“Hello mortal!” Rudolph cried, dropping in from the window ledge. 

“You’re back,” Tony breathed, gazing up into his deep, gorgeous eyes.

“I told you I’d be back, didn’t I?” the vampire replied, not skipping a beat. He beamed down at the blond, holding out his hands gingerly, brushing Tony’s chest. “Ready to fly?”

He smiled at the vampire in return, his heart beating excitedly as they clasped hands, nearly interlocking fingers. “I was born ready, man,” Rudolph looked a bit bewildered for a moment at the strange phrase, but realized it was only one of his modern sayings, lifting them off the floor, out the open window. 

With a lurch of his stomach, they were leaping from the ledge, soaring out into the night. Tony hoped that none of his neighbors could see them flying off together at night, because that would be a nightmare if they came knocking at the door, scared out of their minds that he had been floating out of his house with a strange boy each evening. The blond boy felt all the breath leave his body as the two dipped down to fly just above a serene blue lake. The water rippled in their wake, parting for the odd pair. Tony dared to reach out and touch the dark waves, and he heard Rudolph chuckle when he shivered at the icy burn of the water.

“Hey! Haven’t you ever done that before?” he yelled, the wind screaming in his ears.

“Yes, but I’m a vampire, not a mortal! I wouldn’t be able to feel that, I don’t think.” Rudolph gave a sad expression out of the corner of Tony’s eyes, then switching to a more cheerful one. “Let’s land somewhere. I know a great place.”

With a curt nod of Tony’s head, the dark haired teenager rushed upwards, the blond gasping at the rush of air pushing against them.  

Suddenly, he was slipping. Tony felt himself slide out of Rudolph’s grasp, letting go of his secure hands. Then he was falling, yelling for him, screaming for his friend. The wind whipped at his back, his hair flying in all directions. This is it, he thought. This must be it. I was finally getting my life together, and now I’m going to lose it all because I couldn’t hold on to a vampire I just met. He closed his eyes as he got closer and closer to the ground. Tears stung his eyes when he braced for impact. 

He felt warm arms circle around his body. They caught him, dragging down a bit from the sudden weight, but he was floating some fifteen feet above the ground, safe; alive. Tony clutched Rudolph so tightly, taking deep breaths, wiping tears clinging to his eyelashes. He buried his face into Rudolph’s shoulder, too scared to look down again. The vampire stayed with him in the embrace, allowing Tony to hug him tighter and tighter, flying somewhere: the blond teenager didn’t care. 

“Shh… It’s alright. I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect to drop you… I should have caught you sooner. Please don’t be angry with me… I… I’ll just set you down where we were going to sit before. Here,” he put the blond down on a large smooth rock in a clearing concealed by large oak trees leaning their branches across, shading the moonlight.

“No, it’s totally okay. Just… that scared me,” Tony said quickly, putting his hands anxiously in his lap when the vampire left his arms. He felt empty and cold without the teenager with him. “I’m sorry I overreacted. I should have known you would be right there.”

Rudolph sat on the stone next to Tony, staring at him attentively. “Are you hurt?”

This caused him to look at the vampire oddly; he didn’t even hit the ground, and Rudolph was wondering if he was hurt? “Yeah… I’m totally fine. A little shocked maybe, but you got to me before I could actually hit the ground or anything else.”

The dark haired boy flushed slightly with embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck. “My apologies… I guess… I haven’t felt anything in so long. I can’t feel anymore, at least maybe I feel, but I don’t know what feeling is, to be completely honest with you.”

“What?” Tony said a little harshly, making Rudolph flinch. “S… sorry… I just- didn’t you feel anything… that night we first met?”

He squinted at nothing in particular, appearing to try and recall that night, but Tony knew that Rudolph remembered it precisely. “I… I suppose I could feel… the hurting, but it’s been so long since I’ve had to feel things like pain or happiness, so I can’t… I- I can’t recognize my own feelings anymore, I suppose,” he let out a shaky breath, his hands trembling in front of him. Tony placed his hand on the vampire’s shoulder. He looked at the blond, turning his head so quickly that Tony could only stare at the boy’s confused and scared expression, wanting Rudolph to feel better, until words started to form in his head.

“Hey, it’s okay. When you haven’t needed to think about it for that long, then you get out of practice. It’s like… math! It’s like math. If you don’t use it every day, you forget about it.”

“Thank you, mortal, really,” Rudolph smiled lightly, the tips of his fangs peeking out of his lips. Then he sighed, turning to the stars sprinkled across the night sky. They sat in awed silence for a few minutes, until the vampire startled Tony by hopping off the large stone, lying on the ground. He looked up at the blond boy for a moment, then pat the spot on the grass next to him, beckoning Tony to lie down with him.

He slid off the rock, positioning himself right beside Rudolph. Their arms brushed faintly as they settled down, peering up at the twinkling stars. 

“That man who captured me,” Rudolph began, causing the blond to turn on his side to look over at him apprehensively. He had tried to stop thinking of that night, but he never seemed to be able to get the wounded vampire out of his head, the hatred in his eyes when Tony had stepped in front of him with that stake in his hands. “Why were you with him? If he wasn’t your father, who was he?”

Tony let out a shaky breath, propping his head up with his hand. He looked down into the vampire’s deep, inquisitive eyes. “I… um, he’s- he was my adoptive father. So he practically owned me, and I always had to go with him on vampire hunts, or he’d- he’d…” he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. He suddenly felt a hand on his arm, a gentle touch, sending butterflies soaring in his stomach.

