Looking for Food

He moaned again, trying to fight against the vampire but coming up fruitless.

After a minute his lips slowly parted as his tongue ran over the bleeding wound. He gagged at the taste of blood but forced himself to swallow.

He didn't want to die yet. He was only twenty eight. He still had a full life ahead of himself. He wanted to live a full, healthy life; find a nice girl; settle down, get married and have two point five kids.

Gabriel smiled, kissing the man's ear and neck gently with a murmur of encouragement. "Only a little more. You're almost there now." his other hand stroked the man's side gently, urging him on.

He didn't know whether he wanted to lean into or away from the tall blond's touches.

The human settled for leaning against his chest, turning his face from the offered wrist. He had had enough. Any more and he was going to throw up.

He buried his face in the vampire's bare chest, curling in on himself.

Gabriel pursed his lips. The man had not drunk enough. At this rate he would die. He lifted his wrist to his mouth again, piercing it a second time. Drinking in some of his own blood, he gently tilted the man's head back up to kiss him, passing the blood between their mouths, stroking Jean's hair reassuringly.

Jean-Claude whimpered pathetically when Gabe tilted his head back.

But when the blood flowed into his mouth he only had two choices, let it drown him or swallow it. Again, self-preservation kicked in and he chose life, swallowing the blood flowing into his mouth, gagging violently at the taste.

He whimpered again, eyes sliding shut. He could feel the burning in them but he refused to let himself cry. And so his shoulders shook slightly and he bit his lip harshly, breath coming in ragged pants.

Gabriel hushed the younger man, pulling him into his lap gently, to cradle his head against his chest. "It's not long. and then it will all be over." He whispered into the human's ear, wrapping his arms around him. Pressing another reassuring kiss to the boy's forehead, he kissed him softly, gently, caressing the boy's lips with his. His hand stroked the man's back gently in soothing circles, dropping sweet, tender kisses along the youth's jaw.

"it will be alright, I promise."

Jean-Claude whimpered again, curling up against the man's chest. He felt hot. Uncomfortably so.

His skin felt like it was sizzling. He almost wanted to claw it off.

He clenched his hands into fists against Gabe's chest to stop himself from doing so.

When was it going to end? "Gabe," he sobbed softly.

Gabriel pulled the other boy's arms around him, knowing how he had felt when he was first turned. Pulling the boy to the floor, he cradled him against his chest, continuing to smooth the skin of the young man's back, and kissing his eyelids from where tears threatened to spill. "Shh. It's okay. The pain won't last for long."

"Low longs 'long?'" He dreaded to hear the answer.

Minutes?

Hours?

Days...?

He curled into a tighter ball, sobbing quietly to himself, a few tears spilling down over his pale cheeks.

"It's usually about an hour, though it does vary from person to person. You are quite young, so your transformation will probably be quite quick." he reassured him softly. He felt bad, but then... humans were horrible creatures. If he could just take the purest... then he could make them better. This was for Jean-Claude's own good. He was certain of that.

He bent down to wipe the boy's tears away, kissing the salty streaks gently. "It's only an hour. You will be fine."

Jean-Claude had never even broken a bone before. He was not used to non-sexual pain.

And that made the pain of this transformation a lot more painful to him than it really was.

He clenched his jaws and squeezed his eyes shut. Ignore the pain and it'll go away...Ignore the pain and it'll go away...Ignore the pain and it'll go away... He repeated the mantra silently.

Gabriel held the boy close to him, slightly wondering when he had become a mother-hen-type-figure to a human. Still... he gently kissed the boy's lips, trying to ease the tension of his jaw, a hand drifting up to brush fingertips tenderly over the boy's cheekbone. "You will be fine. Just... keep with it. Just for a little longer." he murmured against the youth's lips, before recapturing them again gently, as though he were made of glass.

The not-quite-human-any-more found it was easier to focus on things other than the pain when there was actually something to focus on.

