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Sleeping was never a restful affair. In the before, the less amount of time under the waves of exhaustion the better. Balancing the art of exhaustion and awakeness was a talent Techno had taught himself from a young age. That along with other things like fighting and stealing under the cause of starvation. He’d wake up before the sun and go to bed after it had long since set.
Was it healthy? No, but it never mattered to him. Not when there were dangers to be watching. Now was the after, where sleep didn’t have to be timed with the rise and fall of the sun. Where he could finally get rest, before the before was gone. The sleepless nights were supposed to be far behind him. Everyone said when you kick the bucket you’ll be sleeping for the rest of time.
But then again, who needs a full eight hours when you're dead?
Vampirism, by definition of old white men and their tainted beliefs, was for dead people. Dead people slept for the rest of time. And yet here he was, never restful. He could sleep for years on end if he really wanted to—ignoring the fact a certain vamp would never let him—but he didn’t. It was hard to sleep when your mind was still terrifyingly awake.
And so Techno laid in a too soft bed staring at moonbeams as they shined from the window. Past the still curtains blocking the view from outside. He could count the seconds until his peace was ruined, but he tried not to. It was more relaxing to pretend he didn’t need to get up. That he was six feet underneath the gravel in the walkway. A heavy knock on the door stops him from wandering anymore.
Techno flicks his gaze to the door, eyes half lidded and filled with exhaustion. One, two, three— “Techno, are you awake?” His sire's voice calls from the other side. If a sound could be an object, the man’s voice would be one of church bells. Which was heavily ironic given the whole vampirism thing.
He swallows down the sound that tries to creep up his vocal cords. Instead he pushes himself into a sitting position, hair falling in front of his face. His eyes have long since adjusted to the dark, so he’s able to see the slight shadow from underneath the door. The moonlight gives just enough to make it out. “I’m awake.” He calls, blinking slowly.
The door creaks as it’s opened, the hinges older than his sire. He meets dark brown eyes, speckles of red like the shade of ruby flakes throughout the dark colour. The other smiles at seeing him there. “You’ve been resting for quite awhile.” Wilbur, the man who stands there with a hesitation he doesn’t need to have, says. Techno doesn’t dare comment that his ‘resting’ was actually just staring up at the ceiling for hours on end.
“I was tired.” He replies. Which isn’t a lie.
Wilbur walks deeper into the room, closing the door behind himself as he goes. “Well I figured.” Wilbur chuckles, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Fledglings like you need a lot of sleep. Especially in the first—“
“Hundred years, I know.” He interrupts the other, rolling his eyes. “It’s been one. I get it.” He hears Wilbur let out an annoyed trill sound. He ignores it. “What do you want?” He gets right to the point.
“To see my fledgling.” Wilbur states, the words causing a chill to run down his spine. He scrunches up his nose at how the word sounds to his ears. “What? I can’t see you? I can’t spend time with my own child?”
“I’m not a child.” He hisses. Wilbur just smiles. Eyes widening with something. “I’m twenty three, Wilbur.”
“Is that supposed to change my mind?” The other flashes his fangs, moving closer towards him. “My little brother is six times the age you are, darling.” Which was true. And he hates the fact. Techno hadn’t met Tommy until a month ago. When Wilbur had finally gotten over his must protect fledgling from everything faze. The vampire looked younger than him. Eighteen or nineteen if he had to guess based on looks.
But the loud blonde was well over a hundred years old. And treated Techno like he was simply a teen himself. It was annoying at first, everything was when it came to the whole being undead thing. But then he got used to it. It wasn’t like Tommy was broody like Wilbur was. And he was mature for what he looked like. But after Tommy showed him the best ways to avoid Wilbur in the mansion he warmed up to the older vampire.
“Bruh, my sire’s ancient.” He muses, a small smirk forming on his lips. “L.”
Wilber gasps, eyes widening with horror. He tried not to laugh at the display. “I am not!” The older yells, clutching his heart like it still beats. “I’m young for a sire, you know! The youngest in the coven!”
