Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sean was out of breath as he lost sight of his target. The thug managed to leave Sean behind and disappear because Sean had to stop running if he did not want to crash into a couple of old people. Why did they have to be out at such a late hour? Sean thought unfairly.

Sean was on a mission to stop a mysterious person from robbing vulnerable people again and again at the same place, but not at the same time. Thankfully, the only person who got hurt during these robberies was because they fell hard on their wrist. Otherwise, the other victims had all been too scared to resist.

For a few weeks, people kept complaining about why the police were doing nothing about it. Why were they not waiting for the robber at the same spot? The police said they were looking for the culprit, but actually, they were not doing much more because they had more important and urgent matters and not enough officers. Until Sean decided to volunteer.

Usually, he was not dealing with this kind of problem. Since he had been at the head of his own squat, he was dealing with more complicated or delicate cases. But it had been calm for numerous weeks already, and if Sean enjoyed slowing down sometimes, he was now growing restless. He was not made to stay inactive for a long time.

So, the thug managed to escape, but it was not a total loss for Sean. Because in the initial fight before the man started to run, Sean had managed to catch his jacket. It was a nice start, since they might find out who it belonged to, or even get DNA from it. The latter would not constitute proof since DNA from people he touched might be found as well. But it was a start.

Sean was comforting himself, thinking he could still come back to try and catch him another day or that maybe the guy got scared for good, as he searched in the jacket.

Sean took something out. It was small and flat, but when he opened it, it contained a few coins and a loyalty card of a nearby shop. Sean could not believe his luck! There was no name on it, but the loyalty card had to be linked to a name, a phone number, and/or email address, or even a postal address!

Sean was rejoicing when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted. He looked up to observe his surroundings more carefully. He was in a back alley, completely deserted. He could barely hear people from the street, a few dozen metres away. His hair billowed in the breeze.

Bells rang out from the church close to where Sean was. Strange, he did not know there was a church nearby.

A raven suddenly appeared and perched itself on a wall a few metres away from Sean. Sean frowned, he was not comfortable anymore; he felt observed.

Anyway, Sean thought. He should leave, he had to bring the jacket and the card to the police station.

As Sean walked away, the raven’s head moved as if to follow Sean with its gaze.

Sean pressed the button for the intercom. An unknown voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello, khun Ramil?”

“No, I’m his assistant.”

“I’m Sean Sakphakdi. I’m here with four members of my police squad. We’ve been tasked to conduct a search. There’ve been reports of illegal trafficking.”

The intercom stayed silent for a short moment.

“Hold on, I’m coming down, khun,” the man said and hung up.

One minute later, the main door was opened, and a man came to the gate. “Hello again.”

Sean nodded as a second greeting.

“Do you have a warrant?”

Sean nodded and showed him the paper he got on his desk at the police station this morning. The man borrowed it to read it. Once he did, he gave it back to Sean. He looked at the four other men and opened the gate. “Follow me.”

As the man was leading them inside, he introduced himself. “I’m Methus, khun Ramil’s assistant. I take care of anything he needs me to do.”

They arrived inside and they stopped.

“Is khun Ramil here today?” Sean asked.

“Yes, he’s upstairs.”

Sean nodded. He looked at his squad, and then back at Methus. “If it’s alright with you, my squad is going to inspect the floors starting from the ground floor and up. I’d like to meet khun Ramil.”

Methus nodded and stepped aside to indicate the elevator.

“If you have any locked room, please unlock the doors. If anything is broken during the search, you will be compensated.” Sean gave a heavy look to his squad, silently telling them that anything broken would be deducted from their salary.

“Then let me accompany you to khun Ramil, then I will come back and unlock the doors.”

Sean nodded and stepped inside the elevator, giving a last warning look to his men.

Methus accompanied him to Ramil’s office. He invited Sean to go in and then left to go back to Sean’s squad.

Sean entered and saw Ramil, sitting at his desk, already talking with another man.

Ramil stood up with a polite smile when he saw Sean coming in. Both men gave a light bow of their heads to show respect.

Ramil invited Sean to take a seat, but Sean politely refused. Ramil did not go back to sit in his chair but leant on the desk.

