Moonlight and Gold #2: What Have You Done? (1,118)

[eiahmon]

Title - Moonlight and Gold: What Have You Done? (1,118)
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - Don't own, but it sure would be nice if I did...
Summary - Despite Joachim's best efforts, Kerwin finds out. What will he do?

What Have You Done?

Leon was sleeping.

Joachim stood in the bedroom doorway and watched his child sleep. Leon was curled up in a tight ball under the blankets, his face hidden in the pillows, completely still. The sun was up outside, and the curtains were closed against any light, so he could rest in safety. The child was exhausted and needed all the rest he could get. Joachim watched him for a moment more, before he backed quietly out of the bedroom and shut the door, silently grateful that he did not need to sleep.

It had been two days since Leon's turning, and the headstrong child refused to accept what he had become. Joachim supposed that he couldn't blame him; he had, after all, turned him against his will, but that knowledge did not make Leon's defiance any easier to deal with. The child would not feed unless he was forced, nor would he get out of bed, dress himself, or bathe, which forced his sire to literally spend all night fighting him. It only ended with sunrise, when Leon would fall sleep from sheer exhaustion. So far, he had slept soundly throughout the day, but Joachim kept a close watch anyway, fearing that the foolish child would run out into the sunlight at the first opportunity.

Satisfied that Leon was truly asleep for the day, Joachim moved down the hall towards his small but comfortable sitting room. The steady hum of the bond that he and his child shared would alert him if he began to wake. He dropped down into a chair by the roaring fireplace, rubbed his face tiredly, and, not for the first time, wondered if he had made a mistake in turning Leon. Ella appeared at his side, and she handed him a glass of spiced wine before she disappeared, and Joachim sighed and allowed himself to relax a tiny bit. He took a long drink from his glass, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes for a brief moment.

He did not get the relax long however, for a moment later, he felt a twinge from the boundary of his territory, and he felt Kerwin cross over it. He frowned, wondering what Kerwin wanted, but he decided to wait and see. The elder vampire would reach the house soon enough. Sure enough, only a few minutes later, Ella ushered Kerwin into the room, and Joachim rose and greeted him with a smile and a hug. The pair then sat down, and Ella appeared before more wine, and once she had left the room, Kerwin took a sip from his and asked in a level voice:

"When were you going to tell me about Belmont?"

Joachim froze with his own glass halfway to his mouth. "W..what?" he sputtered.

"Come now, Joachim, my father is the vampire that sired you. We have a sibling bond, if you remember, which was only strengthened by two years of being master and child, so I can sense you when I choose to. Imagine my surprise when I am readying for bed one night and feel a surge of rage and horror from your end. I could tell right away that it wasn't you, so the logical conclusion was that you had a child. After that, it was easy to guess who. So, when were you planning on telling me?"

"I don't have to answer to you anymore, Kerwin." Joachim replied, with a hint of anger in his tone.

The dark haired vampire nodded his head in acknowledgement. "That is true, but you would only hide him from me if you knew that I would not approve. Plus, there is the simple fact that Belmont would have never consented to be turned into one of us, which means he was turned unwillingly. That is the reason why I am a little upset with you." Kerwin pinned him to his chair with a piercing look. "Regardless of what Belmont did to my father, he did not deserve such a thing, and after what Walter did to you, I never imagined you to be the type to betray one you claimed to love as a dear friend in such a way. It makes me wonder if you are not the person I thought you were, Joachim."

"What do you want me to say, Kerwin? Do I regret what I did? In some ways yes. Do I regret saving his life? No, and I would probably do it again."

"You didn't do it for him, though. You did it for yourself, and I imagine that he's been giving you a great deal of trouble, not to mention being as pissed as a bear at you."

Joachim huffed and said nothing. It was true, Leon's anger was plain to him, even without the bond.

Kerwin nodded: Joachim's silence was all the answer he needed. "How are you treating him?"

Joachim gave him a sharp look. "What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one. Are you going to answer it?" Joachim said nothing, and Kerwin snorted. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Are you treating him like Walter treated you?"

"No!" Joachim felt sick at the mere thought of treating Leon is such a way. "I would never do that!"

"Are you sure, because at one time I was certain that you would never turn someone against their will either."

"I would never do that to him, Kerwin. Never."

The older vampire looked at him for a long moment and then nodded, and Joachim released the breath that he didn't know that he had been holding. Even though he had been independent of Kerwin for nearly a quarter century, his approval still meant a great deal to him.

