I'm not Tommy's sire," Phil continued. "Somebody else turned him. Somebody who didn't want a fledgling. They wanted a thrall."

Techno winced when his sudden movement made the needle dig into his arm. "Aren't thralls supposed to be humans under hypnotism?"

"Some vampires can use mind control to turn a human into a thrall, yes. But a lot more can't. It's not a very common power. Only the most ancient of us would have it."

Phil did not say whether he did or not. Techno thought it might be better not to know.

"A vampire can make another vampire into their thrall though, granted they're young enough. Fledglings are completely dependent on their sires. You're able to feel your fledgling's emotions and they naturally seek out their sire's approval. It's hard to explain, but I guess you can compare it to a bird that imprints on its parent."

Numbly, Techno nodded. This was the sort of information that was left out of most sources he'd read about vampires. Probably because it offered a major weakness and most covens would never let a newly turned fledgling out of their sight long enough for a human to even witness this.

"For many vampires, the bond would go both ways," Phil explained. "A sire will feel protective over their fledgling and wouldn't want to hurt them. But there are a few exceptions. Bastards who try to warp their fledgling's instincts and make them into something closer to a thrall. That's what happened to Tommy."

Techno swallowed thickly. Tommy had mentioned off-handedly that Phil wasn't his 'real' sire but he had no idea the full story was so grim.

"Afterward, I transferred the sire bond. He's my fledgling now, but he wasn't always." Phil was clearly pained having to say this. Or maybe he was pained about the fact that he couldn't be there for Tommy before this happened.

"And it has made Tommy kind of sensitive to the whole coven thing," Wilbur added. He had stayed silent through Phil telling Techno this. "It's important to him."

"Sleeping in the nest is something only coven members would be allowed to do," Phil said. "Tommy inviting you into the nest was the same as him trying to invite you into the coven."

"Oh…"

Techno didn't know if he could manage more than that single syllable. It kind of lingered between them while he stared at the wall and his thoughts were racing. Wilbur did make it clear before Techno moved in that he would be a coven member to them, but he hadn't really considered that meant anything beyond sharing a house.

"What if I don't really do cuddling?" Techno finally got out. "Seems a bit unfair for him not to take into account my massive dislike of physical affection."

It was meant to be a joke, though there was a little truth to it too. While not the reason he had said no to the nest, Techno couldn't help but think that if that was supposed to be a part of the agreement it should have been in his contract.

Wilbur finally pulled the needle out, detaching the second bag. He held it up to the light, inspecting the red liquid inside.

"It's not about you refusing to cuddle with him," Phil said. "You're allowed to have boundaries, Techno. We won't hold that against you"

"Even if Tommy is a clingy little shit," Wilbur cut in with a grin. Phil ignored him.

"It's about the deeper meaning of what Tommy thinks the refusal signifies. You basically rejected being part of his coven."

"Ugh." Techno pushed upright. "So what I'm hearing is that I've hurt Tommy's feelings and made him think I hate him just because I didn't want to take a nap with him. Great."

Phil laughed. The hearty sound made Techno feel slightly better, even if the entire situation was still so unnecessarily complicated. He wasn't a damn mind reader!

"This isn't anything you can't make up for," Phil said. "Just talk to Tommy."

"If he'll even listen," Techno muttered bitterly. The fledgling hadn't exactly given him the time of day lately.

"I got a better idea." Wilbur picked up one of the bags they'd filled and threw it into Techno's lap. "Go feed him."

Picking it up, Techno cringed at how warm the plastic was. It reminded him of how this blood was in his veins only a few minutes before.

"Sharing a nest isn't the only action usually reserved for coven members," Wilbur said, pointing at the bag. "Feeding the fledglings is something only coven members are allowed to do. I bet if you give him that he'll cheer up."

"I don't think that's-"

"Nah, mate, he's right. It will definitely not do any harm." Phil nodded seriously.

Part of Techno felt like they might be pulling his leg. Would bringing Tommy a stupid bag of blood really make up for a week of Tommy giving him the cold shoulder? But then again, Phil was right that it couldn't possibly hurt. If Tommy disliked him even more than he already did, Techno might as well move out.

He kept that thought in the back of his mind when he knocked on Tommy's door.

There wasn't really an answer aside from a smothered coughing fit. Techno took that as a sign that he could enter. He turned the knob slowly.

Tommy was lying curled up on his side, coughing into his elbow. His voice was frail and wavering. "Wil?"

"It's me, Tommy."

Red eyes cracked open to look at him, but Tommy was so weak he couldn't muster up a proper frown. He didn't look very happy to see him though. "Why are you here?"

"I'm feeding you before you completely shrivel up and die. You can thank me later."

Tommy's glare would probably be more effective if he wasn't shooting it in Techno's direction from where he was bundled up in three blankets. Techno approached the bed. Despite everything, he couldn't bring it in himself to be intimidated, not by Tommy.

"Are you going to let me? Or do I need to call Phil?"

"Prick," Tommy said. But he pushed up to get into a seated position. Techno helped him and Tommy didn't shrug him off. If anything, he leaned into the touch.

"Don't drink it too fast," Techno said as he held out the bag for him. "If you spill, I'm not cleaning up my own blood from your sheets."

"Yeah, yeah." Tommy didn't hesitate to sink his teeth into the plastic. His relief at finally getting something to eat was palpable in more ways than one.

"I'm sorry," Techno said then. He probably didn't sound as convincing as he wanted to. "Sorry that I'm not good at this whole… 'being a coven' thing. In my defense, I never had a coven before so I'm kind of winging it as I go."

Tommy scoffed. It didn't sound like a bad scoff. It sounded like he was trying to not laugh or something.

Techno smiled at him before he stood up and left the room. Tommy didn't stop him.

But somehow it still felt like a good thing.

---

Tommy's foul mood had shifted as quickly as it had appeared.

The nest thing might as well have never happened, he was back to treating Techno exactly like he did before. Techno wasn't going to complain about it, simply filing it away as a weird particularity about Tommy he might never quite grasp.

If anything, it was nice to continue writing his papers with the relaxing narration of nature documentaries droning on in the background. This one was about penguins.

When the doorbell rang, Tommy didn't move. He was probably pretending not to hear because he was too lazy to get up, a theory supported by how he peeked at Techno from the corner of his eyes.

After putting all that crap behind them, getting the door was not a hill Techno was willing to die on.

He did wonder who it was, because nobody had ever visited before aside from Niki and he didn't expect her until tomorrow. They'd texted less than an hour ago.

Techno opened the door and was not surprised to find two vampires on the other side.

He was surprised to see that both of them were about Tommy's age.

Who the heck was going around turning all these literal teenagers into creatures of the night?

Probably as startled to see him as Techno was to see them, there was an embarrassing moment during which all three of them were looking at each other and not saying anything. One of the vampires was gangly and tall, taller than Wilbur even which was an impressive feat. He was wearing a mask that covered the bottom half of his face and curiously enough while one of his eyes was red the other was brown. As if he'd only partly learned how to change their color. The other one was a lot shorter and wore baggy clothing. He was the first to blink out of their silent standoff and tilted his head.

"Hi, we're here for Phil. He knows we're coming by."

"He's in his office," Techno said. He stepped out of the way, hoping it was alright to let them in and this wasn't some weird vampire attack tactic. "Do you know where that is?"

"Oh yeah, we've been here a million times, big man." As was evidenced by them immediately heading for the living room while Techno closed the door behind them. This was followed by a bunch of rambunctious shouting from Tommy, but since it sounded like a good kind of shouting Techno wouldn't get worried just yet.

When he walked back in, Techno saw that Tommy had (badly) attempted to force the smaller of the two vampires into a headlock on the couch. It was an odd kind of play-wrestling to witness, but it had put a grin on Tommy's face.

"Do we do something before they kill each other?" Techno asked the tall one standing next to him.

The boy startled, spooked that he was suddenly being addressed. He rubbed the back of his head while shrugging sheepishly. "I don't… think so? Probably not."

"Good, because I'm not getting between that," Techno said. Tommy was getting owned. "Should I get Phil or…?"

"He knows we're here."

Summoned by the mention of his name - or that's what it felt like to Techno at least - Phil appeared out of the hallway taking large strides.

"Oh good, great fucking timing actually."

"Hey, Phil!" The smaller vampire who had Tommy pinned down called out cheerily. "What's up?"

"I'll be better once you stop strangling Tommy," Phil said, seeing his fledgling struggle to get up. "How did you manage to keep out of trouble for this long if this is the first fucking thing you do once you're back?"

"Ranboo helped," the boy pointed at the vampire standing next to Techno.

"Helped is a bit of an understatement," said vampire mumbled. "I think I held the brain cell for our entire trip."

"You mean the half brain cell you have between you two?" Tommy teased, though it came out a bit pathetic when he was still being pinned down.

"Oh, Techno." Phil finally noticed he was right there. "These are Tubbo and Ranboo. They're covenless but they're welcomed here."

Techno nodded. He didn't know exactly what covenless meant but he mentally made a note that these two might be stopping by then.

"They usually visit me more often," Tommy said, finally managing to push Tubbo off. "But they cruelly abandoned me."

"I'll sneak you into my luggage next time," Tubbo promised.

"Tubbo, Ranboo, this is Techno. He's our live-in blood bag."

"Huh?" Tubbo said, looking at Techno as if he'd grown a second head. Then he turned back to Phil. "You finally caved?"

"I decided to give Wilbur's idea a chance. I've not regretted it yet." He shot a smile to Techno that was probably meant to come across as friendly but translated as vaguely threatening instead.

Especially as it was immediately followed by a nervous squeak out of Ranboo. "Voluntary, right?"

The deeper implication behind it made Techno want to puke. He didn't really hear what Phil answered over the sudden rush in his ears. When he shook it off, Ranboo was staring at him though.

"Y-yeah, no thralling here," he said lamely. The joke fell flat.

Thankfully Phil cleared his throat then. "We don't have a bunch of time today so let's head down." He started to go towards the hallways again, Ranboo and Tubbo followed him. Tommy got up too, with some more energy back in his step.

Techno wasn't asked to come along so he didn't. He returned to his paper, the nature documentary kept running in the background, and tried to forget about the look on Ranboo's face when he asked that.

---

"Are those crows?" Techno asked. Wilbur looked up from his book, following Techno's gaze out of the window. Phil was in the backyard again, not gardening this time. He was….

Well, he was making crows.

Or that was the only way Techno could really describe what he was witnessing. As he was watching, Phil would hold out his hand, the palm facing upward. A mist would roll over his fingers, spilling onto the ground. Out of the coalescing blackness, dark feathered wings spread. They flapped desperately as the bird pulled itself from the ether of nonexistence.

Then, a blink later, Phil had a fully formed crow in his hand. Just like that.

"He's sending messages," Wilbur said, raising his book to his face again. He was trying to get through Poe on Techno's recommendation. Because Techno was evil and loved to share his suffering. He'd moved on to better things but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy watching Wilbur go through the same agony.

"So vampires send letters through shadow birds? Good to know," Techno commented.

"Only Phil. It's his Gift."

Gift as in the unique talent a vampire was granted upon being turned on top of the universal vampiric powers such as super strength and stuff, Techno remembered vaguely.

"Who is he messaging?" Techno asked. "Doesn't he have a phone?"

"This can't be traced as easily." Wilbur shrugged. "You know, for safety reasons. Phil gets in touch with a lot of important people for his job."

Right, Techno would not let this opportunity go to waste. "What's his job then?"

"Information management," Wilbur answered without hesitation, expecting the question.

"What?"

"He knows things and people. Vampire society hinges on Phil knowing."

Techno put his book down. "Are you telling me Phil is part of the vampire government?" The thought was so amusing it made him want to laugh. The rumors about vampires having their own rulers always sounded so silly to him.

"Nah, he's not important enough for that," Wilbur said. Techno relaxed his shoulders until he continued, "Our government is really only like five people. But Phil works for one of them."

Techno narrowed his eyes at him. "If you're lying to me I'm personally going to dig up my contract and tear it to pieces."

"I'm not lying!" Wilbur insisted. "Phil does all the information management and I do the fieldwork. Where do you think I go all day?"

"Honestly I thought you were just going to hipster record shops and being a creep to people at blood donation centers," Techno deadpanned.

"Aw, I don't have to do that anymore because I already have you, Techno." When he reached out to mockingly pinch Techno's cheek, Techno slapped his hand away.

"So that's why you were gone a while?"

"Yeah, Phil often makes me run the personal errands because it's hard to get away from the coven for long." Wilbur put his elbow on the table instead, resting his chin in his palm.

At Wilbur's mention of the coven, another thought came to Techno.

"I met Ranboo and Tubbo while you were gone."

"They came back?" Wilbur asked. "They spent a long time across the ocean."

"Phil said they are covenless," Techno added casually. Digging for answers without being too obvious.

"They are."

Looked like Wilbur wasn't going to make this easy for him. "What does that mean?"

"It means they're not part of a coven, really nothing more. It's not too common but not exactly rare either."

"I thought a coven was a sire and their fledgling," Techno admitted.

"Traditionally they were and even now that's still probably mostly the case. But it can be much more than that. There's safety in community and all that."

"Sounds like you're not too far from humans after all," Techno said with a vague smirk. Wilbur smiled at him.

Then with a grunt, Wilbur pushed himself away from the table. "Man, I'm fucking starving."

Techno vaguely remembered Phil had mentioned Wilbur needing to feed before he left on his trip. "Is there blood in the fridge?" Techno asked. Probably not, with Tommy's appetite it was very unlikely.

"I don't really do that bagged shit," Wilbur grumbled with a dismissive gesture. He seemed to be considering going out. Going out and finding somebody to feed on, Techno realized distantly. "Phil might have been right in telling me I shouldn't wait until the last minute."

"You can have my blood," Techno heard himself say without a second thought to it.

"Like I said, I'm not a big fan of bags-"

"I know," Techno cut him off.

Wilbur turned around slowly. "Are you sure?"

Something about the hunger in Wilbur's eyes made him want to backpaddle. But stubbornness had always been a bad quality of Techno's.

"You've been taking my blood either way," he said slowly. "I don't think it makes much difference."

As he spoke, he did feel the truth in those words. Everything Techno had heard about a vampire feeding on a human directly had described it as a pleasurable experience, one that some humans had started to crave. At least a handful of the donators at Niki's clinic also had personal clients in their off time, vampires who paid ridiculous amounts of money for a chance to feed from the source. The reasons were endless: it tasted better, it quenched them longer, it sated a part of their hunting instincts that bags never could. Wilbur wasn't strange for wanting this.

And Techno wasn't strange for offering it, was he?

Wilbur's reaction was instant though, elation and eagerness, and Techno barely had time to flinch back before Wilbur was pulling him from his chair.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

That hadn't been a worry on Techno's mind before Wilbur said that, making it all the more worrying.

"You're about to bite me," he said, unsure of himself. The mental image of fangs digging into his flesh would never not make him anticipate being hurt. Wilbur could probably sense his unease from a mile away but didn't let it deter him.

No, he was clearly not going to allow Techno to go back on his word.

"It will only sting for a second, promise."

Sickeningly, Techno thought it was fitting this was happening in the kitchen since he was about to literally become Wilbur's meal.

"Do you care where I do the biting?" Wilbur asked.

"That's not something I've ever thought about," Techno said truthfully.

What he did know was that the idea of Wilbur latching onto his neck was horrifying to him, for some reason. There was a kind of strained intimacy about that, something Techno wasn't prepared for and he most likely never would be.

And Wilbur must be able to read that on his face. He nodded and gently took Techno's wrist in his hand.

"Okay, take a deep breath." Wilbur brought it up to his mouth. Techno inhaled through his nostrils, bracing himself without really meaning to. "Relax, you're going to make this worse on yourself."

"Can you just get to the biting already?" Techno asked testily.

He was blinded by pain for one brief moment that was Wilbur opening his mouth and sinking his teeth into Techno's arm, right where his wrist was. Instinctively he tried to wrench free, to get away, trying not to panic. Then that was all washed away by something else.

It was a warm feeling, trickling up along his bloodstream. Techno had the fading presence of mind to realize that was Wilbur's poison entering his veins, spreading through him slowly with cloying intensity. And the people in the clinic definitely hadn't been lying about how good it felt.

Techno was never social enough to hang with the cool kids in school, so he'd never come close enough to most drugs to try them even if he wanted to. He could imagine this was pretty similar though.

The faint tingle ran straight up into his brain and as his thoughts grew woozier he could feel Wilbur grin against his wrist, pulling it up slightly to make feeding easier. Techno had sagged against him at this point, legs refusing to hold up his weight. He couldn't feel his limbs anymore, couldn't feel much of anything except for the warm, pleasant buzz that had taken over every nerve ending. Techno wasn't sure if his head was spinning due to the blood loss or the vampire poison or both but he closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to deal with it. Wilbur's other arm came around to hold his waist and make sure he didn't fall.

Too out of it to tell how long it lasted, Techno only knew it was over because he felt Wilbur unlatch his teeth. He licked over the puncture wounds to close them.

"That was so fucking worth the wait."

Techno hummed vaguely. That probably wasn't aimed at him so he shouldn't worry about answering. Wilbur titled him back a bit, watching Techno be so slack in his hold. With a slight frown, he looked down at him.

"Okay, the amount I took should definitely not have had this much of an effect," Wilbur said with amusement lacing his voice. Meaning Techno wasn't three seconds away from passing out because of blood loss then. "Techno, when was the last time you slept?"

He tried to blink up at Wilbur but he could barely keep his eyes open. So he gave up on that endeavor. "I'm a dual English and history major. There's no time in my curriculum for sleep."

"There is now," Wilbur said. He bent his knees a bit and then Techno was lifted. He gave a courtesy attempt to wriggle free out of the makeshift bridal carry but it wasn't doing much with how light-headed he was. As if Wilbur hadn't only sucked the blood out of him, but everything else too.

Sleep deprivation combined with vampire poison was one heck of a drug.

The house passed by in a blur, every step up the staircase felt like it jolted his entire body. Techno whined and Wilbur hushed him, clasping him a bit tighter.

At the top Wilbur went the opposite direction from Techno's room.

Trying to clear his vision, Techno recognized the heavy green velvet of the curtains and the oil paintings against the wall. There was a noise of confusion building in his throat, suppressed under layers of exhaustion and the sedatives still running through him.

"Sh, it's okay. You're okay." With care akin to Wilbur handling the most precious of porcelain, he put Techno down in the nest. "You should sleep."

Techno wanted to protest, he really did. But it was kind of hard when he had just been laid onto the most comfortable bed known to humankind. It was impossible for Techno not to burrow more into the covers, much to Wilbur's visible delight.

In a strange mirroring to the last time Techno was in this room, he felt the sheets being tucked around him tenderly. Wilbur brushed the hair from his face and Techno didn't think he could resist the pull of sleep a moment longer.

He barely heard Wilbur's last words before he drifted off.

"There, exactly where you belong."

Techno woke up the next morning with the most impressive pounding headache he had ever experienced.

And the strange thing was, he didn't feel bad exactly. Not like he usually would when he got a migraine. Those also tended to hit him in the morning, but they made him flinch away from the light and feel vaguely nauseous. This headache was unpleasant but dull. Fuzzy. As if his thoughts needed to struggle through several feet of quicksand before they could properly form.

Wilbur fed on him. Techno stared up at the ridiculously plush canopy of the bed he was lying in while that memory slowly came back. Wilbur fed on him and Techno was subject to his weird vampire poison. The reason he felt so drained probably had something to do with that. He couldn't remember the last time he slept so soundly, but neither did his body and it was thrown off by the experience.

Well, it certainly was one way to get rid of all those years of sleep deprivation his university classes had forced him to accumulate.

From each of the canopy's four corners, a curtain of sheer green fabric draped down. Somebody had come into the room and drawn them closed. Techno didn't think they were when he went to sleep anyway. Actually, looking around he was struck with the realization that his bed didn't have a canopy at all. It was definitely one of those robust antique pieces of furniture, but it didn't have drapes since Techno tore them down when he moved in.

But this wasn't his bed, was it?

Wilbur had brought him to the nest.

Techno winced when sitting up as fast as he did made his head twinge painfully in protest. It faded pretty quickly, replaced by an echo of that warm, hazy feeling from the venom that was already wearing off. Wilbur did mention his reaction to it was rather strong. The aftereffects must also be lingering longer than expected. Despite this, Techno threw back the covers and got up.

He wanted to get out of there.

And not only because it would be very embarrassing for Tommy to catch him sleeping in the nest after Techno made such a big deal out of not being in it.

No, while it had become increasingly obvious to him that his presumptions had been blowing the nest thing way out of proportion - it was clearly not forbidden for him to be in this room, quite the opposite really - Techno didn't know if he wanted to be in there.

Part of him still didn't believe he was allowed to be, no matter what Wilbur said.

Because Wilbur had said something, hadn't he? Techno couldn't really remember clearly, he was pretty out of it by then. But trying to recall it made him feel off. Like something was grabbing him by the throat and refusing to let go. Maybe that was a good description for what the entire room made him feel like.

On trembling legs, Techno got up. All the blood rushing out of his head made him dizzy at first, but then it helped make him feel his limbs again. Definitely an improvement. He was a bit unsteady, though that should clear up soon enough. Whoever had closed the drapes on the bed had also adjusted every other curtain in the room. The dark green heavy fabric almost completely cut out the light from outside, only allowing a thin sliver of noon sun to cut through. There weren't any clocks in the room so Techno couldn't tell what time it was. He must have slept for ages.

Above one of the dressers hung an antique silver mirror. Techno looked into it, almost cringing at the mess of his hair. This was why he usually braided it before bed. He rubbed his face to try and wake himself up faster, pressing his fingertips into the pale skin of his cheeks. When he did, his sleeve slid down and revealed the bite on his wrist.

It had left a mark.

Wilbur had closed the wound, a good thing because Techno didn't much fancy bleeding all over his clothes and the nest. But there were still two small red puncture wounds, with the slight indent of blunt human teeth surrounding them. Wearily, Techno rubbed his thumb over them. The mark was very light, he doubted it would even scar.

With a sigh, he turned around and leaned on the dresser, too weak to brave the walk to the living room quite yet.

If Wilbur was going to make a habit out of feeding on him, Techno should probably ask him to bite a little higher along his arm. That'd be easier to cover than his wrists. And maybe also to take it a bit lighter on the vampire poison because Techno had only drunk alcohol a handful of times in his life but this was already ten times worse than any hangover.

Since he had nothing better to do, he used this opportunity to look around the room properly. Techno had already seen it twice - one time he only peeked into it very briefly after the tour when curiosity got the better of him and the other time was when he tucked Tommy in. And back then Techno was way too focused on making sure the fledgling was safe and then getting the heck out of there as quickly as possible to take in the room itself. It was extremely old-fashioned, more something out of a museum than a house that was lived in. There was a light covering of dust on a lot of the furniture that wasn't the nest. Made sense, since Phil spent most of his time in his office. The oil paintings on the wall showed people, vaguely familiar.

Wait…

It took Techno a moment to notice but when he did he almost doubled over in laughter.

He wished he had his phone on him because something about Wilbur posed in a collared shirt with a cravat and wearing rhinegraves was peak hilarity to Techno. Especially with Phil standing menacingly behind him in an equally atrocious outfit, one hand clutched on Wilbur's shoulder while still being several inches shorter. Techno didn't know vampires were into family portraits.

Some of the other paintings around the room were also of Phil or Wilbur. No Tommy though, Techno supposed he was turned after this type of thing fell out of fashion. Others had people on them Techno didn't recognize. One in particular caught his eye.

It was bigger than all the rest and placed more centrally in the room, almost taking up an entire wall with its presence. The frame was elaborate, thick gold with black gems set into the curved edges. Unwillingly, Techno found himself drawn towards it, feet moving without conscious thought until he was looking up into enchanting purple eyes that felt so lifelike it almost made him uncomfortable.

She was beautiful.

Her long black hair hung over her shoulders in delicate waves, tucked in behind an ear on one side. Her hands were held in her lap stiffly, probably posing on instructions of the painter commissioned for the portrait. Yet her chin was tilted ever so slightly to the side, lips curled up into a smile that was more mischief than politeness. Betraying an underlying amusement, not the stuffiness Techno would expect. But what he was drawn to most were those purple eyes, the way wrinkles formed around the corners of her smile. How their brightness pierced the room unnaturally. He felt unable to pull away.

Until the door opened and broke the trance.

"Oh good, you're up." Phil grinned at him warmly. "We were honestly getting kind of worried, mate."

Techno's reaction was embarrassingly akin to that of a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, numbly staring at what would spell certain doom if he didn't move. Phil's presence as a sire never failed to set off some part of Techno's brain that felt disconcertingly close to that of a prey animal. And despite having more or less overcome that ingrained instinct that Phil was dangerous and Techno did not want to be alone in a room with him before, it was stubborn in popping up again when it was this room specifically.

The nest was the heart of a coven, the most important part of a vampire's home. There Techno was standing in it gaping up at a portrait he had no business gaping up at.

Then Phil walked up next to him and also looked up at the painting, the goofiest little smirk breaking out on his face. Any intimidation this man might have possessed melted away like snow in the sun when he looked like a lovesick puppy. Techno blinked, stunned at the change.

"Gorgeous, isn't she?" Phil said sincerely. Techno almost snorted a laugh but managed to contain himself. It was good to have moments like these to remind himself Phil was not a scary ancient vampire sire.

Or well, he was. But he was also just a guy.

"Your wife?" Techno asked. He felt it was a safe assumption to make considering the pure fondness in Phil's expression when he looked at the woman in the painting.

"Not quite," Phil said. Then he crossed his arms, looking at Techno sheepishly. "I mean, yes, technically. I suppose there are probably a few dozen countries around the world where our marriage is still legally binding and recognized by human law."

"How does that work?"

Phil laughed, offering him a shrug. "Every few centuries when we feel like throwing a party, we arrange a wedding. Kristin enjoys the festivity of making it official. It's been a while, actually."

At Phil's words, Techno looked at the painting again. It made sense that she was a vampire. Actually, she fit the storybook definition more than any of the vampires Techno ended up living with did. The pale, almost ashen skin. An uncanny sort of beauty that felt inhuman but also undeniable. All she needed was the red eyes and Techno was sure she'd be fit to haunt anybody's nightmares.

And Phil talked about her like any middle-aged guy who really loves his wife.

"What about vampire law?" Techno heard himself ask. Wilbur did mention they had a government.

"You think 'vampire law' busies itself with mundane stuff like marriage?" Phil shot back, a bit scathingly - amused. Techno tried not to get defensive.

"What does it do then?" he said.

"Politics, mostly. Very complicated politics. Things changed after humans heard about our existence." Phil looked up at the painting again. Techno noticed he had reached out to hold a pendant that hung around his neck. He'd never really paid attention to that before but could see the heart shape clutched between Phil's fingers.

"She is part of that government?" Techno said. At Phil's surprised look, he felt forced to elaborate. "Wilbur mentioned you worked for somebody and since she's never here, I just assumed-" He trailed off, gesturing at the painting.

"Yeah. It keeps her busy, but then again it's always been like that even when she turned me." Phil let go of the pendant. Techno swore he could see some kind of movement there, or a glow. He was kinda woozy though so he might just be imagining things.

"She's your sire?" Techno still didn't know if that was a rude thing to ask by vampire standards, but something gave him the impression Phil wouldn't mind.

"She looks great for her age, doesn't she?" Phil answered. Techno laughed, earning himself another one of Phil's lopsided grins. Yeah, he was definitely head over heels for this woman. "When we met, I had no idea. She really tried to keep me at a distance, but I was one stubborn bastard. Things kind of blossomed from there and by the time she told me the truth, I think it was hardly a surprise anymore."

"Did you…" Techno swallowed, hoping he wasn't crossing some kind of boundary with his questions. This conversation had been going well and he relished feeling this comfortable around Phil for a change, he didn't want to ruin that. "Did you ask to be turned?"

Phil wasn't looking at Techno when he answered. He smiled up at the painting again, gaze faraway. Revisiting some memory Techno couldn't even conceive existed - something that happened long before history books kept proper records.