“I understand, it’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. You shouldn’t think of him now that he’s gone.”

“I guess that’s the problem… Rookery’s still out there. He’s not coming back, but there’s always a possibility I will see him again sometime. He might even be released from that asylum one day, and he’ll come looking for me when that happens,” Tony realized he was trembling, but kept rambling anyway. “I can’t go a day without being haunted by him, and it’s driving me crazy.”

The vampire squeezed Tony’s arm sympathetically, sitting up in the prickly grass. “My family isn’t all too great either. I suppose we still love and trust one another, but we’ve had to live together for so long that it’s constantly tense between us, and we argue all the time. It makes me mad how we don’t get along, but I too am sick of them, and I need time, so much time away from my family. My brother even ran away for many months some fifty years ago, but when he returned, he had run away from a family he created. He has never fully recovered from that, since that family is now old and decrepit; they all aged like normal humans.”

“That’s terrible,” the blond said in surprise.

Rudolph raked alluring slender fingers through his spiky hair. “I presume you hadn’t had enough time to grow tired of that man yet, even if he was awful.”

“Well… no,” Tony started, a pit forming in his stomach as he began to think of Rookery again. “When my parents died, he was the first person that was there for me. I remember him being so… nice. Even when I was so young, I knew it wasn’t right; that wasn’t how he normally acted. But I trusted him,” the blond lay back and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear his head, to calm down. Then he heard that wonderful vampire tell him it was okay again, helping him get through it. 

“I trusted him until he moved us out of California. Then I just knew in my heart that he didn’t care about me, he only wanted me to be there as a thing to do his bidding. I got tired of him so long ago and that… night… that night felt like a weight off my shoulders, because I was able to get rid of him. Even if it’s not forever, he’s not here now, so I don’t really have anything to be scared about anymore.”

Tony took a deep breath, turning up to the stars again momentarily before looking back at Rudolph, who was still gazing at the blond softly. “He really did own me.”

“No, Tony, if he did, you’d be nothing without him. And now with him out of your life, you’re finally feeling like you can be yourself again. Even if he really did own you like you say, you are so much better than he ever was, and ever will be. It’s a miracle he barely raised you, because you turned out to be nothing like him, and thank heavens for that.”

Tony bit his lip, smiling at the kind vampire. He looked into his intoxicating eyes, getting lost in the beautiful maroon, exploring the smooth gray-purple skin stretching languidly across his face. He blushed when he looked up to see the immortal still looking at him. Tony blinked. Shit. Say something! He’ll know you like him! 

“Ehm… thanks! Good to know I don’t remind you of that fleabag.” 

Rudolph laughed out loud, combing through his inky hair again. Tony just couldn’t help but continue to blush. Oh my god I like him. Maybe Tony had known that for a while now, but he was only now realizing just how much he liked him. He had been taught all his life to hate vampires, to fear them. But he didn’t see anything at all bad about Rudolph. He trusted the boy not to bite him, and he loved everything about him already. 

When Tony wasn’t having nightmares about Rookery, he was having dreams about touching the vampire softly, feeling every inch of him lovingly, kissing him even. Tony wanted to be with Rudolph so badly; even though they had only just met.

“I believe we should be getting back shortly. It’s almost dawn,” Rudolph’s kind words lifted the blond out of his thoughts. The vampire flashed Tony a charming smile as he stood up in the grass, taking the mortal’s hand. They soared up, above the towering trees, mountains, and empty graveyards. Tony felt Rudolph squeeze his hand reassuringly before they dove extremely close to the ground, nearly touching the tall grass before shooting up again.

The blond teenager looked at Rudolph, who was glancing across the landscape they flew over. He turned suddenly, locking eyes with him, and with Tony caught staring at the other boy, he smirked adoringly. “Getting used to it?” he yelled over at the blond.

“Sure am, dude!” he replied. The vampire chuckled, looking back at the ground while Tony continued to gaze at him, his heart drumming rapidly in his chest. 

Flying through Tony’s open window, the two touched the carpet silently. The blond reluctantly let go of Rudolph’s hand, his fingers lingering for a moment before he dropped his hand to his side, empty and cold.

“I have a question for you, mortal,” Rudolph said abruptly. Tony snapped his head up, looking to the beautiful boy standing in front of him. 

“Y- yeah?”

The dark haired teenager rubbed the back of his neck apprehensively, which made Tony worried for what he was thinking of asking. “As you know, I’ll be turning three hundred and eighteen years old soon. In two weeks, in fact. My family is hosting a birthday party for me at our clan’s castle. They always invite all of my boring relatives, and I never have any fun. If you would be so kind as to join me, I’d love to have you at my side as I try and get through that horrendous event without falling asleep while flying. So? What do you say, Tony?” 

He was stunned. They had only just met, and Rudolph wanted Tony with him the entire time at his own birthday party? He could hardly believe that the vampire would enjoy his company that much; him, a mortal! His stomach began to perform frenzied backflips. “Uhh… y- yeah! Of course! Anything to help a friend out.” 

The vampire gasped softly, cocking his head to the side. “Friend?”

“Yeah, friend. Why wouldn’t you be?” 

“I… yes! Oh, why not?” Rudolph smiled at him, chuckling softly. 

“I- I’ll see you tomorrow?” Tony asked, his voice lowered to a murmur.

“I’ll see you tonight,” the vampire grinned slyly, leaping out the window and into the night with Tony left behind, waving in awe, his heart fluttering.