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Wilbur Turns him in Pogtopia.
Tommy always knew the man was a vampire. Tommy wasn’t always the biggest of men- he used to bounce around from alleyway to alleyway, and had been nursing his recent bruises from a fight. That night, he was approached on the street by a too-long trenchcoat and eyes that glowed in the dark. Wilbur offered a place to stay in exchange for frequent feedings - he said he was bored of hunting - and Tommy agreed. It couldn’t be worse than where he was coming from, and if he died, at least he was making himself useful to someone. Wilbur's Coven were off doing their own thing, and when a few years had passed, he and Wilbur travelled to Essempii. Wilbur’s sire apparently had some genetic wanderlust and Wilbur had only waited for Tommy to grow enough for travel to be safer. Even if Tommy hadn't already known about Wilbur not being human, it would have been difficult to hide, being the only real human in the ravine with a vampire. Vampires still needed to eat and Tommy was willing to provide.
The day it all changed, Wilbur made a passing comment about needing more ancient debris and Tommy had made... a rather foolish, sleep deprived decision to just head to the Nether and get some. Maybe he was there too long and didn't take any water, maybe he didn't take a single break, and maybe when he got back, he had just enough time to pass the ingots off to Wilbur before his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees hit the floor.
Tommy came to in Wilbur's lap and immediately knew something was wrong. Even with Tommy’s status as a pseudo-blood bag, Wilbur wasn't physically affectionate. It wasn't something vampires did outside their coven. That affection was reserved only for the vampires within their inner circles, and not for the… pets - or the leeches - that they dragged around, or got dragged around by.
He sat in Wilbur's lap, pressed to the man's still chest, Wilbur's face buried in his curls as he rocked them back and forth. Wilbur smelled like ash and mint and cold, something Tommy had found was unique to vampires after meeting Technoblade.
"...mrrhgg?" Tommy tried to open his eyes. The torches had been dimmed - thank fuck, his head was pounding - and Wilbur stopped moving them. A hand came to cradle his neck and he was tilted backwards to stare into the man's eyes. They were a bright red, betraying his stress. Tommy could see the whites with how focused they were on him, the vessels popped along the edges.
"You," Wilbur hissed. "Are not allowed to leave. Everyone else left- but you're mine. You're mine." Wilbur tilted his head, baring his neck. Tommy made a confused whine, trying to push away, but the vampire's grip was like iron. His head hurt, pounding with every beat of his pulse, and his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Tommy really wanted some water.
"Mine," Wilbur murmured. His fangs pricked at the skin on Tommy's neck and cold breath washed over his pulse point. He- Wilbur only ever took from his wrists before. He didn’t understand- "You just have to remember it." Tommy’s heart fluttered weakly and he raised both his arms, going to push against the vampire’s chest to try and get away. Wilbur didn’t budge, just leaning down until his hair tickled Tommy’s cheek. There was a short pause, and then-
Wilbur bit down.
In hindsight, it was probably painful. In the moment, the venom that Wilbur's fangs injected dulled the pain and left him high, floating. At some point, Wilbur pulled away from his neck with Tommy's blood coating his face and dripping down his chin. The vampire smiled and his fangs were stained red.
"Mine." Wilbur promised and it never sounded more like a threat.
---
When Dream or Tubbo came to visit, Tommy was locked in a room. Everything was sensitive. His hearing and touch and smell - oh god, his smell - was multiplied. It left him panicking and floundering until Wilbur entered the room with a quiet click, crossing it with three strides and fixing the issue. It ended up more often than not with Tommy curled in Wilbur’s arms, breathing in the familiar scent. For some reason, there was something in the back of his head now that cursed and cried every time Wilbur left. It was only sated when Wilbur was back with him.
Everything was too much. The only times anything felt okay was when Wilbur was rocking him on the bed. Tommy knew, distantly, that Wilbur had Turned him, but he didn’t have the energy to question it. And Wilbur didn’t have the patience for answering questions either.
"Tommy's not feeling well today," Wilbur lied. "Come back again later."
Later that night, Wilbur’s insane ramblings filled the empty halls, echoing loud enough that they felt like shouts in Tommy’s ears. He pressed his palms to them, trying to block out the sound, at war with two aspects of himself. The logic, rational part of himself knowing that Wilbur was going insane, Wilbur is dangerous, Wilbur will hurt you- and whatever Wilbur had… given him, in the back of his head, screaming Sire will make it all better.
