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They ask you how you are and you have to say I'm doing fine, sir.They ask you if you're eating enough and you have to say I eat three meals a day, sir.They ask you how many people you have killed this month and you have to lie and say none, sir.They ask you if you like the smell of iron or the taste of blood and you have to grit your teeth and choke down the fake words and say I like neither, sir.They ask you two plus two and you have to say four, sir.They ask you solve for x and you have to say x equals three, sir.They ask you if you are a creature of the night and you have to say no, sir. Vampires are just a fairytale.They ask you how many rings are on a record and you have to say there are no rings on a record.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Officially, Vampires do not exist. Officially, there is not a Vampire problem in Los Santos. But really, who believes the official reports, anyway?

Lindsay dropped two granola bars on top of Matt's keyboard and stood over him, waiting. He slowly looked up at them, then back down at his keyboard.

The granola bars had typed 'tftgcygc' into his open document. Matt heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair, stretching his hands above his head.

"What are those for?" he asked, his voice completely uninterested.

Lindsay sat down on his desk and started kicking their feet against it.

Thump thump thump.

Everything on his desk moved.

"You haven't eaten in a while and I know you won't eat real food while you're at work," they said with a shrug, giving him a winning smile. Matt stared them down.

"Come on, I eat real food," he reasoned. "How many times have we been to that kebab shop downtown?" he asked.

Lindsay scoffed. "I mean at this job. You can't be expected to dodge Vampires and flee in terror if you're running on empty."

Matt ignored that part about him fleeing in terror and picked up one of the granola bars. It had tiny white chocolate chips in it, his favorite.

Lindsay peeked over at his monitor while he ate, their eyebrows inching up. It wasn't like him to do reports. He usually left that to Lindsay. They pointed at it and then at him, somehow conveying their confusion through only a finger.

"Oh, the report? Yeah, don't get used to it. I'm only writing this up because I had an eyewitness yell at me about a Daywalker the other afternoon. She was screaming something about him ripping a guy's arms off in an alleyway." Matt crumpled up the wrapper and started on his other granola bar.

"Which is weird because it was noon when she said it happened. All the Daywalkers I've heard about aren't that dumb and reckless."

Lindsay chewed on their thumbnail and thought for a second. It wasn't like they hadn't seen this before, Vampires going berserk. But what made it weird was that it came in the middle of a lull in activity.

"Do you think she was on drugs? We haven't had any violent attacks in months, much less from those lucky bastards," they muttered. "We need to look into it."

"Lucky? What about being a Vampire could possibly be lucky?" Matt asked, tossing his wrappers into the trash can by his desk. Lindsay shrugged.

"Well, they still get to go out in the sunshine and not get sunburnt to death!"

It seemed like a better deal to them. If they ever got turned on the job, they'd like it to be a Daywalker. Not that they ever

would

get turned. They were smart and good at their job.

"Yeah, tell that to Trevor. I dare you. 'Oh Trev! You're so lucky!' Then we'll see about that month without attacks." Matt rolled his eyes at Lindsay's pouting face.

"What?" he mumbled. "He's not exactly having the time of his life."

"Is he okay?" Lindsay asked, hopping down off his desk.

They leaned their hands on the edge and gazed up at the drop-ceiling. Matt followed their eyes, watching a small spider descend on a silk. He didn't really want to talk about this. It was a touchy subject between them, especially since Trevor didn't know what their little 'side job' was.

"He's been doing better," Matt started. "I guess it was just such a shock that his brain didn't want to believe it at first."

He picked at the edge of the sticky tile on his desk, something that Trevor had done a few months ago. 'Office Beautification,' he had called it.

"I almost feel bad for Carla, though. It was... Well, it was the Agency's fault that she couldn't feed. I know I get cranky when I'm hungry. It must have been so much worse for her." There was a silence after Matt finished. Something sad and quiet that they hated to sit in. Guilt, maybe.

Lindsay took a deep breath and blew at the spider, making its tiny body swing on the end of its silk. They watched the pendulous movement and Matt leaned back in his chair to avoid the little spider landing on him.

"Do you..." Lindsay started. The spider swung silently. "Do you think the Daywalker that woman mentioned in the report could have been Tre—"

"Lindsay?" Matt snapped, cutting them off. "Let's stop talking about this. Right now? Trevor's doing fine. I'm doing work. Not Agency work," he saved and closed his report, "Crew work."

"You know that map Geoff wanted? We've got the big printer over here now and he sent me the link. I'll forward it to you. You're already hooked up, right?" He looked at them expectantly, the set of his jaw telling just how finished the conversation was.

"Yeah. I'll do that." Lindsay pushed off Matt's desk and left quietly. He watched them go, his fingers sliding over his keyboard and listening to the

clickclickclickclick.

They stopped in the doorway, one hand drumming their fingernails against the door jamb.

"Hey Matt?" They called. He glanced up without a word.

"It's not our fault. You know that, right? It's out of our hands as soon as they show up. So don't beat yourself up over Carla, okay?" They said, still not looking at him.

"I'm not the one who's— Whatever. I'll see you for lunch. Real food," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Take me to that pizza place you and Michael are always screaming about, yeah?" Lindsay nodded, finally stepping forward and pulling the door closed behind them.

Matt stared, unseeing, at the door for what felt like an hour. He didn't want to, he hated to acknowledge it, but he really did need to look into that Daywalker attack. It

could

have been Trevor.

The Fakes had upwards of twenty different buildings in the city that they owned. Some for storage, some as safehouses, and others to keep the people who worked for them safe and dry.

Matt and Lindsay worked as part of the Fakes B team. The support, eyes in the sky, intel collectors. Anything that the crew needed that they didn't get from Geoff and his poster boys. Everyone in the city would shiver at their names but in Matt's opinion, the Fakes would be nothing without the B team.

Trevor Collins was their boss. They answered to him and no one else. He was something of a mastermind and most of his team thought that if he really wanted it he could dethrone Geoff Ramsey himself without breaking a sweat.

And he knew it.

"What are you doing, Matt?" Trevor called across the office, cupping his hands around his mouth for maximum drama. Matt glanced up from where he was peeling the lid off a Tupperware container he had found on his desk. It was no secret who had left it there, judging from the sticky note with a cat doodled on it.

"Eating lunch, what about you?" he called back. Trevor crossed the room swiftly, his hands in his well-tailored pants pockets, an easy grin on his face. Matt smiled back at him, just as much from affection as from relief. He was glad Trevor had learned how to hide his fangs.

Trevor peeled the sticky note off the lid and peered at it. He smirked, pocketing the paper and leaning over Matt's shoulder.

"So Lindsay "The Chaos Queen" is making you lunch, huh?" He whispered. "What do I have to do to get some of that, Matt?" He snaked his hand over and reached for the food.

Matt chuckled, slapping Trevor's hand away. "They’re just worrying. I don't eat 'real food', apparently." Trevor clapped him on the back.

"Well that's true," he said.

Matt's smile wavered. Trevor was being awfully chipper. Considering the month he had been having, Matt suspected it had to be something other than just a good mood.

"So what's up? You come here just to steal my food or what?" Matt joked. Trevor shifted on his feet, a smile breaking out across his face.

"Well, he's not getting here until later, but..." Trevor counted out a long pause. Matt lifted his eyebrow, waiting.

"We've got a new team member!" he shouted, throwing his hands up. He glanced around, a little disappointed that Matt was the only other person in the office during lunch, but he made up for it by clapping loudly.

Trevor had been so stressed lately with all the extra work they had been getting in preparation for a big heist. He even went so far as to take over some of the jobs for the other team members.

"He's going to start doing any jobs you need help with but after this heist he'll probably settle in and find his 'thing.' I'm so excited, Matt! I can finally take a fucking break!"

Matt could pinpoint the exact moment when Trevor lost it. His hands clenched painfully at his sides, his teeth bared in a snarl. He caught sight of the small pointed fangs where Trevor's canines were.

Matt froze in his seat.

His hand inched towards his desk, feeling around underneath it until he found the small knife he kept duct taped to the underside. It was silver-plated steel, custom made to ensure death.

He jerked his hand away suddenly, his cheeks burning with shame. The fact that he had even considered getting near Trevor with that knife was— it was horrible, but Matt was going to chock it up to his tiredness. What would that say about him? Not just as a hunter but a person? That he was so willing to stab his boss, his friend...

Matt clenched his hands around each other to keep them wandering and watched stiffly as Trevor paced around the room with his hands carding through his dark hair. He took deep, steadying breaths and ran his tongue along his fangs, cursing under his breath.

"This sucks." He stopped moving, his hands falling limply at his sides. Trevor turned around, facing Matt with his fangs bared and a look of hurt on his face.

"I hate this."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"No, I'm serious! I like the smoky smell. It reminds me of you." Lindsay smiled to themself, phone against their ear.

A box was open in their lap and the red tissue paper was crumpled to one side. They gazed down at the pair of white leather gloves nestled at the bottom of the box. They were fingerless, with small rings of copper plated-steel on the knuckles.

Lindsay listened as Michael clunked around in the kitchen on the other end of the phone, washing dishes and wiping down the countertops. They had called him just after lunch, when the rest of the A team was gone and he stayed behind to 'clean up this fucking disgusting mess.' He had his phone pressed between his cheek and his shoulder and wondered how he ever managed to ask Lindsay out. If they were face to face he'd be a blushing mess.

"I've got a pair just like it. Mine are brown, though. With brass knuckles," he said. "I didn't know if you'd like them. I thought maybe we— we could go out some time. Intimidate the civilians? We could match. I dunno, now it sounds stupid." He sighed to himself, rolling his eyes. Idiot.

"Michael. I love them," Lindsay assured him. Michael perked up at that, a toothy grin blooming on his face. Across town, Lindsay fingered the soft edges of their gloves.

"Do you think I could stop by the penthouse later?" they asked, sounding hopeful. "I have Geoff's heist map as an excuse," they teased. Michael let out a breathy laugh, wiping his hands dry with a towel. He glanced around the newly spotless kitchen with pride.

"Definitely," Michael said. "I'll see you then."

Lindsay smiled. "You too. Bye."

They ended the call with a wistful sigh, clutching their phone to their chest. They felt like a lovesick Victorian girl, in pieces over a tastefully arranged bouquet. They set the box aside and slid the gloves on, feeling the way the soft leather bent and stretched with their hands.

They were in love.

The universe didn't allow them much time to reflect, though, because they were jolted out of their thoughts by a loud thump on the wall behind them. At first, they didn't think much of it, but the thumping continued. It sounded like a struggle and somewhere in the back of their mind they knew it wasn't healthy to be able to notice that kind of thing, but then again, look at what profession they had landed themself in.

Lindsay launched themself out of their seat, gloves still on their hands, and made for the door. As they burst into Matt's office they heard the thumping loud in their ears. Trevor had Matt pinned against the wall by his ribs. Matt was struggling to push Trevor off him, his hands scrambling against Trevor's arms as the wind got knocked out of him.

Lindsay rushed forward and wedged themself between Trevor and Matt, pushing them away from each other even as Trevor sank his teeth into Matt's arm, his fangs dragging along the skin and Lindsay shoved him away. Matt cried out, blood pouring out of the fresh gash in his arm.

He held a hand to the wound, bright red seeping through his fingers and stared at Trevor with eyes widened in shock. Trevor wiped blood from his mouth. It dripped down his chin and onto his crisp white shirt. It was smeared everywhere. Down his neck, on his collar, his hands and lips and nose. He was grinning with red-stained teeth as Matt balled up his hoodie and pressed it to his arm.

He left the room in a hurry on shaky legs.

Lindsay still had Trevor's arms in a vice-like grip until Matt was gone. They were leveling him with an icy glare as his gaze trailed after Matt. His eyes are almost glowing with a golden sort of light, dusting his brown eyes with an eerie halo. He licked the blood off his lips and Lindsay kept holding on until they saw the light quite literally drain from his eyes.