"I begged for it. I would have done anything for her not to lose me to the cruel passage of time."

The room was colder than it had any right to be. Techno pulled at his sleeve, tracing the bite mark on his wrist. In a few decades, he would be an old man and these guys would still-

He pulled the brakes on that thought because, yeah, not only would it spiral him straight into an existential crisis, it wasn't worth thinking about. He would have long since moved by that time.

"Even though we don't see each other as often, we're happy. And that's what matters. Eternity is a long time to be stuck together." Phil laughed, maybe failing to notice the slightly nauseated look on Techno's face. "We see each other for events, mostly."

"When you feel like throwing a wedding?" Techno asked, hoping to steer back to lighter topics.

"That too. Or actual events within vampire society. Boring formal shit, really. It's mostly for diplomatic gatherings between different ancients. But when those pop up, we don't really have a choice. The entire coven is expected to attend." Techno nodded as if he had any idea what Phil was talking about.

Vampire society sounded just as complicated as human society. What was wrong with living in a cabin and never speaking to another person again? Techno thought that would be pretty chill.

"Anyway, how are you feeling? Wilbur told me you weren't doing too good?" Phil's eyes fixed on him again, attention completely back on Techno. Not a development he enjoyed, frankly. He tried not to squirm being stared at so intently.

"I'm fine. Didn't expect the vampire drugs to be quite that hard-hitting."

Phil chuckled. "Yeah, it's probably because your body wasn't in a good state to deal with them. Not enough sleep or food. But I called Niki just to be sure."

Techno's head shot up. "Please say that's a terrible joke you're making."

"It's not," Phil said slowly. The frown on his face was ten times worse than the stare, studying Techno closely. "It's important you stay healthy, Techno."

Right, right, so his blood could feed Tommy. They had been over this. He waved it away. "I know. I'm fine, really. Niki has better things to do than give me another lecture about self-care."

"If she's had to lecture you about it so often maybe it's time you start listening, mate."

Ouch. Techno could do without being verbally demolished too.

"I told her it wasn't urgent, so don't worry. She's just coming by in a few days to give you a physical, which we all agreed she would be doing anyway." Phil did not sound apologetic. No, he sounded like a dad scolding his kid for misbehaving. Techno was an adult. Is this what Wilbur felt like all the damn time?

"Sure," he said and started to walk out of the room. His legs finally stopped shaking so he would take the opportunity to get out of there. "Sorry about sleeping in your bed," he joked. "It was pretty great, you should send me the number of the guy who sold you your mattress."

Thankfully Phil laughed at his lame jab, chasing away some of the tension that lingered in the air. But his voice did sound sincere when he replied. "You're welcome back anytime."

Techno quickly closed the door behind him so he didn't have to answer.

---

Techno was not taking Phil's advice, no sir. Definitely not. But he was having a hearty breakfast for a change as opposed to just downing half a cup of black coffee and calling it a day. His headache was almost completely gone, he felt more or less himself again. Food definitely helped.

Which meant he could deal with the newest insanity that had evaded his life: Tommy glaring at him from the other side of the table.

So far Techno had ignored him. He didn't want to acknowledge it while he was eating. He thought they had gotten over Tommy being angry at him about the nest thing, meaning he had no clue what this was about. Maybe if he pretended not to notice it would go away.

Tommy scowled at him harder.

"Do you want some?" Techno asked, holding out his sandwich.

"What did you do?" Tommy asked - well, more like hissed.

"What?"

"There's something weird about you today," Tommy continued. "It's really fucking off-putting."

"I'm tired," Techno offered. He didn't really know what else Tommy could be on about. He rubbed the back of his head, pulling down his sleeve so he could finally start to braid his hair. It was still a mess and if he left it like this he wouldn't get the knots out.

Tommy gasped.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

His loudness made Techno flinch. Just because his headache was gone didn't mean he was thrilled to have Tommy screaming at him from three feet away. Not that he had much time to process this because Tommy had already jumped from his chair and rounded the table faster than Techno could blink, catching Techno's raised arm in his hand.

"What happened?" Tommy asked urgently. He sounded… not quite panicked but definitely some degree of upset.

"What do you-"

And that was when Techno figured out what Tommy was even looking at. The bite mark Wilbur had left on his wrist, Tommy's narrowed red eyes honing in on it. His lips pulled up over his incisors into a snarl. For the first time since meeting him, there was actually a small trace of fright in Techno when it came to Tommy. As if he all at once seemed to get this kid wasn't human and Techno should be scared of him.

Tommy turned his arm over to look at the mark better. His grip could so easily be bruising, but it wasn't. "Who did this?"

"Wilbur needed to feed last night," Techno explained.

"He drank your blood?!" Tommy asked outraged. He was straight up glowering at the mark on Techno's wrist, but the anger did not feel aimed at Techno somehow.

"Uh, yeah. Wasn't that the point of me moving in?"

Tommy blinked, letting go of Techno's wrist suddenly. "Yeah, of course," he said quickly. He took a stilted step back. "Obviously, yeah. I'm not a fucking idiot." But there was something off about how he said it. Like Tommy was uneasy with it. Or with his own reaction.

"Tommy-"

Before Techno could get very far in whatever he was about to say, Tommy had already turned around and bolted. That seemed to be a bit of a trend for him, huh? But maybe it was a good thing since Techno had no idea what he was going to say anyway. He finished his breakfast and by the time he was done, Tommy was sitting on the couch watching his documentaries again.

He looked at Techno expectantly, so close to pouting it was a miracle Techno managed to not laugh in his face. He just shook his head and went upstairs to grab his laptop.

Whatever weird mood had gotten into the fledgling must have passed.

…Or maybe not.

Techno had gotten used to the occasional physical contact. He never was an overly touchy person, but he didn't mind it when Tommy fell asleep while watching TV and ended up shifting so he was partly leaning against Techno. Or using his shoulder as a pillow. This was on a whole other level though.

Tommy was pretty much in his lap at his point,

"Will you stop fidgeting?" the teen complained, ironically enough while also shoving his own elbow into Techno's midriff.

"Will you stop trying to use me like a life-size teddy bear?" Techno asked. "I can't really work like this."

Tommy was a vampire, so he could not actually turn red. But he did splutter very comically at the accusation. "I'm not!" He shoved upright, though failed to move away from Techno. So they were pretty much glued side to side. "Excuse me for trying to get cozy."

That's when Wilbur entered the room and Tommy growled at him.

Techno did not think that was normal, apparently neither did Wilbur because he looked fairly startled. Tommy had his arms braced around Techno's middle and the hold only tightened when Wilbur looked at him.

"What are you doing?" Wilbur asked.

Tommy didn't stop making that weird growly sound deep in his chest. "Piss off, Wilbur."

Wilbur made a gesture in disbelief, desperately looking at Techno as if the human could offer some kind of explanation. Techno awkwardly shrugged back. Maybe if they ignored it, it would go away on its own.

Except in the following days, Tommy's clinginess became the new normal.

He was practically attached to Techno by the hip, following him around like a lost puppy. Even if Techno went to study in his room or the kitchen, Tommy had a tendency to follow him there and sit around watching him work. Tommy got all testy if Techno left for his classes.

He didn't say much - or not more than the normal Tommy chatter anyway - and nothing that would explain why he was doing what he was doing. Techno asked once and Tommy said something about Wilbur and Phil always abandoning him and being bored sitting around alone.

Something Techno would accept as a reason if it wasn't for the fact that Tommy didn't seem to want Wilbur around at all.

While Wilbur was drawing Techno's blood, Tommy hovered ominously inches behind him.

"Can you fuck off? I know what I'm doing here," Wilbur said.

"I'm just trying to learn how to do it," Tommy said. "It's my blood, right? So I might as well learn to do it myself."

"Last I checked it's still my blood technically," Techno said before Wilbur could answer.

"Same thing," Tommy answered carelessly. Techno knew he meant it.

Even when Niki came by to check on him at the end of the week, those two still hadn't sorted out their crap. Techno was growing tired of it. He could barely talk with Wilbur anymore without Tommy interrupting him or dragging him off somewhere. He barely had spent any time alone in days. He was on edge and exhausted in a whole other way.

The last thing he needed was for them to distract Niki from trying to do her job.

"Can I do it? I bet it's not that hard, you just pump the stupid balloon right?" Tommy leaned in closer. Techno thought Niki possessed the patience of a saint for not snapping at him for interrupting her again.

"I'm almost done," she said mildly. Wilbur took a step forward from Techno's other side, ignoring how Tommy took the opportunity to send a poisonous glare his way.

"All good?" Wilbur prodded. "I figured he just hadn't slept enough but-"

"Aw, Wilbur, were you worried?" Techno asked. He smiled up at the vampire cheekily. "That's sweet of you."

"There are two other people in this room right now who would have murdered me if I accidentally killed you by feeding on you. Not to mention Phil." Wilbur seemed to shudder at the thought.

"It's as Phil suspected. Your vitals are fine, your blood pressure is on the low end of things but that's what I'm used to from you." Niki undid the cuff from around Techno's arm. "You need to sleep more and eat healthier. Then the poison wouldn't have knocked you out so quickly."

"Eat more vegetables and become immune to vampire poison, got it." Techno nodded. He probably wasn't going to follow the advice, but he could pretend.

"I won't need to feed again for a while," Wilbur said quickly. "Though it's kind of convenient to not have to go out and hunt."

Techno wasn't surprised when that made Tommy frown. Before those two could go for another round of snapping at each other, he got up. "Wanna go for a walk, Niki?"

"A walk?" She was putting her stuff away but stopped to look over at him.

"If you have time. It's been a while since we were able to catch up?"

"Yeah, I'd love a walk."

It was nice to be out of the house. Techno didn't go outside much when he wasn't going to class and he took a lot of those remotely. Personal preference, since attending them in public made his skin crawl. But sometimes that made it easy to forget how nice it could be to simply walk around and enjoy the sun and fresh air.

And it certainly was good to be away from Tommy for a moment.

Techno felt a bit guilty about that thought popping up, but that didn't mean it wasn't the truth. He didn't know how to deal with that sort of clinginess. He never had siblings, nor even a close friend. Techno was very used to being alone.

He hadn't felt alone for a while now.

"They seem pretty lively with you around," Niki said at one point.

"What do you mean?" Techno asked.

She bit at the inside of her cheek, considering her words. "Wilbur wasn't doing very well when we met."

"Oh…" Techno didn't know how else to respond. He was glad his presence was useful. He hadn't regretted his decision to move yet. He just wished it wasn't all so complicated.

Niki smiled at him, picking up on his hesitance. "They're happy to have you around, that's for sure. I haven't seen Tommy so fired up about something in a while either."

"What about you?" Techno asked, changing the subject as smoothly as somebody with his social skills was able to.

"What about me?" Niki prodded playfully.

"How have you been?"

"I'm great," Niki said, a bit too quickly. Her hair was pulled up and out of her face, pale strands framing her features. She usually bleached it when she got restless. Techno knew this.

"Just great?" he asked.

"Once I find somebody to take the clinic off my hands, I'll be perfect." She glanced at him, watching for his reaction. "Then I'll have enough money for a downpayment on my bakery."

"You're selling the clinic?"

"I thought it was finally time, yeah." When Niki looked up, the clouds were reflected in her eyes. "I've been happy helping people. But now I need to do something I've always wanted for myself."

Techno couldn't argue with that. If there was anybody who deserved it, it was Niki. "I'm happy for you."

"Don't think you'll get rid of me though," Niki continued lightly. "I'm keeping up the house visits, at least."

Techno held up his hands. "Hey, as long as I get to be a regular customer and you give me a discount on the muffins, I ain't complaining."

Niki laughed, throwing her head back a bit. "Only if you keep giving me book recommendations. That's the deal."

And Techno certainly couldn't argue with that either.

---

"Are you ever going to watch something else? How have you not grown tired of the raccoon documentaries yet?"

Tommy scoffed. "Raccoons are cool. I like them."

Techno watched one of the animals on the screen get stuck in a trash bag, twisting and flailing around in an attempt to get out. He smirked. "Yeah, I can see the resemblance."

"Shut up," Tommy retorted, undercut by a laugh.

Shifting around, Techno tried to continue typing. It was hard with Tommy lying on top of him the way he was. Once again, he had pretty much ended up in Techno's lap. Though he was mostly using Techno's knees to drape across him, lying down while Techno was sitting up. The position couldn't be very comfortable for Tommy, but maybe becoming a vampire gave you an inability to feel joint pain. That would certainly explain a thing or two.

Giving up on the paper he was working on for the moment, Techno put his laptop on the coffee table instead, almost pushing Tommy off when he bent forward. He had his sleeves bunched up to his elbows because it was easier to type that way. He barely paid it any mind.

Not until he felt a sharp pain in his arm, fangs piercing the flesh.

Techno reflexively pushed against the thing that had hurt him, watching Tommy tumble off the couch and onto the floor. He stayed there for a moment, staring up at Techno with wide, startled eyes.

It probably didn't help that Techno was staring back equally startled.

He gripped his own arm, looking at the two small punctures in his skin. "Did you- Did you just bite me?"

"I think so," Tommy said, quietly. Confused.

Techno looked at the bite gingerly, but it was barely a nip. Not deep enough to draw blood, meaning Tommy hadn't been trying to feed. When a vampire feeds, their jaw locks tight and Techno wouldn't have been able to push him off so easily. And if Tommy had an intention to kill him, Techno wouldn't have had a chance to fight back.

Then what the heck was this about?

"Why did you bite me?"

Tommy looked even more baffled than Techno felt though. "I don't know!"

And he sounded so genuinely upset at his own actions Techno couldn't hold it against him.

"What's wrong?!"

Techno winced at hearing Phil's call carry all the way across the house, followed by him throwing the door open. For a guy that was usually so soft-spoken, Phil sure knew how to raise his voice. Techno recalled the thing about sires being able to feel their fledglings' emotions. Phil must have picked up on Tommy's distress from a mile away. And his ruckus was quick to draw Wilbur to the living room too.

And that was probably the opposite of what should have happened. Because all at once Tommy's demure mood shifted. He snarled, aiming his anger at Wilbur once more. The fledgling shot up into a half-standing position, between Techno and the other two. Which, hm, Techno didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Considering Tommy had bitten him purely on instinct a few minutes ago, probably a bad thing.

"Tommy," Phil said. His voice was calm, almost amused. "Stop it."

Tommy's brow creased into a perturbed frown, caught in the stalemate of trying to square off against Wilbur and following the command of his sire. Techno was very grateful the latter won out.

"Are you okay, Techno?" Wilbur asked. He was too weary of escalating the situation to make a move but Techno appreciated the concern.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's not even bleeding." Maybe if he pretended that one of the vampires he shared a house with apparently chomping on him without warning wasn't a big deal, that'd be better. He didn't want to freak Wilbur and Phil out over a non-issue.

"Claim bites aren't supposed to bleed," Phil said. He walked forward, keeping eye contact with Tommy. But the fledgling only shrunk in on himself with his sire's approach.

"Claim bite?" Tommy asked. At least Techno wasn't the only one in the dark.

"It was my fault for not explaining better. I was afraid something like this might happen after Wilbur fed on Techno." Phil reached him and held out his hand. Techno allowed him to inspect the bite, though it was hardly necessary. "Vampires are prone to leaving marks on the prey they consider theirs. We can become territorial sometimes."

Techno was not comforted at all by that statement. Quite the opposite.

"So you're saying Tommy wants to eat me later? That's great." His monotone got a chuckle out of Phil.

"No, it's more accurate to say that Tommy already saw you as his prey since he's been feeding almost exclusively on your blood. After Wilbur bit you, it triggered Tommy's instinct to claim you." Phil looked at Tommy then. "I doubt you even knew why you felt this way for the past week."

"I thought Tommy was just being a jealous bitch," Wilbur offered.

That was enough to snap the fledgling out of his despondency at least. "Hey!"

"Close enough," Phil laughed. "In a way, Tommy is jealous. Vampires can be possessive of their food."

"First of all, I'm still a person and not a walking juice box, thanks for noticing." Techno couldn't help a little bit of irritation from slipping into his voice. "Secondly, aren't covens supposed to share?"

"They are," Phil said quickly. "Fledglings aren't in full control of their instincts yet though."

"I'm sorry," Tommy mumbled. Techno shook his head. He didn't want the kid to feel guilty when he wasn't really at fault.

He just didn't appreciate being fought over like a pack of party snacks at a frat house either.

"It's fine," he said again. "How do we keep it from happening again?"

"Give it some time and it should pass on its own. Tommy can suck it up until then," Phil answered. Wilbur had walked over at this point, reaching out a hand to help the fledgling stand up properly. Tommy took it.

That was as much of a peace treaty as those two were able to reach for the past few days.

"Unless," Phil added nonchalantly, "you want me to mark you instead?"

Techno wasn't sure if he had heard that right. "What?"

"If I mark you, it would be as sire of the coven. You'd automatically belong to all three of us, no more infighting. You'd just be ours essentially."

"I'll pass," Techno said. He'd been bitten twice in less than a week. That was plenty for him.

Phil nodded, seemingly respecting his choice as he turned back to Tommy to check up on him and assure the fledgling hadn't evoked the ire of his sire.

But Techno could have sworn that for a moment Phil looked more disappointed than anything.

'Sucking it up' turned out to have a vastly different meaning for Tommy than Phil probably intended. The fledgling's behavior did not change in any meaningful way for at least another week after they found out what had Tommy so riled up, so in essence Techno's time was still spent being a public chew toy. Tommy bit him a dozen or so more times, small nips usually aimed at his hands or fingers when Techno made the mistake of allowing that part of his body to get too close to Tommy's face. At least Tommy had the decency to apologize about half of the times this happened. Techno knew it was just instinct stuff, something he could not relate to as a human.

But also, having Tommy bite him hurt.

At least when Wilbur did it, it had been a pleasant experience. While Tommy didn't draw blood, his biting also made Techno feel a lot more jumpy and was akin to dealing with a wild animal that had zero impulse control.

Not in the literal sense - though there was probably some remark he could make there about the bite mark Wilbur left and how he had learned to keep it covered because it made Tommy even more pouty - but in the sense that Techno definitely felt like some kid's favorite snack that they refused to share with others.

To cope, Techno had printed out an article on food aggression in puppies and how to avoid it. When he had given it to Tommy, that wasn't exactly appreciated. Techno got cursed out to the high heavens and Wilbur got it even worse after he laughed at Tommy's anger. In a way, everything was probably as it should be.

Then after another couple of days or so, the bite mark Wilbur left had faded and everything returned much to how it was. Just with the additional worry for Techno that he had set a dangerous precedent now. If Wilbur needed to feed again in a few months, Techno would be the first to know. Even Tommy himself had casually sprinkled into conversation multiple times already that maybe he should forgo the blood bags and take Wilbur's advice about feeding straight from Techno's bloodstream. So far Techno's deadpan stare had been enough to make him drop the subject. He never intended for the blood bag title to become quite this literal.

But the fact that there was a tiny little voice in the back of his head asking Techno if it was really such a bad thing was stubbornly smothered and promptly disregarded. That was probably just his insomnia talking, thinking back on how soundly he had slept after the feeding. Maybe he should be investing in sleeping meds instead.

"Oh, you're heading out?"

Phil posed the question casually enough, phrasing it as a polite inquiry into Techno's daily business. When he was standing in the hallway flanked by two other vampires though, it came across as strangely ominous. They were even standing between Techno and the door.

"Yeah, I'm going to class," Techno said.

"Cool, we're headed the same way! We can walk to the bus stop together." Tubbo shrugged on a jacket. Almost literally so, wrestling with the sleeves as he went. It was a bit comical, honestly. Ranboo was standing next to him, slightly shuffling from foot to foot.

Techno hadn't noticed them come in, but they might have done so in the middle of the night while he was sleeping. Nocturnalism and all that.

"Bring an umbrella if you need to," Phil said. "It's going to rain in the evening."

Techno finished up tying his laces and straightened his back. "Ancient vampires watch the weather forecast?"

"They do when they have a garden to maintain." Phil smiled at him.

It was funny to consider how guarded Techno had felt around that smile when he first moved in. Sure, there were still plenty of moments where Phil's very presence triggered his brain into fight or flight mode, but overall things had become a lot more chill between them. A development Techno greatly enjoyed.

He watched as Phil reached out to put a hand on the back of Tubbo's neck and press their foreheads together for a few seconds. Then he did the same to Ranboo, aided by Ranboo bending over to ease the gesture. Phil said something softly enough that Techno didn't catch it, but Ranboo gave a small chuckle.

After first seeing Phil do it with Wilbur, Techno had managed to piece together it was a display of affection commonly found in vampires, usually between a sire and their coven. While it was most often a greeting - in fact, Techno had become quite used to seeing Phil do it with Tommy or Wilbur - it was also sometimes done when parting ways.

Techno cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward standing there and watching the fond display. "I'll be home before the rain comes anyway," he said when they were done. Opening the door, Techno motioned for the other two to go ahead. Phil kept it open while they stepped onto the gravel outside. "See you later, Phil."

"Yeah, stay safe," Phil said. It felt aimed at all three of them.

The walk to the bus stop was pretty short, just long enough for an appropriate amount of small talk without really making Techno too self-conscious about it. He hadn't exchanged more than a handful of words with Tubbo and Ranboo yet. They came by the house sometimes but were often holed up in Phil's office or hanging around with Tommy.

"So how are the uh, vampire lessons coming along?"

Jup, Techno was so good at holding conversations with unnatural creatures of darkness.

"I think it's going well," Tubbo said. "Phil doesn't look like he's actually wishing for death anymore. He's not as frowny as he used to be."

"Frowny?" Techno repeated.

"In his defense, we did blow up part of his library when we met." Ranboo shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand, hissing when the light fell in his face from between the leaves. They were both turned around the same time as Tommy, so not vulnerable to sunlight, yet still bothered by too much of it.

"That's a story I'd love to hear when I'm not about to step on a bus in less than five minutes," Techno said. In his mind, he had somewhat started to partition his life into two halves. Like there was a difference between his daily affairs of going to school and being around other humans, versus being at home surrounded by vampires. "Come to think of it, I don't think I know what you guys do with Phil at all."

"Talk, mostly. He likes to check up on things. And make sure we're not killing others or ourselves." Tubbo said it very offhandedly, giving the impression he didn't consider it a big deal.

Ranboo hummed in agreement, offering a few quick nods. "We also practice our Gifts. Or we will, once we know what they are."

Oh right, these two were probably around the age that would start to manifest. Techno knew about Phil's shadow crows, but he had never asked what Wilbur could do. Maybe he was just really good at walking around corners and into people. Techno almost chuckled to himself.

"Man, I'd take Phil over another sire any day though," Tubbo said.

"What do you mean?" Techno halted when they came to the bus stop and both vampires did as well. They had to walk further, though Techno had no clue where. They might live somewhere in the district near Niki's old clinic, that part of town was teeming with vampires. Techno never asked.

"It means being covenless fucking sucks," Tubbo said empathically. It also didn't clear anything up.

Ranboo - perhaps reading Techno's lack of understanding on his face - crossed his arms. He was wearing the mask as usual, but Techno noted both his eyes were green today. "Covens are pretty heavily checked on by each other. If you don't have a sire to vouch for you, that closes a lot of doors. If we didn't have Phil, we'd… well, it'd be bad."

Techno swallowed and nodded. Despite not being entirely sure what that entailed, he could use his imagination to make a fair picture. Techno used to be fascinated with vampires and read so many articles on them as a kid. Turned out that what humans knew about vampire society was really just a saccharine imitation of it boiled down to its simplest terms and coated in agreeable rhetoric. All to make the way their worlds mingled feel more safe, more comfortable. There was so much he had no clue about.

Curiosity was as much a vice as it was a virtue. And it killed cats, so Techno shouldn't pry. That didn't stop him from wanting to.

The bus honked when it came to a stop next to him, the driver's impatience barely giving Techno a chance to get on. He had just enough time to say a quick goodbye to Tubbo and Ranboo before the doors closed on him. From the window, Techno could see them wave until the bus rounded the corner.

Sometimes, he wondered how those two fed themselves if they weren't part of a coven.

Before that train of thought could take off too far, it was derailed by his phone chiming a tune in his pocket. Techno fished it out, expecting it to be either Tommy acting grumpy because Techno didn't see him this morning before leaving for school, or Wilbur doing his usual 'check-in vaguely disguised as a funny meme'. That guy was not half as subtle as he thought he was.

It was neither of those. It was an unknown number.

Techno did not need to be a genius to figure out who it was, since the message itself was another phone number and the simple command of 'call me'. There was a moment of sanity where Techno considered blocking and going on with his life in peace.

Then he'd have to die not knowing what his landlord wanted though, and that wouldn't do.

"Stalking is not only a crime, it's also extremely unpog," Techno told the annoyed grumble on the other end of the line. He'd had the luxury of not being cussed out by his landlord for two months. Getting to hear that grave voice throw insults at him was like slipping into an old, comfy pair of shoes.

Techno allowed the stream of expletives to continue for a few more seconds while watching the scenery glide past. Maybe he could get ingredients for pasta tonight. It was high time Phil's fancy kitchen actually saw some proper use beyond Techno making cup noodles or Wilbur drawing his blood at the dinner table.

"Is there a reason you needed me to call you or are you simply bored?" Techno asked eventually, when his landlord was inhaling between two words Techno was fairly sure most Christian mothers would faint at.

"You owe me rent."

Oh, now there was a tune Techno hadn't missed in the slightest.

"Bruh, I don't live in your apartments anymore," he groaned, sliding back in the seat. Dark clouds were building on the horizon, maybe a perfect metaphor for Techno's mood shifting the longer this conversation dragged on.

"Breaking the lease means you owe me back rent and an additional deposit. I want to see it paid by the end of this week and we can both move on with our lives," his landlord said calmly. Too calmly. He must have something up his sleeve.

That's why Techno's voice was more cautious when he answered. "You've known this for weeks and you're contacting me about this now. Why?"

"I was clearing out your apartment, getting it ready to rent out to somebody else. It took a while, you left quite the mess. Though I suppose that's to be expected of your kind." The fact that Techno could perfectly picture the grin represented in that tone was more obnoxious than anything else. "But it's whatever. Found some stuff you might want back though. You can pick it up tonight, but I want you to bring my money."

"What kind of stuff?"

"I'll send you a picture. I can trash it if you don't want it, so make up your mind quickly." Then the line went dead.

Techno breathed out through his nose, allowing the vague annoyance he felt at his landlord's gloating attitude to pass through him. He opened the message his landlord sent him after hanging up on him. It looked like nothing at first, a random heap of paper.

A familiar heap of paper, though.

How often does a person need their birth certificate or high school diploma? Probably not too often, but not having them was a bad thing. Techno might be able to request new copies, but that would take time and effort. Plus, that meant leaving these in his landlord's possession. Could that man be trusted to actually throw them away? He seemed like the sort of person to sell them and then Techno would end up being part of some weird stolen identity plot.

He technically had the money to give too, Phil paid him generously enough.

Screw it, one more loose end, and then they could both move on with their lives.

'When and where?' Techno texted. His landlord kept him hanging for a whole ten minutes and he was already getting off the bus when he got a response.

'3 pm, in front of the building. Don't be late.'

That timeframe should work, his last class of today ended before that. He could get his ingredients and some cash, make the exchange, and still be home in time to play video games with Tommy before dinner. Then Techno could leave all of this behind him for good.

'Fine.'

---

Class was as tedious as ever. Techno got his Frankenstein essay back with perfect marks. His professor for Victorian Western Civilizations made a comment about his grasp of the course matter, Techno very much did not mention that having a first-hand account to fact-check his sources made a big difference. Overall, it was a good day.

He went to the store, he withdrew the exact amount of cash he needed to get rid of his landlord forever, and then he went to his old apartment building.

There was something almost nostalgic in walking across those cracked pavements again. Techno never knew you could miss a place you hated, maybe miss wasn't exactly the right word. Niki's concern ghosted through his mind. She was opening her bakery soon. They hadn't spoken much because it kept her busy but as soon as the grand opening was scheduled Techno would be one of the first to know. It was odd, how things could change so drastically and so quickly.