Noises threatened to bubble out of Tommy’s throat, so he bit his lips until they bled.
When Dream gave Wilbur the TnT, Tommy tried to protest- tried to stop him. But with a speed unlike any human, Wilbur ripped the bow from his hands and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Tommy went boneless - would have fallen if Wilbur didn't catch him - and fell asleep to the sounds of Wilbur cooing.
---
The 16th happened. Tommy was supposed to stay inside the ravine, but as soon as Wilbur left, he snuck out. The vampire found him not even three minutes after Tommy’s grand plan to save the day, and had tucked Tommy under his arm with a pissed-off hiss and a promise that Tommy was in trouble when they got home. He was tied to a tree and had just sawed through his ropes when the TnT blew- missing his spot completely. He got a front row show to the bodies of his friends, of his former allies, flying in the air. People ran about, clutching stumps of severed limbs. Blood was everywhere and it smelled like burnt flesh. And over all of it, Dream stood, watching with an impassive smiley face.
Tommy was sure that mask was going to haunt his nightmares.
Phil arrived and said something about Wilbur needing to come to his senses, which yes, and then stabbed him, which no.
If Tommy didn't know better, he would have screamed and cried and shouted. But he did, so he turned away from the sight of Phil's sword in Wilbur's chest and faced the rest of the battlefield.
Technoblade told him to go die like a hero and Tommy got to watch L'Manburg go up in smoke, and it was-
Well, it was a zero out of ten, really. Tommy gave it no stars.
Apparently he wasn't... far enough along in whatever Turning process to have red eyes yet and he was starving all the time. He wasn't gonna bite anybody so he was trying to drink from animals, but they didn't fill him up. Before, in Pogtopia, he was drinking blood from Wilbur, so Tommy didn't even know if he could have human blood. Or animal blood. Or anything.
Philza and Technoblade took Wilbur’s body out of the ruins of L’Manburg and Tommy wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He obviously couldn’t go to them- they wouldn’t believe him anyway, even with the bite scar on his neck. Tommy had taken to wearing turtlenecks even with the warm weather to cover up the mark. It was unlikely that they even wanted him, so Tommy kept his mouth shut.
Technoblade told him to die and Philza hadn’t even looked at him the entire time he’d been in Essempii. Tommy wasn’t going to push his luck.
He ended up staying with Tubbo for a few days, but the hunger was a constant, gnawing thing. It curdled in his belly and roared in his head, demanding that he bow to it and give it something. Tommy tried to drink from animals and it didn’t settle his stomach- it was like drinking water when you were starving. Helped take the edge off for a bit, but ultimately did nothing to satisfy the urge.
Eventually, Tommy found himself standing over Tubbo’s bed in the middle of the night while his best friend was sleeping. His eyes were fixated on Tubbo’s neck, on the pulse point that beat steadily along Tubbo’s neck. One, two. One, two. One, two- Tommy jerked himself away, revulsion spiraling in his chest as he slapped a hand over his mouth. He almost just- he-
He couldn’t stay here.
Tommy grabbed a cloak and some shoes, determined to not be more of a drain on Tubbo than he already was. He left a note- didn’t take his communicator. He fled out the door, hesitating before grabbing one of Tubbo’s horses. The mare was saddled before long, tossing her head. They fled across the forest, sticks and branches cutting into Tommy’s cloak. It didn’t matter what happened to him, as long as he got far enough away.
He finally decided to settle on the farthest shoreline of Essempii- it was next to a lake and in a flower biome. There was a mushroom tree somewhere in the forest, and Tommy unsaddled the mare before letting her off into the plains.
Here, he couldn’t hurt anyone.
His stomach growled and he bit into his lip, his own blood flooding his mouth.
Anyone except himself.
---
He could feel the bond between... he doesn't fuckin know - daddy vampire and baby vampire? - shift when Wilbur woke up.
A week passed. Two, three.
Tommy figures either Wilbur wasn't gonna tell his Coven what he did - out of shame? Was Tommy really that worthless? - or he did, and they just didn't care.
It changed a month and a half in.
Tommy was outside, watering his flowers and humming under his breath. His hands shook, but that was normal. He could count his ribs, but that was normal too. Drinking animal blood didn't seem to do much for him and every time he tried to eat real food, he'd puke it back up within the hour.