There was blood everywhere when Trevor came down from his high. He glanced down at his own hands, his black fingerless gloves smeared a dark red, trailing up his wrists. His shirt was splattered and sticky, half his face was caked with drying blood.

"When was the last time you fed?" Lindsay asked, their voice quiet and hurt.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor didn't answer for a long time. He scrubbed the blood off his chin with the end of his sleeve and stared a hole into the floor at his feet. Lindsay had loosened their grip on his arms to a gentle touch. They rubbed his shoulders comfortingly and let him sit in silence without pushing.

"I can't remember. I don't know the last time I wasn't terrified of losing it and turning someone else like— just like Carla." Trevor held onto the hem of his shirt and pulled on it until the fabric threatened to rip. Lindsay put their hands over his and held them until he let go.

"Trevor," they started. "It's okay to feed. It's okay to go out and find someone and get what you need. I know you." Lindsay let go of his hands and Trevor stood looking drained and cowed.

"I know you can control yourself. I mean, you've never even killed someone." Trevor opened his mouth to argue.

"Actually, Lindsay, we're a crime syndicate. I have done my fair share of killing. But I know what you mean." Some color returned to his face and the brightness to his eyes. He hadn't ever killed anyone as a Daywalker. No one that... They knew about, anyway.

Lindsay clapped their hands. "Well."

Trevor shrugged. "I guess I should go wash off. And apologize to Matt." Lindsay nodded.

"Yeah. He'll be fine. He's just shaken up. He needs to know you're still you. His

friend

. Just make sure you're cleaned up when you talk to him. I'll go see if he needs anything." Lindsay started towards the door and sent Trevor a smile as they left.

Trevor all but ran to the bathroom to wash himself off.

The B team was returning from lunch when Matt was in the small kitchenette patching himself up. He spotted Alec and Steffie watching him over their monitors with wide eyes. Lindsay found him trying to tie a bandage around his arm with one hand and they shook their head at him and started undoing it.

"You disinfected it?" they asked. Matt nodded.

"You might need a few stitches. You shouldn't move it, though, the skin around it isn't doing so hot," they mumbled, a frown creasing their face. Matt was silent.

"Trevor really got in there, huh?" He mumbled. Lindsay sighed, reaching around him into the cabinets. They fished around for a sling and held Matt's arm against his chest while they did.

"I should go and find Fiona for this. She knows all about stitching up wounds."

Matt didn't disagree, the woman could relocate her own shoulder without a thought. It was terrifying. He stayed quiet while Lindsay sent a few texts to Fiona.

"She says she can get here in five minutes," Lindsay said, still clenching his arm. Matt was almost sure when people said 'put pressure on the wound' they didn't mean

that much.

The two sat together and watched the seconds tick by on the wall clock, neither speaking. Two minutes passed and Lindsay suddenly turned to Matt, looking worried.

"What does this mean for Trevor? This is his second offense," they whispered. Matt thought about it, something like guilt creeping up on him. Even though he worked for the Agency... Even though Trevor had hurt him... He still didn't want anything to happen to him.

"I don't know. We can always just not tell the Agency. And he's fine. He's got a handle on it. I know he just got worked up and he hasn't been feeding at all." He shrugged.

"Maybe we should go out sometime and find him a thrall. He hasn't even thought about it," Matt said. Lindsay shook their head.

"No. It's still too soon for him. I can't imagine how it must've felt to learn that he's in the seven percent. And Persuasion... I never thought that it could affect memory. I just—" Lindsay trailed off with a sigh.

"I think he still needs time. And we can keep an eye on him if you want. In the grand scheme of things he's low on the list of dangers. For now... Let's just wait." They let up on his arm just a bit and Matt relaxed.

He could hear Fiona coming from all the way down the hall, her heavy boots stomping across the carpet. If he didn't know any better he'd say that the door was kicked open with how it swung outward and smacked against the wall. Fiona breezed past the others, still hunched at their desks, and approached Matt with the air of a worried mother.

"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, breathless. Her galaxy-patterned facemask was pushed down under her chin and wisps of dark hair curled down from where she'd tied it up to frame her face. She poked around and made sure the suspicious gash in Matt's arm was the only injury.

Matt chuckled to himself, thinking about how scared the rest of the city was of this woman. With her eyebrows pulled together and her face set in a mask of worry it was hard to imagine her committing any of the atrocities that she did.

He kept it to himself, of course. Fiona could be scary when she tried. But for now she wasn't Supernova. She was just a friend doing her best.

Matt still yelped when the suturing needle pierced his skin.

Matt's arm was sore and his head had started pounding but finally, finally, Fiona was on her way out. She had insisted on teaching Matt and Lindsay how to sew stitches because 'why does no one in this building know how?' With that done and a final check of Matt's physical— and to an extent mental— well-being, Fiona turned and left the office. She closed the door behind her and slipped her mask back over her mouth.

Out in the main hallway she could see someone lingering by the door, peering at the numbers. It wasn't anybody she recognized.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, stalking towards the person. At the sound of her voice his head snapped up to meet Fiona's eyes and she could see the moment realization struck.

"Uh... Well— I'm, uh—"

Fiona kept her deadpan gaze on the man while he floundered. Understandable in her presence, of course.

"I'm here to— to start my job?" The man finally said. Fiona nodded appraisingly. She didn't believe a word this guy was saying but there was one way to find out. The guy was tall, but Fiona still had to lean down to be on eye-level.

"Who hired you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Trevor Collins," was the immediate and suddenly confident answer.

"Who let you in?" Fiona shot.

His answer came with a shrug. "Larry."

Fiona narrowed her eyes at the guy, trying to remember if there was anything else she could ask.

And

there

it was. In the back of her mind, some silly little password Trevor had talked about weeks ago.

"And the Sun Dominion is?" Fiona asked.

She smirked under her mask, wondering if this was when she would get the pleasure of dragging her next victim down a poorly lit hallway.

"The Sun—?" The guy frowned. "Oh!" he snapped his fingers.

"The Sun Dominion is Sun, Gold and the Heart!" he said brightly, ticking off each time on his fingers.

He stared eagerly at Fiona, who rolled her eyes in the most extravagant manner. Oh well. There were more people in the world to make an example of.

"If you're looking for Trevor, I haven't seen him, but his office is at the end of the hall. Ask anyone in there." Fiona said and she clapped the man on the shoulder, starting to walk away. She stopped and turned suddenly.

"I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

The guy turned and shot Fiona a pair of excellently executed finger guns. "Alfredo. Alfredo Diaz," he said with a wink.

Fiona winked back, her dark eyes catching the light in the dim hallway. She hoped it looked as intimidating as she imagined.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor drove his fist through the bathroom mirror so hard he wondered if it would bust right through the wall. The sound of the glass shattering under his knuckles and falling to the ground around him reverberated through the small bathroom and drowned out all thought. If he could sit and wallow in guilt and the cacophony of glass he would.
A drop of blood fell from the tip of his nose and splashed onto the ground.

Alfredo opened the door very slowly, peeking his head in and glancing around. Matt was the first to notice, still sitting on the counter with a good view of the door. He narrowed his eyes at Alfredo, who grinned back at him. He'd never seen the man in his life. It was odd how similar he looked to Trevor. Could Daywalkers clone themselves?
"Hey! I'm the new guy! Has anybody seen Mr. Collins?" he asked, slipping into the room as everyone stopped their work to stare at him. Matt hopped down off the counter and strolled towards Alfredo, still managing to look casual with his arm in a sling. It stung like a bitch, but the painkillers helped.
"I haven't, but he tends to disappear at the worst moments. I'm sure he'll show up soon. If you want, you can just wait wherever. There are a few chairs no one's using. Make yourself comfortable." Alfredo nodded, despite still looking stiff and uncomfortable. Before he sat down, though, Alfredo held out his hand to Matt, who just stared.
"Hi. I'm Alfredo Diaz," he said. Matt inclined his head.
"Matt Bragg," he mumbled. Alfredo lowered his hand dejectedly, mourning the handshake he never got.
Matt knew well enough to trust Trevor's judgment about new employees. He didn't care all that much about first impressions, though. This new guy would have to get used to their bullshit anyway, no use easing him into it, right? Matt sat down at an empty desk and quickly did a search on Alfredo Diaz. Skimming the results he learned that the man spinning around in an office chair had been a gun for hire twelve years in a row and a professional sniper for seven of them. If somebody wanted you dead in a clean, untraceable manner they'd call Alfredo.
Matt shuddered thinking of how many people Alfredo had killed without thinking. He tried not to judge but it was, to him, unfathomable. Sure, he'd done some killing, but never to that extent. It was probably one of the only reasons he was still somewhat scared of Fiona and knowing him, it would be the same with Alfredo.
"Matt Bragg?" Alfredo called to him. Matt glanced up.
"Where's the bathroom?" he asked. Matt rolled his eyes inwardly. He sounded like an elementary school kid, not a seasoned killer. Then again, when Fiona went off about video games it was much the same.
Matt pointed somewhere off to his left, mumbled a few directions and went back to his search. It took Alfredo a second to internalize what Matt told him and he leaned over the back of his chair to make sure Alfredo went the right way. As Matt watched him go, something dawning on him. He scrambled for his phone, sending Trevor a quick text.
Axialmatt : incoming Axialmatt : look presentable
Matt stared at the screen until a reply popped up.
Treyco: thanks
Trevor's phone was smeared with blood when he set it back on the countertop. He brushed some of the stray shards of glass back into the sink. Great. Now he was going to have to buy a new mirror. And after they had just remodeled the bathroom, too. He sighed through his nose and stared at the blank section of wall, now framed by glass shards.
Trevor glanced down at his hand, the knuckles bristling with tiny glittering splinters. He flexed his hand, watching a few fall into the sink. The greenish glass complimented his pale skin and he turned his hand this way and that, admiring the light reflecting off the broken edges.
The door opened but Trevor didn't move. He rested his hand against the edge of the sink and turned his head to catch sight of who else but the man he had just hired. Trevor closed his eyes and sighed. Karma, right? So much for a professional and non-blood-covered first meeting.

Trevor leaned over to catch his reflection in a different mirror and carded his fingers through his hair.
"Just assume that 'covered in blood' is the default in our line of work. I hope you're not squeamish." Trevor glanced up and pinned Alfredo with a calculating gaze in the reflection. Alfredo shook his head slowly.
He didn't move, so Trevor ignored him for a moment and tugged his gloves off with his teeth, careful not to puncture them with the fangs that still wouldn't retract fully. He unbuttoned his collar and splashed water on his stained neck and shoulder. Blood turned the water red as it ran down his skin. His white shirt soaked up the color, turning it a sickly pink.
Alfredo stood in the doorway still, watching Trevor methodically wipe away the blood with a paper towel. He yanked his shirt up over his head, not bothering to undo the buttons, and tossed it to the ground in frustration. He scraped at the blood still sticking to his skin, glaring at himself in the mirror. He caught Alfredo's eye and whirled around, clenching the dripping paper towel. It sent reddened water splashing onto the white tiles.
"I'll be with you in a moment. If you've got business in here hurry the hell up. If not, I'm going to have to ask you to fuck off," Trevor snarled, clenching his teeth to hide his fangs. Alfredo bolted, leaving Trevor on the verge of tears to clean his mess up.
He texted Larry to bring him a clean shirt a few minutes later, when he'd cleared his head and the amount of blood could be rationally explained, and he walked out of the bathroom like it was a perfectly normal blood-free day. His old shirt was stuffed in the trashcan and his new one was tucked into his slacks impeccably. He had cleaned off his gloves as best he could but the dark leather thankfully masked it well.
Alfredo was sitting in an unused office chair and spinning around very slowly when Trevor walked in like he owned the place. Which, well, was actually true. Trevor stuck out his hand and Alfredo took it, shaking it very professionally. Alfredo didn't mention how Trevor's glove was damp and they continued like Alfredo had never walked in on his blood-smeared boss.
As Trevor was giving Alfredo a tour of the offices and explaining his various jobs, his eyes drifted around the rooms searching for Matt. He had to apologize as soon as he could. And, of course, go out and find a full meal. He couldn't afford to lose his head again. Even as he droned on about the specifics of Alfredo's entrance-level desk job he found himself sneaking glances at every inch of exposed skin.
His triceps as he lifted his arm to point at something, the way his throat moved when he spoke, his lips pulled apart in a friendly smile. Trevor clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. It didn't help that Alfredo had the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The day quickly turned into evening and Trevor shoved aside his own piles of work to get Alfredo accustomed to the ins and outs of his job. He wanted him ready as soon as possible. If that meant two hours of overtime, then so be it. If he was being honest, Trevor liked Alfredo. As far as first impressions went, ignoring the little scene in the bathroom, he was already getting on Trevor's good side. Alfredo was friendly and cheerful, always eager to ask questions and do everything he could to help.