And Techno was happy. Maybe that was the most startling realization of all.

Not that he had been consciously unhappy before, but still.

What did make Techno unhappy was waiting for his landlord to show up. Techno leaned against the railing of the apartment building, deciding not to take a seat on the dirty stone steps. Their discussed time came and went, there was nobody to be seen. Techno could have expected as much. No way this man was going to make it easy on him.

He tapped the bottom of his phone, responding with a single emote to Wilbur's latest meme. The screen flickered to warn him the battery was close to dead.

Crap, he forgot to charge it during the night.

Hopefully, he wouldn't have to wait much longer. Techno looked down both sides of the street, but there was no sign of his landlord yet. Deciding to take the L, Techno sat down on one of the steps anyway. Worst come to worst, he'd need to trash these pants when he got back.

Half an hour passed like that. Then an hour. Techno scrolled social media until his phone died and then he got one of his textbooks from his backpack and read that. His delve into the French Revolution was rudely interrupted by a splash of water darkening the page. Techno turned his chin up, right in time for the next one to hit him in the eyeball.

Phil did warn him he should have taken an umbrella.

Putting the book away because he didn't want the rain to ruin it, Techno hunched his shoulders and continued waiting. He didn't bring his hoodie today, of course he didn't. Shame on him for contemplating a shred of happiness, now the universe had to rip what little fortune he had away from him to make a point. What had started as a light drizzle quickly grew into a downpour of torrential proportions. The street was still deserted.

Techno continued to wait.

After about an hour, he was soaked worse than a ShamWow in those terrible commercials. He squeezed his braid like a rag and threw it over his shoulder, where it proceeded to immediately cling to the back of his neck unpleasantly. His bangs kept getting in his eyes too, and Techno kept switching between trying to flick them away and rubbing a thumb over the face of his watch to see how much time had passed. Another hour and he was slightly shivering, the relentless rain not only leaving him soaked but also very, very cold with the setting of the sun. The late autumn breeze cut through him easily, making Techno for a moment feel as close to pathetic as he'd ever describe himself. His landlord was nowhere in sight.

People always told Techno his stubbornness was his least redeeming quality.

Another twenty minutes had passed before the guy finally showed up, strolling along without a care in the world. His big, navy umbrella had to be held sideways to protect him from the wind. Techno had never wanted to slap a smirk off somebody's face more.

Instead, with an amount of self-control mostly mirrored in certain heroes of Greek myth, Techno held the envelope out to him. "Your rent."

Pale fingers came to swipe it from him, but Techno drew back before he could.

"Did you bring my stuff?" he asked. He was not going to leave empty-handed.

"Course," his landlord said. He pulled out a wad of folded-up papers that totally didn't look undamaged. Techno didn't really care though. Shoving them into his backpack, he finally handed the money over.

When grasping the envelope, his landlord did not let go immediately. He was looking down at Techno's fingers, the places where Tommy had nipped him recently. The marks were a bit too teeth-shaped to be attributed to an animal.

"You moved in with the likes of that, hm?" Somehow, the disgust in his landlord's voice made Techno much angrier than him being left to wait for hours in the rain did. This guy had no right to talk about any of them like that.

"I was already living with a proverbial monster, I thought I might as well move in with the literal ones," he said. "They're much more pleasant to be around."

His landlord spat on the sidewalk but Techno walked away before some dimwitted retort could be formed. Exchange completed, he'd never have to see the guy again.

And at least the home he was returning to now had proper heating.

---

Techno almost opened the door into Wilbur's face - literally.

Apparently, the vampire heard Techno turn his key in the lock, and that had prompted him to rush downstairs, not paying any mind that Techno almost broke his nose with Phil's heavy oak wood excuse for an entrance.

"Where the hell have you been?" Wilbur asked, somewhere on the edge of worry. Techno wanted to tease him for it, but that was kind of hard when he was standing there dripping puddles onto the floor.

"Out," he said.

"Yeah, no shit."

Techno walked to the kitchen. Wilbur disappeared for a blink - also in the literal sense, considering the vampiric super speed - and came back with a fluffy towel from the downstairs bathroom. He threw it at Techno's face, while Techno recounted in short what had got him engaged for so long.

It was already way past dinnertime so Techno decided it would be another night of cup noodles. He flicked the kettle on that Phil used for tea.

"I hope those papers were worth the pneumonia you're going to get from standing in the rain for several hours," Wilbur said when Techno was done explaining what happened. What might have been a joke came out surprisingly strained, especially for Wilbur's usual.

"They're kinda irreplaceable," Techno said. "Or, well, I could get them replaced but it would be a hassle. This isn't even my hometown. It was a chore getting them sorted when my parents died too."

Wilbur's eyes widened, probably because this was the first time Techno had brought up his family. "Somebody else couldn't have helped you?"

"It's not like I have any friends back there. No living relatives aside from my uncle, who I haven't seen in over four years." Techno admited. He didn't really want to talk about this.

To his relief, Wilbur changed the subject. "And you couldn't wait around inside the building?"

"I don't have a key anymore."

"Somebody could have buzzed you in," Wilbur said with a slight gesture. He must enjoy trying to find some loophole in Techno's logic that he hadn't thought of himself.

"Don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly the most social guy around. I never met any of my old neighbors." Techno tore the plastic lid off his food. "Besides, most of the residents don't like it when people are buzzed in anyway because the apartment locks are busted."

"Your apartment didn't lock?" Wilbur asked, impossibly even more high-pitched.

"Most people would just make their visitors wait on the front step. Or they'd slip inside when another resident opened the door." Techno finished pouring his water and turned around, only to find Wilbur staring at him in absolute horror.

"Wait, are you telling me that you have no family or close friends, nobody that would miss you if you were to disappear, and you used to live in an apartment with a shitty landlord, zero security, and defective locks."

When summed up like that, it did sound pretty shady. Techno shrugged. "Pretty much."

"How are you not murdered yet?" Wilbur asked. "You're the dream victim of every serial killer ever."

"Bold of you to assume I'd allow myself to be murdered."

Wilbur gave a desperate but sincere chuckle. "You literally sell your blood to one of humanity's natural predators. You're not winning any points on self-preservation, Techno."

"Hey, talk to my brand new laptop that I bought with my literal blood money," Techno said. He turned around to finish preparing his noodles.

There was a moment of silence, during which Techno couldn't see Wilbur's face so he wouldn't know what expression passed over it.

"Please change into something dry before you get sick," Wilbur said eventually.

Techno waved him away, ironically his gesture sprayed water all over the kitchen floor from his wet sleeve. "I won't get sick."

Wilbur gave him that impassive expression of vague amused disagreement Techno had seen on Phil before. There was no biological relation, obviously. But Techno couldn't help finding it telling, like centuries spent together had made them rub off on each other somehow.

Still, that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was that Techno had a crazy good immune system that he was willing to bet on.

"Seriously, I won't get sick."

---

Two days later, Techno got sick.

It had started with a few sniffles and a sneeze here and there. He had a headache he could easily chalk up to sleep deprivation. And his appetite had reached a new low. He tried to deny it was the blossoming of sickness until he puked up his meager breakfast into the toilet.

Techno did his best to hide it from the others, especially Wilbur. He was not in the mood to get an 'I told you so' speech. With Tommy not being as horribly clingy as before, he hoped to get away with it. So far, the worst that had happened was Tommy asking him if he got hit by a bus on the way back from school and Techno rolling his eyes in response.

On the third night after his landlord had made him wait hours in the rain, Techno got a fever.

This went combined with another bout of nausea worse than before. Techno woke up to his stomach cramping around nothing and barely made it to the bathroom in time to gag up some fluid into the sink. He hadn't eaten anything all day so there was nothing for him to expel aside from stomach acid. That didn't make it any more pleasant.

Staring into the mirror, he couldn't deny Tommy had a point. He did look like more of a corpse than the literal vampires in this house did.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Techno started to stumble back to his room. He only got so far as halfway before a noise had him jump. Sickness made his body faster than his brain, so before Techno consciously realized what he was doing, he had grabbed a candlestick from one of the side tables against the wall to defend himself with.

And he almost threw it at the shape moving in the darkness purely out of instinct.

At least until that shape moved and he was able to discern Phil's slightly sheepish expression. Techno blinked, vaguely wondering why he felt like he couldn't really move.

Phil walked slowly, not wanting to startle him more. "Uh, mate, I don't know what you think that's going to accomplish but maybe put the candlestick down."

"Yeah, sorry," Techno said. He felt incredibly stupid as he put the candlestick back where it belonged. "Did anybody ever tell you not to creep up on people if you're a vampire sire?"

"Plenty." Phil took another step toward him, judging that the threat was over with. Techno wasn't sure it ever really started. "You're sick."

It was not a question, Techno couldn't bank on denial.

"Maybe," he said. "I think I'm just going to go back to bed and sleep this off."

"Nonsense," Phil said quickly. "You need to have medicine, soup, all that stuff."

Through the prickling of his brow from the fever, Techno managed to frown at him. "How long has it been since you dealt with a sick human?"

"A while." Phil did not let that deter him, getting close enough to kind of loop his arm around Techno's shoulder. He could move again, though it was more akin to him being led away. Phil was practically bearing his entire weight as he guided Techno down the stairs and into the living room.

"Do you even know how to take care of a sick human? Do vampires get sick?"

"Yes and no. Not with human illnesses anyway." Phil laughed. "Don't worry about that, between the three of us I'm sure we can figure it out. We were all humans once too, remember?"

"Three?"

Carefully, Phil pushed Techno down onto the couch. "Wait here."

Techno didn't mention that he hadn't much of a choice. His entire body had pretty much melted into the cushions already. There was an odd tightness in his chest, either the beginnings of pneumonia or Phil's strange behavior.

But added to the pounding of his head, Techno wasn't going to try and figure it out.

"You're sick?!" That volume could only be Tommy. "Why the fuck didn't you tell us?! Bitch!"

"I'm not sick," Techno said. It probably would have been a bit more convincing if he didn't break out in a coughing fit right after.

"Wilbur is getting some medicine, he'll be back shortly." Phil had picked up a blanket and draped it over Techno's shoulders, then Tommy's too when the fledgling resumed the cuddling routine from before. Techno only recently got rid of that clinginess, what the heck?

"It's the middle of the night," he said offhandedly.

"We know a place," Phil said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you have a fever?" Tommy asked. He tried to press his hand against Techno's forehead, making the human flinch away from the ice-cold touch. Phil grabbed Tommy's wrist to stop him.

"Probably, so don't make it worse."

"It's probably just a cold," Techno said quickly.

Even when he was a child, he couldn't remember ever being fussed over to this extent when he felt sick. Having it happen as an adult was that much more embarrassing.

Though the way Tommy had resorted to pulling his long hair away from his face was kind of nice.

"You didn't have to bother everybody with this," Techno said, doing his best to shoot a heated glare in Phil's direction. It probably came across as slightly petulant.

"We all take care of sick or injured coven members together," Phil said. "It's expected."

The door opened and Wilbur rushed inside, perfect timing to interrupt whatever Techno could have dug up from that statement. Wilbur upended half a pharmacy's worth of medication onto the coffee table.

"I'm not entirely sure what we need so I brought a bunch of stuff," he said. Then, not entirely angry but close to it, Wilbur huffed. "I told you so, by the way."

Ah, exactly the thing Techno had wanted to avoid.

"I know," he said.

"Told him what?" Tommy asked curiously. Techno sat forward so he could shift through Wilbur's raid and find an Advil. He put his full concentration on taking it without choking on the glass of water Phil brought him while Wilbur recounted Techno's trouble with the landlord.

There went whatever remained of his dignity.

Satisfied that Techno had taken some sort of medicine that would help, Wilbur fell down on the other side of the couch from Tommy. This way, Techno was squeezed between them both. The blanket was somehow arranged to cover them all.

"Are you going back to sleep?" Wilbur asked.

"I doubt I can." The meds wouldn't kick in for a while yet. Techno was exhausted, but also extremely physically uncomfortable.

"We can watch something on the TV." Tommy was already reaching for the remote. "I'll keep the audio down low. Promise."

Techno nodded. "Sure."

"I'm going to run a quick errand," Phil said. He had pulled a scarf and a pair of dark gloves out of nowhere, or maybe Techno's tired blinking had missed him stepping out into the hallway.

"In the middle of the night?" he asked.

"It's important." Phil exchanged a glance with Wilbur that Techno didn't quite catch either. "Don't worry, Wilbur and Tommy will be here."

Techno wanted to tell Phil that was not what he was worried about, but honestly he was too dazed to get his brain to construct that sentence. So he leaned into Wilbur's side more and watched the colors shift on the screen, making his vertigo worse.

Yeah, he was sick. No denying it now.

At least after a little, Techno was able to nod off into a doze that got close enough to sleep for him not to feel as crap anymore. The soft noise of the documentary lulled him away, as did Tommy and Wilbur talking to each other in hushed whispers over his head. Tommy was at this point almost completely curled against Techno's side. And Wilbur had an arm around Techno's shoulder so he could pull him closer, prompting the human to use his shoulder as a pillow.

Techno made a mental note to make fun of Wilbur for daring to call Tommy the clingy one later.

He didn't know how much time passed like that, content to be in the sick-fueled daze. The painkillers meant he wasn't in anguish, only vaguely queasy. He stayed awake long enough to catch Phil coming home.

With the lights turned off, it was hard to make him out clearly as the sire stepped across the room. He confided something into Wilbur's ear first, causing a soft chuckle from the other vampire. While he did so, he pressed their foreheads together in greeting.

He did the same for Tommy. Techno noticed the few wet splatches on Phil's clothes. It must still be raining. Who should have thought about bringing an umbrella now?

Then, tenderly, slowly to avoid startling him, a gloved hand was curled around the back of his neck. Phil's forehead pressed against his for a few seconds. Techno closed his eyes and then it was gone already.

He fell asleep not much later.

Even if somebody had put a gun to his head, Techno would not have admitted that having people around to look after him while he was sick was actually really nice.

As usual, the denial was mostly his own stubbornness that wouldn't allow him to think differently. Techno didn't remember much of his parents, so who was he to say they never doted on him as a kid when he fell ill - if he ever fell ill. Techno couldn't recall that happening often. And his uncle was certainly not the type. Sometimes Techno wondered why that man had even taken him in. Sure, some people valued family above everything but not everybody was made for raising children. There was nothing wrong with not wanting that responsibility, nor feeling equipped to handle a child's emotional needs.

Techno probably would have been happier growing up in foster care, honestly. No matter how often his uncle had lamented in his drunken moments that Techno should be more grateful because the old man had saved him that terrible fate of being raised by a bunch of strangers.

In the end, Techno had been raised by himself instead.

And that meant being sick - while a rare occurrence - would see him curled up on the couch feeling miserable and groggy all alone. If he was lucky, his uncle had some medicine lying around he could take. If not, Techno would have to tough it out.

He never had anybody bring him soup or glasses of water or ask him if he needed a different pillow. Sure, Wilbur's soup-making skills were about as abysmal as his taste in fashion, but it was the thought that counted. The only downside of this entire thing was that Techno had finally hoped they were past Tommy's clingy phase, at least until Wilbur next needed to feed. His being sick almost seemed like it was giving the poor fledgling a harder time than it was Techno. And Wilbur had very much joined in too.

Techno was fed up with their hovering.

He hadn't slept in his bed for days. Not that Wilbur hadn't offered to help him upstairs. Techno refused each time.

"Why?" Wilbur said once. "It's not like I haven't carried you up the stairs to tuck you in before."

Phil chuckled and Tommy's loud "What? You did what?!" from next to him made Techno bury his face in his hands, consumed by pure embarrassment. Did Wilbur really have to kick him while he was down?

"Everything is easier to reach down here," he said. It wasn't a complete lie. He mainly meant the bathroom though, they pretty much brought him whatever he asked for otherwise - food, drinks, his laptop, a stuffed animal from Tommy's collection. Well, maybe Techno didn't ask for that last one, it just appeared on the couch at some point while he was taking a nap. It was pretty soft though. And in his fever-induced haze, he might have cuddled up with it once or twice.

But the truth was that Techno didn't want to go upstairs because he was sure they would follow him into his damn room and then there'd be nothing left of his privacy.

Tommy had been sleeping on the couch too, often barely pretending to give Techno any personal space by keeping to his own half of the cushions. When they fell asleep, Tommy ended up draped over his lap anyway. Wilbur and Phil didn't sleep - or Techno didn't think they did - but he could swear he hadn't seen either of them leave the house in days. They barely left the living room. If Techno so much as grunted in discomfort, one of them appeared out of thin air with a painkiller like some kind of weird, concerned jumpscare. No matter how often Techno told them not to worry, it wouldn't stick.

It was worse when he was really sick for a bit, right at the start. They'd called in Niki to check on him. She said he would be fine, that his cold had progressed into pneumonia like Wilbur predicted but some antibiotics would fix him right up. Phil got him the meds, without a prescription Techno couldn't help but notice. Since it was Niki-approved though, he decided not to worry about it. The fever and the headache discouraged much thinking from his end. Niki drew his blood just to be safe.

After that the coughing started and things were patchy for a bit. Techno didn't remember a whole lot since he was sleeping most of the time, except Tommy and Wilbur being around him constantly and Wilbur especially seeming very nervous and agitated. He kept rearranging the blankets and asking Techno how he was feeling every five minutes. It was kind of strange.

But again, in a nice way? Nice-ish?

Man, would it be pathetic if Techno confessed to himself that maybe he just didn't know what it felt like to have people care for him?

Almost a week had passed since his fever had broken. Now the fussing over him was starting to head straight into annoying territory again. Techno felt bad that he was getting overwhelmed by what were meant to be acts of kindness. He really did. Maybe they just felt like too much because he'd never had people like this in his life before?

(Yeah, definitely pathetic. He vowed to never speak those words out loud.)

Whichever the case, Techno was vaguely relieved when on one lazy Sunday morning when he was feeling pretty good compared to the past week, Phil told Wilbur to leave.

Earlier, the sire had already carried a sleeping Tommy up to the nest. Techno had made a mental note that he needed to rub that in Tommy's face later, to settle the score and all. How dare Tommy of all people make fun of him for being carried around when Techno had witnessed Tommy purr and burrow into Phil's chest subconsciously.

"But-" Wilbur's protest came immediately. Phil didn't let it go far.

"You've been postponing long enough, Wilbur. I gave you a job to do." There was an unusual sternness to Phil's tone. Techno didn't know if he should laugh at that. Since Wilbur was wringing his hands and pushing back his shoulders, it might not go over well.

Also, his cough wasn't entirely gone so speaking wasn't a good idea. As if to prove that point, Techno smothered some hacks into his fist. It made Wilbur turn towards him lightning fast. "Techno?"

"I'm fine," Techno croaked out for the millionth time. He took a sip from his glass of water, easing the ache.

"I'm not asking again," Phil said.

Wilbur opened his mouth, then closed it. Techno had been too busy to notice because he was trying to push upright without his vertigo making him topple over, but it wouldn't surprise him if Phil had silenced him with a single glance. "Yeah… Yeah, I won't be gone long."

"We know." Phil stepped forward to push their foreheads together. Techno felt his stomach twist weirdly, not in the bad nauseous way he'd gotten used to. He smiled at Wilbur.

"Working on a Sunday? Cringe."

"Weren't you complaining about how much homework you'll have to catch up with soon?" Wilbur asked with a shake of his head. He picked up his scarf that had somehow also found its way onto the couch. Come to think of it, between the pillows, blankets, and other soft things, it was starting to look like a nest in itself. Maybe that was why Tommy liked sleeping there so much.

"Eh, complaining is my right as a dual major," Techno said. "You're a government shill, I'm legally allowed to make fun of you."

Phil snickered lightly as he left the room to grab something. Wilbur did that weird thing with his face that was partly a frown and partly a grin. It was such a distinctly Wilburian expression. "Who said I was a government shill?"

"You work for the vampire government. Everybody who works for the government is a shill. Connect the dots, Wilbur. Don't worry, I still like you fine."

Wilbur laughed. "You're such a prick, you know?" There was fondness there. There was something expressed in the same sentiment as those glasses of water or the corners of his blankets being folded down so Techno wouldn't shiver as badly while the fever wrecked him.

And then Wilbur didn't move.

He stood there next to the couch looking down at Techno, very much giving the impression he wanted to do something.

Techno blinked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Wilbur said quickly. He turned to Phil as the sire walked back into the room. "Same pickup place as last time?"

"Jup. They know you're coming."

Techno bit his tongue watching Wilbur go, feeling like he should speak but having trouble getting there with his pounding headache. Phil put a box full of books down on the ground.

"Do you want to help me get through these?"

"What are they?" Techno asked, picking up the nearest book. The cover was textured and slightly dusty. Techno's ancient literature professor would probably throttle him for touching it without gloves.

"Just some old shit I still had lying around," Phil said. "They never got a proper place in my collection so now I want to sort them by date and see which ones are worth keeping. And I thought you'd like to help because then you can tell me if you'd like to borrow any."

"Sure." Techno shuffled into a proper upright position so he could get a better look. Phil smiled, sitting down on the armchair that stood next to the couch. This way Techno was allowed his space while they could still enjoy the activity together.

It was considerate. Techno appreciated Phil's attentiveness to the small things.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, wordlessly falling into a rhythm of leaving the books out by publishing date. Techno was pretty happy he'd come to a point with Phil where he would consider him as easy to be around as Wilbur and Tommy, even if they weren't as close. Phil had better things to do than hang out with Techno, but it was good that they were friends. It was great that Techno didn't feel hunted down like a wild animal any time Phil was near.

And he was more than ever aware that this was Phil's home he had been welcomed into, despite it being Wilbur who invited him.

"Thanks for that," Techno said suddenly. Then regretted it instantly because why the heck did he do that? Phil looked at him, the wrinkles around his eyes pleasant as always. "Uh, for sending Wilbur away for a bit. It was getting pretty stifling."

"Well, we do really need that blood pickup," Phil said. "Tommy shouldn't go this long without feeding." Techno cringed. He could recognize that tiny flame of unease in his chest as the feeling of guilt because he knew the past week had not been easy in terms of the feeding situation and that was Techno's fault. Once again Tommy needed to resort to random human blood brought in from a clinic. Because Techno had gotten himself sick through his own stubbornness. So he couldn't be drained for a while.

Tommy was essentially starving, because of him.

Perhaps picking up on his mood slipping, Phil laughed, moving on from the subject. "Besides, you looked like you needed it. Obviously they mean well but I know you value your alone time, mate." Phil opened one of the books, leafing through it. "Which also means that if you'd like me to fuck off for a bit you can say so."

Techno shook his head. "Nah, I don't mind. You're not as clingy as them." Phil flashed him a teasing grin that Techno was going to ignore. "And it was worth it to see you go all dad mode on Wilbur."

"Ah, old habits I guess. He doesn't do well with illness. Gets all up in his own head about it." Phil stopped at a certain page, finger tracing along the paper. "You should try saying the dad thing around Wilbur though. He'll throw a fit. He used to make a very big deal about how he was already an adult when we met."

Techno glanced at Phil, trying his hardest to not look too interested. "When was that exactly?"

Techno wanted to capitalize on this opportunity to gain some new knowledge. He didn't often have a chance to talk with Phil about this stuff while bringing it up naturally, and Phil enjoyed being a cryptic asshole way too much if Techno wasn't direct - which he found extremely hard to do. He couldn't ask Wilbur because that guy got all high and mighty when Techno fished for information, adding in little comments about how it was adorable that Techno cared so much about them. And ever since finding out about Tommy's sire, Techno hadn't felt too good about prying into his past either. He didn't want to unearth something painful.

He needed to know when Wilbur was born. Techno felt like that would explain a lot about that man's wardrobe.

"Oh, way back. 1783. The only reason I remember is because it was the same year the American Revolution ended." Phil did not bat an eye at this. Of course he didn't, he was an immortal vampire.

Techno needed a moment to process that one of his closest friends was born before the invention of the guillotine. He was having a minor crisis about that.

He'd suspected Wilbur was old but maybe not that old.

Wait, how old was Phil then?

He probably shouldn't ask that. Phil might make fun of him. "And Wilbur was already an adult?" Techno said instead. He put aside an encyclopedia on different kinds of military stratagems. That could be a great bedtime read later.

"He'd celebrated his twenty-seventh birthday a week before we met," Phil confirmed. "In a gambling parlor of all places. Things were pretty different back then."

"What do you mean?"

"Gambling was a lucrative career choice," Phil said with a smirk.

"It can still be if you're good at it," Techno pointed out. "I've considered it before. Probably will again when finals come around."

Phil chuckled. He hadn't looked away in all that time they were talking, stare getting a bit more intense. Then he cleared his throat - an action that had to be mostly performative for a vampire, Techno thought.

"I know you're curious about how we became the things we are, Techno." The sire leaned forward. It might not be meant to come across as intimidating, yet Techno found himself pushing back into the couch cushions to save a few inches between them. "And if you truly want to know, all you gotta do is ask. At least for my part, I will gladly tell you. But their stories aren't mine to tell."

Techno should take back his earlier words. He hated how observant Phil was.

"I'm not trying to-" Techno cut himself off. "I mean, can you blame me for being curious?" He added an awkward laugh at the end, hoping it would chase away the tension in his chest. Did he overstep?

"I can't," Phil said immediately. "Please don't misunderstand, Techno. I'm not bringing this up because I mind. I'm bringing it up because your interest is a good thing and I'd like to encourage it."

"A good thing?" Techno echoed.

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly subtle in showing that this entire live-in blood bag thing wasn't my idea. Honestly, I had no fucking clue if having a human in the coven would work out or not. Your interest tells me you're invested and willing to adapt to our ways. Wilbur was right, you've been doing great."

It was such an off-hand compliment - if it could even be considered a compliment at all. Techno shouldn't be affected by it.

Maybe his chest felt so warm because of the lingering pneumonia?

"I'm glad you've joined us," Phil added. His sincerity kind of left Techno speechless. Then Phil laughed again. "Also, the way you think you're subtle when you're fishing for answers is pretty cute."

"Bruh," Techno sighed and hung his head. "I thought we were having a moment and you're going to make fun of me?"

"You kind of looked like you were about to puke so I thought changing the subject might help," Phil said.

"I've changed my mind, I would prefer to be alone, actually."

It was a joke with no heat behind it. Phil's laughter was payment enough.

When they were done, Phil packed the books up again in their sorted state, thanking Techno for the help. He also left the ones Techno wanted to borrow in a little heap on the coffee table. It wasn't until almost half an hour later, when Techno was close to dozing off again, that he noticed there was another lying open behind the stack.

It was the one Phil had been leafing through earlier.

Techno picked it up, aware that it couldn't be a coincidence. The book was an old medical textbook, the spine told Techno it was printed around the same year Phil met Wilbur. The page it was left open on had slightly faded with time, the ink seeping into the yellowed paper. Techno could read the title though.

The white plague.

A pencil had been used to circle certain words, mainly the symptoms and prognoses. Phil's handwriting was discernible enough for Techno to recognize by now. The scribbles got more desperate in some areas, frantic almost. Like he had been trying to figure something out and was failing.

Wilbur's name was written on the page several times along Phil's observations about the terminal nature of tuberculosis.

When he heard the door open, Techno closed the book quickly and hid it beneath the pile of the other borrowed works. Despite him not technically doing something wrong, he felt uncomfortably like he was sneaking around.

Thankfully an in-depth look into the history of castle sieges would provide a worthy distraction.

---

"We should go out once you feel all better."

Techno raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "Go out where?"

"I don't know." Tommy put his head on the table, resting his chin on his crossed arms. "Anywhere? I'm bored sitting around."

"Nobody is forcing you to sit around."

Tommy scowled. "Man, I thought you'd understand since you've been stuck inside now too."

Techno didn't want to push the matter, especially not since he knew Tommy mostly stuck around because of friendly coven vampire worry or whatever. But also he wanted it on the record that Tommy made his bed and he could lie in it.

"What kind of places did you used to go to?" Techno asked. "Like, before you were turned."