“So, Methus told me you were on an illegal traffic case. Is it drugs?” Ramil asked.

Sean looked at the other man who had wai’ed for him as well but stayed sitting in his chair.

Ramil took the initiative to introduce the other man. “Captain Sean, this is Doctor Mekhin. He’s like a brother to me.”

Sean nodded and tried to hide his frown. Methus did not have the time to say anything to Ramil, and Sean had not even told either Methus or Ramil his rank. Ramil knew too much; maybe because he had something to hide and had been waiting for Sean, or for a more mysterious and complicated alternative to deal with.

“It is not about a drug deal. Neighbours complained about strange movements lately. You’ve come back not long ago, right?”

Ramil nodded. “A few weeks ago, yes. I can assure you, you won’t find anything.”

Sean did not answer. It would be for him and his squad to decide.

Sean took a moment to look around him. So far, it looked like a basic building for the rich. But rich people often had things to hide; Sean spoke from experience.

Mekhin stood up. “Master, should I show Captain Sean around so he can continue the search?”

Ramil considered the question for a moment while looking at Sean. Sean looked back into his eyes.

“That won’t be necessary,” Ramil concluded.

Sean frowned. “How does your mind-reading ability work?” Maybe Ramil was only more informed than he should have been, but Sean’s intuition told him otherwise.

Ramil stayed silent for a few seconds, as if thinking about whether to tell Sean the truth or not. Finally, he talked. “I don’t intercept everyone’s thoughts. I need to want to read someone’s mind to receive their thoughts.”

“Then, please, khun Ramil, don’t do it without my explicit authorisation.”

Ramil smiled calmly and relaxed slightly after giving a short nod.

Mekhin was confused, not understanding what was happening or what game his master was playing. Ramil looked at him and understood Mekhin’s confusion without having to read in his mind. Ramil was going to explain to him, but he turned his head towards the door. The next second, the door opened with a loud bang and a black mass threw itself at Sean.

Sean did not get scared. He easily evaded the attack and took a few jumps backwards. The man who had just attacked him looked at him with anger and a hint of surprise as well. Sean had been trained for this, and the man clearly underestimated him.

“How dare you come here!? Do you think we’re gonna let you go as you please??” The man asked Sean angrily.

The next instant, another mass jumped on the first man and grabbed his arm to stop him. But since the man did not want to stop, Methus grabbed him by the jaw. The man suddenly stopped, but he kept his eyes filled with hatred on Sean.

Sean was not impressed. He looked back at Ramil.

Ramil sighed. “I apologise in Ciar’s stead, he has trust issues.”

“I could guess,” Sean said while giving Ciar a look. Ciar tried to jump on him once again, but Methus was keeping him in place.

“So, as I was going to explain,” Ramil said, “Captain Sean is here because there’ve been reports of human trafficking involving us. But he thinks the reports were falsified, and he has enough respect not to really proceed with the search as long as he doesn’t think there’s anything genuinely suspicious.”

Mekhin frowned, confused and surprised. He looked at Sean. Sean crossed his arms on his chest.

“When why is he here anyway?” Ciar spat.

“Because I can’t escape orders from above.”

Ciar snorted, disbelieving.

“And how did you know he was here and who he is?” Mekhin interfered.

Ciar made another movement and Methus let him go, but he stayed between Ciar and Sean. “He’s a hunter! He killed Noktid!”

Sean had always been someone lowkey. But he was still popular in the police and with a few outsiders because he was twenty-seven years old and already a captain. Most of his squad was older than him.

Sean got this fame after he killed Noktid, who used to be one of the strongest vampires a couple of years ago. Thanks to this, he got promoted to captain and got his own special squad. He was reputed for another thing, known only by his police station colleagues – he was stubborn and refused to bend to do what higher-ups wanted him to do if it was not justified.

His elite police squad under the Crime Suppression Division was made to deal with the most perilous situations; it involved handling high-risk arrests, counterterrorism and hostage rescue, and could serve as backup for regular police when things got too dangerous. Silently and unknowingly from the people, it also involved dealing with dangerous supernatural beings.