The office was empty by the time Trevor deemed his new employee fit to jump into work the next day. The lights were turned off in all the rooms but Trevor's office and the doors were closed and locked. Trevor smiled to himself, admiring his Team's diligence. He ushered Alfredo out into the dark main office space and closed and locked his own door.

They could barely see with the window blinds drawn shut and Alfredo turned on his phone flashlight, shining it around the large room in a wide arc.

"So do you always leave this late? Why don't they leave the lights on?" Alfredo asked, slowly picking his way past all the personalized cubicles. Trevor followed him, eyes trained on the way his shoulder muscles moved under his shirt, the bare skin of his neck poking up over the collar. Trevor bit down on his tongue until the pain caught up with him.

"I haven't stayed this late in a long time," Trevor admitted. "But you needed the training."

Alfredo stopped at the main door and glanced back at Trevor.

"Thank you," he said earnestly. "But please don't make a habit of messing up your routine for me."

Trevor snorted. "It's fine. I don't really have a routine. I'm more of a 'wing it' kind of guy."

Alfredo stayed silent as Trevor pulled out his keychain and unlocked the main door.

"That wasn't your blood, was it?" He asked. Trevor stilled.

"No." His answer was clipped and snappy.

Neither of them spoke another word on their way out of the building. Trevor only offered a wave as he and Alfredo parted ways.

"Be careful, Lindsay! Don't make me be the one to tell Michael you got

got!"

Matt shouted into the two-way comms. Lindsay just cackled at him, too busy losing their tail in the alleyways to form an answer. They were trying to shake one of the more distinguished Vampires they had run into, a tall guy with short blonde hair and snakebite piercings.

He all but leapt over the piles of trash in the alleyway, Lindsay having to weave in between them. He was gaining on them. Maybe they shouldn't have volunteered to be the bait. Problem was, they really had to take this dude in. The Agency had been annoyed by him for months. He was always killing people for food and he dumped thralls left and right. He had messed up a lot of people in the city and this was something that the Agency and Lindsay could agree on. The guy was a dick.

Matt was watching from the rooftops, his sniper loaded with gold-plated rounds. Lindsay's blonde hair fluttered as they jumped a staircase and dropped to the ground. The Vampire followed, executing a perfect roll landing. Matt trained his scope on the Vampire, struggling to keep up with his speed. If he wasn't so starved, he'd have already caught Lindsay.

It took him longer than usual to lock on, considering he still had his arm in a sling, but he was dealing with it. Matt pulled the trigger and sent a bullet through the Vampire's upper arm. The recoil shook him and his arm stung like someone stepped on it, but the Vampire didn't seem like he was having the time of his life either. He screamed, stumbling over his own feet and falling to the ground.

Lindsay spun on their heel and jogged back to the Vampire, clutching his bleeding arm. They kneeled down and made quick work of putting him in handcuffs. They pressed the hem of his shirt to the wound and ignored his hisses of pain.

"You bitch," he spat. "Stay out of our business." Lindsay rolled their eyes.

"As soon as you lay a hand on anyone in this city it becomes our business too. Remember that next time you leave a dazed thrall passed out on a doorstep, asshole."

They made a quick call to their Agency contact and waited for Matt to pick his way down to the street. He slung his sniper on his back and jogged across the road to meet them. They were tossing their gold knife in the air and catching it again with a flourish, making the Vampire flinch. He was backed up against a brick wall and looking quite pathetic.

"Pickup in three, Matt Bragg," Lindsay said. "Look alive."

Matt flipped them off while he made a sweep of the area. No one really blinked an eye at armed violence these days but it never hurt to check. Thankfully, he didn't notice anyone. Besides, it would be difficult to recognize a Vampire unless you were right in their face.

The Vampire's blood was smeared in about a foot radius but their pickup would probably power-wash it away. Matt's only thought aside from making sure they got paid this time was where they could get good food in this part of town. It wasn't often they ended up in this side of town and he didn't know it as well as he should.

Lindsay waved down a black armored van and Matt stepped aside to let the impassive men in black suits and ties haul their snarling arrest into the back of the van and slam the doors shut. They got a sharp nod from one of the men as he slid into the driver’s seat and his partner tossed Lindsay a neatly rubber banded roll of cash. They knew better than to stick around and Lindsay grabbed Matt's wrist and led him back through the alleyways to a more trafficked street.

"So. Midnight snack?" Matt asked, watching Lindsay fan the edges of their stack of cash. They shoved it all in their jacket pocket and slapped him on the shoulder.

"As soon as you put your sniper away." They winked at him and Matt sighed, shrugging the gun off his back and gesturing to Lindsay's backpack. He had it disassembled and stored snugly in their sequined black cat backpack in a few minutes and the two wandered around the brightly lit streets in search of something to take their minds off how fucked up their side job was.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor woke up the next morning feeling hungover. Which was weird considering he hadn't had anything to drink.

Oh.

Right. He hadn't fed in so long the memory of a blood crash had completely left him. If he didn't get enough blood at one time it was almost like a sugar crash for him. Great in the moment, the wonderful taste of blood, hot and full of iron, the metallic sting of it on his lips, but terrible later. Either he fed like a starving vulture or he didn't eat at all.

It was moments like these, his arm over his eyes and the morning light filtering through his sheer white curtains and a deep, innate hunger for blood, that Trevor wished he could still enjoy human food. He just wanted to be able to scarf down a few big macs with Michael and feel full instead of the aching emptiness it gave him. He wanted to splurge on bulk orders of chocolate chip cookies again instead of eyeing somebody's papercut like it was water in the desert.

Not that blood wasn't the most delicious substance imaginable now that he was a Daywalker, but... It kind of sucked that he didn't crave his favorite foods anymore. There was almost nothing in his fridge now, save for a few drinks for when friends stopped over and the ice cube tray full of blood he had saved from that one time he accidentally lost it and ripped that dude's arms off. Reserves, he called them. For if he was about to die.

Speaking of dying, Trevor felt absolutely horrible for tearing into Matt's arm like that. Not only did his subsequent blood crash make every muscle and joint in his body ache but he also felt horrible morally. Matt was his friend. Probably his best friend and he'd no doubt done emotional damage too. That was going to take a long time to forgive, Trevor was sure.

If he could just make it through the work day... One step at a time.

Trevor hauled himself out of bed and winced as his feet settled with the weight of his body. He padded across his bedroom to his dresser, pulling out his usual work attire minus the gloves which would need replacing. His hair got combed and styled, his teeth got brushed and he checked that his fangs were hidden.

The walk from his apartment building to his car felt like a million miles. Trevor shook his keychain impatiently but his feet couldn't keep up with the speed he wanted to be going. God, he needed something to eat. A full meal, not a frenzied bite. Trevor got in his car, sighing at the weight lifted off his aching ankles and sped off down the street, naturally ignoring the more boring traffic laws.

He made it to the office with time to spare. Steffie and Sarah were already there, having unlocked the doors and opened the blinds to let in the morning light. They were sitting with mugs of coffee at the conference table in the corner of the main room and looking over what was probably Jeremy's newest heist plan. Trevor made a mental note to check it over and make it airtight later.

He was sitting with his forehead against his desk when Alfredo knocked lightly on the doorframe to announce himself. Trevor stirred from his spot, lifting his head just enough.

"Yeah?" he mumbled. Alfredo stepped past the threshold and held out a manila folder to Trevor.

"This is the new heist plan. Sarah asked me to give it to you," Alfredo said, although it sounded uncertain. Trevor held out his hand for it and Alfredo leaned forward to reach him.

"If you have any more questions, I'm here," Trevor said by way of thanks. He smiled brightly at Alfredo but he could tell it wasn't as real as he needed it to be.

"Yeah, actually," Alfredo piped up. He pointed to Trevor's monitor. "Can I show you?" he asked.

Trevor leaned back in his seat and invited Alfredo closer. It turned out he was having trouble with their new mapping software. It was a bit confusing, he admitted, but once you got the hang of it making mock-ups and blueprints was a breeze. It really made infiltration that much simpler.

Alfredo was leaning with one arm on the desk and the other stretched in front of Trevor to reach his mouse. Trevor ended up getting an eyeful of Alfredo's arm (bless short sleeves) as he navigated the satellite view of Los Santos. In any moment, on any day but this, Trevor would have basked in it but not now.

Now it was taking every ounce of self-control he had not to tear into the taught muscle and draw all the blood he could out of the man in front of him. He wanted to run his hands down Alfredo's waist and feel the pumping of his blood through his whole body, wanted to press his lips to his neck and bite into the soft flesh.

He needed something, someone to feed on and if he didn't get it soon there was going to be a

massacre.

Trevor got up from his chair so fast he startled Alfredo into opening four tabs in Internet Explorer. He sidestepped the desk and made a beeline for the door.

"Hey! Mr. Collins, where are you going?" Alfredo called after him, tripping over his chair as he tried to follow. Trevor breezed through the rest of the office, catching Matt's eye from across the room. He clenched his jaw as Matt raised his eyebrow at him but he shook his head. He didn't need Matt involved. It was just a quick errand. In and out. He wouldn't even ruin his shirt this time.

Trevor ignored the hurried footsteps behind him as he very nearly ran down the hall to the outside door. He shoved it open, squinting in the bright sunlight and tried to remember where he had parked.

Alfredo caught his shoulder as he was turning in circles and he jumped. Trevor instinctively wrapped his hand around Alfredo's wrist and twisted it, pushing him away with more force than he should have. Alfredo stumbled, stepping backwards off the street curb. He took a few more, stabilizing himself and stared up at Trevor in confusion.

The moment stilled. Trevor's vision narrowed, zeroing in on the movement from his left. A car, barreling down the street. Alfredo, on unstable footing, standing in its path.

Thank god for Vampire speed, Trevor thought as he kicked off the ground and hurled himself at Alfredo, pushing them both far enough away to avoid the reckless driver. It was a split-second decision and using that much energy drained Trevor of all he had left. He was left panting and aching, Alfredo pinned under him with a skinned and bleeding elbow.

Trevor knew he was screwed even before he opened his mouth.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor was staring at the streak of bright red blood on the pavement beneath him in a daze. His breath was coming in short, clipped heaves and he was gripping Alfredo's shoulders like his life depended on it.

"Mr. Collins? You okay? Did you get hurt?" Alfredo said, sounding concerned. Trevor was straddling his hips and Alfredo put his hands on Trevor's thighs to get his attention.

"I'm fine. You're the one who got hurt," Trevor gritted out, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to block out the thought of Alfredo's blood, tried to swallow down his burning hunger.

"Mr. Collins? Can you stand up?" Alfredo asked, shifting under Trevor. Trevor risked a look at him. His eyes shimmered like they were dusted with gold. Alfredo met his gaze for a second and quickly glanced away. His hands gripped Trevor's thighs harder.