There were footsteps approaching his little hut. He’d made it out of dirt and clay, patching the roof with hay and straw he’d harvested himself. He bathed regularly in the lake, but he knew he was a mess and his cheekbones were caving in from the lack of food. At this point, his stomach had gone numb- he couldn’t even feel the hunger anymore. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
There's some jangling, the sounds of metal clinking and a swish of a cape. Tommy knew who it was without even turning around.
"Theseus," Technoblade was suddenly so much closer, and sounded like he was so much not fucking around that Tommy's spine immediately straightened. "Did Wilbur bite you?"
"He bit me a lot, actually," Tommy tips his watering can. The motion let his sleeve pull upwards and Tommy could feel the eyes on the many, many fang scars on his wrist. "He needed to eat. We thought taking a little bit every day instead of a lot every few days would be healthier. Why are you even asking me? Wouldn't it be just... fuckin' easier to ask him instead?" there was a breath, a pause, and the little… thing in the back of his head whines that he needs to turn around and face the other vampire. Tommy internally sighed before hefting the watering can back into shaking arms.
Tommy turns around and lets blue eyes meet Technoblade's. The vampire's wearing his boar skull mask so Tommy couldn't see his facial expression, but all he got was a head tilt. Like a dog. Dognoblade. Technodog? He’ll think about it later.
"He seems to think that he Turned you," Technoblade steps closer. "His memories of Pogtopia are a little spotty, but he's certain he's a Sire. It’s to be expected, of course-” why does this guy monologue so much? “When a vampire is reset like that, it causes memory issues. It took so long to track you down.” Technoblade’s eyes narrow. “Seems like you’re running from something. Care to explain?” the vampire’s hand drifts down by his sword sheath, like he was one second away from striking Tommy down. He almost wishes he would.
Tommy rolls his eyes. Blue eyes. He lifts his lip up to show flat, human teeth.
"Do I look like a vampire to you?" In response, Technoblade lets out this... crooning noise that has something at the base of Tommy's brain short circuit. His watering can drops from his hands. A hiccup explodes out of his chest, making a ringing noise in its wake, and Tommy's brain goes all… mushy.
"There you are," Technoblade murmures- and for a guy who told Tommy to go die, he sounds surprisingly gentle. "I wasn't sure at first that Wilbur actually had a fledgling. But you're just a baby, hm? Haven't even started teething yet for your new fangs."
He steps closer, close enough to touch, and Tommy makes the hiccup sound again. Technoblade croons in response and Tommy latches onto his shirt. He doesn't understand but- thoughts feel too... floaty. He doesn't need to understand because Coven is here. Coven will understand for him.
Coven scoops him up and wraps something warm and soft around him.
"We're going home, Tommy," Coven promises. Tommy whines- does home mean Sire? Coven laughs, but it isn't cruel. It’s been so long since it wasn’t cruel. "Yes, to your Sire. He misses you."
Tommy makes a happy noise and falls asleep to the rocking motions of Coven taking him home.
---
There's something soft all around him, but what really throws him is the pressing weight on his legs, pinning him down. Something buzzed in the back of his head, promising love and safety but this- this isn't safe. This is so very far from safe.
Tommy blinks his eyes open, crusty with sleep dust, and just... watches. Wilbur's tangled around him, legs thrown over his and arms around his middle, keeping him pinned. The vampire's face is buried in his hair and he's still, but Tommy knows that means nothing. Vampires don’t sleep. Tommy does, but he doesn’t know if he really counts. Tommy's own arms are around Wilbur's neck, and he can't move without alerting him, but he's really gotta get out of here; women to woo and bitches to kick and all that-
The arms around his middle tighten.
"You're so skinny," Wilbur's voice is deceptively calm and that's when Tommy knows he's really in trouble. Wilbur is loud when he’s mad, but he’s quiet when he’s mad. "You didn't come to me or to our Coven for help, you tried to do it on your own and you nearly died." Wilbur's outright snarling at this point and it's making that previous contentment wither up and die in the back of Tommy's brain. "Why didn't you come to us?"
"You blew up my country," Tommy can hardly feel the words pass through his lips. "Technoblade wants me dead and I don't think Philza's too far behind. You were going... insane in that ravine, you don't actually want me-" He wanted to continue with You made a mistake, but Wilbur hisses, a purely pissed off noise, and Tommy immediately hiccups at him. He doesn't know what the fuck the hiccups are but when he tries to open his mouth to ask, he just hiccups again.