But for the part of the population who knew about vampires, they were really biased. It was also the case among police officers, who would like to get rid of all of them.

It was why Ciar was reacting the way he was. But Sean needed to be clear on this point. “I’m not a vampire hunter.”

“Bullshit! How many vampires did you kill?”

“I kill vampires who represent a danger to our population, and if I have proof or a witness of this. I don’t indiscriminately kill vampires.”

“Bullshit!”

“Ciar, that’s enough,” Ramil said with a stern voice. He did not shout, but his aura and order were enough to get Ciar to shut up.

Sean’s phone rang. He picked up when he saw it was one of his team members calling him. “Yes.”

“We’ve found nothing. Did you check the top floors, Captain?”

“I did. I’m coming back.” He hung up. He looked at Ramil. “I don’t have any proof that you’re hurting or killing anyone or anything. My superiors will probably want me to check more times until they’re satisfied.”

Ramil nodded. “Thank you, Captain.” He accompanied Sean to the office door and Methus opened it to let Sean pass.

Sean gave another look in Ciar’s direction. “You should keep an eye on him, khun Ramil. Not all police officers are as open-minded as I am. Someone would easily find a reason to lay into him while being protected by the law.”

“Thanks for the advice, Captain.”

And with that, Methus saw Sean out to his team. But as they walked in the corridor, the elevator door opened, revealing a young man.

Sean and the newcomer locked eyes as they walked past one another. Thankfully, Methus did not seem to have noticed either Sean or Punn’s confusion when the elevator doors closed after he and Sean got in it.

Chapter Text

It was their last task for the day, so Sean dismissed his squad; they had to go back to the police station to take their stuff back, but Sean would follow later, he still had something to do.

He waited a bit farther from Ramil’s building. He lit up a cigarette. He looked at his pack of cigarettes, thinking about whether he would have enough while waiting. But suddenly, someone called his name out.

“Sean! Why were you here??”

Sean turned his head to look at the newcomer. “My job. It’s me who should ask you this, Punn.” Sean looked suspiciously at Punn. “New mission?”

Punn was about to answer but Sean shook his head to interrupt him. Punn looked at him confused.

“Let’s go somewhere else. I don’t know yet what they’re capable of, they could be eavesdropping.”

Punn nodded. Sean finished his cigarette and guided Punn to his car. They drove for a short while until they reached a bar. Punn frowned while looking at Sean.

“Even if someone sees us, they won’t be able to hear us.”

Punn nodded and followed Sean inside. “You know, khun Ramil can read minds.”

Sean hummed as he took a seat and ordered for both of them. “I know. And it’s not him who worries me the most.” Sean already knew about Ramil’s mind-reading powers, which also meant that Ramil probably knew about Punn. “And so, he knows about you too, right?”

Punn fidgeted with his glass while watching the liquid swirl around. “He does. I’ve withdrawn from the mission, I can’t do it.”

“Hm, I could guess, or you would have already completed it.” Sean was very well aware of Punn’s abilities and his past accomplishments. He had known him for years, and even fought alongside him once upon a time. “What made you withdraw?”

Punn sighed. “I realised that maybe you’ve been right. And I have enough. Pokpong has been asking for years to live with me, but I never accepted because of my activities as a hunter. I’d like this to change.”

Sean nodded. Punn had always been protective of Pokpong. At some point, Sean had thought Punn was even overprotective, but with some thinking, Sean was able to understand that it was because Punn was deep into a dangerous business that he was so protective of Pokpong and that he was keeping him away.

“So,” Sean started again. “Now you’re not a hunter anymore, but you’re with the vampires.” Sean was not yet sure of why Punn was with them now, but he could not see how Punn would be more comfortable with Pokpong close to him now. Even if Punn was not a vampire hunter anymore, the other hunters were still targeting Ramil and his group.

“It’s… more complicated than that,” Punn answered.

Sean ordered another drink, showing that he had time for Punn to explain.