Alfredo was squirming under Trevor's weight, his face flushed enough to match his blood. Trevor swallowed thickly. He grit his teeth and released Alfredo's shoulders, sliding off his waist and onto the ground. Alfredo choked off a sound and stood up as quickly as his legs would allow.

"Uh, well. Thank you for that—" Alfredo started, his face still burning. "For saving me! I— thanks." He held out his hand to help Trevor up but his palm was covered in blood and it was flowing in crimson rivulets from his elbow to his wrist so of course he couldn't possibly take that hand or he'd out himself in broad daylight to a guy he'd just hired. Never mind that he seemed really nice and had pretty eyes, Trevor just couldn't. He— it would effectively be suicide. The Agency would be on his ass in a heartbeat.

Trevor waved his hand weakly in front of him. "Other hand," he muttered and Alfredo looked surprised for only a moment before he stuck his bloodied hand into his pocket and held out the other. He was staring at Trevor with curiosity and he panicked for something to say.

"Sorry, I'm just— I don’t like blood," he blurted, grabbing onto Alfredo's hand and pulling himself up. He was silently thankful that Alfredo was so polite because Trevor didn't think he had the strength to get up himself. He didn't have any energy left to begin with and holding himself back from Alfredo was just making it worse.

"Oh really? No worries, you do you, man."

Trevor didn’t know how Alfredo didn’t pick up on his bullshit excuse considering how at ease he probably seemed around all that blood in the bathroom. Oh well. Small mercies.

They started back across the street to the office, Trevor trailing behind this time. He still hadn't let go of Alfredo's hand but it didn't seem like either of them cared. He couldn't even remember what he'd rushed outside for.

Larry buzzed them in and Trevor focused on not tripping over his own feet. Every step he took was harder and harder. He felt heavy, like he was wading through water.

Alfredo caught him when he fell. Trevor couldn't even keep his eyes open long enough to see Matt rushing over to him, panic written over his face.

When Trevor awoke again, he was in his own bed. The blinds were drawn shut and his bedside lamp was on. Sitting beneath it was a glass of red liquid. Trevor smiled to himself, wondering if this was Matt's way of saying he was forgiven.

By the time Lindsay nearly busted down his door, he had finished drinking and was waiting for it to kick in. He wanted to get out of bed and open the blinds but he wasn't sure if he'd fall over again. Lindsay slammed open the door so hard he wondered how it didn't break. They rushed to his bedside and launched into a tirade about proper nutrition and 'why haven't you just gone out to feed, Trevor, come on, you can't keep pushing it to two months like this, it's gonna kill you!'

"Sorry, Lindsay," he mumbled. "I just— I still can't risk hurting other people. I don't want another me out there."

Lindsay nodded, quickly changing the subject. "So how's Alfredo doing? He seems like a hard worker, right?"

Trevor chuckled. "He's been doing great. And it's hard to notice, but you can tell he's been on this side of business before. He doesn't flinch at things normal people would. He's got that look in his eyes, you know?"

"I do know. Michael gets all broody sometimes and I can see it then."

They drifted into easy conversation then, Trevor feeling his strength return slowly and Lindsay just content to sit on the edge of his bed and talk with their friend.

"It must have taken a lot out of you not to devour Alfredo on the spot, right? I saw his elbow when he came running in with you in his arms," Lindsay said. Trevor sighed.

"After two months without a full meal? It was really tough, yeah. But you know I couldn't risk it. It was broad daylight. And he's just started. I don't want to traumatize him." Trevor said.

"And it— okay don't judge, but—" He started. Lindsay laughed.

"This is a judge-free zone, Trevor, go for it," they said brightly.

"He just... Lindsay, he looks so delicious. I sound gross but maybe—" He stopped, ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Maybe someday I could tell him. And he'd be okay with it. And we could, I dunno, work something out? God, I wanna taste his blood so bad!” Trevor buried his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment, even though there wasn't a blush to hide.

Lindsay snorted. "You weirdo," they said. "You'll figure it out. One step at a time, right?"

"But..." they sobered instantly. "I really think you need to get out. If you want me or Matt to come with you, we will, but you need to set a schedule and get out

at least

once a month. There are so many people in this city who you could feed off. It's easy and safe and legal with their consent."

Trevor sat and let her go on about the various nightclubs that the Agency didn't know about specifically for Vampires. He tried to listen because what they were saying made sense but his eyes drooped a few minutes in and he fell asleep before he knew it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Oh that's bullshit!" Lindsay shouted, sitting up from where they were laying their head on Michael's leg. Michael cackled with glee as Yoshi took another star, this time from Gavin, who was squawking indignantly and trying to snatch Michael's controller away from him. They were playing Mario Party, Lindsay, Michael, Gavin and Meg. It was lazy night in, no jobs to do. Gavin had suggested a double-date and Michael had immediately latched onto Mario Party. The others had agreed, knowing full well they wouldn't win. It would be fun, and a great way to annoy the gents.

Lindsay settled back down and vowed to steal that star back for Gavin, who was still reeling.

"How could you do this to me, boi?" he lamented. "I thought you loved me?"

Michael snickered. "You had seven stars! I don't know how you did it but you had

seven fucking stars

! I can't let you get away with that!" he was gesturing to the screen where Meg was now stealing coins from Gavin.

Gavin did a double-take and stared in disbelief at his girlfriend.

"Turney! Why?" he shouted.

Meg just shrugged. "No hard feelings, right? I still love you," she said.

Gavin flung himself back down on the couch and groaned. "Why do I still play this game with you lot?" he asked.

Michael won the game, Lindsay trailing him by two stars and Gavin in a sad last place. They all had a great time shouting over how much Gavin would have won by if they hadn't robbed him for all he was worth.

Lindsay and Michael retreated to the kitchen after to find something to eat. Michael stuck his head in the fridge and peered into it.

"We have take-out from two weeks ago, ew. Take-out from three days ago and Jimmy-John's from today that no one remembered we ordered." He glanced back up at Lindsay.

"What do you feel like?" he asked.

Lindsay shrugged. "Maybe we could head down to the boardwalk and rob the hot dog guy? I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood to be walking away with a plastic bag full of hot dogs." They grinned at Michael, who was looking interested.

"Let's go," he said, giddy with excitement. Lindsay followed him as he ran down the hall to Jeremy's room. Michael knocked first, afraid of what he'd see if he didn't, and waited for the door to open. Jeremy opened it already dreading whatever chaos they wanted to drag him into at nine in the evening on a Wednesday. He just wanted to sleep.

Michael bounced on the balls of his feet as he asked Jeremy what he had weapons-wise that would be fun to hold up a hot dog stand with. Jeremy was more concerned by the fact that Lindsay was nodding along to every word than the phrase 'hold up a hot dog stand.' He let out a long-suffering sigh and retreated back inside his room for a moment. At least they hadn't asked him to come along.

When he came back he had a handgun and a few very shiny knives with him.

"Nothing flashy or the cops'll be on you in a second. The guy at the boardwalk stand is a real wimp so anything dangerous-looking will work. Hell, you don't even have to load it," he said, handing Michael the gun. He hated to give Lindsay knives of any kind but he really liked that handgun.

"Have fun, you crazy kids," he said mockingly, clapping Michael on the shoulder before promptly closing the door in their faces. Lindsay twirled one of the knives along their hand.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" they shouted.

The boardwalk was lit up spectacularly. Everything was shimmering with fun neon colors and Lindsay pulled out their phone to take pictures of Michael against the bright pink cotton candy sign or the big arrow pointing to the line for the roller coaster.

The hot dog stand was still open when they got there and Michael took his fingerless gloves from his jacket pocket and slipped them on his hands. Lindsay did the same, having already come to terms with the fact that the first bloodstains they got on them weren't from criminal shenanigans.

The hot dog vendor recognized Lindsay when they stepped up with a knife in their hand. He sighed heavily as if he expected as much. Michael just stood and watched, content simply being a witness to Lindsay's work. He smirked at the vendor's expression when they demanded not the money he had but all the hot dogs in the cart.

"Hell, why don't we just take the whole cart while we're at it?" Lindsay turned to Michael.

"Help me push it?" they asked, batting their eyelashes dramatically. Michael rolled his eyes but did as they said. Lindsay tossed the cash at the vendor as they hopped on top of the cart.

"Keep the change!" they shouted as Michael started off, shoving the cart as fast as he could with the added weight of a person on it.

They stopped far enough away to be out of view of anyone and Michael got to catch his breath. He leaned on his knees and panted while Lindsay made them hot dogs.

"I had a lot of fun, Michael. Thanks for coming along," they said. Michael shrugged, taking a hot dog from them.

"Sure. I'm always up for your kind of chaos," he said matter-of-factly.

Lindsay grinned at him. "Do you know how much I love you?" they asked. Michael blushed a bit but shook his head.

"More than I love this whole city," they whispered.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor had slept the rest of the day away when he collapsed. He stayed in his apartment through the evening and planned to go back to work the next day. He had already lost hours of work time and with Jeremy's big heist coming up, he needed to be there.

It felt a bit selfish to be staying home from work when he had so much to do. Lindsay had told him over and over that they had it covered and he could take a few days off if he needed to. They and Matt knew what needed doing and they had Alfredo now.

But still, Trevor was absolutely going into work. He sat curled up in bed with Netflix queued up and the rest of the blood Matt had gotten for him from who knew where. He thought of the stack of work piling up on his desk from months ago and shuddered to think of his crewmates trying to tackle it. No. He would do it himself. It was his problem.

Trevor felt universes better in the morning. He woke up bright and early, got to the office with a half-hour to spare and set to work brewing coffee for the rest of the team. He had just begun to sort the files laying around his office when Alfredo popped his head in the doorway and tapped on the doorframe. Trevor looked up, knowing already who it was. Nobody else bothered to knock.

"Good morning, Mr. Collins! I hope you're feeling better," he said with a wave. Trevor set a small stack of files on the floor and stood up, stretching his back.

"Morning. Thanks for—" Trevor grimaced. "Catching me when I fainted. I am feeling better. I think I just needed to eat something," he said.

Alfredo perked up. "That's great!" he said. "Speaking of eating, would you join me for lunch?" he stared at Trevor with an expectant gaze.

Trevor tried to say no. But instead, his traitorous mouth only said "of course I will." Alfredo left in happier spirits, if that was even possible, and Trevor hung his head.

Shit. Yeah, he had just eaten, but Alfredo was hard to resist. It was a wonder how he didn't have Vampires flocking him day and night.

He fretted over lunch for the next few hours, making small talk to whomever wandered by his door. Lindsay stopped by and asked how he was doing, Larry wondered if he had finished making the necessary changes to the heist plan. Trevor tripped over himself trying to find the file then, cursing under his breath. He had completely forgotten about that.

Larry told him he could take his time but Trevor sat right down and got to work. If word got back to the main crew that they were running late all hell would break loose. Trevor Collins had a reputation to uphold.

Trevor spotted Matt on his way out of the office to meet Alfredo. He was talking with Lindsay while they sat at their desk dividing up a stack of cash. Trevor sidled up to them and leaned on the desk.

"Side job?" he asked.

Matt nodded, not wanting to distract Lindsay. "Yeah, they actually remembered this time. And compensation for last week," he said. Trevor shook his head.

"Honestly, how do you forget to pay someone for a bounty-hunting job? And in this city, no less?" He clicked his tongue.

"Let me know if they do it again. I don't care who they are, I'll send them a strongly worded email about how to treat their employees." He clapped Matt on the shoulder, careful to avoid his injured arm.

Matt smiled softly at him. "Thanks Trevor. I'm assuming that was an apology?" he said. Trevor shrugged.

"Aside from straight-up saying I'm sorry for almost biting your arm off, yes."