“A coven made up out of your brother and father…” Techno replies, tilting his head. “Not a very strong argument, Will.” His sire frowns, opening his mouth to say something. Only to get interrupted by Techno’s stomach growling. He stills. Wilbur looks down to his stomach. “That wasn’t—“
“You’re hungry.” Wilbur cuts him off, eyes flashing a dangerous red. “Come here.” He reaches forward. And Techno knows an order when he hears one. So he doesn’t try to fight the instincts in the back of his head that whines to be held. He’s let go of his dignity after the second month of being a vampire. Wilbur made it incredibly impossible to. So he huffs, scooting over.
Wilbur wraps his arms around him, pulling him towards his chest. He opens his mouth, knowing the drill by heart. He watches as Wilbur rolls up his sleeve before putting his pale wrist to his mouth. The smell of blood causes his stomach to growl again. “Don’t chug it.” Wilbur warns, lifting his now bloody wrist away from his face and towards his own. Techno nods and bites at the wrist when it’s placed in front of him.
Blood tasted like candy on his tongue. Tangy and bold. He does wonder at times if it’s just because it’s Wilbur’s, or if alk blood tasted like this. “There you go.” Will coos, running his clawed fingers through his hair. Easily pulling apart the tangles and knots. “You know, Phil said the first year of feeding was the worst.” Techno bites harder on his sire’s wrist. Wilbur hisses at him. “Techno! I was literally about to say how good you’ve been.”
He shrugs his shoulders, looking up at the other. Wilbur looks down at him, eyes racking up and down his frame. His gaze settles on his jaw. “You need to shave soon.” The sire musses. Techno raises a brow, a confused chirp leaving his throat without his permission. Leave it to Wilbur to point out useless things. “We’ll do it when we’re brushing your fangs.” Techno opens his mouth, swallowing the last of the blood in his mouth.
“You need to stop fussing.” He says, pushing himself away from the other. His fledgling instincts cry out in the loss.
Wilbur leans against his wall, crossing his arms. “Someone has to.” He hisses, looking around the room. There wasn’t much here from the before. Only a few daggers that he had to fight to keep. “You hardly take care of yourself.”
The dig is there, on full display. Both of them know where it stems from. Forcing himself not to drink blood from Wilbur’s wrist for a week had left some… untrustworthiness between them. It’s why they have a feeding calendar in the kitchen now. “I’ve taken care of myself for the past twenty two years.” He states, moving over to the edge of the bed. “Just because you came during the twenty third doesn’t mean I still can’t take care of myself.”
He didn’t sugar coat things when it came to his and Wilbur’s relationship. And neither did the other. He was a fledgling, Wilbur a sire. They just so happened to be each other’s. Didn’t change the fact that they’ve only known each other for a year. “I’ll be here for the rest of it, you know.” Wilbur comments, following him out of the bed. “You may have been without me for twenty three years, but I’ll be taking care of you for the next twenty three hundred.”
“Ah yes, something I’m definitely looking forward to.” Techno replied sarcastically, moving over to his closet. He opens it, looking across all the fancy attire. He’s not one to praze, but Wilbur does have a good taste in clothing. “Have anything planned today?” He asks, looking over his shoulder.
Wilbur was digging through a jewellery box, picking up a pair of obsidian studs. “Well…” And with it, he takes out a few gold rings. “Tommy’s coming over.”
“He visited last month.” He deadpans. He thought it would be a few more before his uncle—his coven member, shows his face at the mansion again. Last time his sire was so pant up with anxiety he almost denied Tommy entrance into the house all together.
Wilbur walks over, lifting up the studs towards his ears. Looking at how they’d look. “He’s not… uh, coming alone.” The other mutters, eyes looking anywhere but at him.
Not coming alone? What the hell is that supposed to mean? He faces his sire, eyes narrowing on the other. “Wilbur.” He starts hesitantly. “Who else is coming over?”