Punn sighed; Sean was stubborn. Even if Punn managed to get away tonight, Sean would keep looking to know the truth, since he was now involved with Ramil’s group because of his job. “Khun Ramil and I… got closer. I withdrew from the mission because I know I’ll never be able to do anything to him. Plus, I’ve been thinking for years that he was responsible for the massacre at our orphanage… but I’m not sure anymore. Khun Ramil was trapped in his painting for years because of a curse, and I’m doubting my own thoughts. But despite explaining this to Jett and the others, they’re just disappointed and pissed that I withdrew.”

Sean snorted and drank his glass. “How surprising.”

Punn contemplated his glass for another moment, before speaking again. “Sean. I know you think that trying to destroy any vampire even vaguely related to the Jonoel clan isn’t the solution to our trauma, and I think so too now. Our wish for revenge has blinded us. But I don’t think the others are ready to stop, and it worries me.”

“Do you think they’d be ready even to hurt or kill you to get to khun Ramil and his clan?” Sean asked.

Punn thought for a short moment, but he already knew the answer as soon as Sean asked the question. “Elise, I don’t know. But the others, probably. Jett is probably thinking I’ve been corrupted, but I’m not as close to the others.”

Sean looked afar, thinking. “I can keep an eye on them, but I don’t think I can do more. Jett stopped trusting me years ago, and he knows I don’t trust him either.”

Punn nodded. “And about your job –”

“I’ll be around. Now that flames were ignited, my higher-ups and colleagues won’t let me brush it off. Have a word with them so they’ll cooperate, alright?”

Punn frowned. “You don’t think Ramil has anything to be guilty of?”

“I don’t trust them yet, but my intuition tells me the reports I’ve received about him were false. And,” Sean turned his head to look at Punn up and down, “I think I can still trust you.”

Punn gave a light smile, quickly interrupted when Sean spoke again.

“Keep an eye on that Ciar for me though, please. He’s short-tempered and visibly has anger issues. I can easily imagine how he would spoil our plans if he heard of them, either with the hunters or the police. Don’t let him give my colleagues a reason to try to stop him.”

Sean did not have a good opinion of Ciar. That Ciar did not trust him made sense, and Sean was not resentful of him for that. But Ciar’s strong reaction, even though Sean never showed any kind of animosity toward his clan, made him a dangerous and unreliable element. Furthermore, Sean was not sure Ciar was competent enough to fight hunters or his squad. “He’s hot-blooded and I’d prefer him somewhere else until we deal with the police and the hunters.”

Punn laughed, a bit awkward. “Please, Phi, don’t start an obsession over him.” Sean wanted to pretest, but Punn stopped him. “And I don’t think we can have him go somewhere else for the time being. He’s very protective of his family, and that’s why he’s even more short-tempered.”

Sean gave a small sigh. What Punn was telling him meant that Ciar would be a pain in the ass. Sean should keep an eye on him from afar, not to get bad surprises.

Sean stood up and paid for both of them, indicating he wanted to leave. “Send me any info which may be useful, about the hunters or your new family.” Sean’s tone was a bit cold when he said that, but Punn knew him enough to know he was only teasing him. Sean was not so kind and patient if he disliked you.

They both walked back to Sean’s car. There, Sean raised his head.

“I’m driving you back home. Still living at your antique shop?”

Punn nodded but protested. “You’ve drunk, Phi.”

Sean frowned and looked back at Punn. “I didn’t. I was planning on going home with my car, I only took non-alcoholic drinks.”

Punn frowned too. “But—” Did Sean not order alcohol? When Sean ordered for him, his drink was alcohol.

Sean arched his eyebrow and put his hands in his pockets. “You’re a great fighter, but you should be careful and learn to be more observant.” Sean raised his head again, and then sat in the driver’s seat.

Punn took the passenger seat. As Sean was starting the car, he looked at what Sean had been looking at a few times. He frowned when he noticed a crow, which quickly flew away. Punn shook his head; he was starting to get paranoid because of Sean’s words.

Chapter Text

Sean was not so surprised when he received a text from Elise with an offer to meet up. Even though it had been years since Sean left the Hunters, he and Elise had kept in touch. It was not often, but once or twice a year, they would invite each other to grab a coffee, and they would catch up, as if they were just two close friends living too far from each other.