Matt frowned. "You know, if you'd actually go out and find a meal it wouldn't have happened," he said. Trevor groaned.

"Oh my god. You sound just like Lindsay," he whined.

"That's because it's true!" Lindsay snapped. "That's it, we're taking you out tonight. Worst case, you have a good time. Best case, you get yourself a cute thrall and we can finally relax."

Trevor sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."

Matt nodded. "I understand. You just need to know that nothing's going to happen unless you want it to."

Trevor smiled. "Sure." He didn't fully believe it, but if it made them feel better…

Alfredo didn’t have a car, it turned out. He walked to work every day like a maniac. Trevor told him as much.

“Come on, how does that not strike you as unsafe? Have you never gotten mugged? Or seen someone get mugged? You’re painting a huge target on your back, dude.” He glanced over at Alfredo who was sitting in the passenger seat of Trevor’s work car. It was low-profile, something that didn’t stand out and say ‘I work for a multi-million dollar crime syndicate.’

“I just moved here, Mr. Collins, I’m broke. My tiny apartment ate all my savings. It's fine, I know how to defend myself," he grumbled.

Trevor smiled at him. He was quite fond of the way Alfredo never failed to call him Mr. Collins.

"Yeah, you know who else says he can defend himself? Gavin Free. And you know who gets mugged almost daily?

Gavin Free."

Alfredo snorted. "I've heard about that. And I see where you're coming from but I've grown up in bad neighborhoods my whole life. I know what I'm getting into."

Trevor sighed, driving in silence the rest of the way. Alfredo was excited to try what Trevor called 'the best sandwich shop in the whole fucking city.' He hoped he could rely on his boss for good suggestions considering he didn't know his way around Los Santos very well yet.

Trevor, like a good gentleman, opened the passenger door for Alfredo who to his credit didn't look the least bit embarrassed even though he was. Trevor had an impulsive thought to walk hand in hand with him, but he squashed that train of thought on sight. Professional.

"You may be used to muggers and gangs and… such, but there are things in this city that you just can't prepare for," Trevor said, dead serious. Alfredo glanced at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Like what? Aliens? Werewolves?" he asked jokingly.

Trevor chuckled. "I don't know about aliens, but..." he trailed off. "Have you ever caught wind of the Agency, Alfredo?"

He didn't get an answer right
away.

"Doesn't matter.
A
few weeks here and you're bound to hear something. They aren't really quiet about what they do." Trevor stared straight ahead, trying to be as cryptic as he could.

Alfredo went oddly silent.

Trevor was a regular at the sandwich shop. The owner recognized him immediately and welcomed him with a hug. Alfredo watched them chat amicably and stood off to the side, trying to decide what he wanted and also which was the cheapest option. Until his first paycheck came in he was toeing a very thin line.

Trevor ended up ordering two different sandwiches and paying for both his and Alfredo's meals.

"Mr. Collins, you don't have to, I—" Alfredo put his hand on Trevor's arm, which was holding a custom credit card unabashedly sporting the Fakes logo.

"After the shitty first days you've had working under me,

I insist. Let me treat you."

Trevor flashed a smile at Alfredo and he backed down. He stared at Trevor, his eyes shimmering with that dusty golden sheen.

"Yeah... Okay," Alfredo said, more to himself.

Trevor didn't notice the way Alfredo was more subdued until he blinked and Alfredo jumped. Trevor quickly paid and ushered Alfredo out. He was cursing under his breath as they walked to the car. Damn it. He really needed to learn to control his Persuasion.

"Sorry about that, Fredo," he said, handing him his sandwich. "I got a little caught up in being friendly." Alfredo rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Um... What— Yeah, sure," he said, still confused. Trevor groaned inwardly. The worst part was that Alfredo seemed to be at least a little resistant to it. He was subconsciously aware of what had just happened.

"Well, let's head back to work, right?" Trevor said, dialing up the cheeriness. Alfredo nodded, running his thumb along his lips, lost in thought. Trevor sucked in a breath and kept his eyes on the road.

He really couldn't wait until tonight. Maybe going out would help him forget the way Alfredo made him want to devour him whole.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor made it home that evening with a burning in his stomach and a dryness in his throat. He had just fucking eaten, it wasn't fair. He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, dropping it at the foot of his bed as he toed off his shoes and unbuckled his belt. If he was going out with a pair of well-versed friends to an actual Vampire den he was gonna look hot.
And speaking of, who gave Alfredo Diaz the right? The whole afternoon was 'Alfredo, can you help me get this off the high shelf' and then bam, Trevor was floored yet again by his arms. Or 'Alfredo, let me run you through the heist plan,' during which there would be a lot of Alfredo cocking his hips and looking pensive. Trevor had gotten so distracted that he tripped over Matt's chair wheel and slammed face-first into the floor.
So, incredibly productive day of work aside, Trevor was hungry again. He wondered if Vampires who ate regularly still got cravings so soon after a meal. He couldn't remember a time when he'd ever eaten regularly so he didn't exactly have a frame of reference.
Trevor's closet was a mess of formalwear, some twenty-odd iterations of his work outfit and the most outrageous costumes he'd acquired over his years of working with the Fakes. There was even a full alien bodysuit which he hoped never to wear again. It was itchy.
As he picked his way through the closet, Trevor's mind was solely on the heist. There was significant setup for this one, a big part being clearing an old warehouse currently being held by a rival gang. The position of the warehouse made it perfect for the heist: steal an armored vehicle. Jeremy had made it clear that while his heist could stand alone, it was also, in a way, setup for Fiona's next heist which would use the armored truck.
So, there was a lot of planning going on. Trevor's job was to make Jeremy's already well-thought-out plan airtight and find a good enough confidential sniper to help with overwatch during the clearing of the warehouse. Needless to say he had a lot on his mind. Trevor deserved a night out.
He knew Matt hated suspenders and would faint at the sight of him wearing them, so Trevor settled on a navy blue button-up and charcoal grey pair of jeans which he insisted were pre-ripped. They were not. Trevor was just very clumsy before he got turned. He kept his gloves on and pulled on a pair of very nice and probably not Vampire den-worthy dress shoes.
It was eight when he left his apartment, having sent Matt a text asking to get picked up. He waited on the sidewalk for about five minutes before he heard Matt pealing down the street in his orange adder. Trevor smiled as he slid into the passenger side. Matt was actually wearing nice clothes. He never really put in the amount of effort that Trevor did at work, which was understandable considering he sat in an office all day.
He looked like he belonged on a beach in South Carolina which, no, wasn't an insult. It suited him, the white shirt and matching white blazer which he no doubt borrowed from Lindsay.

"Looking sharp, Matt Bragg," Trevor said. "Don't let any Vampires hit on you." He winked at Matt, seeing him roll his eyes good-naturedly.
"They do and I'll just say I work for the Agency," he said.
"Matt, that's gonna get you kicked out!" Trevor shouted.
"Yeah, maybe. But they'll leave me alone." He grinned.
Trevor smiled. "Animal," he mumbled.

Lindsay was already waiting for them when they arrived. The club was called The Lion's Den which Trevor found to be a little too on-the-nose. It was an old speakeasy that had been re-purposed with better ventilation. There were blue neon lights outside and the stairwell down to the entrance was packed with scantily clad people shouting and laughing. Lindsay was dressed in a black leather jacket and a red shirt, jeans and the most impressive pair of shoes Trevor had ever seen. They weren't so much heels as combat boots with spikes.

The line moved slowly and Lindsay pulled out a bag of animal crackers that they had stolen from Jeremy's secret snack stash. When they finally shuffled to the front of the line, the bouncer took one look at Trevor and nodded. He stepped aside and Trevor, for good measure, grabbed his friends' hands and stepped inside.
If they had thought outside was loud, the inside of The Lion's Den was deafening. The lights shifted from a bright blue to a darker shade and magenta. The bar was black and shiny and stretched along the entire back wall. There were warm, panting bodies packed into the club like sardines, all dancing or talking or drinking. Trevor immediately lost Matt and Lindsay. Their hands slipped out of his and they were lost to the crowd. It wasn't a big deal, they knew how to handle themselves. Lindsay's spike heels were probably silver-plated or something.
Trevor looked hopelessly lost as he stood in the throng of people and felt his chest constrict with every beat of the bass. It shook his skull and made his hunger worse somehow.
Most of the people he could tell were Vampires. About half of those were Daywalkers. A small assortment of other creatures, too. Trevor was glad he could sense them because the shifter in the corner was eyeing him a bit too close. He noticed a trio of werewolves doing shots at a table, a few members of some long-disbanded fae court waiting in line for the bathroom and a very tall man wading through the crowd with almost sickly grey pale skin. Trevor rethought his stance on aliens in Los Santos then and there.
The club was primarily for Vampires to come and find thralls or meet with others of their kind in a relatively safe environment but more often than not there were all kinds of supernatural creatures.
Trevor didn't really know what he was doing. Did he want to chat up some attractive human and see if he could land himself a thrall? Maybe just chat with some other Daywalkers and ask them about hunger?
He decided to start by getting a few drinks. Trevor shoved his way through the crowd and nearly collapsed in a barstool. He had to yell over the music but he managed to ask the bartender for something that could get him drunk.
Trevor spotted Matt at the other end of the bar talking with a cheerful-looking Vampire who's fangs were in full-view. Matt didn't seem phased by it, though, and kept on talking. Trevor left him alone and drummed his fingers on the bartop. He looked around, noticing the humans in the crowd by their loud heartbeats. He really should go talk to one of them. Turn up the charm, tone down the Persuasion. Everything would be fine.
That is, until—
"Mr. Collins?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor nearly jumped out of his seat at the voice. His throat went dry and shoulders stiffened. He slowly and carefully slid out of his seat and turned around.

Alfredo was standing behind him with an amused smile on his face. He was wearing a black short-sleeved button up with gold vertical stripes that shimmered in the blue and magenta lights. Trevor stared for a second, admiring the fact that Alfredo seemed to realize that his arms were his best assets.

"Nice shirt," Trevor said dumbly. "It's tight." He could feel his face heating, the implications of what he just said catching up to him. He had half a mind to go find Matt and beg to be stabbed straight in the heart.

"Hey, if I'm going out I've gotta look sexy, right?" He sent Trevor finger guns and a matching wink. Trevor's breath caught in his throat and for the first time he stared at Alfredo and thought 'cute.'

Trevor cleared his throat. "So. What brings you here?" he asked, faking a smile and bringing one arm around Alfredo's shoulders to guide him to the bar. Alfredo shrugged.

"Just fun, I guess? I hope it's not against company policy or whatever," he said. Trevor laughed.

"Oh, no. As long as you come into work on time we don't care what you do. A few of our employees even have side-jobs like Matt and Lindsay," Trevor said. He leaned against the bar while Trevor perched in a stool and sipped on his drink.

"What do Matt and Lindsay do?" he wondered.

"Bounty hunting," Trevor answered simply.

Alfredo nodded. "Cool, cool. Do you think I could take up a few solo jobs? Just to help me get back on my feet?" he asked. Trevor shrugged.

"If you want to. It's not up to me." Trevor wouldn't admit it, but he resented the fact that his meeting Alfredo outside of work still only consisted of work-related talk. He wanted to get to know Alfredo as a person, not an employee.

"So, do you do this sort of thing often? Because clubs aren't really my scene but Lindsay insisted," Trevor said.

"Oh, no. Not really. I just want to see as much of this city as I can, you know? Get to know the ins and outs."

Trevor nodded. "I get that. I was the same. I kinda burnt myself out the first month I moved here. Take it easy, alright?" he put his hand on Alfredo's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

Alfredo returned it even brighter and Trevor felt his hunger return full-force. He ripped his hand away like he'd been burned and stumbled away from the bar.