The other looks anxious, which isn’t a new look on the other. But there was something else in his gaze. Like, hope? Adortion? Excitement? “My father.” He states. “You're going to meet your grandfather today.”
Wilbur was doing the thing he always does when he’s nervous, he’s rambling. “And I promise you're going to love him. He’s the sweetest vamp you're ever going to meet.” He says, walking back and forth in front of him. Techno was settled on the steps to the second floor. Two giant winding staircases across from the entrance to the mansion. He got dizzy, eyeing his sire walk back and forth and so he settled his eyes on the door.
“But he’s very affectionate and I know you don’t like physical touch with new people—“ Says the man who has kept himself isolated for the past year. “—So if he makes you uncomfortable just say! Phil will understand. I’m not the type of father to force his kid to go shake hands with the relatives.”
Techno wonders how many parenting books this man has read. He swears he’s heard Wilbur quote lines from memory at least once. “If you see a couple crows outside the windows, don’t be alarmed. They are Phil’s pets. They kinda just hang around—“
“Like that one?” He interrupts his sides rambling, pointing to a small black feathered crow. It pokes at the window, it’s beady black eyes looking in. Wilbur stills, a threatening growl pulling from his throat. Before either of them could comment, a loud knock came from the front door. The silence after is deafening.
Techno’s slow beating heart skips a few beats as he sits straighter on the stairs. A warning gurgle coming from him. Wilbur looks between him and the door, his once warm brown eyes a bleeding red. His pupils having turned into thin slits. “That must be them.” Without another word Wilbur walks over towards the double doors, hands pausing in the knobs. He looks back for a second, flashing a fanged smile at him before finally opening the door.
He holds his breath, body tense and ready to bolt. He hasn’t lived for this long not knowing when to take the high road and leave. Moonlight floods the front room, shadows dancing along the floors. The sound of birds and crows cawing filling in the silence. Techno could just make out the colour green before something is pushing past Wilbur and running right towards him.
He strangled hiss erupts from Wilbur as he’s shoved to the side. The inhuman speed is enough to throw off Techno’s plan of escaping. Cold hands cup his cheeks and his beating heart dies for a second, then slams itself into his rips as he lets out a stressful exhale. “There’s my nephew!” Tommy shouts, eyes locked into his own. The flakes of red through his blue gaze was like molten red glass.
“Tommy.” He deadpans, trying to pry himself away from the over hundred year old.
The other's grin grows more sharp, a coo falling from his lip. “You need to come visit the coven house sometime, you know. Wilbur can’t always have us uproot ourselves to come see you.” He states. Tommy backs up a bit, moving his blonde hair out of his face.
“Not until a few more years, Tommy.” He hears Wilbur say, the sound of the front door shutting causing him to look over. A second person stood next to his sire, shorter, yet smelling of decades old power. Techno freezes up. He pushes down the whine that wants to so unhelpfully bubble up. Another pair of blue eyes, this one darker than Tommy’s. Tommy catches his gaze, turning his head to look at the new arrival.
“That’s your grand sire, Techno.” The blonde says, pointing out the vampire that stood there silently like he couldn’t see for himself.
A crow was perched on the man’s shoulder. Looking around, not making a sound. The vampire raises a hand, his lips forming a smile. “Hello there, mate.” Phil, his mind whispers. Wilbur said the man’s name was Phil.
He tried to open his mouth to say something, anything, but his jaw was locked tight. His instincts were at war with each other in his head. Between finding a place to hide, running to Wilbur, starting a fight or approaching the new coven member. “Oh, baby…” Wilbur coos, walking over. His shoes clack against the ground as he walks. Tommy moved a bit to the side as the brunette came up beside him. Setting his hand on the back of his neck. “I think you’ve scared him, Phil.”
Phil frowns at the words, looking between his sire and him. The crow caws softly, flying off his shoulder. It disappears somewhere down the hall. “I didn’t even—I’m sorry, Techno.” Phil sighs, taking a step back. “Maybe this was too soon?” He says, directing the question at Wilbur.