"Hm?" Tommy pressed his cheek into his hand. He looked… tired. Very tired. And sick. Sicker than Techno felt, for sure. Techno hadn't realized before how much worse the bagged blood was for Tommy. How much having a fresh supply to feed on made a difference for his health.

That small flicker of guilt was quickly growing into a forest fire.

"When you were still human, was there anywhere in particular you liked to go?" At Tommy's vaguely confused expression, Techno scowled slightly. "Come on, I'm trying here."

"Yeah, I'm thinking!" Tommy left it there for a moment. "When I wasn't in school I'd hang out at the arcade, I guess."

"Is there an arcade anywhere around here?" Techno asked.

Tommy shrugged.

"You're being very helpful, Tommy."

Tommy gave him a little laugh but didn't answer before the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," he said as he hopped up from his chair and rushed over. As if Techno was going to keel over by standing up.

If anything it was the other way around.

Techno wasn't surprised to see it was Niki at the door, once again coming by to check up on him. Despite how busy she was with kickstarting her bakery, she always made time to see Techno. He should get her a gift or something. As usual, she got right down to business. She was diligent like that and preferred to keep the small talk until she was done.

"Your lungs sound clear," she said while folding up the stethoscope again. "And since you haven't had a fever in three days, I think we're safe to say you're cured."

"That's good," Techno said. "How long before I can start giving blood again?"

"I don't see any reason you can't pick it right back up." Niki faltered, suddenly giving her entire attention to the zipper on her bag. "However, your blood work was… a little concerning."

"Concerning how?" Tommy asked before Techno could. He hadn't sat back down again.

"The frequency of the blood draws might be affecting your immune system somewhat."

Ah, well… that was pretty ironic.

"It should be fine if we keep a close eye on it, and maybe adjust your supplements. I can ask Phil too-"

"I'll tell Phil," Techno said. "Don't worry, he's not home so it'd be stupid for you to wait around for him. I can tell him." He felt bad for interrupting her so abruptly. If Niki noticed, she decided not to mention it.

"Okay." Niki finished putting away her supplies. "You know that if there's anything else you need, you can always let me know."

"Actually," Techno started, glancing at Tommy. Tommy was kind of squinting suspiciously at him so hopefully, this would kill two birds with one stone. "Do you happen to know if there are any arcades around?"

---

Techno should have known his day would go badly because he had woken up feeling glad that things had more or less returned to normal.

He wasn't sick anymore. Wilbur and Tommy had stopped their hovering and Techno hadn't been nipped in vampire food aggression incidents since before he spent all afternoon standing around in the rain. He'd been doing reasonably well catching up on his homework, he was going to class again. No more awkward Phil encounters, so that was a win.

He was planning to take Tommy to the arcade as a surprise next Saturday.

Since the only lecture Techno had to attend today was scheduled for later in the morning, Techno had taken the time to sleep in and then make himself breakfast. He watched Phil do his thing in the garden from where he was sitting at the kitchen table. He could hear the familiar cadence of Tommy's documentary of choice playing through the open door. Wilbur had been sent on an errand for Phil's job since yesterday evening.

Things felt mundane in a way Techno really appreciated.

He walked out the door while looking at his phone, typing a shopping list for later. Maybe he could get Tommy those chocolate bars he adored so much.

When Techno finally pried his eyes up, he saw somebody on the other end of the driveway, stumbling slowly in his direction, struggling to move.

"Wilbur?"

Wilbur's entire chest was covered in blood.

It took Techno a moment too long to notice, maybe because the stains seemed so much darker than they should be. A vampire's blood, closer to black than red, seeping out of an undead body. Wilbur's blood.

"Wilbur?!" Techno dropped his phone onto the gravel, rushing toward Wilbur to meet him halfway. As soon as his arms came up to support the other man, Wilbur pretty much collapsed into his hold.

He was cold.

Not cold like all vampires were, the room temperature skin of a person that could not produce any body heat. Wilbur felt abnormally cold. His eyes were glazed over, unseeing.

Somehow, the fact that Wilbur didn't breathe had never felt concerning before. Until it did.

"Phil!" Relying on adrenaline and some reserves of stamina he had once bragged to Tommy about, Techno started to drag Wilbur back to the house. It was only twenty feet at most but it felt like an eternity of having Wilbur all pliant and noiseless against him. Unresponsive.

Techno wished they would hear him. Oh god, he was not at all equipped to handle something like this.

He threw the door open with his shoulder, secretly glad he'd forgotten to lock it on his way out. "Phil!" Techno didn't have time to get embarrassed by how high-pitched he sounded, desperate panic smothering his throat.

"What the fuck are you-" Tommy had heard him first, walking into the hallway before he saw and froze. "WILBUR?"

He moved so fast Techno didn't properly notice until Tommy's hands were all over his brother, trying to see where the wounds were maybe. Techno shook his head.

"Tommy, get Phil!" he urged.

Tommy hissed at him, trying to push Techno away so he could cradle Wilbur against himself. Techno felt bad but they didn't have time for this. Maybe pissing off a protective vampire was a stupid thing to do, but it beat having Wilbur die in their arms.

"Tommy!" He said again, louder. "Get Phil, now! Please!"

The fledgling ignored him but in the end that didn't matter. Distress was easy enough for a sire to pick up on, Techno forgot about the bond but was reminded of it when he heard Phil rush inside, alarmed by Tommy's fear and anger spiking.

"Phil!" he yelled again.

Techno couldn't imagine what Phil felt at the scene he walked into. Techno bending through his knees with the effort of keeping an unconscious Wilbur upright, Tommy in a state and a half, blood all over his expensive marble floors. Knowing what he did about vampires, Techno wouldn't have been too surprised if Phil completely lost it.

But the sire remained scarily calm.

"What happened?" he asked, a voice so quiet Techno felt like it was closer to a whisper.

"He was out on the driveway like this," he answered. Phil had come to take Wilbur out of his arms, lifting him easier than a bag of air. The lanky limbs were cumbersome, but Phil's strength was certainly not an issue as he promptly started to carry Wilbur up the stairs. Tommy didn't stray from his side and Techno followed automatically.

"Fuck," Phil muttered under his breath. "Fuck, those fuckers." He was talking to himself.

When they got to the nest, Phil shoved the pillows aside so he could put Wilbur down, pulling open his shirt properly where Tommy's clumsy fingers had only been able to tug on it desperately. What was revealed beneath was so much worse than what Techno could have predicted.

Wilbur's chest had practically been torn open.

His breakfast almost made its way back up Techno's esophagus. Maybe it was only months of having a weird hyperfixation on medieval medicine in middle school that kept him from puking. The smell hit Techno in a delay, strangely close to rotting meat. The scent of old, dried blood. Yet somehow more was leaking out. How could somebody without a heartbeat be bleeding?

"Fuck," Phil said again. Tommy was just staring at this point, his chest making some kind of movement Techno would relate to sobbing if it wasn't for the fact he knew vampires couldn't inhale.

A human didn't do this. Techno knew that should not be his prime concern here, not when Wilbur was possibly dying. But that didn't keep the thought from slipping into his mind and settling there.

A human didn't do this.

"How do we fix him?" Tommy asked. "Phil, how do we-"

"He needs to feed," Phil said. "It's not-" He touched Wilbur's chest gingerly, making the younger vampire jolt at even the gentlest touch and let out a pained noise in the back of his throat. Tommy rumbled with a matching sound of sympathy, seeming unaware he was doing it. "It's not fatal, he needs to feed so he can regenerate."

Techno was rolling up his sleeve before Phil had finished that sentence. Hey, if vampires had some kind of innate healing ability powered by blood and that could save Wilbur's life he was all for it.

"Let's do it."

His knee was already planted on the bed, kind of awkwardly leaning over Wilbur. He didn't know how this would work if Wilbur was barely conscious. He didn't have to wonder for long though. Phil walked to the other side of the nest so he could slide behind Wilbur, hefting him into a seated position leaning against Phil's chest. Phil took Techno's offered arm, pulling his wrist closer to Wilbur's face.

"Wil, I need you to drink some, yeah? But nice and easy. Nice and easy." Phil nudged Wilbur forward, allowing him to feel the soft skin of Techno's wrist against his lips.

Wilbur's eyes instantly shot open.

Techno did not have time to brace himself before sharp fangs bit down into his flesh. The force of it, of Wilbur's hands suddenly wrapping around his elbow and pulling and his teeth tearing at him, pushing him down onto the mattress, took him by surprise. And Techno's scream of agony was muffled into the blanket.

It hurt. It hurt so bad.

Because there was nothing gentle or careful about it. Wilbur bit down harder, too out of it to realize. Too focused on consuming the blood he needed to survive. On the frenzy compelling him to feed.

His jaw unlodged and then buried in again a little harsher, trying to make the wounds larger so blood would flow more freely. Techno thought he might have heard Tommy yelling something but the pain was too intense for him to parse what was going on around him.

Last time, Wilbur had injected him with the venom that wiped away how much it hurt and made it feel good to be fed on. But doing so was a conscious choice the vampire had to make and Techno doubted Wilbur was aware enough to even know who Techno was right now.

"Wil." Phil's sharp voice rang through the mayhem. Techno tried to look up through his blurred vision, seeing that the sire was curling his fingers into Wilbur's hair to pull him off. "Enough. Stop it."

Wilbur struggled against it, eyes focused solely on the blood flowing freely down Techno's arm. But Phil didn't let go, saying something under his breath that sounded to Techno like it was spoken in a different language. Or maybe that was the rushing in his ears making things incomprehensible. When Wilbur let go, he could only sag into the nest helplessly, watching red stains grow and grow and grow.

Oh, he was bleeding a lot.

Techno felt his chest rise and fall rapidly, rough exhales through his nostrils. It hurt. It hurt-

Phil pulled him upright and Techno's head spun so badly he thought he was going to black out.

Something wet against his arm made him flinch, Phil's tongue very quickly dragging over the large, jagged punctures Wilbur had left so they would close first. Then he moved up to an unblemished part of Techno's arm and opened his mouth again.

Techno tried to push him off, fear suddenly such a poignant thing in his chest. If his muscles hadn't felt like jello maybe he'd have tried to punch Phil. It didn't hurt as badly to be bitten a second time though, only a very brief prick and then the pain was washed away by an overwhelming wave of warm, pleasant fuzziness.

Phil didn't feed on him. He took care of the bite immediately, only staying latched onto Techno's bloodstream long enough to make sure the dose of sedating venom was properly administered. Techno sagged against him, sluggishly trying and failing to form words.

"It's okay," Phil said. "You'll be okay. Go to sleep."

Techno wanted to laugh because Phil really said that as if it was a friendly suggestion and not an imminent inevitably considering Phil had pretty much hit him with the vampire equivalent of a tranquilizer dart. Not that Techno was about to complain.

No, after getting a taste of what it meant to be fed on when a vampire wasn't being considerate of their human meal, the cloying numbness of Phil whispering reassurances and stroking his hair was very easy to slip into.

Techno spent several days after Wilbur fed on him fading in and out of consciousness.

After having just recovered from pneumonia which left him in a similar though much less severe state, Techno found comfort in the cloying darkness behind his eyelids, the softness of the nest beneath his body. He didn't feel too terrible through most of it, only tired. So hopelessly, thoroughly exhausted. Like sleeping was the only thing he could possibly want to do.

Sleeping was what he did do during most of his recovery period. Here and there it was interspersed with brief moments of waking, the memories hazy and blurred and not really sticking to his mind much. They were similar to dreams and Techno didn't remember a lot of them afterward. Sometimes a hand would gently cup his face and tilt it back, allowing him to drink from a glass of water. Or somebody would insistently hold a spoonful of soup to his lips until he relented and swallowed it down.

Several times there was pain, sharp and brief. Then it faded as quickly as it came. Techno didn't think much of it back then.

More than all those other things there was warmth.

Not just in the sense that the nest itself was warm, though Techno knew Phil had learned how to operate the heating since he moved into the mansion. It wouldn't entirely surprise him if the sire was considerate enough to make sure the master bedroom didn't freeze when Techno was confined there for a while. But also the arm that pulled on his shoulder so its owner could press against him. The elbow that poked into his ribs sometimes when Techno squirmed too much in his sleep. Once, Techno half-woke to find Tommy lying next to him, using Techno's chest as a convenient pillow and with his arms wrapped around Techno's torso. Turns out even a vampire can get warm through sharing body heat - despite not producing any themselves. And Techno had definitely been sharing his body heat the past few days.

Oh God, he was never going to live this down.

Techno said before that he didn't enjoy cuddling and that was technically not a lie but Tommy and Wilbur weren't going to leave the nest - their nest - while Techno was in there either, especially if they were in poor health themselves. But why didn't Phil just move Techno to his own bed then? This was embarrassing.

"Are you awake?"

Maybe Phil could sense his pulse pick up. It wouldn't be the most surprising thing.

"Somewhat," Techno mumbled and opened his eyes, staring at the velvet drapes over the bed. For once the darkness didn't bother him as much, he had a pretty nasty headache. His vision was blurry.

"More aware than the past few days, I presume." Phil smiled at him from where he was sitting on an armchair next to the bed. He must have been there a while to watch over them. "I was getting scared I fucked up the venom's dose, but I guess your body just needed time to recover."

That comment brought the memories of what exactly had happened to the forefront of Techno's mind again, where he really didn't want them to be. When Techno thought back on it, he almost felt like he was watching those events play out as if they were happening to somebody else. Or maybe that was just him trying to escape that brief but intense flash of fear he felt, clogging up his throat and making it hard to breathe.

"Nah, your drugging was top-notch," Techno said to get rid of that nasty vision. He looked to his right, where Tommy was curled up beside him. Not using Techno as a living teddy bear for a change, fortunately. Techno swallowed, uncertain suddenly. "Uh, is Wilbur-"

"He's fine," Phil said quickly. "At his age, regeneration is pretty easy if you can get fresh blood in you fast enough." Phil's expression softened somewhat. A strange thing, that. Phil never struck Techno as a very grumpy or cold person, he always had that same impression about him of patient kindness while remaining an enigma. Maybe guarded would be the right word to describe him? But there was a true affection to his next words. "If you hadn't been there, things could have been a lot worse."

"Glad to help," Techno said.

(He tried not to recall too vividly the pain of Wilbur tearing into his arm, blindly searching for more blood from his prey.)

"What about you? How are you feeling?" Phil asked, leaning forward to watch him a little more closely.

"I'm…" Techno hesitated there. For some reason, he didn't want to lie to Phil. But also his head felt like it was being clamped down on, this insistent pressure on either temple trying to squeeze his brain through his ears. Not exactly painful, just making it hard to think and search for delicate, non-offensive words. So he looked away. "I'm never catching up on my semester work at this rate," Techno said.

He was already behind because of being sick last week. After all the effort he went through so he wouldn't need to drop his double major, it'd be very ironic if he still flunked out of university because of vampire-related tomfoolery.

"How long have I been out?" Techno asked. He was waiting for his muscles to stop feeling so weak, then he could get out of the nest and back to his own bed.

"It's Wednesday currently," Phil said. "So a little less than four days." He didn't mention that Techno was dodging his question about how he was doing. "I can get you some food if you'd like?"

"Yeah, that'd be good," Techno said. His stomach wasn't jumping at the thought of eating, but he did need to so he could get his energy back and be on his feet again as fast as humanly possible. Phil nodded and left, allowing Techno to breathe again for the moment.

Forcing himself into an upright position, Techno determined that he'd been right, the room was very warm because of the heating probably. Even with the blankets tucked in around his waist, he didn't shiver. He was a bit shaky, dizzy with those tendrils of deep sleep that stuck to your brain sometimes when you took a nap in the middle of the afternoon and woke up all groggy and disoriented. But considering what had happened…

Techno looked down at his arm.

He didn't know what he'd expected. Maybe for his entire wrist to be bandaged up. Or for the injury to leave him permanently scarred, skin forever marred by Wilbur's feral nature in a way he could never hide.

Instead, the bite didn't look much worse than when Wilbur had fed on him the first time. Maybe a little bigger, though not in any way as gnarly looking as Techno would have thought. And Phil's bite was so light it had already mostly faded. Techno only had a second or so to be surprised at this revelation until he noticed something equally baffling and concerning.

"Heh?!"

Holding his arm up to his face, Techno turned it over. Then he did the same with the other arm.

"Why are you making so much noise?" Tommy asked softly, rolling over. His knee bumped against Techno's leg. The fledgling's eyes were half-lidded, glowing red in the dim light of the bedroom.

"You bit me!" Techno accused, a little louder than he intended.

Tommy blinked up at him and hummed in confusion. He was acting even more drowsy than Techno.

"Tommy, you bit me again?" Techno showed him his arms.

There must be about a dozen bites total, none of them deep enough to be used for feeding. They were the exact same type of nips as the one Tommy had given him a few weeks ago when he was being all possessive of Techno as a food supply.

Tommy shook his head, reaching out in an attempt to cuddle with Techno once more. "Some of those aren't even mine, they're Wilbur's."

"Wilbur bit me more than once?!" Techno groaned. This couldn't be happening.

"Ugh, you're so fucking annoying right now," Tommy complained, more fond than irritated. "I feel like crap, you know." Techno pushed his arms away and Tommy pouted at him. Good thing Techno was immune to the sad puppy act.

"I look like I was turned into a pin cushion, sorry if I'm not in the mood to be within arm's reach of you again. You might realize there's some piece of me you haven't sunk your teeth in yet." Techno rubbed his arm slightly. The claim bites - that's what Phil had called them, wasn't it? - didn't hurt. And they'd probably disappear quickly if his memory served him right.

That didn't mean he was any less unsettled to know that the brief flashes of pain he'd felt during his unconscious state turned out to be his vampire roommates marking him to be their future snack.

"You're making way too big a deal out of this," Tommy said. He burrowed into the blankets sleepily. If Techno took a moment to pull out of his troubled thoughts, he could see Tommy was much paler than he was back when he fed regularly. Yeah, he was definitely sick again because of an absence of constant fresh blood.

"Tommy, you bit me," Techno said again.

"Yeah, so?" Tommy closed his eyes, resigning to the lack of cuddles from Techno after all. "Is it that hard to get that we love you?"

"What?!"

No answer came. Tommy didn't show the telltale signs Techno could have used to guess he'd fallen asleep, such as breathing that slowed down and evened out, or the slow rising and falling of his chest. But how he went completely motionless was pretty obvious.

And he'd done it with the perfect timing to leave Techno with that little comment rattling around his brain like a stray bullet.

"I hope you don't mind that it's soup again," Phil said as he opened the door, unaware of what he'd walked in on. "Though I did bring some toast as well. You need to start eating solids, or you'll never regain your strength." Phil put the tray on the bedside table, noticing Techno's expression. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Techno said. "I look like a damn chew toy and you're asking me what's wrong?"

Maybe his anger was a little misplaced, since out of all these guys Phil currently had the track record for biting him the least. But part of Techno also felt like Phil could have definitely stopped his two hellish offspring from indulging in their instincts this much.

A point that was then directly proven by Phil's chuckle. "Trust me mate, it could have been a lot worse."

If this was Tommy's and Wilbur's idea of holding back, Techno was going to need to buy one of those padded suits like dog trainers wear. Or maybe he could invest in two muzzles.

"I thought you said the food aggression would stop if you bit me," Techno said, narrowing his eyes.

"I said the claim bites would most likely stop if I'd claim you in the name of the coven," Phil said. "When I bit you, that was just to inject the venom. There's a very distinct difference in the type of bite." He did not elaborate on the type of bite Techno currently had littered all over his body.

Techno reached for his toast. "Bruh, next you're going to tell me vampires have a… a secret biting language."

"Pretty much, yeah."

If Techno wasn't so busy shoving food into his mouth he might have actually gaped at Phil in disbelief. He barely grasped how humans communicated at the best of times, how the heck was he supposed to learn the intricacies of vampires if they were this complicated? That should have been in the fine print.

Though funnily enough it also reminded Techno of the stray cat he used to feed on his way to school when he was a kid. The poor thing had looked so emaciated when Techno met it. He'd started to pack things in his lunch box so he could keep it alive and the cat had caught on pretty quickly, lurking in the bushes near his house waiting for Techno to come out and give it food. After a while, it trusted Techno enough to let him pet it. And whenever he did, it rubbed its head against his fingers first before then trying to bite him. It had taken a while for Techno to understand that was the cat's unique way of showing affection. It was trying to play.

"Is it that hard to get that we love you?"

So… Vampires were not like humans. They were like strange undead cats that didn't like sharing their food bowls.

"What the hell are you smirking at?" Phil asked with a laugh. Techno shook his head, taking another sip of his soup.

"Nothing."

He was about halfway through the bowl when the door opened.

Wilbur stared at him and Techno stared back. Their eyes met, one brief moment.

Wilbur seemed like he wanted to smile but couldn't.

"I'll be downstairs," he said hurriedly, already closing the door again. Then, over his shoulder, he added a quick, "I'm glad to see you up, Techno." He was gone before Techno could think of responding.

But he would be an idiot not to notice how his body relaxed back into the pillows. Or how absolutely rigid he had gone at seeing Wilbur.

"I'm…" Techno couldn't continue an apology that didn't feel sincere on his tongue.

If Wilbur and Tommy had no qualms about how their instincts steered their behavior sometimes, why should Techno?

"I'll go have a talk with him," Phil said. He got up from his chair to leave the room. Techno finished his soup in silence.

A lot was going on in his head. And as was often the case when that happened, Techno didn't feel like sorting through any of it. He felt like the past months had aged him a decade. It had left him exhausted.

So when he was done with his food, Techno put the bowl back on the tray and considered the door. He might be able to make it to his bedroom with some effort and a lot of support from the walls and furniture along the way. But the risk of him collapsing in the hallway if his energy drained faster than expected was not something he could rule out and then he'd have to hope one of his roommates could come pick him up and carry him to bed - which would put an additional dent in Techno's already bruised pride.

Techno lied back down instead. The nest was made out of some downright heavenly materials, Techno should consider asking Phil who sold him his pillows. Tommy murmured vague words in his sleep, inching a bit closer toward Techno as if he sensed another person nearby.

Or maybe vampires could smell blood even while unconscious and Tommy was dreaming of a midnight snack.

Whichever the case, Techno didn't bother to push him away this time when Tommy latched onto one of his arms for a hug. He closed his eyes, too tired to resist the pull of sleep much longer.

---

Wilbur was avoiding him and that made Techno feel guilty.

Not because he thought he'd done something to deserve it. Connecting the dots on why Wilbur wanted to steer clear of him for a bit had led Techno to a pretty decent understanding of things. And he couldn't fault Wilbur's logic - flawed as it was.

But maybe that was why Techno felt the guilt he did.

Wilbur was consumed by his own regrets and was punishing himself for what had happened. And Techno couldn't bring himself to stop Wilbur, because he was relieved that Wilbur was avoiding him.

Wilbur left any room he was in as soon as Techno entered. All Techno's messages were left on read. Once, a note was slipped under his door to ask if he needed anything from the grocery store. Because apparently Wilbur thought that delivering messages by telegram was a good stand-in for verbal communication. Techno wasn't good at confrontation. A more sane person would have long since challenged Wilbur on how he tip-toed around the issue.

Techno didn't want to because being alone with Wilbur didn't make him feel safe anymore.

And thus, ignoring the situation was a great way for Techno not to have to deal with that.

His blood wasn't drawn for a couple more days because Phil said he wanted to get Techno back in full health first. Which was understandable, it's not like Techno was out looking to get his immune system decimated any more than it already was. But he was also concerned with how postponing the feedings was affecting Tommy. So in the end, Techno got more hours of sleep and ate more vegetables that week than he probably had in years.

As it turned out, all Techno needed to improve his habits was to make somebody else dependable on how well he could control his urge to down several energy drinks back to back. Life hack.

When he did feel well enough for it, Phil drew his blood again and Tommy drank it as eagerly as ever. Like nothing had even happened. Like things could magically go back to normal.

Except that Wilbur had fled the house at the smell of Techno's blood.

Techno flinched with the slam of the front door, then hissed when that jerked on the needle inside his arm. It didn't help that he'd been more jumpy lately than he used to be. Tommy glanced in the general direction of the hallway but remained quiet. Phil must have talked to him about the situation and told him not to meddle. That seemed to be Phil's tactic too.

Phil had no clue how unbearably evasive Techno could be of anything an inch outside his comfort zone.

"Do you feel better?" Techno asked Tommy. He should be used to the sight of the fledgling licking his lips, fangs stained red. Somehow it was harder to watch today.

"Loads."

"Great. Put on your shoes then, we're headed out." Techno got up to grab his jacket.

"What? Where are we going?" Tommy was following him before Techno answered his questions.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Not telling you that either."

"Prick." At this point, that was starting to sound more like a nickname than an insult. Techno watched Tommy tie his laces with a grin.

"We can waste time chatting or we can actually get there."

"We can do both," Tommy said.

Though Techno refused to elaborate during the walk and subsequent bus trip. Not for a lack of Tommy nagging him, complaining that he didn't like surprises (a lie) and that he'd never forgive Techno if he was taking Tommy somewhere lame like a library or an 'English Major Convention'. After ten minutes of the silent treatment, he resorted to poking Techno in the side.

"Are we there yet?"

"I already told you at what stop we get off," Techno said.

Tommy poked him again, a little harder. "How the fuck am I supposed to know when that stop is, though?"

"Were you always this impatient or did dying make you more insufferable?"

The scowl on Tommy's face made Techno laugh. For a moment, it was very easy to forget Wilbur. It was very easy to forget the mansion and the nest and the bites Techno had covered with two layers of fabric because he didn't know if looking at them should make him happy or terrified.

When they got to the arcade, the building was rather unimpressive from the outside. Niki did warn Techno that it was just a small local place, nothing groundbreaking. But that fit his goal perfectly. Tommy would probably be entertained by VR technology and stuff, sure. What Techno was after couldn't be found at those arcades though. He wanted something nostalgic.

The smell that hit them as they walked inside - stale nacho cheese dried into the carpet and sweat from a lack of ventilation - certainly brought back some memories for Techno.

It was worth it to see the look on Tommy's face. "Holy shit!"

"You mentioned you wanted to go to an arcade so. There you go." Techno ended the sentence with a lame little wave at the room.

Grand gestures never came easy to him. He wanted to do something nice for Tommy. Not make things awkward.

Thankfully Tommy was too busy rushing to one of the arcade machines to make a big deal out of things.

"Oh damn, they got Zombie Mayhem!" The game that had caught Tommy's eye was some kind of shooter. It had plastic guns that served as controllers, attached to the machine with an abundance of wiring that made them a pain to play with. "1v1 me?"

"It's your funeral," Techno said.

"Nah, that was a while ago."

Techno had to admit he laughed at that. It was a good joke. "Well, I'm about to put you in the grave again."

They played several rounds - all of which Techno won though some only by the skin of his teeth. Tommy wasn't bad at the game, Techno was just better. After that, they tried some of the other games, though after only an hour or two Techno could tell Tommy was getting tired. He'd only fed on fresh blood again once so his health wasn't completely recovered.

On the bus ride back home, Tommy leaned his head on Techno's shoulder. Techno didn't mind, after all the cuddling in the nest, this was hardly the hill to die on anymore.

"That was fun," Tommy said. "We should come back sometime. Maybe we could bring Ranboo and Tubbo along?" The passing buildings were reflected in Tommy's eyes as they sped past.

"Sure," Techno said. He wouldn't mind hanging out more with those two.

"We could bring Wilbur too," Tommy added.

"I don't know if he'll want to come."

Tommy looked up at him. "He doesn't hate technology that much."

"That's not-" Techno chuckled. "Never mind."

"You're making a big deal out of things again," Tommy said. "You both are."

"Thanks for your input," Techno said, perhaps on the edge of anger rather than the more snarky tone he intended.

"I'm just saying, shit happens. Especially in covens because vampires are like, more close-knit. You should have seen me and Wilbur go at it when Phil brought me home." There was a story there that Techno would love to pry into sometime. "Just get it over with. Exposure therapy!"

"Exposure therapy?" Techno asked.