"Hey, I'm going to go find Lindsay, you be careful! Have fun!" he blurted out, disappearing into the crowd. He felt bad about ditching Alfredo but if he hadn't there was probably going to be a lot of blood and confusion and then he'd have a letter of resignation on his desk the next morning.

Lindsay was exchanging numbers with a pretty Vampire in a red dress. They were talking about something that Trevor couldn't make out over all the noise. Crowded spaces messed with his heightened hearing. He shoved his way through the crowd and gave Lindsay some space, simply waving to them when they caught his eye.

He decided to catch his breath near the bathrooms, the mix of supernatural and human presences almost overwhelming. Who knew, someone might find him interesting enough to talk to.

He lingered in the hallway connecting to the bathrooms, squinting against the fluorescent lights with his hands stuffed into his pockets. This was a bad idea. He wasn't confident enough to talk to someone and he wasn't sure enough that he could go back to Alfredo without jumping him. Trevor glanced at his watch. Nine-thirty. He closed his eyes and let out a huge sigh. How? How had he only been here an hour?

The hallway didn't do much of a job in concealing the noise but it made it easier to filter voices. He could clearly make out Lindsay's tittering laugh and Matt's slightly buzzed drawl. He listened in for a second, Matt going on about his fancy job with a high-profile gang.

And then, under the cottony pulse of the club that he'd tuned out, Trevor heard something else.

"Hey! Stop!"

And he was off. Never mind his hunger, never mind the throngs of people around him. He sped across the club as fast as his power would take him. In a flash he was back at the bar glaring daggers at a man who had his hand gripping Alfredo's shoulder like he wanted to rip it clean off. Trevor took a step forward, channeling everything he had into his words.

"Let go."

His eyes blazed with golden light, bathing his cheeks in a dusting of a soft yellowish hue. He stared a hole into the man, who's jaw had gone slack and his eyes vacant. His hand loosened its grip and fell back at his side. Trevor glanced down for only a moment and noticed long, pointed claw-like nails and seemingly scorched and burned fingertips. His eyes widened.

A Salamander.

Trevor flicked his eyes back up to the Salamander, assuming a straighter posture.

"Leave,"

he urged, the light in his eyes burning brighter. The Salamander swallowed and turned to leave, his steps heavy even in the noise of the club.

Trevor watched him go and blinked the Persuasion away. He calmed down enough to turn around and saw Alfredo staring at him like he'd grown another head.

"Are you okay? He didn't hurt you?" Trevor asked. Alfredo frowned. He shook his head, leaning away from Trevor.

"What just—" he stopped then, wincing. He held his shoulder and hissed in pain. Trevor started forward as Alfredo's eyelids drooped closed and he managed to catch him as he collapsed.

"Well." Trevor stared at Alfredo's unconscious face. "Now we're even."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

There was barely a glance in his direction as Trevor slung Alfredo over his shoulder and made his way to the door. He found Matt along the way and grabbed him by the shoulder. Matt took one look at Alfredo and jumped out of his seat.

In their hurry, neither had the time to find Lindsay so Matt sent them a quick text.

Axialmatt: taking the twins back to my place. Emergency.

Matt was sure they'd be fine. At least he wasn't the one who'd driven them there.

Trevor had an easy time getting Alfredo into the backseat— stupid Vampire strength— and he told Matt to hurry. In the mirrors, Matt saw Trevor strap himself in and lay Alfredo's head down on his thigh. His eyebrows were pulled together in worry.

Matt focused on driving, having a difficult time steering with one operable hand. He expected the drive to be quiet and tense since when Trevor was worried about something he tended not to speak. Matt could hear him drumming his fingers on the leather seat.

"Is— is that a— did someone sign your sling?" Trevor blurted out a few minutes in, pointing to a sharpie scribble on Matt's sling. He glanced down, remembering how the Vampire he had met earlier insisted Matt have his number.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, he was disappointed that I didn't have a real cast and I told him it wasn't a bone fracture and then I had to lie and say I tripped and shredded my arm on the edge of my desk. He probably didn't believe it."

"He?" Trevor asked, settling back into his seat.

Matt allowed himself a cheeky smile. "My new best friend Chris. He's a brand new Vampire who isn't registered with the Agency yet so... I could either be a good little citizen and file a report or I could have fun hanging out with an illegal, blood-feeding, club-hopping partier."

Trevor smirked at him in the mirror. "I feel betrayed by the phrase 'new best friend.'"

Matt just rolled his eyes and kept driving.

Trevor looked down at Alfredo, passed out in his lap. He reached out and carefully began running his fingers through Alfredo's thick black hair.

"Hey. Do you know if he'll remember anything when he wakes up? I just— I've been working my ass off staying concealed and god knows it's been hard around him..." He caught Matt's eye in the rear-view.

"I just don't want him to freak out if the first thing he remembers is me with glowing eyes." Trevor shrugged.

"Glowing eyes?" Matt asked, his brows furrowing.

"My Persuasion? Carla had it too, it's just a thing."

Matt started to look concerned. He stopped at a light and turned around to look Trevor in the eyes.

"Uhh no it isn't. Daywalkers' eyes don't glow when they use Persuasion."

Trevor's hand froze. His eyes widened.

"WHAT."

Matt noticed the light flick to green and had to face forward again. "Hold on, we're almost there. I'll look into it." He whispered something under his breath that he forgot Trevor could still hear.

"Wasn't Persuasion..."

Trevor stared ahead, watching the road stretch before them, lined with street lights and flooded with bright signs.

"What?" he demanded.

Matt sighed. "Trevor, you weren't Persuading him... That's essentially mind control."

When they made it to Matt's apartment he demanded Trevor tell him what happened. He hadn't said another word about Persuasion and it was clear he didn't plan on it. Trevor laid Alfredo down softly on Matt's couch and unbuttoned his shirt enough to slide it over his shoulder.

Matt peeked around Trevor and winced. There were four deep purple fingernail marks which they both knew were too deep to be human. It almost looked like bruising around them, and anyone else could have mistaken them for such.

"This guy grabbed his shoulder and Alfredo got startled so... Then he just collapsed," Trevor said, omitting the part about him rushing as fast as he could to the sound of Alfredo's shout.

Matt just clicked his tongue and started towards his kitchen.

"Stupid Salamanders and their stupid fucking poison," he mumbled, rummaging through his cabinets.

Trevor knelt down on the floor next to Alfredo and settled in. He wasn't going to leave his side until Matt had treated his wounds and he had woken up. He had to know if Alfredo remembered anything when he woke up.

Alfredo stirred in his sleep while Matt was whipping up an antidote to Salamander poison. He rolled over onto his side and his hand slipped off the side of the couch.

Trevor stared at him for a second, watching his chest rise and fall. He wanted to make sure that he was breathing properly. If it looked like he was having trouble then Trevor wouldn't hesitate to scream at the top of his lungs for Matt.

Matt returned with a paste that looked like he had scraped it from the sink disposal. Trevor wrinkled his nose at it and ignored Matt's eye roll as he smeared it in a thick coat over Alfredo's wound and nodded in satisfaction.

"That should do it. He'll be good in a few hours. Get some rest."

Trevor nodded but didn't move. Matt shrugged.

"Or not. Suit yourself. I'm heading to bed. No making out on my couch or whatever," he said needlessly as he shuffled out of the room.

Alfredo's hand still hung off the couch. His fingers twitched slightly, like he was grabbing for something. Trevor instinctively reached out and grasped Alfredo's hand, giving it a squeeze. He felt Alfredo return it, a tiny movement.

"You're gonna be okay. I promise," he muttered, just loud enough for Alfredo.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Alfredo opened his eyes to a dark room and the sound of footsteps beside him. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed that he had fallen asleep on a couch. It wasn’t his, seeing as his apartment was woefully bare. His shoulder ached, a similar feeling to the time he slipped on a stairwell and bruised his shin.

The footsteps didn’t stop when he turned his head slowly. In the dim light Alfredo could make out Trevor pacing in a kitchenette across the room. He wondered if he had somehow made it to Trevor’s apartment which made him question the way the night had gone.

He couldn't remember much. He knew that he had seen Trevor at the club, the one that he heard about through Sarah who heard about it from Jeremy who heard about it from Gavin.

Alfredo could remember vaguely meeting a guy after Trevor had run off in search of Lindsay. And the guy had— he had done something… but all Alfredo could feel was an anger about something. And the image of Trevor asking if he was okay.

There was something else there but it hurt to try and clear the image. Alfredo squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated, Trevor’s concerned face bathed in the neon lights from the club and—

Bathed in yellow-white light, his cheeks dusted with shimmering gold. He wanted to reach out and brush it off his eyelashes. There was a warmth from behind his eyes, the flicker of a flame and it licked at the edges of his irises—

Trevor stopped pacing. He was talking on the phone, tucking it between his cheek and his shoulder.

"So you're telling me what, after I've tried so hard not to repeat
Carla
's mistakes there's nothing I can do?”

Alfredo’s eyes snapped open and his memory started to fade. He frowned, listening to Trevor’s sighs as the golden light disappeared.

“I'm turning into someone I don't want to be, Lindsay." Trevor's voice was heavy with tiredness and a sad kind of defeat. Alfredo stayed still, afraid that Trevor would clam up if he knew he was awake.

Lindsay sighed and Trevor heard it as static over the receiver.

"I think you, if

anyone,

can do this. You can resist whatever it was that made Carla do the things she did. Trevor, you're so strong. You've made it this far."

Trevor leaned against the kitchen counter and glared at the linoleum floor.

"I know you can keep going." Lindsay said their goodbyes as Trevor heard a sleepy Michael mumbling near the phone and they hung up. Trevor put his phone on the counter and leaned heavily on his arms, staring down at the black screen.

“How are you feeling, Alfredo?” He asked, flicking his eyes over to the couch. Alfredo shifted into a sitting position and grinned guiltily.

“I’m fine. I just don’t remember much of anything after you left me at the bar,” he said. Trevor started back over to the couch.

“I’m sorry about that, by the way. It was rude,” he said. Trevor flopped down next to Alfredo and put his hands behind his head.

He made a point to not look at Alfredo, his hunger having increased twofold while he slept. Trevor didn’t know what might happen if he let his guard down.

“It’s pretty late, why don’t you head home, Mr. Collins?” Alfredo asked, turning to look at Trevor. His profile frowned.

“Oh, so you didn’t assume this was my apartment?” He asked. Alfredo chuckled.

“I refuse to believe you, a pivotal member of the Fakes, own an apartment like this. Yours probably costs twice as much as it should and I’m thinking more minimal, clean decor?”

Trevor returned with a soft laugh of his own. “You know me better than I do.”

Alfredo noticed the face of Trevor’s watch when he moved his arm. The hands told him it was just past midnight.

“Um. Mr. Collins? Do you mind driving me home? I shouldn’t be out unarmed at midnight in this city.”

Trevor looked over at him, his eyebrow raised. “And why is that?” he asked, faking innocence.

Alfredo gave him a soft smile that set his heart aflutter. Trevor had to quickly glance away before the ache in his stomach threatened to claw its way up his throat.

“Just following your advice," Alfredo muttered, the smile still gracing his lips. Trevor cursed under his breath.

“Of course I’ll drive you home,” he said, standing up from the couch. He offered his hand to Alfredo to help him up. It wasn’t the smartest idea, but he couldn’t just throw up a wall of ice between them because he was hungry. Trevor Collins was a gentleman.

Alfredo gratefully took Trevor's hand and got to his feet.

“Just out of curiosity, what happened to me?” Alfredo asked. Trevor shrugged.

“To be honest, I don’t really know," Trevor lied. "This guy was harassing you so I told him to fuck off, next thing I knew you were passed out in my arms.” Alfredo went bright red.

“I fainted?" he exclaimed. Trevor panicked and put his finger on Alfredo’s lips.

“Shhh! Matt’s sleeping!” Trevor stage-whispered. “If I’m taking you home we have to be quiet.”