Techno’s hands curled into fists at his sides. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. Speak, he yells at himself. This was… family. Wasn’t he? So how come he couldn’t say anything!? “…Maybe.” Wilbur replies, thumb rubbing the back of his neck. “I know ancients could be overwhelming to fledglings but I thought since you're my sire it would be different…”
Ancient. He latches onto the word. Everyone knows about the ancients. They are one of the first vampires in the world. There were a hundred of them in total. Over time they’ve been killed, burned at the stake. Went into hiding. But some still roamed, still turned people. Burned villages to the ground. Had powers of healing and decay like no other held. But he’s never heard of one being called Phil.
His eyes catch onto a heart spaced necklace resting on Phil’s chest. A symbol. A dead, unseating red sharp heart. The Angel Of Death wears hearts. His mind supplies. But he had been missing for centuries. At least that’s what everyone thought… “Maybe in a few more months?” Tommy supplies, taking him out of his head. He sounded awkward, hand resting on his shoulder. When did it get there?
“Of course.” Phil nods, his smile wavering. It could hardly be called a smile, now. “I’ll write to you two when I get back to the coven house.” And with that the older vampire turns, feet moving towards the door.
The world blurs around him. His heart picked up speed in his chest. It grows faster than a human should ever get to. Techno blinks, the world growing dark. Only for him to open his eyes a second later, being met with dark and powerful eyes. “Shit!“ he hears Tommy swear, startled.
His heart settles, his limbs feeling like he’s ran a marathon. A whine pulls from his throat, but it wasn’t asking for his sire. No, it was asking for someone older. “Oh!” Phil’s eyes grow wide, his pupils turning into slits. His hands were gripping his shoulders, Techno’s knees having hit the ground.
“Techno!” He hears Wilbur yell, the sound of two sets of footsteps running over accompanying the scream. “I didn’t think you’d be getting inhuman speed this soon.” He laughs, squatting down next to him.
“I—I.” His voice felt rough. His cheeks felt like they were on fire. He must look like a tomato right now. “Sorry?” He questions his own apology. Inhuman speed? Was that what that was?
“Looks like you're welcomed, old man!” Tommy says as he ruffles Techno’s hair.
Phil smiles, fangs flashing. “Just needed a little time to calm down, huh?” Phil coos, voice rumbling. “Wilbur was right. You are the cutest thing!” He chuckles.
Techno scrunches his nose, pushing himself away from the three. “I’m not cute!” He yells, feeling the word stick to him like goo. He ignores the way his stomach flutters. Cute. When was the last time he was called that?
“He’s also a very big liar.” Wilbur voices, like the traitor that he was. “Next he’ll be saying he isn’t huggable.”
“I’ll stab you.” He warns, flashing his fangs. “I will.”
Phil cackles, love flashing in his century old gaze. “Oh I don’t doubt that.”
“Enough lovey stuff.” Tommy orders, grabbing both of his hands. He’s hauled to his feet. He didn’t yelp, Techno doesn’t do such things. He’s also not a liar. “You two obviously need some time to talk about sire shit, so I’ll just take Techno to the garden. Show him all the new poisonous flowers I’ve bought for him to plant—“
“You're not giving my fledgling poisonous flowers, Tommy!” Wilbur shouts, a growl turning his words harder to understand.
“And who said I was here for Wilbur!? I came to meet my grandchild, Tommy. You can’t just have Techno all to yourself!” Phil yells, looking between them all. He doesn’t have time to say anything about what he wants to do as he’s gently tossed over the blondes shoulder—don’t even get him started on how that seems to be possible—and the world starts to blur around them all.
Except Phil and Wilbur keep up as they begin to chase. Tommy’s yelling swears, Wilbur is telling him to be careful as Phil is shouting about how unfair this was. And Techno? He’s watching it all. He doesn’t hide the smile that grows on his face, or the purr that starts up in his chest. They do circles around the mansion with laughter and Enoch threats sounding out in the air.
During it all, he couldn’t help but breath. Family, he thinks, beats being six feet underground.