"Think about the scariest fucking thing that could happen and then do it anyway and if you live, you're good." Tommy shrugged and closed his eyes, settling in for a nap. Techno couldn't tell how serious he was.

"Maybe."

The rest of the drive passed by in comfortable silence, despite how Techno couldn't stop rubbing at his wrist.

---

"Wilbur."

It was almost satisfying to see the vampire freeze at the sound of his voice, hurrying along to finish his cup of tea. Phil had his sparkling water, Wilbur had his tea. Human beverages that scratched some itch with no nutritional value to them. But Techno's satisfaction with having an immortal creature of supernatural strength cower at a simple word was very shortlived.

Because it was frankly taking quite a bit out of him not to bolt himself.

"Are you going to keep avoiding me?" Techno asked. He was blocking the only exit unless Wilbur decided the window was a viable escape plan.

"I'm not-" Realizing his lie would fall flat partway into the sentence, Wilbur put his cup down and shook his head. "I'm trying to give you space. I thought it'd be what you wanted."

Wilbur wasn't looking at him. He hadn't looked at Techno once.

It had been days.

"No, it's what you want," Techno said.

Wilbur made a noise like a strangled goose or something. Amusing as it was, it was loud enough to make Techno flinch back a bit. And he knew Wilbur noticed.

"I'm trying to be considerate," Wilbur said more insistently. "Nobody can blame you for not wanting to be near me after I attacked you-"

"You didn't attack me," Techno interrupted. He didn't feel… great, about what happened. But he couldn't let it become something it wasn't. "I'm going to assume having a hole torn through you hurt pretty badly so, I'm willing to give you some slack. You were trying to not die and all."

Wilbur finally did look at him, but it was to stare at him in absolute flabbergasted shock. Again, very amusing. If not very helpful to the conversation.

"Techno, are you hearing yourself right now? If Phil hadn't been there, you'd be dead." Wilbur said it so plainly that Techno had no choice but to believe him.

And it should scare him too.

It did scare him.

"But Phil was there. And I didn't die. Neither did you. So unless you want us to keep trying to avoid being within ten feet of each other for however long it will take me to finish my masters I think we should move past this."

Techno wanted to move past it. He could feel his heart beating so fast he was certain Wilbur could hear it.

"You… how can you say that when I was the one who hurt you? How can you not be scared of me?"

"Think about the scariest fucking thing that could happen and then do it anyway."

Tommy was strangely full of good advice, though Techno might never admit to that out loud.

"Feed on me," he said, pulling his sleeve up over his elbow.

"What?" Wilbur stepped back, away.

A wolf hanging its head while the lamb bared its throat.

"If you want to prove to us both you won't hurt me again, bite me and be done with it."

"It's not the same," Wilbur said.

"I don't care." Techno must look deranged, backing a vampire into a corner and asking to be fed on. "Do it in a way that I don't pass out by the end of it, since that seems to be a trend with you."

"You're serious?" Wilbur asked, blinking. "Of course you're fucking serious."

"Dead serious," Techno said. He cracked a grin. "No pun intended."

"Jesus fucking- Fine. Yeah, fine." Wilbur's fingers closed around his wrist.

And Techno's brain urged him to wrench loose. To flee, to survive. To not let Wilbur do that to him again. He inhaled through his nose and forced himself to stay still and maybe if Wilbur had been slower about it Techno would have seen this all go up in smoke because he would have lost his nerve and ended up a heaving mess on the floor.

But the bite itself was quick, a pain that Techno's senses were getting too familiar with for comfort. It hurt, only enough for him to clench his teeth.

(Not enough for him to gasp into the blankets and scream in agony. Not enough for Techno to have a short second to contemplate the meaning of his own mortality.)

Then the venom, equally recognizable in sensation. Wilbur only injected a tiny bit, taking Techno's comment to heart. It made him feel lightheaded and warm. It made him feel alive.

Wilbur unlatched and closed the wound. He barely drank any.

And he just held Techno's wrist there, to his cheek. Feeling his pulse. He looked so strangely vulnerable, Techno didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether it was enough.

So he exhaled and closed his other hand over Wilbur's fingers where they remained clutched around his wrist. "You know, normal people just apologize if they screw something up."

"I'm sorry," Wilbur said. He squeezed Techno's wrist softly, thumb against his skin.

Techno nodded and squeezed back. "That's pretty cringe of you."

Wilbur laughed, wheezed almost. Quite impressive, since he didn't breathe. But it was nice and he didn't release his hold either. "You're so… Fuck, this is why we won't ever be able to let you go, Techno." Wilbur looked at him, properly this time. Techno's blood was dripping from the corner of his lip.

And Techno was beginning to think he was scared for all the wrong reasons.

After the stress from the past month or so, peace and quiet felt to Techno like the calm before the storm.

He noticed that he was often bracing for the other shoe to drop. Any day now, his landlord would call back with some new issue to bother Techno about. Or maybe Tommy would get sicker. His professors would kick him from his courses for his chronically bored face during class. Phil would be murdered. Anything like that. These were definitely normal human things to worry about too.

Instead, everything was… fine. Better than fine.

Wilbur went back to acting relatively normal around Techno - or as normal as Wilbur could ever be. Tommy was healthier now that he was once again regularly feeding on fresh blood, plus he was in a better mood lately. Phil stayed woefully unmurdered.

Techno was ignoring the whole 'we love you' thing like a pro.

What more could he wish for?

"Mister Blade? Would you mind staying for a moment?"

Oh great, there was that other shoe about to kick Techno's teeth in.

He thought he was doing pretty well catching up on his assignments after being bedridden so long, both the illness and Wilbur's little accident had left him playing catch up but Techno had managed. Maybe he hadn't been doing as well as he thought. He idled in the spot, very occupied with the fraying edges of his sleeves. Techno should invest in some fidget toys, he finally had the money to buy them. He'd always just messed with whatever he had within reach but maybe he should spoil himself.

Simon was talking to a young woman who had come to his desk, asking for some pointers on the upcoming midterms. Techno wasn't very worried about those. He was a notorious procrastinator so deadlines were his worst enemy, but when it came to actual exams Techno found he had to do very little studying to get passing grades. When she was done, she finally left and Techno stepped up to the desk.

Out of all his professors, Simon was Techno's favorite. He gave several history courses at the university, though he specialized in ancient Greece and Rome. As somebody who was interested in getting into the classical antiquity branch himself, Techno wasn't shy about admitting he enjoyed Simon's classes most. That the man had a very clear interest in mythology and a great sense of humor probably helped. So if Simon was about to give him the bad news that he was too cringe to continue his double masters, Techno would take it in grace. He was already mentally preparing himself for a life of minimum wage fast food labor and selling his blood when Simon smiled up at him from his seated position.

"How have you been, Techno?"

Oh no, worse than being kicked out of university was being kicked out of university after being forced to endure small talk.

"I'm fine," Techno said, though he was unable to completely hide his grimace.

Simon laughed. He knew Techno pretty well - better than any professor usually knew the dozens of students who attended their lectures. "I won't waste your time. I was wondering if you're considering a PhD?"

Not the conversation Techno was expecting. "A doctorate?"

"In history, to be specific."

Techno kind of half-shrugged. "Can't say I have thought about it." Thanks to Techno's false start out of high school and his dual degree, he was looking at over two more years of uni before he had his masters wrapped up. Anything beyond that were barely vague plans in his mind.

"Would you consider it, though?" Simon insisted. "Not that I'm trying to pressure you, but your grades are high enough for it. You have a penchant for the research side of things and you could start on thesis work as early as next semester so it would only extend your studies by a year or two. I can secure a small grant for stipends if money is an issue."

"It's not," Techno said. "Not anymore."

If there was one cliché about vampires that rang true, it was how rich they were. Techno was living rent-free, got a satisfactory salary, and Phil had taken to heating the mansion quite thoroughly - especially after Techno got sick. So financially he was well off.

"Then I really believe it's worth thinking over," Simon said. He cleaned some imaginary dust from his desk with one hand, to spare Techno the anxiety of maintaining eye contact. "It'd honestly be a waste not to."

"Thanks," Techno said a little awkwardly. He'd never been the best at receiving compliments.

A PhD was certainly an idea. Techno had intended to find a job in a museum or something similar and then write books on the side. Nothing fancy, just two things he'd enjoy doing. But Simon was right that he preferred research. If he got a doctorate, Techno could still work in a museum but he could devote time to a subject he was particularly passionate about. It would be great.

It would also mean living with the coven longer than intended.

Techno seriously doubted any stipend Simon could secure for a history PhD would cover more than his basic tuition - if that much. Techno would need to pay the rest out of pocket and that'd still leave living expenses. Obviously, if he stayed with Phil, Wilbur, and Tommy that wouldn't be a problem. But it'd extend how long he'd live with them from a little over two more years into four or five. Longer if Techno's accelerated curriculum didn't pan out.

Techno had no idea if he'd have that much time before outwearing his welcome.

Sure, the coven needed him now. But Tommy wouldn't be a fledgling forever. The way both Phil and Wilbur spoke about Tommy's condition, they seemed hopeful that his need to feed so often would decrease in age as it did with all vampires. And Techno couldn't imagine they'd keep paying him for the little blood they'd need once every few months.

There was also another thing to consider. The elephant in the room that all four of them had been ignoring so far.

Techno would age.

It sort of started to dawn on him more after going to the arcade with Tommy, watching the young vampire so elated about stuff he'd grown up with. Stuff that had already been considered 'retro' for a while by the time Techno was in diapers. And Wilbur too, who had died of a disease that modern medicine all but rooted out. Every time Techno walked through the library and saw Phil's collection, he was reminded. They were immortal and he wasn't. Everything was temporary.

Techno, as a human, was temporary.

His presence in their lives wouldn't last and while Techno was sure they were used to it (especially Phil and Wilbur), maybe it'd be better if he tried to make the parts where those lives crossed over as brief as possible given the circumstance. So his departure would be less painful.

If Techno remained a human, he would die eventually. And he had absolutely zero intention of becoming a vampire, if they ever even offered which wasn't a guarantee. So…

"You're quite adorable when you do that, you know?" Wilbur said.

Oh crap, Techno forgot Wilbur had grown the most annoying tendency to stalk him before and after class now. He always 'happened' to go out on business whenever Techno had to take the bus. And he also often 'happened' to pass by his university campus on the way home. Techno knew it was on purpose and he half suspected there was an ulterior motive, but the most important thing was that Wilbur had that gleeful smirk on his face that he got whenever he caught Techno unawares.

"What?" Techno said testily.

"You think so hard it makes your face all frowny," Wilbur answered.

"That's not a word. How did you know when my class was out?"

Wilbur hummed. "I'm fairly certain Phil has your entire schedule memorized by now. He told me when you'd be done."

That… was a little creepy, though maybe Techno shouldn't be surprised. The curriculum for every degree was accessible through the university website with class timetables and everything. Phil would only need to do a little puzzling to figure out which ones Techno attended.

"So, how was your stuff?" Wilbur asked in an attempt to spark a conversation that was so pathetic Techno almost took pity on him.

"My stuff?"

"You know what I mean," Wilbur said. "Human school stuff."

"It's not- Do vampires not go to school?" Techno wondered out loud. He supposed most of them got an education before being turned.

"Eh, there's only so many degrees you can get before it gets kind of boring," Wilbur said. "Ask Phil about it sometime."

Of course Phil had multiple degrees. Techno didn't have it in himself to be surprised anymore.

"There are no vampire schools if that's what you're asking," Wilbur added.

"How do most vampires learn how to do stuff then?" Techno asked. He'd bet a lot of it was instinct, vampires seemed a lot more instinct-driven than the average human. But you'd still have to learn how vampire society works.

Wilbur shifted somewhat closer to him, lowering his voice. Techno didn't know if it was because Wilbur was about to tell him a secret or because he enjoyed being mysterious. It could always go either way with that guy. "Mostly we rely on sires to teach their fledglings how to behave. If they don't, measures are taken."

Ah yes, shady vampire government. Techno remembered that.

"School is fine," he said, as Wilbur stood a little nearer to him still while waiting for the bus to arrive. "Phil helped me with my paper on the prelude of the French Revolution. I got decent marks, maybe I should have cited him as a source. Now it just feels like plagiarism."

Wilbur laughed. "I'm sure he doesn't mind."

Techno hesitated, then he nodded. He didn't want to mention what Simon said about the doctorate.

Maybe because he didn't want Wilbur to confirm his suspicions about staying longer in the coven being a bad idea. Or maybe it was the opposite.

(Wilbur's fingers tightened around his wrist, thumb hovering over his pulse points. The bite mark was already fading, something Wilbur seemed almost mournful about. Tommy's words ghosted through his head.)

"We need to stop at the store before going home," Techno said.

Wilbur smiled at him using that word. Techno had been using it for a while though.

---

Techno couldn't help being a little amused watching Niki lug two tins of paint through the door.

For a woman of her small stature, it was honestly impressive how much she could benchpress. She could probably throw Techno over her shoulder and run a marathon if she wanted to. Maybe that's why she was always saying he should eat more.

"I couldn't decide on the color," she said, expression a little sheepish as she popped the lids. "So I got both of them. I figured we could do three walls with the mint green and then the last one pastel pink."

"Sounds like a plan."

She handed him a roller brush. Techno never used one before, but how hard could it be? He hoped Niki didn't expect a perfect paint job, or she should have called a professional. She only said she needed a friend who could reach the upper part of the wall that she couldn't get to herself without using a step stool.

The spot she had acquired for the bakery was really nice. Not that Techno knew anything about real estate, but the place was sizeable with big windows in the front and a decent kitchen area Niki had shown him earlier. It used to be a cafe of some kind before too, Niki just wanted to repaint the seating area to give it a fresh start. Then she could put some cute furniture down and appeal to all the hipsters in town. With how often Techno heard his fellow university students lament that they needed a better coffee shop to study at, he was certain she'd be raking in the cash quickly.

"You're going to put something on these walls, right?" Techno asked. "Like, a nice painting. Some pictures. Hunting trophies?"

"Why?" Niki asked suspiciously from behind him. She was still kneeling on the floor, arranging the brushes they'd use later.

"No reason," Techno said, looking at how patchy his paint job was. Man, he was ruining the property value.

"It's supposed to look like that," Niki said with a chuckle. "Techno, have you never painted a wall before?"

"Do I look like the type to paint walls?" Techno shot back, gesturing at the overalls he was wearing to keep the paint from staining his clothes. He'd needed to borrow a pair from Wilbur. The pant legs were bunched up to his ankles. Why Wilbur owned a pair of overalls was anybody's guess, but given how much of a fashion disaster that guy was it also wasn't a complete surprise.

"You're doing fine," Niki assured him, giving him a few pats on the back.

"Maybe 'badly painted' can be the vibe you're going for," Techno said, dipping the roller in a swirl of mint green again. The color reminded him of toothpaste, in a good way.

Niki had picked up her own brush and joined him. "The vibe I'm going for is casual and homely so… I think badly painted would kind of fit," she agreed. "This is only the first layer though. It's going to look more even by the time we're done."

"I still think hunting trophies would be a good idea." Techno enjoyed the sound the paint made sticking to the walls. Squishy was the only word he could think of to describe it.

"I'm thinking fake ivy," Niki said. "And fairy lights. Maybe I could have a little bookshelf, with books people are free to read while they're enjoying their drinks."

"I suppose that's cool too," Techno said demurely, earning himself another giggle from Niki. "We could start a book club."

"Let's wait to see if I can get regular customers first," Niki said.

"Why wouldn't you?"

She scowled at the wall, stepping back to assess their handiwork so far. "I don't know, I just don't want to get ahead of myself."

"You're selling yourself short," Techno said. He bent over to dip his roller in the tin again, waiting for the paint to saturate the fibers. When he straightened, a wave of dizziness almost made him stumble.

And since Niki had stepped back, she saw it happen. "Woah, Techno, are you okay?" He felt her hand on his back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He pulled away slightly. "Guess the blood rushed to my head all at once. That's what I get for being so big-brained, huh?"

Niki was not distracted by the joke like he hoped she would. Techno hated having smart friends. "Damn, I don't have my- Whatever, I don't need it. Let me check your heart rate."

"Niki, I'm fine," Techno repeated, making a point to stand up straight to show her how fine he was. The fact that he kind of felt like one of those limp noodles that got forgotten in the strainer on accident made it harder.

Techno was having fainting spells like these often lately. It was good he didn't black out this time because that would have been a lot harder to explain, especially to a medical professional like Niki. The episodes only lasted a few seconds to a few minutes, a brief but overwhelming weakness and dizziness and then it was gone again. He'd never fully lost consciousness so it couldn't be too bad. Techno knew his blood pressure was not doing great.

After Niki's advice at his health check-up, Techno started taking extra supplements. It wasn't doing as much as he hoped it would.

"You look pale too," Niki said.

"That might be because I hate the sun more than your average vampire. Well, fictional vampires. It's a myth that vampires hate the sun, Phil sits outside in the garden all the time when the weather is nice-"

"Don't change the subject on me," Niki said firmly. "You did tell Phil about your immune system, right?" Techno felt a flash of guilt, both for making her worry and for inadvertently patronizing her by not admitting what was actually the issue.

"Of course I did."

Then there was the much bigger guilt he felt about lying to her.

But Techno was a lot more concerned with Tommy than himself. In the two periods when he wasn't able to donate blood, Tommy's health visibly deteriorated right before their eyes. A few fainting spells were nothing compared to being bedridden for days.

Niki's fatal flaw had always been that she did not distrust her friends. "Okay. I have juice stocked in the fridge already, maybe that will help. I can get you some."

"Yeah, thanks." Techno watched her leave before picking up his paintbrush and going back to working on the walls.

Maybe to make up for how bad it felt, he could buy her a bookshelf.

---

Techno was a lot of things, but he wasn't a man that didn't keep his word.

Tommy had asked if they could come back to the arcade with Tubbo and Ranboo tagging along sometime, so when Techno had a chance he had cornered the two younger vampires when they were over to train with Phil and asked them to help surprise Tommy (again). Techno did consider inviting Wilbur too, since the awkwardness between them had officially died down. But Wilbur had been sent on an errand again and would be gone for a couple of days.

Techno didn't miss him per se. It was just that he felt a little bit like a teacher assistant chaperoning a school trip.

He'd never asked how old Tubbo and Ranboo were when they got turned, but they looked to be in their late teens at best. From stray pieces of conversations, Techno had put together they'd both only been turned a handful of years before Tommy too.

When they arrived at the arcade, the person behind the snack counter gave him a meaningful look that said 'Keep your terrible little brothers in check' and Techno desperately tried to signal back 'They're not related to me' with prolonged eye contact. It was only partway successful.

"We played this one last time," Tommy said, pointing at the shooter game Techno beat him at. "I was super good at it."

"Do you want me to kick your ass again?" Techno asked. All was fair in love and war, sick fledgling trying to show off for his friends or not, Techno would never pass on an opportunity to flex his skill in video games.

"Maybe I could just go against Tubbo," Tommy said quickly. "Kick Ranboo's ass."

Techno smirked. "Gladly."

"I did not agree to this," Ranboo complained softly, picking up the gun-shaped control with uncertain hands.

"I'll go easy on you," Techno said.

He did not - in fact - go easy on Ranboo. Though it probably wouldn't have mattered much if he had. Ranboo's talents must lie elsewhere than old arcade games.

They played some of the other machines, though mostly Techno watched them play. He had a headache, and the bright light flaring off the screens wasn't doing much to help. Tommy kept pulling more and more quarters out of his pocket as if they were multiplying in there. Techno didn't bother to ask where the kid got all that cash. For all he knew it was Tommy's secret vampire power, like Phil with his shadow crows. After a while, they took a break from playing so they could sit around and talk. Techno ordered a drink for himself and wasn't surprised that both Ranboo and Tubbo decided to do the same. Vampires often consumed human food just for the heck of it.

Techno didn't feel on edge around them anymore. Tubbo was witty, always having some comeback close at hand. He matched Tommy in chaotic energy and then some. Ranboo was anxious enough to give Techno's 'vampires are like feral cats' allegory new meaning, though from what he could gather that might be more of a human Ranboo thing than a fledgling Ranboo thing. Also, being stuck with Tubbo and Tommy for an extended period of time was bound to drive anybody to question their sanity. But Techno found he got along with Ranboo really well, they shared common interests in literature and mythology.

Overall, it was a nice afternoon for the better part of it. Techno did notice that one lady kept throwing them weird glances, but he assumed she wasn't used to seeing vampires around. Not everybody was.

"How long do you think it will take to find out what mine is?" Tommy asked. They were talking about the training Phil was helping the other two with. To develop their vampiric powers.

"Phil's not going to start training you until he thinks you're ready for it," Tubbo said.

"I am ready for it," Tommy insisted. The passion of the statement was slightly undercut by how much he sounded like a petulant child, huffing because his parents were denying him his favorite snack.

"That's why I said until Phil thinks you're ready," Tubbo shrugged.

"What can you two do?" Techno asked. He'd given up by now trying to figure out what sorts of questions were socially acceptable for vampires or not. If they didn't want him to know, they could outright refuse to tell him.

"It's pretty hard to show here," Tubbo said. He looked around, before settling on Techno's glass of lemonade. "Do you mind, big man?"

"Mind what?" Techno asked. Tubbo didn't answer.

He closed his hand around Techno's glass. Within seconds, the ice cubes inside had melted, the liquid rising because of the increase of water until it almost spilled over the top. After Tubbo pulled back, Techno touched the side of the glass too. It had become room temperature.

"You know I was drinking that, right?" Techno said. Tubbo laughed in his face.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. You did ask though." He sat back in the seat, shit-eating grin not betraying any remorse.

"What about you?" Techno asked, nodding at Ranboo.

"Oh, y-you don't-" Ranboo started, but was interrupted.

"He erases memories," Tommy said. "Only works on humans though. We've tried."

"We broke one of Wilbur's guitars while snooping around his room," Tubbo explained. "Then when he found out, he was royally pissed off. Like, really fucking mad."

Tommy nodded. "We tried to get Ranboo to make him forget it was us. Didn't do shit."

"I'm also not very good at it," Ranboo added in a mutter.

"When he messes with your head, you'll be able to tell," Tubbo said. "Unlike Wilbur."

"What can he do?" Techno decided to pry since they were on the subject anyway.

"Wilbur can tell when people are lying," Tommy said. "And he's also very good at it. Lying, I mean. It's not mind control or anything it's just very fucking hard not to believe him. Like your brain wants to think he's telling the truth."

"Huh…" Techno said. He couldn't come up with a better response.

Ignoring his reaction, the others continued talking about something else. Techno swallowed, taking a sip of his lemonade to try and ward off how weirdly dry his mouth felt. But the drink was lukewarm thanks to Tubbo. Techno put it back down.

"I'm going to get a new lemonade."

While he was waiting for his order, Techno felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around. It was the woman who had been staring at them before.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?" she asked. Techno blinked. Shouldn't he be asking her that?

She was old, maybe a little younger than Phil physically looked but not by much. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, though stray strands framed her gaunt features. She glanced away from him, at where a little kid she was with was distracted by the arcade machines. Techno couldn't formulate a proper answer so he just stood there.

It was either that or literally running away from the social interaction but he'd need to explain that to the others.

"I noticed you were with them," she said. She spat the last word out with distaste.

Techno almost made some joke about how teenagers really weren't that bad. Then he realized she meant vampires.

"No, that's-" Techno laughed, pinched and even more awkward. She thought he was being kidnapped or something, maybe? That three vampires were hunting him like prey and he had failed to notice somehow. It felt unpleasant that such was her presumption. "I live with them." He lived with one of them, but Techno didn't think she'd care for the distinction.

Her face contorted, several emotions passing over it. It settled on a pity in the end. "Oh… oh no, dear." She reached out to touch his elbow. "It's fine. You don't have to live like that."

More confused, Techno stepped away. "Lady, you're not listening. We live together, they're-" he swallowed. "They're my coven."

It felt really strange to say out loud. Techno was glad none of them had overheard.

Instead of understanding, she only grew more insistent. She shook her head, then took something from her pocket. It was a small business card. "I've been where you are. They helped me. Please take it, for once you change your mind."

The card had some logo on it Techno didn't recognize. Hoping it would make her back off, he took it. He could always throw it away later. He grabbed his lemonade and hurried back to the table.

"You alright?" Tommy asked when he sat down.

Techno nodded. "I was texting Phil. We should get home soon, you've been out a while." A complete lie, but mentioning that his sire wanted him to go back to the nest soon was always a sure trick to get Tommy distracted.

Techno didn't think about the business card anymore until he found it in his pocket that night. It had an address on it and a phone number. And an explanation of what exactly the logo represented.

Support group for ex-feeders (voluntary or otherwise). Meetings once a week on Monday at 7 pm, anonymous attendance can be accommodated.

Frowning at it for a moment, Techno threw it on his desk and went to bed. However, it didn't help when he couldn't get the expression on that woman's face out of his mind.

---

Wilbur came back a few days later.

Despite his best attempts at hiding it, he was nervous about something. Why else would he lock himself in Phil's office for five hours straight? It was the first thing he did after coming back too. That couldn't be a good sign.

Techno was patient though. He waited for Wilbur to be done with his dramatics, for him to come out and go upstairs to check on Tommy sleeping in the nest. Then come back down and go into the kitchen where Phil had retreated when their talk was over. Techno counted an additional thirty seconds just for good measure. Then he sighed and got up.

They couldn't ignore the elephant in the room forever, he'd decided. As much as Techno would love to, hating confrontation worse than Wilbur hated the plague (presumably, given his history).

But while there was enough that remained unspoken, there was one thing Techno hadn't been able to let go for a while now.

He followed Wilbur into the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, talking to Phil some more. You'd think they'd run out of things to say to each other after five hours. Phil was making tea. Techno nonchalantly opened the fridge.

"Did you find out who tried to rip your intestines out yet?"

Because he had the fridge door between him and the two vampires, Techno couldn't actually see their reaction to his question. Going by Phil's sudden snort of laughter though, the expression on Wilbur's face was quite comical.

After a moment, Techno pulled out a bottle of water and closed the fridge. "What? I assume that's something you've been working on figuring out?"

"Yes," Wilbur admitted. "Why are you asking now?" He looked at Phil, who was too busy ignoring him to offer support. Or maybe the sire enjoyed watching Wilbur squirm.

"Because I think you've figured something out," Techno said.

Truth be told, it had been on his mind on and off ever since watching Wilbur stumble down the driveway covered in blood. Techno dreamt of it sometimes. He dreamt about the other parts of that night too.

Wilbur glanced at Phil again. Phil smiled to himself and stirred his tea.

"It was vampires, wasn't it?" Techno asked. He assumed a human couldn't do that much damage.

"It was," Wilbur said. "Though it's not something for you to worry ab-"

"You claim I'm part of your coven," Techno cut in.

"You are," Wilbur responded a little too quickly. Phil stopped stirring to look at Techno also.

"If you want me to be in this coven, treat me like it."

Wilbur closed his mouth, perturbed. Phil laughed softly. "He has a point, mate. We don't hide things from our coven."

"We do if it's better for them not to know," Wilbur spat. But at Techno's continued staring he relented surprisingly fast. "We think they're an unregistered group."

"Unregistered?" Techno asked.

"All vampires must declare their existence to the council. Every fledgling, every sire. If they don't, we can't hold them accountable for their actions when the humans demand it," Phil explained. "And if humans start to doubt we can be trusted to keep our own in line, well… let's say the results could be pretty fucking nasty."

"Part of Kristin's job, and by extension ours, is to track vampires that die and those that are created," Wilbur added. "It's surprisingly a lot of work."

"Okay, so the ones who attacked you didn't want to be tracked?" Techno asked.

"I'm not sure what their deal is, they were not eager to use words to explain themselves." Wilbur automatically raised a hand to his chest. But due to being a vampire, the wound had left nothing, not even a scar.

"Are they a threat?" Techno wasn't scared. However, if these rogue vampires were going to attack again, he'd rather have a warning beforehand.

"They won't hurt you," Wilbur promised.

Or it sounded like a promise. It also wasn't an answer to what Techno asked, exactly.