Alfredo nodded mutely and let Trevor lead the way to the front door. They could talk more freely when they were on their way down to the ground floor. Alfredo shut the door as quietly as he could behind him and followed Trevor down the hall.

“So you carried me out of a packed club and into your car?” Alfredo asked, his voice echoing in the stairwell. Trevor stopped and turned to look up at him.

“I did. There’s no way I was leaving you there,” Trevor said earnestly. Alfredo couldn’t think of anything to say so he let the little silence fill the stairwell. Trevor offered him a little smile when it looked like he was frozen to the spot.

“This might be a bit soon but…” Alfredo started, suddenly looking flustered. Trevor felt a lurch in his stomach, like the butterflies Lindsay always talked about.

“You’re the best boss I’ve ever had.” Alfredo’s cheeks colored as Trevor started to giggle.

“Well, thank you very much.” It wasn’t what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t a bad thing.

“But, I’m not your boss. I’m your

co-worker,”

Trevor reminded him. “Come on, let’s get you home so you aren’t running on fumes tomorrow.” And with that he started down the stairs again.

Alfredo followed him silently but Trevor could tell his mind was abuzz. They walked together to Matt’s car and Trevor fished the keys out of his pocket.

“This isn’t your car… is it?” Alfredo asked, pointing to the bright orange monstrosity. Trevor shook his head.

“Oh no no. Mine have class,” he joked. “This is Matt’s.” Trevor unlocked the doors and slid into the driver’s seat. He fiddled with the mirrors to account for his height and fumbled in the dim overhead light to find the ignition key.

“Mr. Collins?" Alfredo asked as Trevor was staring up the car. Trevor glanced up at him, waiting.

“Do you believe in Vampires?”

“What?”

Alfredo shrugged. “Well, you mentioned the Agency so I did some digging and… they supposedly register all the supernatural creatures in the city and get rid of the dangerous ones.”

Trevor tried to keep his hands from shaking on the steering wheel. “Yeah?”

“So I’m wondering if you believe all that. Because honestly I don’t think I do.” Alfredo glanced over to gauge Trevor’s reaction. He kept his eyes fixed on the road.

“And of course I'm not going to judge you, Mr. Collins, but it makes me wonder wh—”

“Where do I turn?”

Trevor interrupted, his tone snappish. Alfredo closed his mouth with a click of his teeth. Trevor set his jaw and gripped the steering wheel tighter. He flicked his eyes over to Alfredo and—

They were shimmering with gold, reflecting the streetlights and staring into his own,

so tell him where to turn—

“Alfredo, where do I turn?” Trevor repeated, this time much softer. Alfredo blinked out of his daze, glancing out at the street signs. HIs hand shook as he lifted it to point.

“J— uh, just up here on the right. Take— um… take a left two blocks down…” Alfredo swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He heard Trevor curse under his breath. They drove in silence for a minute, Trevor’s exasperated sighs the only sound between them.

“Yeah. I do believe in Vampires. And everything else. Werewolves, Selkies, Salamanders, Aliens. You name it, I think this city’s got it,” Trevor said.

Alfredo drummed his fingers on his thigh. “Alright… Maybe I’ll believe you if you tell me you know one.”

Trevor barked a laugh. “A Vampire? You’ll be the first to know, believe me.”

They shared another smile and Trevor found himself slowly getting used to it. The thought alone made him want to smile more.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor pulled up to the curb in front of Alfredo's apartment and let the car idle. Alfredo glanced out the window and moved like he was about to get out of the car. Trevor watched, the way his hand flinched on the handle, the twist of his torso.

"Hey, before I go—" Alfredo started, talking away from him. He turned to look over his shoulder and caught Trevor's eyes.

Trevor could see him narrow his gaze, noticed the searching light in them. Alfredo let go of the door handle and moved to face Trevor. He leaned forward still staring intently into Trevor's eyes.

"No gold," he muttered, so quietly that if Trevor hadn't been a Daywalker he never would have heard it. Alfredo broke his gaze, quickly flicking his eyes over Trevor's face before getting out of the car in a hurry.

He closed the door behind him and gave Trevor a small wave as he entered his apartment building. Trevor returned it along with a painfully fake smile before turning away and glaring at the steering wheel.

'No gold...' Did that mean that Alfredo remembered something? Was he suspicious? All it took was one google search, a little help from Matt to bypass the login and he could get access to the Agency website. He could scroll through all their operative's public reports and find all the filed Supernatural citizens and look through the new PDF of the Official Agency Guidebook,

everything.

And then it would be over.

Alfredo would see him differently, would distance himself and put up walls between them or— or quit.

Trevor shuddered to think of that. Less than a week and he was already fucked. Alfredo already seemed like a vital part of their team to him. He couldn't... He didn't want to lose him.

Matt woke up the next morning to more pain in his arm which he quickly drowned in painkillers and a note on his kitchen counter saying thanks for helping Alfredo the night before and that Trevor had borrowed his car but that it was all in one piece.

Matt shook his head fondly and set about making himself breakfast. He took his time considering any other company would require him to take time off with his arm and that if he was any other person he would.

He made it to work a few hours late but heard no remarks about it. Lindsay was at their desk absorbed in work and Trevor was scribbling over the heist map with papers strewn around the table. Things were getting intense around the office with the heist scheduled for the next evening. They were on a tight deadline.

Alfredo seemed to sense it too, sitting quietly at his own desk and only rarely looking up from his monitor. Matt sent him a wave as he passed in Alfredo's line of sight and got a nod in acknowledgment.

Matt noticed his attention snap to Trevor when he stepped back from the table and ran his fingers through his hair. He picked up the marker he was working with and worried it between his teeth while he did a slow circuit of the table, stopping every now and again. Alfredo was fixated on him, his work all but abandoned.

Trevor dropped the marker on the table with a loud

clack

and stalked towards his office, his hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders hunched. Something was eating at him and it wasn't the usual heist stress. Trevor went to close the door but stopped himself short.

"Lindsay, do you have a moment?" Trevor called, poking his head through the doorway. Lindsay spun around in their chair and hopped up.

"Of course I do," they said, heading towards his office with a bounce in their step. Matt watched them out of the corner of his eye. He noticed the way Trevor's hand clenched the door so tightly his knuckles turned white. He shut the door and any sound from within was cut off. Matt went back to his work and Alfredo sent one last look over the top of his monitor before sinking back down.

"What were you working on?" Trevor asked when he'd closed the door. Lindsay shrugged.

"I was just looking into a Daywalker who dismembered a guy in broad daylight," Lindsay said as they slumped into the chair in front of Trevor's desk. Trevor knew she liked that sort of stuff, a little side hobby. He wasn't bothered by it.

Except...

"Lindsay?" Trevor sighed, picking at the edge of a document sitting open on the desk. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of if he should tell them or not.

"I'm

the Daywalker who dismembered a guy in broad daylight." He looked down, not wanting to meet their eyes.

"And I'm the Daywalker who inherited his thresh's ability to manipulate people against their will. I'm the Daywalker who fell for a guy who doesn't even believe in Vampires," Trevor rambled.

"What?" Lindsay was frozen in their heat, hands clenched around the armrests.

Trevor gritted his teeth and soldiered on. "It was me, Linds. I tore his arms off and I— I ate them. And then his leg. And then I ripped his chest open and crushed his organs to a pulp and I fed on his flesh and blood because I was

so hungry."

He could feel tears prickling at his eyes as Lindsay stared at him, disbelieving.

"And when I tell myself I'm not like Carla that memory surfaces again." Trevor got up from his desk with a start, turning around so he wouldn't have to see the hurt in Lindsay's eyes.

"I'm not like her. I'm worse."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lindsay prided themself on being good at comforting people. They made them feel calm, like they were in a safe place.

This was anything but. Trevor's arms were drawn up, his shoulders angled like he wanted to disappear. He was turned away, making sure that Lindsay didn't catch a glimpse of his face.
His hands were trembling at his sides and he looked to all the world like he was one breath away from breaking down into sobs.

This wasn't the Trevor they knew. Not the Trevor he made sure he was to them. He was hurting and scared and vulnerable and for the first time Lindsay got a real glimpse of what it must have been like when he was turned. They didn't trust themself enough to make it all okay.
They weren't sure they were the right person to.

"Trevor?" they whispered, still not daring to move from their seat. The shock of what Trevor had said was still catching up to them. They almost didn't notice it, but Trevor flinched at their voice.

"Just call them. Get it over with," he hissed, voice filled with venom. But not for Lindsay. For

them.

The Agency.

"The sooner they get here the sooner I can stop hurting."

Lindsay's blood ran cold at those words. They scrambled up from the seat and went to Trevor, hands hovering around his shoulders.

"Trevor? Trevor, what do you mean? What are you going to do? Why did— why did you tell me that?" they asked, panic setting in. Trevor's face darkened.

"I don't want to be a Daywalker anymore," he mumbled. "I don't want to constantly have to walk on eggshells all day long because I might go berserk."

"I realized last night that I can't— I don't want this tearing in my gut, this hunger that's always there now. Whenever I'm around him... It's like I'm one false move away from ruining everything." Trevor tugged at his hair, his breath coming in frustrated huffs.

"Who—" Lindsay started.

"Alfredo. Yeah, I know. It's so cliché to fall for the new guy. But he's—" Trevor snapped, searching for the words.

"He's

so kind

and willing to do anything to help and he can do so much for us." He gazed at the door with a kind of expectation and Lindsay swore they saw his eyes sparkle.

Then it was gone. Trevor blinked at the light on his face faded. "I can't throw that away. Not now."

Lindsay put their hands tentatively on Trevor's shoulders and rubbed comforting circles into his back. "Tell him," they said softly. "Tell him how you feel."

Trevor snorted. "Vampire and all?"

Lindsay nodded. They felt Trevor leaning into her touch. "Yes. The truth. All of it. That you're a Daywalker, that you like him, that you're always restraining yourself because apparently he's just that good-looking?"

Trevor smiled a bittersweet smile, wistful and hopeless.

"What did I just say about throwing it all away?" he said quietly.

"I think it could make you feel better about who you are," Lindsay reasoned. "You know that me and Matt and Geoff and everyone who knows… we love you for that."

Trevor stared at his feet.

"I think you should consider it. Trust me, Trevor. If Alfredo can't handle you then he's not cut out for this job or this city," Lindsay assured him. "You're not the worst thing that hides in the shadows," they said. Trevor frowned.

"I'm not calling the Agency. I'm not letting you throw yourself at their feet and get locked up because you're afraid of what-ifs," Lindsay said sternly. They stepped back from Trevor and returned to the other side of the desk. Trevor didn't move, still facing the wall.

"Can I tell you something else?" Lindsay asked.

"I wouldn't have met Michael, we wouldn't be dating, I wouldn't be so in love if I hadn't taken that chance and told him how I feel." Lindsay watched as Trevor's shoulders slumped.

"And you never know. This could be so good for you. For both of you." They turned around and left the room without another word, softly closing the door behind them. Matt sent them a questioning glance as they passed by but they shook her head. They could talk about it later.

Alfredo had just left the building and was heading home for the day. He lingered near a bus stop when his phone started buzzing and stopped to check it. The number was unknown. Alfredo just frowned and declined the call. Telemarketers. Already?

"Whoa. Hey." Alfredo glanced up at the sound of a voice. A man was grinning at him from the bus stop. His eyes were a little too bright for the evening.

"Hi,” Alfredo said cautiously, pocketing his phone but keeping it ready to call the police. He stayed a safe distance away from the stranger as he stood up and made his way closer, remembering what Trevor had said about getting mugged. The stranger started to say something else but his words were drowned out by a car horn rapidly blaring at them.

Alfredo turned to see Trevor leaning over from the driver's side of a sleek black sports car and slamming his hand on the horn.