That perfect something of the moment was Gabe's voice.

"Keep talking," he murmured, pulling away from the feather-light kiss.

The blond dropped another light kiss to the boy's forehead, tracing a soothing line from the nape of his neck to the base of his spine and up again. "You haven't got much longer now. I can see you beginning to change already." he brushed his fingertips across the boy's cheek again, feeling the flesh starting to cool under his touch, starting to become paler... almost translucent. He smiled, ducking back down to lightly press a kiss to the boy's cheek. "You are being so brave."

Change? "Into what?"

What was he becoming? Would it be safe to go back to Korea like that? Would he have to give up his life because of this...?

All these thought buzzed around in his head like an angry nest of wasps.

Gabriel considered telling him, but stopped himself. Now was not the time. The boy could not be distressed any more that he already was right now. "I will explain everything later. But for now, just try to get through this."

He held the boy tighter against him, slightly unsure how to comfort him when he was in such pain. He stroked the man's cheek caringly, before running his finger's through the human's hair.

He sighed softly. Seriously? The man was withholding information on what he would become? About what type of monster he'd be?

What was is? Werewolf? Elf?

The cliché and overused vampire?

...if it was a vampire, Jean-Claude was going to laugh himself to death. His boss had always joked about him being a vampire for taking the night shifts at the bar. It'd just be like irony slapping him in the face if he became a vampire of all things.

His eyes slid shut again and he leaned into the soft touches of his hair.

Gabriel continued to stroke his hair, smoothing the silky strands in his fingers, as his other hand began to draw soothing patterns on the young man's back. "It's not much longer now, I promise. It's only about twenty minutes, now. Not much longer."

He nodded against the man's chest, feeling relief flood through him. Only twenty more minutes. He could do that. He could think about something time-consuming.

He could go through his usual stripping routine or the cleaning regime for his small apartment. Some boring, menial thing that would take up some time.

Cleaning.

That was boring. Very boring.

Okay, usual start: cleaning up all the shit from the floor. Beer cans, pizza boxes etc etc. Next, vacuum around the room. By that point he had to stop and fuss over Cleo before she-

Cleo! What was going to happen wit her? He had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to be going back to Korea any time soon. What would happen to his beloved Cleo?

Gabriel smiled as he felt the young man relax slightly in his arms, fingers combing through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. The boy was too silent though, and for a moment, he looked distressed. Gabriel frowned, dropping a kiss the the side of the boy's neck. "Stop thinking. You'll only worry yourself."

"Easier said than done," he muttered.

His thoughts were firmly on Cleo.

What would happen to her? She'd be okay, right?

Maybe...Maybe he could get Ji-Hoo to ship her over here...? He'd spent years with Cleo; he couldn't just leave her now.

Gabriel nuzzled into the man's neck affectionately. "It's not much longer now." As he said this, the clock began to chime three. His mouth twitched, hoping that the sun wouldn't come up soon. He slid out of bed quickly to make sure that the curtains were fully closed and no light could possible get through, before lying back down next to Jean-Claude again, cradling him against his chest from behind.

"What'll happen?" he murmured.

He barely felt the pain now. The heat sizzling over skin was just a dull warmth now - like a blush. Uncomfortable, yes - but not overly so.

The human leaned back against the vampire, staring ahead blankly.

Gabriel nuzzled into the back of his head, murmuring in his ear. "You will become immortal. You shall live forever, provided that you drink, and do not go out during the day."

He did not use the word "vampire". He did not want to freak the boy out more than he already was, although he knew he had to be honest with him. Watching the boy's expression carefully from over his shoulder, his tightened his embrace around the smaller man.

It took Jean-Claude a fraction of a second to figure it out.

Dont go out in the sun. Drink. Drink what? Blood, obviously.

Vampire. A hysterical giggle bubbled up in his throat. He was becoming a vampire! Oh the sick, twisted irony.

Jean-Claude D'Anjou, the vampire!