"It has raised tension among the upper management," Phil said with a smirk, "so next week's assembly will be interesting. They're asking for full attendance."

Techno took a seat at the kitchen island. "In plain English?"

"Once every few months, there'll be a meeting of sorts called by the vampire high society. Usually, every coven invited sends one member and calls it a day," Phil said. "We've been making Wilbur pick up the slack for ages now."

Wilbur didn't act too bothered with it. "They're like parties, kinda. Maybe a bit on the formal side."

"This time they're inviting entire covens," Phil added. "They invited Kristin too, of course."

"Oh?" Techno opened the water bottle and fiddled with the cap. He already knew where this was going.

And he had nobody to thank but himself.

"Her position does not allow her to refuse a summons like this," Phil confirmed. "Everybody who is considered part of our coven must attend."

"Is that really what you're going to wear, mate?"

Techno looked down at himself, unable to keep the perturbed expression on his face completely hidden. Sure, he wasn't going to pretend he was an expert on fashion, but he'd gone through the trouble of picking out some decently nice clothes for the occasion. His usual relaxed trainers were switched out for a pair of jeans that only showed a little wear and tear around the knees, and he was wearing a clean button-up shirt. If it was good enough for his thesis presentation, it had to be good enough for a stuffy vampire party too - or that's what Techno assumed anyway.

The lopsided smile on Phil's face told him differently.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Phil said quickly. And combined with the slight grin and him taking an easy step forward with placatingly raised hands gave even more of an impression that Phil was a parent scolding a child for behaving just slightly against generally accepted social decorum. At least it implied Phil knew this was ignorance more than bad manners. Of course Techno wouldn't know how to dress for a vampire gathering! He'd never been to one!

Wilbur had only said that they were 'slightly formal' but that could mean anything with that guy.

"I don't own a lot of fancy clothes," Techno admitted. "Never had much need for them."

"I see…" Something about the way Phil said that almost felt more offensive than the suggestion he'd go change in the first place. Techno frowned at him.

"Are you scared I'm going to tarnish your reputation or something?" he asked lightly. Though also with some sincere annoyance.

Techno could admit he'd gotten himself into this situation. He'd been tiptoeing back and forth on whether to even consider himself part of the coven for months and the moment he decided it was probably better to relent and embrace the role somewhat (not completely, but somewhat), he'd once again ended up in circumstances completely out of his depth. Techno knew so much about vampires, yet he also knew absolutely nothing. He felt like he was constantly running behind on things. This complicated and incredibly annoying game of catch-up he could never win. He had no choice except to play by the rules unless he wanted to lose the roof over his head. And they were pretty much past that being an option.

But one thing Techno had made very clear to them early on was that he had no intention of completely forfeiting his autonomy in the pursuit of survival. If Techno was going to be part of the coven, he was going to fit in it the way he wanted to.

And that included his crummy button-up.

"No. We don't fucking care about any of that," Phil said. As usual, Techno had a hard time determining the truthfulness of the statement. Phil was very good at projecting a vibe of casual effortlessness in everything he did or said, which made him very hard to read. Though Techno could also think of no reasons why Phil would lie about that.

"But?" he prodded, suspecting there was more.

"But I want you to be comfortable."

"These clothes are perfectly comfortable," Techno said, but it only earned him a small chuckle.

Phil shrugged, putting a hand between Techno's shoulder blades to not very subtly herd him back up the stairs. "Mate, you're already going to stand out as one of the only humans in attendance. You don't want to draw even more eyes towards you, trust me."

The way Phil's voice tilted a little lower - more dangerous - combined with the guiding hand pushing him onward had Techno suspect Phil was deathly serious about this. And debate would be useless.

"Fine." He started to head up, Phil's touch falling away as he did so. "Not sure where you expect me to find this vampire-approved attire though. Like I said, I don't own a lot of fancy clothes."

"I'm sure you can borrow something that fits."

As if on cue, the door to Wilbur's bedroom opened. Techno almost laughed in his face because he seemed to have multiple curlers in his hair, delicately wrapped. "Did I hear you say we get to dress up Techno?"

"No-" Techno started but Phil talked over him.

"He doesn't own a lot of clothes fit for a formal event so I think it'd be wise if he borrowed some of ours."

"Probably yeah." Wilbur's eyes flitted over Techno's outfit. "Definitely yeah."

"Wow," Techno deadpanned. It really wasn't as bad as they were making it out to be.

"You have no clue how judgemental these guys can be," Wilbur said seriously.

"I think I can imagine," Techno said back while squinting at him, voice still heavy with sarcasm. Phil laughed behind him.

Wilbur opened the door to his room wider, displaying the heaps of clothes laid out on his bed. Seemed like he was also having a hard time deciding what to wear. "Look, it's up to you, but I don't think you're going to enjoy being the main attraction all night. At least it'll be slightly better if you try to blend in."

Ah, so Wilbur was going to use the same argument as Phil, framing this as if they were doing Techno a favor. Capitalizing on his horrible social anxiety was smart, Techno couldn't deny that he wasn't looking forward to spending the night in a room full of total strangers, a lot of whom will probably be interested in the novelty of his presence. Vampires, no less. So Techno was going to stand out like a sore thumb already. Maybe if he dressed right, some of them wouldn't even notice he was a human at first glance.

Still, he couldn't entirely shake the feeling that such wasn't the real reason why Wilbur and Phil were so set on this.

"Fine," Techno said. "But you better not make me look as ridiculous as you."

Phil laughed harder, leaning onto the doorframe. Wilbur's mock gasp was worth it, honestly. "Wow, and you dare call us judgemental."

"I'm fine wearing something similar to him." Techno nodded at Phil. The sire was dressed rather modernly, all things considered, in a simple white button-up, a dark green waistcoat, black dress pants, and a matching tie. He wasn't wearing a jacket but maybe that had more to do with vampires not getting cold. Techno didn't know if Phil enjoyed keeping up with the times or if he just had a better sense of what society deemed appropriate. It was still a far cry from his usual relaxed attire, long robes and simple sweaters and that stupid hat. But Techno would not go out in something that would get him mistaken for a Victorian-era LARPer. He had too much dignity for that.

"I'm afraid you're a bit tall to wear anything from my closest," Phil said as he stepped forward. "Shoes, maybe? What size do you wear?"

While Phil went off to search for simple dress shoes that wouldn't require Techno to tie a million laces (like the boots Wilbur preferred), Techno sat down on Wilbur's desk chair and watched him debate over different options.

"Do you think this one would make me look too lanky?" Wilbur asked, holding up a frock coat.

Techno's uncle once told him that if he didn't have something nice to say, he shouldn't say anything at all. So he just stared at Wilbur.

"Point taken." Wilbur threw it back onto the bed.

"Does it really matter that much?" Techno asked. "Phil said it's not about your reputation, but…" He trailed off. On one hand, it was hard to imagine that a bunch of immortal vampires would give a crap about fashion. On the other hand, everything about vampire society reminded Techno more about the interpersonal politics from history. There, clothing was often used as a signifier of wealth, and wealth equaled power. He didn't think that was a factor in this case. Despite how rich these guys obviously were, Techno supposed most vampires must be rich.

"Respect," Wilbur said. Techno blinked at him. "It's about respect."

"How?" Techno asked, swallowing uncomfortably.

"How you present yourself says more about you than others. But it does also tie into how much effort you're willing to make for whoever you're dressing up for. And a lot of the older generation do still care a lot for tradition."

Techno nodded, maybe not agreeing fully but he could see the connection. If the rulers of the shady vampire not-government had as much power as Phil made them out to have, Techno definitely understood why not pissing them off was a priority.

He just didn't entirely see how wearing a pair of jeans was enough to piss these guys off. That was cringe of them.

He watched as Wilbur shifted through more coats and a few other things. At one point, he picked up a shirt made of white linen fabric and threw it at Techno. "You should try this one."

Techno held it up, cringing at the ruffles that immediately caught his eye. "Seriously?"

"It's one of my more casual shirts," Wilbur insisted. "And it would suit you."

Techno hummed. But it was probably the lesser of several evils, so he grumpily snatched a pair of formal pants that seemed to be made in this century out of Wilbur's wardrobe and retreated to his own room to change. The result was… Well, he didn't hate it as much as he feared he would. That was probably the best Techno could hope for. He tucked in the bottom and pulled the sleeves over the bracelet he was wearing.

"See, you look great," Wilbur said when Techno walked in again. The vampire finally had settled on what to wear too. Techno almost snorted a laugh at the half-shoulder cape that draped over Wilbur's side, the dark blue fabric attached by a golden band.

"I look like I'm going to die of smallpox because vaccines haven't been invented yet," Techno answered, raising one arm to show off the ruffled cuffs, lined with lace. There were similar ruffles at the collar, but overall Techno looked more 'gothic novel protagonist' than anything and he'd settle for that.

Wilbur's lip twitched in amusement he was trying to smother in annoyance, though it wasn't very convincing. "Nonsense. Also, that's very offensive to me."

"Have you considered getting good so you don't die of a preventable disease next time?"

Again, that little almost-grin. Wilbur turned back to the bed. "Oh, they're going to love you," he said idly. So offhandedly, Techno almost felt like he wasn't supposed to hear it. Or it wasn't aimed at him. "We'll have to keep a close eye on you lest one of them snatches you away."

Techno was about to respond - though he wasn't really sure what he was going to say - when Wilbur whirled around holding a waistcoat. It was slightly similar to Phil's, except it lacked any buttons on the front. Instead, it had a corset-type panel on the back of the maroon fabric with ribbons wound through metal grommets that would keep it tight.

"No," Techno said instantly. But Wilbur was already making sad puppy eyes at him.

"You can't wear that shirt without an overgarment," he insisted. "It will look plain silly."

"I think that ship has sailed," Techno said. However, he had already turned around and slightly awkwardly raised his hands. He knew there was no getting out of this. "Try not to choke me, yeah?"

"It's not a corset," Wilbur corrected lightly. He helped Techno put his arms through and then laced the waistcoat in the back. It was a snug fit, yes, but not the worst. Moreover, it helped hide that the shirt was probably a little too long for him since it belonged to Wilbur. The pant legs too, though Techno had pulled it up over his hips high enough that it was barely noticeable.

When Wilbur was done, Techno turned around, pulling his braid over his shoulder. He'd freshly dyed his hair and everything. So they really couldn't get on his case for not putting in any effort. "Good enough for a vampire party or what?"

"Well…" Wilbur smirked at him. "It's not bad but a cravat has never hurt an outfit."

"A cravat will hurt you if I shove it down your throat," Techno threatened. He was over this.

Thankfully for Wilbur's throat, Phil walked back into the room at this point. He had a pair of shoes with him. "Oh, great. You're both dressed and presentable." He seemed to approve of the outfit too.

"Thanks," Techno said, taking the shoes from him.

"Is Tommy ready?" Wilbur asked.

"Took a bit to convince him to take a shower, but yeah. He's nervous." Phil smiled slightly. "You know how last time went."

Techno wasn't sure if he should ask about that. Too busy slipping on the shoes, he decided to let it pass. He was already anxiety-riddled enough without taking on another person's nervousness too. Maybe it was better not to know what Tommy had experienced that put him on edge. If it was important for him to know, they'd probably have told him.

They headed out into the hallway and downstairs, where Tommy was indeed waiting. Like Phil, he had opted for a more modern interpretation of what 'formal' meant, though he'd chosen a jacket instead of a waistcoat, and no tie. The top button of his shirt was left open.

Techno tried not to notice, he really did. But seeing Tommy like this also made him suddenly and acutely aware of the fact that he'd never seen the fledgling's throat laid bare. Tommy always wore turtleneck sweaters, and when he didn't he had some kind of scarf or bandana wrapped around his neck. This never stood out as odd to Techno, what with Tommy being so sick and shivery. Vampires weren't supposed to be bothered by temperature fluctuations, but Techno had assumed maybe the layers made Tommy feel cozier. Like the nest did.

Tommy trying to hide something had never crossed his mind.

The scar wasn't even entirely visible, disappearing under the edge of Tommy's shirt that covered the larger area of his shoulder. But with what little Techno could see, it looked gnarly. Not like the simple pinpricks of a bite wound that the movies always showed on a vampire after being turned - or the ones Techno himself had for a while when his new coven nipped him. Not like the simple scar on the inside of Wilbur's arm that Techno had glanced at once or twice. This was something brutal, something savage. This was a wild animal that had ripped into a meal with abandon.

Tommy had been turned against his will, by a sire that had horrible intentions.

Not noticing his staring because he was too busy talking to Phil and Wilbur, Techno tuned back into the conversation in time for Tommy to look at him. He snapped his eyes up quickly.

"Ready to go, big man?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Techno said. Which was a blatant lie. He didn't feel ready at all.

Wilbur checked his phone. "Kristin is meeting us outside, we shouldn't keep her waiting."

Oh right, with everything going on Techno could almost forget that on top of meeting all those complete strangers he was also going to meet Phil's wife and sire. The woman who was the head honcho of this coven. One of the most powerful vampires in existence.

This was fine.

Phil's hand settled on his back again, firm, as he started to guide them outside to the car. Techno tried not to liken it to a prisoner being led to the executioner block.

---

Techno remembered vaguely how impressed he had been with Phil's mansion the first time he went there. Sure, Techno had seen houses like that on television before, or in magazines. But getting to see one up close was different.

Compared to this place though, Phil's home was a modest little cabin.

Techno realized as soon as they were heading down the driveway, which in itself was way too long to be considered normal, Phil tapping his fingers on the wheel. This had to be some kind of historical estate. The type of manor that was renovated into a museum or an expensive hotel. It took them three minutes of driving to get from the gate to the actual front step, giving them a view of the surrounding land on the way. The architecture had to be regency-era. Techno would kill to get a look at the gardens behind the home, wondering if they were kept in their original layout.

"Remember what we agreed on last time," Phil said suddenly. He glanced into the rearview mirror, addressing Tommy. "You don't speak to anybody you don't know unless spoken to first."

"Yeah, yeah," Tommy said, crossing his arms and slouching further in his seat.

"Should I be following that rule?" Techno asked. Apprehension was beginning to bubble up inside, stubbornly pushed down. Not that this had anything to do with the vampires, this wasn't unusual for Techno when going into unknown social spaces.

Wilbur chuckled from his spot in the passenger seat. "You were planning to talk to people?"

"No," Techno said. "But better safe than sorry, right?"

"Some older sires have a stick up their ass when it comes to hierarchy," Phil said. "You're not supposed to address them if you're from lower standing than them."

"How was I supposed to know that guy was fucking ancient?" Tommy blurted out. "He was looking at me funny."

"I don't care how he was looking at you, Tommy, you don't get to call somebody a 'pompous dickweed'." Phil sighed wearily, sounding for once his age.

"He had it coming," Tommy said, throwing up his hands.

Wilbur put his phone away as they pulled up to the building proper. "He did. But we can't afford any more issues if everybody is already on high alert. So we'll behave." He smiled pleasantly at Phil, sickly sweet. Techno caught sight of Phil rolling his eyes in the mirror.

"You little shits are going to be the death of me," Phil mumbled.

The car came to a stop and Techno fumbled for the handle to open the door and get out. He noted absently that it was a full moon out tonight. Pulling his sleeves down again, he breathed in the slightly chilly air to steady himself and watched Phil hand the keys of the car off to some guy in a uniform. He appeared to be human, though Techno couldn't be entirely sure. There would probably be a lot of vampires present that could conceal their red irises at this event. Then again, having human servants seemed like a textbook vampire thing so who was Techno to say?

He followed the others up the marble steps, glancing up at the manor that loomed over him. How could it feel even bigger up close than it already had before? That was just completely unfair!

If Techno didn't die tonight, he had to look into what this place used to be before it became a vampire den.

"Kristin!"

Techno's attention was quickly diverted to the woman who was waiting for them near the door. The same one he had seen in the portrait that hung in the nest room.

She was gorgeous.

For some of his history classes, Techno had read accounts by artists lamenting that they could not capture some famous woman's true beauty in their works. That there was always something lost in the act of creation that no amount of talent, devotion, or time could fully compensate for. Techno hadn't taken those accounts very seriously because, well, they were artists. Those always had to be slightly quirky to make a living. Not to mention all the lead compounds they used to put in paints probably had some negative influence on the brain.

Kristin was a clear example of how wrong he was.

Her hands gently cupped the sides of Phil's face so their foreheads could meet, before pulling back to press a kiss to his forehead. Her grin was so wide it could split her face in two, the corners accentuating the dimples in her cheeks. She reached out to do the same to Wilbur, and then Tommy. Both of them had to stoop over a bit to accommodate the height difference.

Then she promptly did the same to Techno.

He'd kind of frozen up the moment he laid eyes on her, maybe partly because of the same prey instinct that had been an issue with Phil before. Kristin didn't look intimidating, she didn't look dangerous. Yet every fiber of Techno was soaked in an inane knowledge that she was. She was all those things and more.

And she was also currently hugging him so tight that his bones ached with it, the curly ends of her long black hair obscuring his vision.

"Oh, I've heard so much about you. Look at you, all prim and proper." She pulled back to beam at him. Techno was stunned.

"Thanks?" he said. Because it was only polite.

"God, where are my manners? I better retrieve them quickly, because we'll be stuck with those stuffy relations of ours all night." Her laugh was deep, clear as a plane of glass. But one of those stained glass scenes laid out in churches, the ones you couldn't stop staring at. It drew Techno in.

He barely felt Phil squeezing his shoulder. "Techno, this is Kristin. My wife, my sire, and the head of our coven."

Kristin gave a small courtesy, pulling up the edges of her dress an inch or so. "Pleasure to meet you," she said. Though then she relaxed again, making it seem as if she was mocking the formality of the gesture more than anything.

Techno swallowed around the sudden dryness of his tongue. "Likewise."

"Kristin, this is our newest coven member, Techno." Phil took his wife's hand and kissed it. Techno barely noticed Tommy gagging on purpose behind him. "We're quite pleased with him."

Kristin's eyes flitted over to Phil, then back to Techno. They really were an incredible shade of purple, almost more unnatural than the red eyes Techno was finally getting used to from vampires. "So I notice," she said.

"Can we stop standing around out here?" Tommy asked, shifting a little. Ah, Phil did mention he was a tad nervous.

"Yes, let's commence with the fanfare," Kristin answered. "How are you feeling, by the way?" Techno was relieved to have her attention off him. It was a bit much to bear.

"I'm fine," Tommy said. A second of silence, during which Tommy scrunched up his nose. "Seriously, I am."

"That's good to hear, little one." Kristin leaned in and put her hand on his head. Techno watched, astonished, as Tommy melted into the touch. "Fresh blood has been treating you well." And then her eyes flicked to Techno again.

Automatically, he took a step back. Not that it was much use as his retreat was rudely interrupted by him bumping into Wilbur, who steadied him.

"We certainly feel like it has made a difference," Phil added. "There's more to discuss later, I'm sure." He held out his arm for Kristin to hook her own into it. Another servant opened the door for them to enter.

Techno found himself almost hesitantly following behind. A good distraction presented itself in him finally being able to see the interior of this manor. The foyer was huge, lit up by a grand chandelier that seemed to be made of a hundred tiny crystal fragments. A set of two huge staircases cradled the open space from either side. However, a large door that sat perfectly between them had to be their destination since Techno could hear noise coming from beyond it.

"Are they going to herald our arrival?" Techno asked sarcastically. He could imagine the door swinging open to the sound of trumpets playing and everything.

But Wilbur chuckled beside him. "Oh, there's no need. They know we're here."

"Ominious," Techno mumbled.

The second set of doors was opened before them, again by what Techno could only assume was a human servant going by the uniform and a quick glance. He wondered if there was any particular reason these high-ranking vampires would choose to employ humans specifically. Techno could think of a few, none of them good.

Then all of that was wiped from his mind by the ballroom they entered.

Huge would be an understatement, it was a large sprawling room so opulent his eyes didn't know what to settle on first. Whenever they exchanged book recommendations, Niki had a tendency to pick historical romance novels. Techno couldn't help but think she'd freak out if she saw this place. Most expertly manufactured movie sets would pale in comparison. What kind of dampened the whole 'historical architecture high' Techno felt while looking around was the fact that there were also a lot of people in the room, probably up to a hundred or so. Techno remembered that Phil said more covens than usual were invited, and of those covens every single member was expected to attend.

Human governments would try to underplay the sheer number of vampires that exist in the world to keep people comfortable. And this was only the upper echelon.

A lot of attention was drawn to them immediately upon entrance. Phil and Kristin were up front, so most eyes would be on them initially, with some nearby vampires even bowing out of respect. Techno felt Wilbur shift closer to him. Tommy did the same on his other side. For once, the gesture felt more nice than it did claustrophobic.

"Kristin!" One person had broken free from the crowd. His approach with quick, confident strides soothed whatever tension had fallen over the room, allowing others to resume their conversations as if nothing had happened. Though there were definitely still some stray looks thrown their way.

"Schlatt," Kristin greeted, voice pleasant enough. Something about it still sent a shiver down Techno's spine.

None of the others greeted this man and he didn't bother acknowledging them in return. Techno thought about what Phil had said, concerning status and all that. Was this another one of the big shots?

"It's always such a pleasure to have your presence in my humble abode," Schlatt said, holding her hand in both of his. The estate belonged to him, huh? That confirmed Techno's suspicion of Schlatt's importance. Schlatt let go to smile widely. "And I see you brought the entire coven."

"As requested," Kristin confirmed.

"So it seems." Finally, Schlatt had the decency to greet Phil and Wilbur too. A short, quick handshake for either of them. Schlatt did not offer the same courtesy to Tommy, maybe because he was a fledgling. Or maybe this was the guy Tommy had called a 'pompous dickweed' before. Techno couldn't rule it out. "Oh, uh-" Schlatt looked at Techno while narrowing his red eyes a bit, before looking at Kristin again. "You're aware of the rules, right? We don't usually allow folks to bring their pets to these sorts of events."

The realization that Schlatt was talking about him hit Techno like a slap to the face.

Kristin raised one hand. Techno blinked, the motion not meant for him but rather for Wilbur who had tensed at the words as if an inch away from lunging. Her other hand curled around Phil's wrist too.

"You will be excused for your ignorance," Kristin said lowly, the smile firmly fixed on her face. "This is our newest coven member. He has graciously decided to accept your invitation to be here." How she could speak with so much venom laced between the sweet lilt of her voice was beyond Techno. Kristin wasn't talking to him yet he could feel the anger radiating off every syllable.

"Oh," Schlatt said again. His confusion was not genuine. If anything he sounded derisive as he shrugged. "I see, interesting choice, that. How long have you been in this coven exactly?" he asked Techno.

"You do not speak to him," Phil hissed. And this time, Schlatt was surprised.

"Damn, touchy subject, I get it." He stepped back and it allowed Wilbur to relax somewhat. Schlatt gestured at the other side of the room. "We should get the boring shit over with first, don't you agree?"

"I'd love to," Kristin said sweetly. "I'll see you in a bit." She gave Phil a quick kiss before stepping up to follow Schlatt. They headed towards another door than the one they came through, a heavy wooden oak with four people posted in front of it. Techno assumed that was where the actual meetings happened. Only a select few would be privy to that.

"Right," Phil sighed, dropping his stiff posture. "Let's just try to enjoy ourselves while Kristin works, okay? Hopefully, it won't take long." He started to walk to the other side of the room with purpose.

Tommy slightly tugged on Techno's elbow. "You good?" he asked.

"Yeah," Techno said, a little too fast to be completely convincing. He kind of didn't want to talk about it. Being mistaken for a pet was- well, it sure was something but he wasn't going to analyze it too deeply. Not when he was about to socialize for hours. And he already felt more unsteady than usual.

Techno had hoped the dizziness and random bouts of weakness would take a break for the night, but he'd been naive for thinking that.

"Are they always like that?" he said instead, hoping to change the topic.

"Some of them," Tommy answered. "The older they are, the worse they get usually."

Techno nodded. Looking around, he wondered if a vampire's age was something he'd be able to tell. Wilbur honestly didn't stand out at all, dotted around the room where plenty of odd fashion choices and a myriad of time periods were represented. From flowing gowns held tight around the waist with boned corsets to sleek, sequin dresses from the roaring twenties. Some had gone the same route as Phil and dressed appropriately for the current era, but that just meant Techno couldn't assume that vampires in modern attire were young.

"Do you guys want anything to drink?" Phil asked. He had led them towards a wall with a large buffet laid out on low tables. Techno looked at the glasses filled with bright red liquid. No wonder the room smelled a little off to him.

"I don't suppose they have orange juice?" Techno joked.

"I could probably ask them to bring something out for you-" Phil started. His eyes flitted over the table, but even all the hors d'oeuvre seemed to be made with some sort of blood in it. All the creams and mouses delicately piped onto perfectly cut-out pastries had a distinct pinkish tint to them.

"God no," Techno said. His social anxiety could barely stand having to order at a drive-through, he wasn't going to be the guy trying to get the vampire kitchen to make human food on a whim.

"Are you sure?" Wilbur prodded. "We could be here a while."

"I ate before we headed out," Techno lied. To be honest, he was too nauseous to eat much before and while that hadn't changed, he also knew he probably should get some nutrients in his system. He could practically feel Niki's proverbial disapproval for how he was treating his own body. But he'd just have to cope.

"It's fresh," Tommy commented. He had already downed an entire glass and was working on his second one.

Techno tried not to recall what he knew about how fast blood dried and connect the dots on where these drinks might have come from.

"So what do you usually do at these parties?" Techno asked. Most of the crowd was split up into small clusters of people engaging in animated conversations. There was music playing, drifting through the air from some indeterminate source. But while the middle of the room had a dance floor, it remained empty at the moment.

"Sit through the most tedious talks ever," Phil said. "There's really not much to it. Watch this." He used the hand holding his glass to subtly point at somebody already making their way over to them. A young woman with long blonde hair pinned up in elaborate curls.

She came up to them and similar to Schlatt immediately addressed Phil. Some words were afforded for the others, polite greetings before her interest went back to the sire. Status and age really meant more to these vampires than Techno had thought possible. Her eyes did wander to him from time to time, curiosity prodding at Techno uncomfortably. But whether it was her fearing it would offend them, having overheard the interaction with Schlatt earlier, or perhaps it was Wilbur's general air of annoyance whenever anybody did look at Techno that scared her off, she never actually spoke to Techno directly.

After she left, Phil chuckled. As if the entire encounter was hilarious somehow. "See, nothing to it. As long as Wilbur can contain himself."

"I'm so contained right now," Wilbur said. It probably would have been more convincing if Techno couldn't audibly hear him grinding his teeth.

Some idle time passed like that. People came up to them, alone or sometimes in pairs. Vampires who were all smiles and polite greetings, mostly speaking to Phil and Wilbur. From what Techno could gather, the conversations mainly revolved around how daily life had been or how the covens had been faring. Honestly, for a group of vampires, the small talk was so mundane it bordered on mind-numbingly boring. A few times they talked to Tommy too, asking how he'd been doing. Inquiring into the health of fledglings seemed to be a common topic and also one that was meant to relay friendliness. Techno didn't mind being ignored, as long as he could lean against the wall and fiddle with the cuffs of his sleeves. Almost every vampire that passed by did look at him, some stared even. But they never talked to him. Whenever one opened their mouth, they changed their mind before any words could form.

Techno had a sneaking suspicion he had Wilbur and Phil to thank for that.

Maybe that's why it felt mildly distressing when an hour or so had passed and Phil suddenly cleared his throat. "I should do the rounds too," he said. "It's a bad look if we're making them come to us all the time."

He sounded so resigned, describing it as a tired employee would describe an aggravating but mandatory part of the job description. Maybe that was exactly what it was.

"We'll be here," Tommy chirped. He had to be on his seventh glass of blood. Techno was getting a little concerned about that.

Phil disappeared into a crowd that had only become denser since they arrived. The room was rather hot, not from body heat but something else. Techno wasn't sure, but he rolled his sleeves a little closer to his elbows.

"You know he's been staring for a while now," Tommy said suddenly. Techno's head shot up, but it was Wilbur who hummed in answer.

"I know."