Sean’s relationship with Elise was different from his one with Jett, whom he had not met in years, or with Punn, whom he had seen again only recently after years of nothing. They had always been closer, and despite her strong wish for revenge as well, she was not willing to lose the people she cared about because of different points of view.

They quickly agreed on a time to meet up.

The next day, Sean was waiting by their usual hangout place. It was a simple coffee shop, but located near the river; Sean and Elise would often walk alongside the river while chatting. And this time, the same happened.

They were walking, coffee in hand. Elise was talking about the museum, and Sean was attentively listening. He did not care much about Jett anymore – he was not even sure he really did at some point, but he still enjoyed listening to Elise talking about her life.

Next was his turn, and he thought his life seemed much less interesting to talk about. His life was mostly about work, and he could not tell her about many things directly related to his investigations. So, he settled on gossip in the police station and some funny anecdotes about his friends.

Elise was now talking again, this time about a good friend of hers who had recently bought a house with her boyfriend.

“Ah, I wish I could do the same,” Elise complained.

Sean arched an eyebrow. “Really? I thought your job couldn’t allow you for now, being too busy and all.”

“It doesn’t mean I can’t wish for it! And why couldn’t I? I know the Hunters are a big hidden part of my life, but that wouldn’t mean I couldn’t date. You’re very busy with your job too!” she said with a teasing tone.

Sean drank a mouthful of his coffee. “I am, though I am not looking to date.” He could understand Elise; he, too, would have wished to have someone to go home to, someone to spend his rest days with, someone who would make him smile at the mere thought of them. But he was not sure he to be able to juggle between his love life and his job for now. If he met someone without looking for them, he would accept them, but for now, he was satisfied with his life. However, he said nothing of this to Elise.

“What? With a pair like us, we would go far. And we would understand each other and have the money to buy a house.” Elise chuckled.

“If you want a house this bad, I think you have enough money to find something nice by yourself,” Sean answered sweetly.

Elise kept on walking and looked at the water. Sean let the silence happen.

He frowned, confused. Today, his meeting with Elise was different from usual. She pretended to be more carefree than usual, but Sean could see through her. She dressed in clothes which would definitely be more suited for a date, and different from the outfits she was casually wearing when hanging out with a friend. And this remark about them being a good couple was not the first of the day. Elise was flirting with him, but he was confused as to why she would now. He did not want to make her uncomfortable, so he did not call her out.

Finally, evening was approaching, and Elise suggested they have dinner together. Unfortunately, Sean already had plans for the evening, so he took a rain check.

When Sean arrived at the police station the next day, the first thing he did was to take another coffee. It was, in his opinion, a huge inconvenience to have irregular schedules, but he did not have another choice with this job, except if he wanted to do paperwork exclusively, even though he already had a lot of it to do.

When he sat at his desk, he noticed a new folder. He opened it, and quickly read it. Ah, new complaints about Ramil and his gang. Sean read the document another time with more attention. Like for the first one, elements were incoherent. Even more as everything was just so vaguely described. The complaints were coming from citizens, and his higher-ups decided that the vague elements were enough to give the folder to Sean once again.

Sean sighed. He did not understand how most of his colleagues, presumably representing and embodying justice, were so biased towards vampires that a simple remark could be enough to start an investigation into a vampire. Of course, Sean knew where these biases were coming from – he had seen how dangerous vampires could be, even more when maddened by bloodlust – but as police officers, they were not supposed to act on biases.

Because of this, Sean was always accepting new cases about vampires. Even though it meant that vampire-related cases were almost only what he was taking care of, it also meant that fewer innocent vampires had to be killed. Because, of course, he and his unit had the authorisation to annihilate a vampire if they estimated that the vampire was too dangerous to be arrested.

Sean took care of the other small tasks he had to do this morning, and then decided it was time to visit khun Ramil another time. This time, he brought his folder with him.

Usually, Sean was not being so diplomatic. But this time, he could not help but want to genuinely help them. Maybe it was because Ramil, Mekkin and Methus have been polite and never tried to act superior to him despite being vampires; maybe it was because Punn was on their side too now; maybe it was because Sean’s intuition told him he did not have to worry about this group.