At the very least, Wilbur immediately softens. "Baby," he crushed Tommy tighter to his chest. "Maybe Tech had some issues with you before, but you're mine now, which also makes you his. And he takes very good care of his things. I promise Phil is the same. And for me, Tommy, Toms, sunshine, love- I was planning on Turning you for a long time." Wilbur confesses. Tommy's too-slow heart skips a beat as he croaks out a what? "I didn't want to do it in that godawful ravine, but things got away from me, you know." Wilbur pulls away just enough to press a careful kiss onto his forehead. "You're all mine now, and that's all that matters."
"I'm not-" Tommy tries, he wriggles, but Wilbur makes a low warning sound and Tommy hiccups again. He tries to cuss Wilbur out, but only ends up with a trail of hiccups in varying... pitches.
"That's my baby. Good boy, Toms," Wilbur hums, pleased. "We have to get you back on a good diet, okay? You'll be drinking from me for a bit. You can't handle other blood right now, which is why you're so far behind in development. But that's okay," Wilbur adjusts them so Tommy faces the rest of the... bedroom? The vampire slits his own wrist off his fang and brings the bleeding cut to Tommy's mouth. "I'll take care of you."
Tommy wanted to reject it with everything he has, but it smells so good and he's so hungry.
He latches on with another hiccup and drinks. Wilbur pets his hair and murmurs at him. Unlike the food he'd tried, the blood wasn't immediately revolting in his stomach. Unlike the animals, it wasn't liquidy and insubstantial either. Wilbur's blood sat heavy in him with every swallow; what should have tasted like iron instead was sweet. Of what Tommy remembered a juice box was like. It was filling, it was comforting- it was soothing an ache he had grown so used to. Sire was here and Sire would make sure he would never starve again.
He digs his teeth a little deeper, grips his fingers a little tighter. A rumble starts up in his chest.
"Good boy, sunshine," Sire kisses the top of his head. "Just like that, okay? You're the perfect little Fledgling. All mine."
Blood drips off his chin.
---
After a feeding - a long, long overdue feeding - Tommy was finally asleep. Wilbur watched, refusing to blink as his fledgling nodded off, eyes drooping. Tommy's weight, what little of it there was, settled on Wilbur's chest. He hummed a bit, gently laying Tommy back on the bed and tucking him in. His fingers brushed Tommy's ribcage and Wilbur had to bite back a furious snarl at how prominent they were. He didn't even want to think about how Tommy's stomach had caved in, about how the baby's hands were always shaking-
No wonder he was so tired.
Wilbur kissed Tommy's forehead and left the room, the door clicking closed and locking behind him. He knew all the windows were latched, locked, and lined with iron bars that Techno had put up that evening. There would be no escape out of them, and they'd hear it if Tommy somehow got through the door.
When he first met Tommy, he'd just been relentlessly bored. Wanted to try his hand at raising a human and see how far he could push it before it broke. But Tommy- Tommy followed him unquestioningly. Fought wars for Wilbur, got into duels for Wilbur, nearly died for Wilbur. Adapted to vampire body language. Allowed Wilbur to feed off him- even when he was on the edge of taking too much, Tommy would just close his eyes and let it happen, like he was content with having Wilbur drain him dry. It always made Wilbur detach his fangs and care for Tommy, an apology on the edge of his tongue. An apology. Wilbur was sired by the Angel of Death- he shouldn't have to apologize for anything.
But he wanted to apologize to this tiny little human who was louder than he was tall, and it was infuriating and endearing and warm and everything. It was everything. Was it any surprise he'd become attached?
And when Tommy had collapsed in front of him like a puppet with its strings cut, Wilbur had realized the depth of his attachment. Just how much he had to lose. Even Tommy bleeding out from an arrow in the shoulder hadn't created that much of a response- because at least in the L'Manburg days, they had totems and potions, and Tommy was back up on his feet within a day. It was like it had never happened, even if Wilbur spent his spare moments while Tommy was asleep tracing the scar it left.
