"Yes, I'll take care of your fledgling." Viktor stood, stretching. "Don't worry about it at all."
Charlie looked between them, panic creeping into his features. "You're leaving?"
"Reuben is suspicious enough already. If I don't show..." Simon didn't finish. They all knew what would happen.
Charlie stood on unsteady legs, the blanket falling away completely. He looked small in Simon's hoodie, vulnerable. "When will you be back?"
Charlie shouldn't have asked that. Simon was a hunter. Charlie was a vampire. Just a few hours ago, Charlie had tried to run from him. He shouldn't want Simon to come back to him.
Butnothingwas as it should be now. "A few hours," Simon found himself saying. "Don't leave the apartment."
"Wasn't planning on it." Charlie's attempt at humor fell flat. "Not really a daytime person anymore."
Simon opened the door, then paused. Looked back at Charlie standing there drowning in his hoodie, Viktor beside him like some kind of vampire life coach.
This was insane. He was leaving a vampire in the care of an ex-hunter so he could go lie to his mentor about why he hadn't killed said vampire. His life had veered so far off course he couldn't even see the original path anymore.
"Simon?" Charlie's voice was small.
"What?"
"Be careful."
The genuine concern in those two words did something to Simon's chest he didn't want to examine.
He left without responding, taking the stairs three at a time, trying not to think about how he'd fed Charlie earlier, how the phantom burn of Charlie's pain still echoed in his skin…
How completely fucked he would be when Reuben figured out the truth.
The door clicked shut behind Simon, and Charlie stood there in the borrowed hoodie, staring at a stranger who was apparently going to teach him how to be a proper vampire.
Viktor shoved his hands in his pockets. "So."
"So."
They looked at each other across the small living room. Charlie had no idea what vampire training involved, but he was already sure he was going to fail spectacularly.
How else could this possibly go down?
"Should I... sit?" Charlie gestured vaguely at the couch.
"If you want."
Charlie sat. Then immediately stood back up. "Actually, what are we doing? Like, is there a vampire manual? A PowerPoint? Do I take notes?"
Viktor's mouth twitched. "You want to take notes on being a vampire?"
"I don't know! I've been winging it for three weeks and all I've learned is that 'red things' are not a food group and I can't jump off buildings."
"Let's start simple." Viktor moved closer, studying him with the kind of focus that made Charlie want to hide behind the couch. "Can you control your fangs?"
Charlie touched his mouth self-consciously. "They just kind of... happen."
"Show me."
"I don't know how to make them…" Charlie thought about blood, and his fangs descended immediately. "Oh."
"Good. Now retract them."