Well, except for Ciar.

Ciar’s strong temperament could make things more complicated, but for now, he trusted that Ramil could deal with him.

When he arrived, he was immediately welcomed by Methus, who looked surprised that Sean came alone, and who led him to Ramil.

This time, Sean was brought to what appeared to be a dining room. He looked around him for a moment. It was stupid, but somehow he thought these old vampires would have old tastes. But on the contrary, everything in the building screamed modernity. Even old humans, especially the rich, liked to bathe in the modernity of their young years. But Sean also understood that Methus had kept this building without Ramil around for years.

Since the last time at the bar, Sean and Punn had talked. Since Punn wanted Sean to help him protect this vampire gang against the Hunters, Punn told him about Ramil’s story and how Punn got closer to him. He told him about the curse and Ramil stuck inside the painting, how Jett asked him to get rid of him but failed, how Ramil was getting adjusted to the modern world. When Sean asked about how Punn could have failed to kill him the first time, since he had not fallen for the vampire yet, Punn explained something about dreams.

Sean had seen a lot of things in his life, especially since he became a police officer. At this point, he did not believe in many things, because he knew supernatural beings existed. However, stuff like soulmates was not something he believed in. But he did not say anything to Punn, only nodding to show he was listening.

Ramil offered Sean a seat, and even though Sean would prefer to stay standing, he accepted to show respect. He sat at the dining table, in front of Ramil and Punn. Methus stayed standing next to Ramil.

“May I offer you a drink?” Ramil started.

“No, thank you, I won’t be long.”

“Did you have news from the Hunters?” Punn asked nervously.

Sean shook his head. He could have tried to ask Elise about this, but he did not really want her to know what he was planning, and he did not want to use her either. Furthermore, Elise was smart – even if he tried to be subtle about his questions, she might have caught up.

“No. I have received new reports about illegal activities here. So, I had to come and check.” He slid the folder on the table to show Ramil and Punn. Both quickly understood that the complaints were annoying but nothing much for now.

“Do you want to search the place again, Captain?” Ramil offered earnestly, giving the folder back to Sean. Ramil did not have anything to hide, and he did not mind Sean searching the place again for the sake of their alliance. But Sean refused.

“I don’t need to. If there was something suspicious here, we would have found it last time. So, let’s not waste more time.”

“What if you missed something? Wouldn’t it be troublesome for you?” Ramil asked.

Sean understood that Ramil was putting himself in Sean’s shoes, but there was no need.

Sean looked at Punn, “I choose to trust you.” Probably, without Punn here, he would have conducted a search again. But he knew Punn’s story, and he knew Punn would not accept making himself an accomplice of vampires, in love or not. Sean could not be sure so far that Ramil and his gang were irreproachable, but he did not think they were dangerous beings. So, Sean decided to behave like any police officer should by not disrespecting people’s rights.

“Why?” Punn asked. “I could be lying to you.”

Sure, there was a possibility that Punn was using Sean to get rid of the Hunters for whatever reason, or even that Ramil was using his powers on Punn to get him to lie. However, Ramil’s look on his face showed a form of honest and sincere love for Punn.

“I know when you’re lying,” Sean finally stated. For people who did not know Punn well, maybe he could fool them. But Sean knew Punn, and he had spent a long time with the young man. He had the keys to know when Punn was lying or not. And right now, Punn was not lying; he was genuinely worried about his (soon-to-be?) boyfriend, and probably about the Hunters with whom he had been friends for years.

Sean was about to talk again, but his phone dinged. Because he was on duty and it could be important, he checked his phone. He frowned slightly; he had not been expecting a text from Elise so soon, and even less to ask him to hang out again. If they had hung out together in the previous years, they had never have hung out so often since Sean left the Hunters.

He hesitated, but curiosity won, and he accepted. Did he have any reason to refuse anyway?

Sean stood up. “I’m taking my leave. If I get more information, I’ll tell you, Punn.”

His visit had been short, but it was more perfunctory than anything else. Anyway, something told him he would soon have something new to tell Punn.

On his way out, Sean noticed how calm and peaceful this building could be when no fury was in sight.