Tommy elbowed Wilbur in the side harshly. "Are you going to talk to him or what?"

"Do I have to?" Wilbur said, close to a whine. Techno would have found it funnier if he had a clue what they were making fun of Wilbur for.

So many vampires around the room had stared at him throughout the evening, Techno found it hard to pinpoint if any of them had stared at Wilbur instead.

"Phil is going to get on your case if you don't," Tommy warned.

"Ugh, fine." Wilbur put his glass down, only half emptied. "Do not move, okay?"

"We're not going anywhere," Tommy said.

Wilbur stalked off with a little grumble. Techno leaned into the wall a bit more, feeling the antique wooden paneling against his back. This wall might be worth more than his old apartment used to be. "What was that about?"

"Wilbur's a fucking deadbeat dad," Tommy told him humorously.

Techno didn't get it. "What?"

"This happened before I even existed. He sired some random guy, it's a long story, okay? But he's in Quackity's coven now so-" Tommy cut himself off when somebody else approached them.

This vampire was tall, taller than Wilbur even and that was saying something. They scurried up so quickly, taking up the spot Wilbur had vacated only seconds before, it could not have been a coincidence.

"Why, Kristin's promising fledgling. How good to see you again." They shook Tommy's hand, or more like took Tommy's wrist and flapped it up and down a few times. Tommy did not look like much of a willing participant.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"We met oh so briefly the last time you answered a summons. But I'm not surprised you wouldn't remember a humble one such as myself." They let go again. "You look healthier too. Feeling better?"

Oh…

Techno didn't know why such a simple question left him profoundly uncomfortable. Some of the others had also inquired into Tommy's health but it felt like an expected cordiality, if not sincere worry. This was the slight incline of one's heel into the warm water, seeing if it would burn.

Having a vulnerable fledgling could not be a good thing for a coven's safety.

"Loads," Tommy said with a smirk. And then failed to elaborate. Good for him.

Or so Techno thought until it prompted the vampire to turn their attention to him.

"And you must be Kristin's new…" A pause there, Techno unsure what word would come out of the man's mouth yet but bracing for the worst. Until they settled on a neutral, "acquisition."

"Something like that," Techno said.

"I suppose people find all sorts of novel ways to feed these days. You can't imagine the creativity, though it must save them some trips to the grocery store to have blood so readily available," the vampire laughed at the comment, failing to notice their audience was not impressed.

Their eyes were red, slightly darker than Techno expected. They studied his face, then slid down toward Techno's throat.

"Only the best for Kristin's offspring, I assume. The taste must be divine, then."

Tommy pushed them away faster than Techno could blink. "Back off!"

With a sharp growl, the other vampire shoved Tommy in return. Not expecting it, the fledgling wasn't strong enough to stop them. "I see no claim left on him. You should have marked your territory properly, runt."

They reached out, and in return Techno raised his arm, allowing their fingers to curl around it. And allowing his bracelet to slide down against their skin. The sound was a strange pop, a crackle that reminded of popcorn in the microwave. Though the smell was much too acidic to be pleasant.

They hissed in pain and shot away, the angry red mark of the bracelet left where it burned them. "What-"

Tommy had grabbed the front of their shirt before they could finish the sentence. "Don't you ever dare touch him again."

Techno took a step, back pressed against the wall. "Tommy-" He didn't know where he was going with this. Techno just didn't want things to escalate.

Maybe it was almost a relief that Tommy pushed them off harshly. "Get the fuck away from us! Now." This was already causing a scene Techno didn't want.

The vampire scampered off, muttering something under their breath. The fledgling turned to Techno quickly. "Are you okay? What the fuck was that?"

Techno showed him the bracelet. "You didn't think I was going into a vampire den without any protection, did you?" He pulled his sleeve back over the smooth silver, not wanting it to burn Tommy by accident.

"Silver is not a vampire weakness," Tommy said, confused.

"I soaked it in lemon juice after doing some research."

"You- Fucking hell." An incredulous little laugh was his reward.

"What? It worked, didn't it?" Techno shrugged. But it was as if being reminded of what exactly happened reignited the anger in Tommy.

"I'm going to find that guy and kill him."

Techno grabbed the back of his jacket to stop him. "No, you're staying right here like you promised Wilbur."

"But-"

"Tommy," Techno said softer. He leaned against the wall more, a bout of weakness and the usual vertigo he could probably play off easily as an echo of fright at what was narrowly avoided. Techno wasn't scared, but on the other hand, he wasn't exactly stoked on the idea of being left completely alone right now either - anti-vampire bracelet or not.

So he was glad that Tommy leaned against him and crossed his arms, pouting a little. "Fine. I guess I can go kill him later."

Yeah, this was going to be a long night.

Tommy would not need to dirty his hands with murder tonight.

Techno's main priority during that whole debacle had been to not cause a scene. The fact that he almost had some guy jump him in the middle of a party to suck him dry like a juice pack was horrifying in its own right, but Techno was pushing that into the deepest corner of his brain where he'd been storing all similar experiences he'd had lately.

Being mistaken for a pet, asked if he was a kidnapping victim, treated as another snack platter at this event. They were Techno's new normal, apparently.

They shouldn't be. But they were. So Techno was just going to not acknowledge that for a while.

But not drawing unwanted attention to himself had been one of Techno's greatest assets in the past and also he was pretty sure Phil would be pissed if they made fools of themselves in front of all of these important vampires. And Techno simply didn't believe Tommy would have won that fight.

However, the confrontation was certainly seen by others.

The staring was more obvious after their little incident. Tommy either didn't notice or didn't mind, he had his arms crossed and his chest puffed and was seething in silence, glaring at anybody who so much as breathed in their direction. Techno stayed at his spot near the wall. He liked that he could lean back into it and feel a little less cornered. After maybe ten tense minutes of this, minutes during which Techno definitely saw some other vampires whisper to each other and at one point even spotted a servant knock on the big oak door that Kristin had disappeared through, slipping inside moments after, somebody swiftly crossed the room.

They were pulling the vampire who had tried to attack Techno along by the throat.

The guy barely struggled, though maybe they couldn't since they were being hauled like a rag doll, feet almost leaving the ground a few times as they went, unable to keep up with the brisk pace. Techno tried, but he couldn't see where they were dragged off to. More whispers followed, more glances thrown their way.

Yeah, they definitely caused a scene.

"What the fuck did you do?!"

And there were the consequences of their actions.

Techno didn't think he'd ever seen Wilbur this upset before. Similar to Phil, Wilbur managed to contain himself by seeming pretty laid back most of the time. Maybe that was simply something taught by age - and after being around vampire society this much Techno was really starting to understand why keeping your cards close to your chest was the smart move. Even when he had his ribcage literally torn open, Wilbur seemed calm. It was only the taste of fresh blood that had thrown him into a frenzy.

So Techno was not prepared for Wilbur to look like he was about ready to bite somebody's head off.

"I didn't do anything," Tommy said, raising his voice a bit.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Wilbur's eyes scanned Tommy's body first, then did the same for Techno, checking for any obvious injuries. When he found none, that seemed to piss him off more. "What happened?"

"That guy started it," Tommy said - which was not actually an answer to Wilbur's question at all. Maybe that was why Wilbur's face scrunched up all weird-like. When his lips pulled back, it made his fangs stand out. Techno was reminded of a dog baring its teeth.

Conflict resolution was not his best skill. He prayed Phil would return before Techno had to try and diffuse the situation somehow.

"Tommy, are you even listening to me?" Wilbur grabbed Tommy's shoulders. Techno thought for a moment the older vampire was going to do something drastic, but he only shook Tommy around slightly as if it would make his point get across better. All it did was make Tommy go cross-eyed. "You cannot go around picking fights here. God knows who you pissed off. You're going to get us all killed-"

"They tried to take a bite out of Techno," Tommy said.

Wilbur stopped shaking him, fingers curling a bit more into the fabric of the fancy white shirt Tommy was wearing. He blinked, staring at Tommy. Tommy stared back. It was near comical.

Wilbur let go to throw up his hands. "Are you serious?! What the fuck, you should have led with that!" He turned to Techno so quickly it would have a normal person's head spin. Since Techno was already a little dizzy, it wasn't very pleasant.

Wilbur's hands also grabbed his shoulders, though rather than shake him they seemed to be probing for any physical injuries Wilbur's visual inspection might have missed. It was all a little dramatic considering Wilbur would have surely been able to smell any blood if Techno actually got hurt. So Techno pushed his hands away with a grunt.

"It's fine, nothing happened," he said.

"I beg to differ," Tommy muttered. He was still angry.

"I'm not too thrilled something could have happened," Wilbur said bitterly. However, he did stop searching for wounds that weren't there.

"I'm surprised you didn't foresee this considering you took a human into a room full of vampires," Techno answered. He'd brought the bracelet as a precaution because it made sense to him. This was the same reason you wouldn't throw a fox into a chicken pen and expect them to all become friends. Vampires and humans might have found a way to co-exist, that didn't mean Techno was oblivious to the truth. They were natural predators. A missing person's case was as easily explained by a vampire attack as a human serial killer these days.

Sure, killing humans was illegal but that wouldn't stop everybody, would it?

"No, that's not what I meant." Wilbur pulled back fully, but kept scrutinizing Techno a moment longer. "You don't steal prey from a coven more powerful than yours unless you have a death wish. Especially not a coven like Kristin's. What was that guy thinking?!"

Techno nodded. "Hm, reassuring."

So what Wilbur was saying - dressed up a little to make it seem less terrible - was that not a single vampire would have batted an eye at Techno being murdered if it weren't for the fact that he had people like Phil and Kristin vouching for him. People they were more scared of than any legal repercussions from the human government.

A servant walked up to them. Techno had a horrifying moment of running his mind through some doom scenarios on what could happen next. He had burned an important vampire at the important vampire event. Self-defense might not fly with these guys, maybe he'd get arrested and brought to vampire court and condemned to becoming a raisin or something. His bad luck lately seemed to indicate this could happen to him. But all the servant did was hold up a tray to him. There was a glass of orange juice on it.

"Oh… uh, thanks." Techno took it. Not only was it the first drink fit for a human Techno had seen all night, it was very clearly freshly squeezed orange juice that somebody had strained to get all the pulpy bits out. Techno always complained that he hated pulp in his orange juice.

"Your sire requested it," the servant said, maybe because Techno looked so confused.

Techno told Phil not to bother. In hindsight, he was a little grateful that Phil had decided not to heed Techno's wishes and find something he could consume regardless. His throat was dry and tight, so the orange juice helped a little.

"Phil is going to freak out when he hears what happened," Tommy said, the mention of their sire apparently making him realize this.

"Phil? What about Kristin?" Wilbur pinched the bridge of his nose. "If that guy isn't dead already he will be soon."

Tommy scoffed. "Serves him right."

"I should not have left you two alone," Wilbur said, leaning against the wall next to Techno on his other side. He felt a little like a celebrity flanked by two bodyguards. Since that was maybe the only thing keeping Techno from being murdered, he'd take it.

"Didn't you just say that things like this normally don't happen?" Techno pointed out.

"Yeah, but everything has been kind of weird lately. I just feel like I should have seen it coming."

Wilbur did not elaborate, staring at some indeterminate point on the opposite wall, seemingly deep in thought. Techno leaned forward to look at Tommy, who shrugged at him. Maybe the fledgling didn't know either. But things had definitely been tense, what with Wilbur getting attacked and now this huge meeting that requested a greater attendance than was common. He sipped his drink and tried to ignore the growing sensation that something was off.

Phil did not return either. Techno didn't know if he should be worried about that.

At one point, Tommy stretched and leaned against him, his head resting on Techno's shoulder. Techno smirked to himself.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"No," Tommy lied.

"Could have fooled me."

Even with more regular feedings, Tommy sometimes would get exhausted after only a couple of hours awake, especially if he had to walk around or such. Techno was starting to wonder if they would ever find out what was causing this. And if it would ever go away. Tommy himself held out hope that time would fix the issue, despite not wanting to admit he was still a fledgling he also commented sometimes that he couldn't wait for his body to need less blood. But Techno wasn't so sure. Neither Wilbur nor Phil had really said that waiting would magically fix this. If it didn't, Tommy might need to take extra care to consume fresh blood for the rest of his life. Having a live-in blood bag might become the coven's permanent solution.

They might ask Techno to stay.

And Techno had no clue what to do with that. It was a little presumptuous of him to assume they'd want him specifically to stay, but then again there was very little reason for them not to. Techno couldn't keep denying that the relationship he had with this coven shifted from purely professional into roommate territory and then friendship. He liked them. They liked him.

(Tommy had used the word 'love' that one time in the nest. Nobody had ever told Techno they loved him aside from his parents, dead for almost a decade. Tommy was also both a teenager and a fledgling, who knew where that left him on the brain development scale. It could have just been a slip of the tongue. So Techno had decided to disregard it.)

Living permanently in the coven could be nice, though. Techno could chase all his career aspirations while not worrying about rent ever again, plus earning money on the side so he could focus on passion projects. It was the sort of opportunity most people would probably jump at.

What left him so hesitant to consider it a good thing?

Tommy had downed another glass of blood, expression a little sour as he did so. He was probably trying to chase away that feeling of tiredness. By the looks of it, it wasn't working.

"So how's that going for you?" Techno asked lightly.

"Great, actually." Tommy picked up another glass out of what had to be spite.

"Don't drink too much of that crap. The anticoagulant might make you sick again," Wilbur interrupted.

"Whatever." But Tommy did put the glass down. "It's not even good anyway. Yours is way better." He said those last words to Techno.

Techno frowned a bit. "You keep saying that as if it's a compliment."

"It is!" Tommy insisted. He smiled up at Techno, red eyes gleaming mischievously in the overlit room. "Congrats on your very tasty, very good blood, big man. You should sell it, dumb vampires would pay premium for that shit."

Snorting at Tommy's playful antics, Techno elbowed the fledgling in the side which made him laugh. "Gross, I'd never willingly sell my blood to a leech like you." Tommy mock gasped, punching Techno's shoulder halfheartedly. Techno couldn't tell if the punch was weak because Tommy wasn't actually trying or because he lacked the strength to do more.

"Your blood is really nice though," Wilbur agreed out loud. He was relaxing a bit at their silliness, having a hard time keeping a straight face. "I should know, I've tried a lot of different types."

Tommy nodded eagerly. "Right? I wish I could have some right now, it's so good."

"Keep that up and neither of you is having any ever again," Techno told them. It was weird to joke about these sorts of things, but somehow it felt almost natural when it was with these two. Just… casually alluding to the fact that Tommy and Wilbur happily drank the thing keeping Techno alive? A few months ago that would be disconcerting and now it felt normal.

"I bet I'd be better if I could feed properly," Tommy said, a little wistful. He sagged against Techno again, pathetic like a deflated balloon.

Techno patted his head. "We didn't bring any bags." A minor oversight. Maybe that would be interesting to keep in mind for the future. How long would a blood bag keep fresh without any chemical additions? Techno could start carrying one around in his backpack for emergencies.

"You don't need the bags to feed," Wilbur said. Technically true.

But Techno didn't like the way it made Tommy look at him.

"No, I'm not letting you feed on me in the middle of a vampire party."

"Wilbur got to drink straight from your body, why can't I?" Tommy whined. The tone came so close to a petulant child throwing a tantrum that it almost made Techno laugh, then he remembered the thing Tommy was fussing about was drinking the blood directly out of his veins.

"Because Wilbur did it at home," Techno said. Would letting Tommy feed on him be considered polite or not? Maybe it was actually very rude to feed on your human while in somebody else's house. Like bringing your own snacks to a restaurant.

"So I can do it when we're home?" Tommy asked innocently.

"That's not what I said-" Techno tried, but Tommy's pleading face told him that was a battle he had already lost. Or at least would never hear the end of. He knew allowing Wilbur to do it would set a dangerous precedent. "We'll talk about this later," he decided instead.

Having Wilbur feed on him the old-fashioned way hadn't been the worst thing in the world, quite the contrary. If it was really so much better for both parties, perhaps it should not surprise Techno that Tommy wanted to give it a go. And Phil had mentioned that it probably only exacerbated Tommy's whole jealousy thing that he got relegated to bags, because vampires got touchy about other vampires physically touching their 'prey'. Which Techno wasn't. He wasn't prey. Semantics.

"What will we talk about later?"

There was some idiom in there about the devil, Techno was sure. Could it really be a coincidence that Phil would appear right as Techno thought about him? Well, maybe.

"Techno is going to let me feed from him when we get home!" Tommy proclaimed happily.

"I did not agree to this."

"Do not push Techno into stuff he doesn't want," Phil said sternly. At least somebody was in his corner. Techno understood that feeding from a human's body was a very different experience than the bags - and if Wilbur was to be believed the taste was far superior too - that didn't mean he was looking to make it a constant thing.

"As if you haven't been wanting to try it," Wilbur said suddenly, offering Phil an unimpressed stare.

"Seriously?" Techno asked because this was news to him. "I thought ancient vampires rarely needed to feed."

"Sure, but it's been a couple of decades. I might be getting a little peckish." Phil shrugged.

"Bruh, I don't think I have enough blood in my body for all three of you."

"We can take turns," Phil said pleasantly.

Techno drank from his orange juice so he wouldn't need to answer. His stomach felt kind of strange. He'd be inclined to dismiss it as nervousness, what with the subject matter of the conversation and them being at a big vampire party and all. Maybe it was something else though. Anxiety didn't often make Techno's vision go double.

Before he could make up his mind on whether mentioning this would be smart or not, the big oak doors behind which the vampire government was holding their important meeting opened. Schlatt came out first, followed by a few people Techno didn't know the names of, and then Kristin too. Her purple eyes scanned the room, easily finding them so she could beeline across it toward them. The motion would be described as running, except she was far too elegant for something as bumbling as that. What Techno saw could only be called gliding, the edges of her skirt barely dragging along the floor.

"Oh gross, they're going to kiss again," Tommy warned with a disgusted expression.

Techno chuckled as Phil and Kristin did just that, accompanied by Tommy's pantomime of puking in the background. If Tommy really wanted to beat the child allegations, he shouldn't act out every time his pseudo-parents engaged in public displays of affection.

"And? How was it?" Phil asked. Kristin offered him a little smile, one that didn't give away anything.

"Boring as usual. I would have languished away completely if I hadn't been able to look forward to seeing you again."

"Fucking hell, get a room," Tommy complained. It made both of them laugh.

"I heard you acted out while I was occupied, fledgling." Kristin turned to him. "What was that you promised to me about being on your best behavior?"

"What? What happened?" Phil asked. Tommy cringed back a bit at having his sire raise his voice at him.

"It wasn't his fault this time," Wilbur said, coming to Tommy's defense.

Their conversation was halfway interrupted by the music swelling in volume. With the official meeting done, it seemed the event had shifted its tense atmosphere into that of a more relaxed soiree. Mingling carried on as lively as before, but some allowed themselves to be swayed onto the dancefloor. Kristin held out her hand for Techno to take.

"Oh, it's already been taken care of, don't you worry," she said. "Now if you don't mind, I'd love to take this opportunity to get acquainted with our newest coven member better."

"I don't really know how to slow dance," Techno warned, though he did take her offered hand. Anything to be dragged away before Tommy had to explain their little altercation to Phil. Techno would let them deal with the fallout of that.

"Nonsense. It's not hard." Kristin gently tugged him along. "Just try not to step on my toes."

Automatically, Techno looked down. Don't step on any toes. Easy enough. He positioned his hold awkwardly, allowing her to show him how it was done. Despite the light grip around her waist and her own hand on his shoulder, Techno very distinctly felt like Kristin was the one taking the lead. Gracefulness saturated her very being. She started to move with the tune of the music and Techno had a hard time paying attention to anything else aside from not stumbling over his own two feet.

The only other occasion Techno had ever gotten the chance to slow dance was his senior prom. And Techno hadn't taken the one girl who asked him up on the offer. So sue him if he kept glancing at the ground, concentrating on the polished floor and not the people around them. If Kristin could keep them from waltzing straight into another pair, Techno could keep from tripping.

Kristin chuckled, turning them in a semicircle. "You're using a lot more of your brain than this activity usually requires. It's not rocket science."

Techno was forced to glance up at her, at those deep purple eyes. "It's harder than it looks in the movies for sure," he commented. "I'll take the rocket science over this."

She laughed again. Techno found the sound quite enchanting. "Phil told me you're very smart. You're dual majoring?"

"English and history," Techno told her. He was more or less getting the hang of the dancing thing so he found it easier to keep up a conversation while not falling out of step.

"Any particular era you're specializing in?"

"Ancient Greece," Techno answered. Other people spun around them, but whenever they would get closer Kristin would change course and move them away. So Techno decided not to worry about bumping into anybody.

"Oh, yes. Such a lovely time that was." She grinned widely, nodding at him until her dark curls bounced in excitement.

Techno could barely be surprised anymore that this implied she was alive back then. Perhaps she was messing with him, but something about Kristin also gave him a profound impression that this made sense. That she had been there when the earth was created and might be the last one to gaze upon the stars as they were swallowed by the heat death of the universe.

"I'm glad to see you're settling in well," she continued. "Gosh, it's been thrilling hearing so much about you, but meeting you in person is lovelier by far."

"Thanks?" Techno curled his fingers a bit, hoping his stupidly sweaty hands wouldn't slip.

He knew she meant well, the comment just felt out of place considering they hadn't spent a lot of time together. Kristin didn't seem to mind. She acted as if they'd known each other for ages. Techno would hate it if anybody else did that, though with her it was strangely endearing, and his head was pounding.

"Bringing a human in was my idea, you know. Phil wasn't sold, but I know how stubborn he can be. And how to wear away at that stubbornness. In the end, he'll always do what's right for the coven." The fractured light of the chandelier reflected in her irises.

"Oh?" It was more of a shaky exhale than a proper question.

"My coven is all that matters to me. Their happiness is my happiness. That's what these people don't understand. That is why they get caught up in the little things, so mundane." Kristin didn't blink, grip tightening. Techno was used to vampires not breathing, but he'd never noticed them not blinking before. "You've made them very happy, Techno." And she smiled. Techno couldn't pull himself back.

Then a small tug on his wrist brought him out of the trance. Rapidly, as if emerging from frozen water gasping. Techno shook his head, while Kristin looked away at where the others had to be. Techno's vision had gotten a bit fuzzy from all the dancing, he couldn't tell for sure.

"Sorry," Kristin said, lighter in tone. "I got a little carried away."

Techno didn't know what she meant. He wanted to, if only his brain didn't slip from his ears whenever he considered asking. So he didn't.

"I have a question," he said instead. There was another curiosity inside him and if nothing else, he could have that sated.

"I might have answers," Kristin responded. Her sense of humor was very similar to Phil's.

"The others said I'd probably be one of the only humans here tonight. Is that true?"

Kristin's eyebrows rose a bit, face painted with genuine surprise. As the song transitioned into another, they continued to turn again as if it were natural. Techno felt a bit more steady, shaking the odd tingle down his spine as Kristin contemplated her answer.

"In as far as being here as part of a coven, yes. Having a permanent blood bag has fallen out of fashion."

Techno exhaled a half-laugh. "Was it ever in fashion?"

"For a while, when humankind and vampires first brushed against each other's existence in the public eye. Humans realized they had a supply that could fill demand. Having a proper live-in blood bag would even be seen as a status symbol. Fancy, you know? A commodity."

"Like a dog in a designer purse," Techno said wryly.

He could imagine it. Humans pampered to hell and not even caring that they were seen as expendable. He remembered there were significant periods in history where working as retainers to powerful nobility was considered a smart and admirable thing to do, putting yourself close to those in charge. No matter how valued these people were in actuality. Maybe it was a little like that?

"Going around feeding on random humans suddenly wasn't allowed anymore, everything had to be regulated. So having a food source easily available was a luxury," Kristin added.

Techno was born long after vampires had already blended into society, he'd only briefly heard about all the trouble that had initially caused in school and stuff.

"Though before that, sometimes vampires would also keep prey alive for longer periods of time," Kristin added, carelessly as an afterthought. As if that was not the most horrific thought.

(Techno remembered Ranboo had alluded to something similar too, asking if Techno had taken the job out of his own volition. Kristin said this like it was a small stain left by the bygone days, antiquity rusting in the attic where nobody wanted to look at it. Techno wasn't going to open the hatch to take a peek.)

"What about humans who don't belong to a coven?" he asked.

"Some of the servants here are humans," Kristin confirmed. Techno was vaguely proud of himself for calling it. "Is it that much different from any other job?"

"I suppose not," Techno admitted. Working for a bunch of vampires while they threw secret parties sounded very outlandish but Kristin was probably right. Customer service was the same no matter who the Karens were. Whether they were carrying around platters of champagne during a boring old wedding reception or they were bringing glasses of blood to thirsty patrons, would that matter? Some people might refuse to do it because of a general disdain for vampires. Apart from that, it was just a job like any other.

"You were hoping for something more exciting?" Kristin asked, grinning at him. His vague disappointment seemed to amuse her.

"I don't know." Techno shrugged, the gesture a little awkward with them holding each other for the dancing. Techno was almost doing it on autopilot at this point, though he hadn't stepped on any toes yet. "I read once that some humans decide to work for vampires in the hopes they could be turned."

"Hm, maybe. But usually not. There's too much red tape, most wouldn't risk turning a human without careful consideration. It could get you in big trouble."

"Would it still count as a murder?"

A human dies when they're turned, technically. But they also wouldn't stay dead. Is a death certificate ever filed? Do they get to keep their social security number?

Do vampires even have social security numbers?

"If not done through the proper channels," Kristin said. She had to know a lot about this. From what Wilbur implied, dealing with newly turned fledglings was a large chunk of her work. "But that's nothing for you to worry about, right?"

Kristin stopped. Techno hadn't noticed another song was over already, the sudden stillness foreign as it popped the bubble around them.

"Right," he agreed.

They crossed the few remaining feet to the edge of the dance floor, where Phil was waiting. They were actually on the opposite side of the room from where they started, and Techno smirked at himself when that prompted the mental image of Phil eagerly tracking their movements just so he could swoop in and dance with his wife as soon as possible.

Maybe Tommy was right, Phil was a total simp.

"May I?" the sire asked all politely, bowing just an inch.

"It would be my utmost pleasure," Kristin answered as she took his hand. "Thanks for indulging me, Techno." She giggled when Phil kissed her knuckles. If Tommy was seeing this, he'd be gagging again.

Speaking of, when Techno looked around he realized he couldn't really spot the other two right away. They probably were at the same spot that Techno had left them in earlier, unless they were dancing too. Techno could go over there to check. But since he had a moment anyway, he might as well go to the bathroom first.

The orange juice did not entirely agree with Techno's stomach.

Either his anxiety was bothering him more than he realized, or maybe not eating all day was the source of his nausea. The dizziness too. Techno should be more meticulous about taking Niki's prescribed supplements, the fainting spells had only been getting worse.

He headed to the nearest door, which happened to be the one they came in through. A servant opened it for him wordlessly, Techno stepped out into the empty entrance hall beyond. How much quieter it was there somehow felt like a relief. Techno hadn't noticed how bad his headache had gotten, or how overwhelmed the party had left him.

Looking around, he also stupidly realized he had no idea where the bathroom was. Maybe he should have thought about asking somebody?

But also, ew, social interaction.

Since the only other door was the one that led outside, Techno started to head up the stairs instead. There might be a bathroom up there. If nothing else, he'd get to enjoy the architecture. The banister was smooth, cold to the touch. He took the steps slowly, one at a time, biting back vertigo.

The walls spun worse than when he was dancing, tilting left in a sickening lurch. Techno's hand slipped.

He didn't exactly feel the pain of hitting his head. One moment he was standing and the next he was blinking at the blood spreading over the marble, red against checkered white.

Then that too leaked into nothing and took his remaining consciousness with it.

Somebody was touching his face.

Techno groaned, trying to peel open his sticky eyelids. Literally, because he could feel the half-congealed blood that was clinging to his forehead and cheek. Pain radiated through his skull from the same spot the blood seemed to be coming from, and while his memories were a bit hazy at the moment, Techno was gradually piecing together what had happened. He was on the stairs, looking for a bathroom or something. Dizziness had overwhelmed him and he fell, hitting his head on the marble. And then-

Techno flinched when the person who was touching him prodded at a wet spot along his hairline, causing another sharp jab of pain.