He leaned back in his chair and drained the rest of his glass in a single gulp, but a sudden increase in volume from the hum that was the bond between himself and Leon let him know that the child was waking. Maybe Kerwin's presence had roused him? Joachim rose from his chair and excused himself to go check on him, but before he could take a single step, he heard August cry out in surprise -

"Master Leon!"

- and a blond haired, white clad blur streaked past the sitting room doorway and towards the front door.

Joachim knew right away what Leon was doing. "Leon, stop!" He forced power into the words, and Leon slowed, but he did not stop as the front door slammed open, and the two day old child ran out into the bright fall sunlight. Immediately the bond was flooded with the sensation of burning, agonizing pain, pain that Joachim remembered all too well from his own experience with it three centuries before.

"God damn it, Leon! Stop!" Joachim ran out of the house, with Kerwin right behind him, just in time to see Leon collapse under the spreading branches of a massive oak tree whose leaves had turned but not yet dropped several yards away from the house. Light grey smoke was rising thickly from his body, and he was howling in pain.

Joachim translocated to his child's side, and the smell of burnt flesh and hair nearly made him vomit, but he pushed that down as he ripped off his surcoat and draped it over Leon's burned body. The child had only been exposed to full sunlight for a few brief seconds, but it had injured him badly. Kerwin appeared beside him, and Joachim quickly gathered Leon into his arms and did his best to ignore the muffled scream that it caused, and Kerwin draped his cloak over Leon for more protection. Joachim then translocated back to the house and inside to the darkened bedroom, where he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the coverings away from Leon’s face so the child could feed.

“It hurts, Joachim.” Leon sobbed tearlessly, as the burns had destroyed his tear ducts “Please make it stop.”

“You have to feed, Leon.” Joachim replied as he opened his shirt collar and pushed it away from the left side of his neck. He then repositioned Leon so he was sitting up - which caused another pain filled scream - and pressed his face against the side of his neck. Leon bit down without having to be prompted or forced, and Joachim had to contain a wince at how hard he was drawing. Less than a minute later, the blood ran out, and Kerwin gently took Leon away and pushed a stunned and bound human at Joachim. Joachim blinked - he hadn’t even noticed that Kerwin had left and returned - but he wasted no time in sinking his fangs into the man’s neck and drinking him dry. He then held his arms out for Leon, and let the child drain him a second time. Leon moaned in relief as the pain melted away as the burns finished healing, and Joachim clutched his child to him as it hit him how much worse it could have ended. At only two days of age, Leon would have been immolated in less than a minute. If the tree had not been there... Joachim shuddered and held Leon closer. He felt Kerwin lightly touch him on the shoulder as the elder silently left the room, leaving sire and child alone in the room.

To his surprise, Leon did not fight to get away from the contact as he had during the past two days. Instead he allowed Joachim to hold him, and the bond let Joachim know that the near death had frightened Leon every bit as much as it had hurt him.

“Foolish child.” Joachim grumbled, and he pushed Leon off to sit on the bed so he could take him by the shoulders and look him in the eye. “Never do anything so profoundly stupid again, Leon Belmont! Do you hear me? You nearly scared me to death when you did that! Don’t ever do it again!” Leon did not move or say anything for a moment, and then, slowly, he nodded, and then the nod was followed by a jaw cracking yawn.

"I thought that vampires didn't need sleep." he grumbled as Joachim laughed and helped him lie down.

"We do if we're ill or seriously injured." Joachim couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Then why am I so tired at sunrise?" Leon yawned again.

"Because you spend all night fighting, and it makes your mind weary. And when your mind is tired, so shall the rest of you be."

"When was the last time you slept?"

"The night I bit you. I've been watching you ever since."

Leon stiffened briefly at the mention of his turning, but he said no more as he laid his head down and allowed his master to cover him with the blankets. Joachim smiled as Leon nodded off, and he gently brushed his hair back from his face before he stood up and left the room.

Kerwin was in the sitting room, looking as though he was ready to leave.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier.' he said quietly "After you were burned, Walter made it clear to me that he cared nothing for you. He just didn't want his new toy to be permanently damaged. It is plain to me by the way you acted towards Leon that you care for him and would never treat him that way." Joachim nodded and allowed Kerwin to enfold him in a hug for a moment before he stepped away. "Belmont's lucky to have you."

Joachim smiled weakly, and Kerwin returned the smile before he calmly turned and left the house. Once he was outside, he turned into a large black wolf and ran across the lawn, disappearing into the trees.

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