Wilbur had reacted fast enough to catch the human before he hit the ground, and when he'd gone from pet to child, Wilbur didn't know. He pushed away all other forms of contact from humans- they were pathetic, lower lifeforms, and he didn't want their disgusting little hands touching him. Most of them didn't even wash under their nails! Neither did Tommy, but- somehow, it didn't bother him. Wilbur called his name and smacked his cheek as hard as he dared, and the human didn't stir. His skin was cold, but sweating - clammy? - and he smelled of residual smoke from TnT.
His goal with raising a human had been to push it till it broke, but now that it was dying- Wilbur didn't want him to break anymore. He'd cradled that too-fast heart to his chest, rocking them back and forth, whispering promises into Tommy's golden curls if the child would just wake up. And he did, so Wilbur made good on what he said. He gave Tommy everything he had- he gave Tommy eternity.
He didn't expect his fledgling to adjust right away. That would be shortsighted. Tommy went into everything he did with burning passion and a stubborness to match obsidian, but Wilbur knew the little one would bow to him. Eventually.
Wilbur could be patient. They had eternity, after all.
"How's he doing?" Phil was sitting in the living room. Wilbur's sire had only come back into his life when Wilbur had started losing it. Then, the old fool had the audacity to accuse Wilbur of lying when he said he had a fledgling. If Wilbur hadn't managed to convince Technoblade to go after Tommy, he would have lost his baby before he'd even grown his adult teeth…
"Better, now that he's fed." Wilbur snapped. Phil flinched at the words, opening his mouth. Wilbur grabbed the back of a chair, claws just barely nicking the fabric. He dragged the legs across the wood, each shriek causing Phil's head to go lower and lower between his shoulderblades. Good. He should feel ashamed. "You owe me an apology," Wilbur sat, finally making eye contact with his sire and baring his fangs. "You owe him an apology. And you're going to spend the rest of time making up for it."
Techno watched impassively from the kitchen.
"I'm sorry for not believing you and accusing you of lying," Phil rolled his shoulders back. "I'm sorry for leaving your fledgling to starve. I feel more guilty about it than you can imagine, Wil," the vampire looked away, eyebrows furrowing. "It's been so long since you and Techno were little fledglings. I know how precious and delicate they are, and I'm so proud you've decided to take this step. I'm absolutely honoured to be a grandsire." Phil allowed himself a smile, and Wilbur relaxed into the chair, hackles lowering at his sire’s compliance.
“Thank you,” Wilbur dipped his head and Techno came closer, a hand on the back of his chair. “He’s such a dear.”
“Didn’t seem like such a dear when he was building a government in front of my nose.” Techno raised an eyebrow. Wilbur immediately spun around, the only thing stopping him from hissing at his brother being that Techno had actually gone to fetch Tommy when Wilbur had asked. Apparently his fledgling had taken all those things Wilbur taught him a little too seriously, and had run completely off the map. Didn’t bring his communicator, told no one, (not even Tubbo?) and left no trail. Techno had been holed up in his map room, becoming increasingly frustrated as he marked off explored territories and plotted out trips to find Tommy. It was part of what had taken them so long. Even with vampiric speed and heightened senses, there was only so far those enhancements could stretch. They’d only started searching after Tommy’s trail went cold, and they didn’t even have a direction to look in. They only knew he hadn’t left yet because when Wilbur - illegally, mind you - pulled up the border crossing records, nothing matching Tommy or any of his faked identities that Wilbur had crafted for him popped up.
“You haven’t seen him in full,” Wilbur grumbled. “He’s so cuddly when he’s sleepy, and sweet when he’s blood-drained. Even when he fed, he was just chirping at me like a little newborn. Even when he was human-” Wilbur trailed a finger along the table, gently scratching the lacquer with his nail. “He puts up these… prickly barriers. He has so much loyalty. There were times I got close to draining him dry, and he would just lay back and let me do it. He would die if I asked him to. Once you earn his allegiance, you’re hard-pressed to lose it.” Wilbur grins to himself. “He’s so fierce. Doesn’t want to be hurt. But so small, all at the same time. It’s addicting, once you see the switch.”
Techno just raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you think Turning him would have lost his allegiance? It’s a big step- going from cattle to vampire.”
“He loves me,” Wilbur insisted. “It’s you two buffoons he doesn’t trust.”
“He’ll learn,” Techno’s hand tightened on his chair. “He’s ours now.”
“But mostly mine.” Wilbur leaned back, grinning up at his brother. Techno rolled his eyes, letting go and walking away. “I found him first!”