"Sorry." The person poking him drew back. Techno blinked a few times to clear his vision, noticing that whoever this was also dragged him the rest of the way up the stairs and rolled him onto his back. He was staring up into a face he did not recognize.

A vampire.

Techno noticed the fangs peeking out from between their slightly parted lips, though even the process of elimination made it straightforward to come to that conclusion since he'd been at the vampire event thing when he passed out. Despite the pain, he could recall that clearly enough. He hadn't eaten all day and only had a coffee this morning. And then some orange juice Phil managed to acquire for him. Not very surprising that Techno fainted.

"Are you awake?" the stranger hovering over Techno asked him.

"No, I'm sleeping with my eyes open."

"Hey, you'd be surprised with these guys." The man tilted his head. His hair was cropped pretty short, a dark shade of brownish-black. His eyes had a similar piercing blue color to Phil's. He was young, probably around Techno's age, though even in the vampire sense Techno got the impression this man would be on the younger side. Not a fledgling anymore, but also not ancient nor nearly as old as somebody like Wilbur. The man's clothes were pretty modern too, and decidedly one of the least formal things Techno had seen all night.

With a grunt, Techno pushed up on his elbows. The man sat back to keep their foreheads from bonking together, a frown on his face seeming to indicate he wasn't entirely comfortable with this situation.

That would make two of them.

Techno swayed a little, the vertigo coming back full force when he tried to get upright. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. The reason he was looking for a bathroom was also vividly coming back to him. He felt sick enough it was almost more of a miracle he hadn't puked already, but with a push of the vampire's hand against his shoulder he fell onto his back again.

"Dude, don't move. You totally cracked your head on the stairs just now. Humans are so fucking fragile." The man clicked his tongue slightly, annoyance that did not feel very sincere.

"I'm fine," Techno said firmly.

The man stared at his face, particularly the parts of it covered in blood, with an above-average amount of judgment. Techno ignored him. Out of all the things that happened tonight, being called 'fragile' was probably one of the least offensive and it still rubbed him wrong. He was getting pretty sick of vampires looking down on him.

Motivated by spite, Techno gritted his teeth and pushed up again, this time managing to sit without tipping over. His head was pounding, and the nausea wasn't completely gone. But the vampire also didn't try to get him to lie down a second time, maybe because Techno was glaring at him a bit.

"You're Kristin's human, right?" the man asked.

"I'm-" Techno stopped himself. Easy as it could be to take that as another slight, the insinuation being that he wasn't his own person and rather that he belonged to somebody else, he also caught on to the fact that this was just how vampires often referred to each other. All night he'd heard them speak about Tommy as 'Kristin's fledgling'. Especially higher ranking vampires seldom said Tommy's name.

So maybe this wasn't the hill he needed to die on.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm Techno."

"Skeppy. You probably don't know me, I don't usually come to these sorts of things. They're so fucking boring." He faltered there. "Am I allowed to say that?"

"Beats me. I don't normally come to these sorts of things either," Techno answered.

Skeppy chuckled slightly. "I can't imagine why." His darker skin tone made his eyes seem to glow brighter than they should. He also had little shame about staring at Techno, as he continued to do so for several more seconds. Techno sat back a bit, resting his weight on his wrists. He wasn't super intimidated, he had the bracelet and also this Skeppy guy looked a head shorter than him and like a lightweight. Techno had little doubt he could punt him even in his current weak state.

Besides, if Skeppy had wanted to hurt him he'd have done so while Techno was unconscious.

He carefully touched the place on his forehead that was hurting the most, wincing at the brief but intense pain that was his reward. His fingers came away wet with blood. Techno looked at them, thoughts a bit too sluggish to catch up with why that should concern him. Well, concern him more than the average amount of worry one should feel at a heavily bleeding head wound.

Oh, right, he was surrounded by vampires.

He was about to ask Skeppy, except when he looked up again Techno couldn't help but notice a strange… glimmer? That was the only word Techno could use to describe what he was seeing. It reminded him of a video game, which almost made him laugh out loud because clearly he had knocked his brain up worse than he thought if he was straight-up hallucinating. But the glimmer did not fade out of existence, in fact the more Techno tried to look at it, the easier it became for him to see. It extended around them in a half circle, like a bubble of soap or something.

"What the heck…" Techno tried to reach out, curious to know if it was also similar to a bubble in that he could pop it with a quick poke. Blood loss and dizziness weren't doing his impulse control any favors.

Skeppy snatched his wrist - thankfully not the one he was wearing the bracelet on - before he could touch the strange, iridescent aura surrounding them. "Don't do that. My shield is the only thing between us and a bunch of ravenous fledglings."

Techno pulled his arm back to his chest. "What?"

"Most vampires can keep themselves in check around the smell of fresh blood, but not all of them," Skeppy said. "Especially not when they're stressed and hungry. Which definitely happens to be the case at these shitty events. So I put up a shield."

"And your fancy vampire shield would burst if a human touched it? That feels like an unfortunate flaw," Techno said, tone dry.

Skeppy's features all scrunched up in displeasure again. He was pretty easy to rile up, amusingly so. "Obviously not. My power nullifies anything that can be picked up by physical senses. Everything inside this," Skeppy waved his hand at the translucent shimmer around them, "is invisible to people outside it. Unsmellable too."

"Unsmellable isn't a word," Techno said. Skeppy got even more flustered.

He did have to admit it was pretty clever. People used to say sharks could smell a drop of blood in a whole tub of water. While that was actually a myth, Techno had gotten plenty of opportunity to see firsthand how vampires had enhanced senses. Skeppy was probably right. If he hadn't come along so quickly after Techno fainted, somebody else might have found him. Somebody a lot more bitey.

"Thanks," Techno interrupted Skeppy's muttered complaints about how unsmellable was definitely a word. "For uh, not letting me bleed out on the stairs or get eaten by a stray fledgling."

"Yeah, you should be thankful. You could have unleashed a war," Skeppy scoffed. "Bad would kill me if I saw an incident waiting to happen and didn't do anything to stop it."

"A war? That's a little dramatic."

"I'm serious," Skeppy insisted. "You think it would have gone over well with Kristin if somebody murdered her human? These covens are already at each other's throats constantly."

Techno hadn't really considered that sort of thing. He shrugged, feeling a little foolish and a lot bad for almost making things worse. As a direct result of his stubborn inability to take care of himself too.

This did bring another issue to mind though.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

Skeppy frowned. "The plan?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming we're not going to sit in this bubble forever?"

"I…" At the way Skeppy's expression fell, Techno did laugh this time. He couldn't help it. "I hadn't thought that far ahead, okay?!"

"Can you move while keeping the shield up?" Techno asked. Maybe they could sneak back into the ballroom and he could go pull on Phil's sleeve. Techno hoped that getting hurt was a good reason to convince the others to go home soon. This socialization thing was super overhyped.

He was tired, in pain, and hungry. Not a great combination.

"Sometimes, but it's too risky," Skeppy said. "If my powers flunk in the middle of the ballroom we're fucked. Man, Bad keeps saying I should spend more time on it. I hate that this proves him right."

Techno laughed again. "Just drop the shield then. We'll deal with whatever happens."

"Are you insane? What part of 'ravenous fledglings' did you not understand?"

"Unless you have a better idea, I'm not staying in here and starting a podcast." Techno rubbed at the blood drying on his face, the sensation growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"It's quite literally your funeral," Skeppy deadpanned. Techno couldn't help but like this guy. Most tolerable vampire he'd met all night, aside from Kristin probably. "Once these assholes get a taste of blood-"

Suddenly, Skeppy snapped his fingers.

"Wait, that's it!"

"What's it?" Techno asked.

"Your coven feeds on you, right?" Techno nodded. Skeppy grinned at the confirmation that his plan could work. "Instead of dismissing the shield completely, I'll just weaken it a bit. With all those glasses in the ballroom, it'll take a minute before your scent gets through. But a vampire that has fed on you before would pick up on it faster."

"That's convenient," Techno said. He had no clue vampire senses could be that specific.

"Yeah, makes it easier for us to track our prey after it escapes somehow."

Ah, there it was. Techno exhaled, but decided not to press the issue. Both Wilbur and Tommy had fed on him before, so unless one of the vampires at this party also happened to use Niki's clinic to get their fill and coincidentally consumed Techno's blood along the way, the odds were high one of them would come and find them before a starving fledgling could. And it beat having to sit around hoping somebody would come by, or wait for them to notice he was missing.

If his cell service wasn't so bad in this mansion, he might have tried sending a text. But knowing his luck, the others wouldn't be checking their phones anytime soon.

"Whatever works," Techno said. Skeppy nodded.

He waved his hand again. Techno didn't notice any difference in the translucency that hovered around them, but he assumed Skeppy was doing something to it. They sat for a handful of seconds in tense silence, waiting.

After a bit, Skeppy cleared his throat. "I don't think-"

Techno never would get to find out what Skeppy did or didn't think, because the next moment something slammed the younger vampire bodily into the wall. Maybe it was because of an onset concussion or maybe because it happened too fast for the human eye to catch, but it took Techno a blink or two before he realized it was actually Wilbur pinning Skeppy in place.

He had one hand wrapped in the front of Skeppy's shirt, helping to lift him several inches off the floor. The other hand was pressing down on Skeppy's shoulder so his struggling and the feeble kicking of his legs would be useless. Skeppy's hands were clenched around Wilbur's wrists, trying to pry him off without much luck.

"How fucking dare you!" Wilbur was loudly growling at the poor guy. Maybe this hadn't been such a bright idea after all.

"Wai-"

Once again Skeppy was interrupted by Wilbur pulling him closer, before slamming him a second time, with enough force for the brick to crack. If Skeppy had a human spine, it would be broken at this point.

Techno should probably do something about that.

"Wilbur, stop. He didn't do anything."

Either Wilbur was too enraged to properly hear Techno over his own anger, or maybe Skeppy's squealing was drowning him out. That was rather unfortunate. But Techno had decided in the relatively short time span that he'd known Skeppy for, that he probably liked him enough not to let Wilbur tear him limb from limb. Especially not for a crime he didn't commit.

Techno didn't trust his legs to support his weight properly though, and even if he could get upright he wasn't entirely sure what he could do against Wilbur's freaky vampire super strength. He had to come up with something else.

His eyes fell on the silver bracelet around his wrist.

Wilbur was at this point shaking Skeppy around like a ragdoll, ignoring the way Skeppy continued to claw at him and spout curse words. While he spoke, Wilbur's lips were pulled back far enough to expose his fangs. "If you ever lay a finger on my coven again, I'll find you and rip your throat out. Then I will find whoever sired you and do the same to them."

"Wilbur!" Techno tried again, raising his voice. It wasn't enough to calm the vampire down, but it made his head turn slightly in Techno's direction.

Then Techno took the bracelet that he had taken off and flung it at Wilbur's face.

Wilbur recoiled from the acidic projectile with a hiss when it touched his cheek. It barely grazed him, yet Techno could see it left behind a visible red mark where it burned him. He felt briefly bad about that too, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And Techno thought that Wilbur killing another vampire unprovoked was probably as likely to cause an incident as an overzealous fledgling mistaking Techno for a party snack.

At least being pelted by the bracelet made Wilbur's grip go slack. Skeppy kicked him in the stomach, forcing Wilbur back and allowing Skeppy to fall onto the ground.

"What- Techno? Why the fuck did you do that?" Wilbur asked. Being snapped out of his frenzy seemed to instantly make him forget about Skeppy.

"You're welcome," Techno said, as Wilbur rushed over to him. He gripped Techno's chin, tilting his head up and to the side so he could inspect the wound on his forehead. From the feel of it, the bleeding had stopped a bit ago. His entire face felt hot and tacky with it. Some of Techno's hair was plastered to his skin unpleasantly. "You were attacking the wrong person," he added.

"Who did this to you?" Wilbur asked, a dangerous undertone to his voice.

"I did."

The non-answer was worth it if only for the confused expression on Wilbur's face. His hold wasn't harsh, neither did it let up. It just lingered, one thumb absently trying to rub some of the blood from beneath Techno's eye.

"I stupidly fell down on the stairs when I fainted, probably due to my blood sugar being all messed up. I kinda haven't eaten today," Techno explained. Admitting he'd caused this was cringe but it was better than having Wilbur kill an innocent vampire on his behalf.

"See?! Did you get it through your thick skull yet?!" Skeppy snapped at Wilbur, rubbing at the front of his chest where Wilbur had grabbed him. "Next time maybe use your words before you go all hostile over your human tripping on his own two feet."

Techno changed his mind. He should have let Wilbur kill him.

"Can you pick up my bracelet?" he asked Skeppy, pointing to where it had dropped to the marble floor when he threw it.

Skeppy bent down to scoop it up without a second thought. "This one?" When his fingers closed around it, another string of expletives left his mouth and he jumped back. "Shit!"

Techno laughed. Payback was sweet enough.

"We should move this elsewhere," Wilbur said, gaze shifting to the side. Techno hadn't noticed, but there were some more vampires in the foyer downstairs, drawn towards the commotion or the smell of Techno's blood. A lot of them were staring, not very subtle about their curiosity. Others were pretending very hard that they were outside of the ballroom for purely coincidental reasons.

None of them dared to approach with Wilbur around.

"Can you stand?" he asked Techno. "I can carry you if I must." He sounded a bit cheeky about it, probably because he knew Techno would never in a million years allow that.

And Techno did indeed scoff. "I'm sure I'll do fine."

Wilbur finally let go of Techno's chin, only so he could transfer his grip to the elbow instead and help Techno upright. He was about the same amount of dizzy as before. After making sure he got his bracelet back, shoving it into his pocket for the time being, he allowed Wilbur to whisk him away from those prying eyes, and the whispers already being exchanged.

So much for not making a scene.

---

"Try not to blink too much."

Techno was about to quip that not blinking was a little hard when somebody was shining a bright light into his face, but the way Phil's fingers curled around his shoulder in worry made him swallow the words.

Having to explain the situation to Phil was embarrassing. And it had clearly put him in a very foul mood. Guilt was slowly edging in. Why did this have to happen in such a public place? And at an event that carried significant importance, more than these events usually did.

He might have seriously complicated their coven business by letting this happen.

The doctor - a vampire named Ponk who Techno had gathered was a rare medical expert in vampiric matters but knew enough about the field to treat a human - hummed absently as he moved a little penlight back and forth in front of him. After a few times, he flicked the light off and slid it into his pocket.

"I don't believe you knocked your head bad enough to have a concussion," he said. Earlier, he had cleaned the wound up for Techno and covered it with one of those annoying pads that was sensory hell for him. He hoped he wouldn't need to keep it on too long.

"That's good." Phil squeezed Techno's shoulder again. "Our coven is indebted to yours. We will remember this."

Kristin laughed, standing on Techno's other side. It reminded him a little of a kid being taken to school for parent day, a thought he quickly dispelled. "What my adorably formal husband is trying to say is that we're really glad you did us a solid today." Phil muttered something under his breath about social conduct in vampire hierarchy, which Techno didn't properly catch and Kristin waved away with an amused grin.

"This is quite literally my job," Ponk pointed out. "Skeppy definitely acted on impulse though. And he rarely does nice things, so he's the one you should be thanking."

"Hey?!" Skeppy crossed his arms at the insult. Ponk and Skeppy were part of the same coven, though neither of them was the leader.

"Our thanks do extend to him as well," Kristin said lightly, smiling pleasantly at the much younger vampire. "And we will be sending our regards to Bad soon."

"And an apology to Schlatt for fucking up his wall," Phil added. Wilbur would probably not be too pleased to hear it, but he wasn't in the room. Phil had ordered Tommy and him to stay outside. They were in a sort of adjacent seating area which wasn't too big so having a bunch of people in there would make things crowded. Not to mention Wilbur was already agitated and Tommy got equally riled up at seeing Techno hurt.

"He's the one who should be sending you a 'thank you' note for livening up this dull party of his," Ponk said. He backed off and cleaned his hands again. Two small towels were already stained with Techno's blood from washing his face. The off-white looked a pinkish color, saturated and gross.

"I suppose it is one of the most memorable ones he ever threw," Phil said.

"I will let him know you'll be taking your leave," Kristin said. Her hand lingered against the back of Techno's neck for a moment, a gesture of inattentive affection. "I'm sure that after what happened, nobody can fault you for retiring early."

"I really wouldn't give a fuck if they did," Phil told her.

When she opened the door to head outside, Tommy and Wilbur seized the opportunity to come in. Tommy pretty much draped himself in Techno's lap, only to be pulled off by Wilbur grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't get stains on your clothes," he scolded.

Techno frowned while looking down at himself. He completely forgot he actually borrowed clothes and got blood on them too. His face might have been cleaned up, but the rest of him hadn't been. He needed to change.

"Are you feeling better?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah. Pretty sure I'll have all my blood back by the morning." Techno got up from the chair. "Thanks again, Ponk."

"Don't mention it. Always a fun change of pace to work on a living patient." Ponk was clearing up their medical supplies. Techno wondered why they'd had those on them if they weren't expecting to treat anybody. Maybe it was better he didn't ask.

"We're going home now, right? I think we should go home." Tommy squirmed out of Wilbur's grip. "I don't wanna be here anymore."

"We're going home," Phil confirmed curtly.

They only had to wait a few minutes before Kristin returned. Techno made sure to thank Skeppy again too, and then Kristin saw them all to the door. Schlatt was there. Techno wasn't really looking forward to speaking to him once more, but he supposed it was expected.

For some reason, Schlatt shook his hand this time. His grip was firm and cold, unpleasant too. He pulled his nose up slightly when he spoke.

"Thanks for the reminder of why we usually don't let humans into these things. What a mess."

Techno gritted his teeth, just wanting to get out of there without accidentally making things worse. Both Phil and Wilbur seemed about to say something, but Kristin smoothly undercut them.

"Complacency does not become you. We've discussed this, Schlatt. Our negotiations were fruitful, weren't they?"

She too had slipped back into the overly stuffy way of words for a moment, and it made Schlatt draw up his eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah. I see what you're saying." He let go of Techno's hand.

Techno didn't see what they were saying, though he was also too tired to care at this point. He waited until the door closed behind them and the cold outside air of the countryside knocked some sense back into him, before opening his mouth.

"Sorry," he said.

Kristin regarded him with a puzzled expression. "Whatever for?"

"I'm… not really sure," Techno decided. "Whatever I did that made the night a mess, I suppose."

"Nonsense." She grabbed his face unexpectedly, cupping his cheeks in her hands. Her skin was cold, much like Schlatt's, but Techno found the sensation not half as bad when it was her. "Our talks went perfectly well, I assure you. Don't worry your head about it, dear." She brought their foreheads together briefly, so they were nose to nose. "It was lovely meeting you, Techno."

She let go then, so she could proceed to give her goodbyes to the others. Techno was left reeling a little from the exchange. He barely caught Kristin promising that she'd try and clear her schedule, making time to be around the home soon. She waved them off from the front steps of the house, staying there when the car pulled up and they got in. Techno didn't see her move until she was a speck in the rearview mirror, blending into the darkness.

On the drive over, Wilbur had been sitting up front. For some reason he had piled into the backseat now, leaving Techno to be squeezed between him and Tommy where he was sitting on the middle seat. He rested back into the plush cushions. Phil caught his eyes in the mirror too, seeming deep in thought.

He looked pissed off beyond belief.

But it was a strange sort of anger, especially for somebody like Phil. Phil, who was all silent storms and a fury that stung with the coldness of ice. This agitated demeanor was unlike him.

"I'm sorry for all that," Techno said vaguely, awkwardly. He was never the best at apologizing - he felt like he didn't have to do it a lot because he usually managed to keep his shit together enough for it not to be an issue - and not knowing exactly what had Phil ticked off only made it worse.

"You don't have to apologize," Wilbur started to say, but a short cut-off laugh from Phil stopped him.

"Yes, he does. Do you have any fucking idea how stupid that was of you?"

Techno sunk into the seat further. Great, he already got to feel the 'parents going to talk to your teacher at school' shame earlier, and Phil was now about to give him a scolding for messing up. "In my defense, I never actually said it was a good idea to bring me."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Phil said. "Techno, you didn't eat today. It's almost midnight. No wonder you passed out. You can't be doing shit like that to yourself, mate."

Oh… Phil wasn't angry with Techno for ruining his reputation in front of those other vampires. He was pissed because of the self-care fail Techno so pathetically tried to hide.

"I'm-"

"If I hadn't gotten you that orange juice, you'd have just spent the entire night being dehydrated too on top of being starved. Have you even been taking your medicines? The ones Niki prescribed."

Techno pulled up his shoulders a bit, with the conversation veering more into a lecture increasing the guilt he felt. "Mostly."

"Mostly won't cut it."

"You did agree to the contract," Wilbur added under his breath, maybe in an attempt to ease the tension a bit.

"Oh, so you're worried my blood isn't up to your nutritional standards again," Techno tried to joke.

But Phil pushed down hard on the breaks in response. Techno was very glad he always wore a seatbelt, he didn't think any of them would have benefited from him flying through the windshield. Phil turned around in the driver's seat, so he could address Techno directly.

"I'm worried because you put yourself at risk and got hurt. And that's not something I like happening to people I care about. Got it?"

Techno bit his tongue and nodded.

He would love to play it off some more, because there was no way his brain was up for dissecting that after the night he just had. Phil was pissed not because of anything to do with coven politics or how this could affect their standing. He was worried about Techno.

The silence that fell over them as Phil continued to drive was thick enough to choke on. Techno was very glad when Tommy interrupted it with a low whistle.

"Damn, we barely ever get to see Phil like this. Gnarly." He leaned against Techno, resting his head on Techno's shoulder and yawning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Phil asked, already sounding three times less stern.

"You didn't get this upset when I almost died a little while ago," Wilbur said. "Guess we know who the favorite child is."

"You're already dead," Tommy felt the need to interject. He was digging around in his jacket to find something.

Wilbur rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"You both have a body that can restore itself from everything short of decapitation," Phil said. "Techno skipped one day of meals and he almost concussed himself. I think my worry is warranted."

"Hard disagree," Techno put in. Phil leveled him with another look in the rearview mirror.

"From now on, I'll be properly monitoring your sleep schedule, meals, and whether you're remembering your vitamins, since you clearly can't do so yourself."

Techno wanted to refuse, but something about the way Phil said it left very little room for argument. Maybe because part of Techno did know he'd seriously dropped the ball on it this time. And Phil didn't sound like he was trying to be mean about it, his concern simply expressed itself in pragmatism. His idea of monitoring probably was just to give Techno some much-needed reminders. His easily distracted brain could benefit from those.

"When we get home, you're going to eat. And then I'll feed on you," Phil added.

"What?" Techno asked. Did Phil miss the part where Techno bled all over the stairs, he didn't think he had much extra blood to spare.

"I'll only consume a little bit," Phil said, almost as if he could read what Techno was thinking from his face. "But the venom injected during feeding will speed up your healing, which should help with your head wound. So we're doing it."

Again, it sounded like more of an order than a suggestion up for debate. Techno just nodded, recognizing the futility of putting up a fight.

"That's smart," Tommy put in. His voice was a little muffled because he was speaking around something he had stuffed into his mouth and was currently sucking on.

It was one of the towels Ponk had used to clean the blood off Techno's face earlier.

Which also implied Tommy specifically yoinked it to do that. "Gross," he said. Tommy shrugged at him, not caring.

"No point letting it go to waste," he said.

"You're concerning," Wilbur told Tommy. The fledgling ignored him.

When they arrived home, Techno went upstairs so he could change into clean pajamas. He washed his face again, getting the last few flecks of dried blood out of his hair. Then he touched the bandaged-up wound gingerly while staring into the mirror. It barely hurt anymore, so Techno didn't really think it was necessary for Phil to try and kickstart the healing process for him. But he doubted Phil would listen to him.

Techno had never seen anybody that upset with worry before.

Back downstairs, he found that Phil had made food for him. A simple dish of pasta with red sauce. Considering how hungry he was, Techno wouldn't have complained about being served plain toast at this point. He was simply glad to eat anything. And after that, he'd probably sleep for a whole day. He felt tired enough for it.

"I hope your first experience with all this hasn't turned you off to the vampire world too badly," Phil remarked. He was standing at the counter, sipping placidly from a cup of tea. Wilbur and Tommy had been sent up to the nest, mostly for the fledgling's benefit. With all the ruckus surrounding Techno, they'd almost forgotten how much Tommy needed his rest too. Being out and about that long, and the commotion at the party, had probably drained him.

"Not really," Techno said. "It wasn't the worst party I've been to by a long shot. Not even the first where I almost concussed myself."

Phil grimaced slightly. "Yeah, well, let's not try for a repeat performance next time, shall we?"

"There's going to be a next time?"

"Who's to say? I think we better be prepared just in case." He put the now empty cup down. "But Kristin was right, it's nothing for you three to worry about. Are you ready to go up?"

Techno looked down at his empty plate. He barely realized how quickly he had eaten all of it. Wilbur mentioned a long time ago, when Techno moved in, that Phil was a decent enough cook. "Yeah, thanks for the food."

"It's my pleasure," Phil said. "Though maybe that should be my line?"

Because Phil was going to feed on him. Techno pushed away from the table, following Phil to the hallway and up the stairs. When they got there, Phil started to turn left, and Techno stopped.

"Uh, my bedroom is that way," he said lamely. As if Phil wouldn't know the layout of his own mansion.

"Yes, I know. But when a coven member is sick or injured they usually sleep in the nest," Phil said. An innocent mistake, a habit ingrained over centuries.

Except Phil did not actually move to head in the right direction instead.

"You make it sound as if I got seriously hurt," Techno protested. "Besides, Tommy's asleep in there already. Wilbur too, probably. I don't wanna disturb them."

While those were real concerns for him, Techno knew that wasn't the actual reason he was dragging his feet about it.

"I doubt Tommy's a light enough sleeper to wake up from us going inside, mate. And if he did, he wouldn't mind," Phil said. "If anything, you being nearby would soothe their instincts too." Techno stayed where he was, motionless, fingers tightening against the wooden banister. Phil stared back at him, blue eyes piercing. Thinking. Techno didn't know what he was searching for.

In one fluid motion, Phil swept past him and down the other corridor.

"But perhaps you're more comfortable sleeping in your own bed. Nests can be strange if you're not used to them yet." Phil chuckled at the end there, though it was a joke Techno felt he wasn't privy to.

He drew the curtains of his room closed, feeling a little awkward because he didn't know exactly what Phil's approach would be. Techno had gotten a little used to having vampires feed from him directly, he'd done it three times. Not enough to claim he was an expert. And all of those had been with Wilbur.

"You should sit down for this," Phil said, motioning to the bed. "You're probably going to pass out pretty instantly."

"Ominous," Techno answered. But he did pull back the blanket and sat down on his bed. Phil knelt in front of him. He hadn't changed yet and Techno found it oddly comical to sit there in his PJs while Phil looked like he'd be heading to a formal event after this.

"Nah, it'll be the best sleep you've had in ages. Trust me." He held out his hand for Techno to extend his arm.

"I know." Techno took the nap of a lifetime when Wilbur first fed on him.

Phil held his wrist, studying it for a moment, maybe to determine the best place and angle to bite him at. Techno was about to remind him about biting high enough that his sleeve could cover it up, but before he could, Phil dipped down and that thought was wiped away by a brief, piercing pain of teeth burying into his flesh.

Techno didn't pull away from Phil, inhaling harshly and waiting for the worst to pass. Within a few seconds he was rewarded when the pain faded and the ever-more familiar sensation of the vampire venom entering his veins took its place. Phil dislodged his fangs quick enough that Techno didn't think he had more than a few mouthfuls of blood. His vision was already blurring, and while his lips moved to form a word, no sound came out. Very distantly, he was aware of his body slumping forward, though Phil caught him so he could be laid in bed.

Techno was out long before his head hit the pillow.