"Diaz. Get in," Trevor snapped. It sounded harsher than he wanted.

Alfredo stood with his mouth parted slightly looking from Trevor to the broad-shouldered guy in front of him.

"You, uh— you got a contract with this ray of sunshine?" The stranger asked.

He leaned over Alfredo's shoulder and winked at Trevor, who really didn't appreciate his inside joke. Vampires always thought they were clever like that, 'the moon and the mind' and all that. Trevor didn't believe it. Intelligence wasn't measured by whether a Vampire would die from a sunburn or not.

Alfredo blinked. "Do I have a... Oh, yeah. Of course," he said, shrugging casually. The Vampire nodded slowly, flicking his eyes between the two. Trevor glared at him, mouthing the word 'mine' as clearly as he could. His fangs peeked out through his snarl.

Alfredo didn't notice the way the Vampire flinched. "Alright. Cool," he said quickly. "That's fine, yeah. Well, if you're ever looking for something else. I'll be here."

He sent Alfredo a wink and went sauntering back to the bus stop. He waved to Alfredo as he went. Alfredo didn't return it. He opened the passenger door and slid into Trevor's car.

"Who was that?" Trevor asked, ice inching into his voice.

Alfredo shrugged. "Eh, probably just some guy looking to hire me. I get it a lot."

Trevor frowned. "He asked about—"

"A contract. Yeah. I'm a contracted hitman, Mr. Collins," Alfredo said. He grinned. "I don't take a job unless the other party is willing to enter into a legally binding contract."

Trevor finally relented. His shoulders relaxed and he allowed himself a smile. "Smart," he said softly. Alfredo beamed.

"It helps weed out the scammers, too. I need to get paid, you feel?" Alfredo shifted in his seat so he could turn more towards Trevor.

"Hey."

Trevor glanced sidelong at him. "Hey."

"I've never seen you drive this car before. How... How many do you have?" Alfredo asked, unsure if that was rude to ask. Trevor grinned at him.

"A few," he said, purposefully being vague.

Alfredo huffed. "I'm gonna go ahead and assume that a few means more than five."

Trevor laughed outright at that, letting his smile linger. "You go right ahead and assume that," he replied. Alfredo smacked him lightly on the arm. Trevor smiled at him. He hated to change the mood but they did have a job.

"So... You left earlier before I could catch you," he started. "We're, uh, having a meeting about tomorrow night."

Alfredo's eyes widened. He clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh! Shit, I'm sorry! Was I supposed to be there?" He turned to Trevor, guilt in his eyes. Trevor stared right back, trying to split his focus between Alfredo's beauty and the road he was driving on.

"You were." Alfredo deflated. Trevor could practically see the light fade from his eyes.

"Did I miss it?" he asked dejectedly.

Trevor shook his head. "No. We're heading back now. Well just be about ten minutes late."

Alfredo squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry, Mr. Collins. I didn't— no one told me—"

Trevor sighed. "Alfredo. It's fine. You're new, sometimes we're all on the same frequency and forget that you aren't yet." He smiled. "It's really not your fault," he assured him.

Alfredo nodded, turning away from him to lean his hand against the window. He sat quietly for the rest of the ride.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor hurried into the office with Alfredo in tow. The rest of the team was sitting around the conference table looking over the map. Matt had called Jeremy and had him on speaker, his phone sitting on the table next to him.

"Sorry for the delay! Let's get started," Trevor said as he slid into a chair. He patted the one next to him and Alfredo sank into it, looking subdued. His usual pep and cheer was gone and Trevor wanted to do something about it. He reached under the table and gave Alfredo's leg a comforting pat.

"You're fine," he muttered.

Alfredo straightened up, his face brightening. Trevor moved to pull his hand away but Alfredo grabbed it with both hands and held on tight. Trevor could feel Alfredo's heartbeat through his fingers. He cleared his dry throat and carried on as best he could.

The meeting went smoothly. They had the plan down to a tee and everyone's spots were accounted for. Except one.

"Trevor, who do we have on the roof for this? The sniper position?" Kent asked, tapping a circled part of the map. Trevor frowned at it. He studied the map, mentally going through and accounting for all the team members. He slowly rubbed circles into Alfredo's hand with his thumb.

"Well, shit, Matt is still injured. No way am I sending him on this heist. He shouldn't even be at work." Trevor narrowed his eyes at Matt.

“I know," Matt said.

“Go home, Matt Bragg.”

“I know.”

Matt stayed in his seat so Trevor just rolled his eyes and carried on.

"Jeremy's out of the question, he's driving the truck. Gavin would crumble under the kind of pressure this position would on him... I— maybe I could call in Det Cord? He owes us a favor."

Trevor chewed his bottom lip, going through the contacts on his phone. He felt Alfredo slip his hand out of Trevor's and he silently mourned the loss of warmth.

"Mr. Collins?" Alfredo asked.

Trevor glanced up from his phone. "Yes Alfredo? You don't need to raise your hand." He reached up and pulled Alfredo's hand out of the air.

"I snipe."

"I read your resume, yes."

"I mean... I snipe. I am a sniper. Professionally." Alfredo waited, eyebrows raised. The rest of the table was silent.

Trevor frowned. "No."

Alfredo followed after Trevor like lost puppy, his eyes wide and imploring. Trevor had adjourned the meeting, assuring the team that he'd find someone by prep time the next evening.

He'd gotten personalized looks from every single one of them, mostly addressing his idiocy at not choosing Alfredo for the job.

"Come on, I'm volunteering for it!" Alfredo said, his tone leaning dangerously towards whining.

"Absolutely not," Trevor bit, pushing open the door and breathing in the crisp night air.

"What? Why are you being so stiff? Is this just because that guy asked if I was working for you?"

"That is not what he was asking!" Trevor shouted, whirling around to face Alfredo.

"What else could he mean by contract?" Alfredo said, genuinely confused.

"I—" Trevor grimaced.

"No... I can't tell you," he said honestly. "I'm sorry. I can't." Trevor turned away again and strode towards his car.

Alfredo stood there and watched him drive off. He could feel an ache in his chest as Trevor left, something pulling and twisting. He tried to ignore it, instead clenching his hands into tight fists and beginning his walk home.

"What was I supposed to tell him? 'That guy was actually asking if you were my thrall? He was a Vampire too?' No. He doesn't even

believe

in Vampires."

Trevor crossed his arms and huffed, settling into the couch. Gavin sat across from him in an armchair, a mug of something warm in his hand and a decadent fleece robe wrapped around him. He rubbed at the remaining sparkling makeup around his eyes, a new stylistic approach he was trying out.

The rest of the main crew were sleeping. Trevor could hear them through the walls. Jeremy was a bundle of nerves and wouldn't stop rolling over, Michael and Lindsay were down for the count and wrapped in each other's arms. Gavin had padded into the entryway at the sound of Trevor letting himself into the penthouse. An upside(?) of Gavin's insomnia was that Trevor always had someone to talk to when he couldn't or didn't

want

to sleep.

"And then there was the fiasco about him sniping for the heist, which, of course I couldn't let him," Trevor said matter-of-factly.

Gavin started, nearly spilling his drink. "Wait wait wait. You said Alfredo Diaz, the region's best and most sought-after solo sniper co— I'm sorry, you said he couldn't snipe?" There was so much disbelief in Gavin's voice that it had Trevor genuinely offended.

"Trevor, buddy... you're an idiot."

"It's a Shifter den, Gavin!" he reasoned.

He shook his head, remembering what he had recognized about the heist map when Lindsay had first unrolled it on the table. It was occupied by a well-known Shifter gang. They somehow flew under the Agency's radar but their heist might kick up some dust.

Trevor buried his face in his hands. "Fuck, he's going to get caught up in a lot of shit that he doesn't need to. I can't— I don't want him falling head-first into this."

Gavin tilted his head at Trevor. "Then help him down the stairs."

"What?"

Gavin took a long, well-timed sip of his drink. "Tell him everything before he has a heart attack over people who can change their faces right in front of him. He's already had a brush with a Salamander, right?. There's

no way

he wasn't suspicious in the Lion's Den."

Gavin shrugged. "He's smart, Trevor. Either you tell him or he gets mad later because you didn't."

"And you still want him sniping in this heist?" Trevor asked.

Gavin snorted. "Damn right, I do. He's a legend. You're lucky to have him on your team." He paused, mug to his lips. He gave Trevor a long, hard stare.

"You're lucky to have him in your life."

Trevor sighed. "I know. I know!" he threw up his hands.

"But he makes me— he makes me want to shield him from all this. I want for him what I never got.

Ignorance.

I never want him to find out about the things in this city. But—"

Gavin nodded knowingly. "If you live here, if you work here... There's no avoiding it. I know."

"You want to know something?" Gavin asked. Trevor raised his eyebrows.

Gavin grinned. "I think he'd be real excited to know that Vampires exist. I think he would fall head over heels for you."

"Really?" Trevor said, not believing it for a second.

"Yeah." Gavin sounded so convinced, though, it was hard not to agree.

"That's what Lindsay said. Not in so many words, but—" Trevor shrugged, giving Gavin a look he knew all too well. Advice with Lindsay was either spot-on or so far off the mark it was a miracle how they even got to that point.

"You know... I hate to say this, Chaos Queen and all that, but I think we should all start listening to Lindsay more," Gavin said, only half-jokingly. He downed the rest of his drink and set the mug on the coffee table between them.

"Good night. We've got a hell of a day tomorrow," Gavin said quietly.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The evening of the heist was upon them. At the office it was all hands on deck, B Team and Main Crew all packed into the building. They were suiting up and gathering gear and checking their watches at every available moment. Jeremy and Jack were helping each other with bulletproof vests, Gavin was tugging a pair of gloves on to complete a rare all-black look and Lindsay was running around making sure everyone had body armor on.

"First departure in ten minutes!" Jeremy shouted over the noise. Trevor did a quick sweep of the floor, making sure nothing was forgotten and then he ushered everyone out of the office through the back entrance to where their respective vehicles were parked.

They weren't stupid. They weren't leaving en masse from the office, of course suspicion would arise. No. Teams were leaving staggered.

Gavin and Jack first. Jeremy, Lindsay and Michael next. Then the support. Steffie, Alec and Kent on the ground covering the main team. Trevor would take the sniper to his point and they would hide out on the roofs. Matt was standing by in the office with his shock drone arsenal for backup.

No way this could go wrong.

Trevor mentally checked off the first teams departure. 8:40 pm. Exactly on schedule. Jeremy and his team were doing a last-minute check of their gear and the car. Trevor spotted Lindsay give Michael a kiss, their hands entwined like they never wanted to let go.

Everyone else was accounted for, all waiting for their signal to go. Trevor had expected to be a lot more nervous about this heist. Then he glanced over at Alfredo, making quiet conversation with the ground team, and his stomach filled with dread. Right.

"Diaz," Trevor called, motioning for Alfredo to join him against the back wall where Trevor had been leaning. Alfredo made his way over, a bright smile on his face.

"Go inside and get yourself a sniper. First row, top shelf, far left in the storage room." Trevor jabbed a finger towards the office as Alfredo stood stunned, his mouth hanging open.

"You want me to snipe?" he whispered. Trevor nodded curtly.

"You're all we've got. And I've been told you're decent."

Alfredo snorted. "Please, I'm more than decent," he scoffed. "Imma 'bout to blow your socks off, Mr. Collins!"

He hurried back inside, a bounce in his step. Trevor shook his head to himself. So much for staying out of danger.

Trevor was tossing his keys in the air and leaning against the hood of his car when Alfredo shoved open the door again carrying a sniper case and a blanket.

Trevor raised his eyebrows but said nothing as Alfredo piled his gear in the backseat. He pushed off the hood and walked around the driver's side door.

"Hey," Trevor called. Alfredo looked up, them being the only two left in the back lot. "You asked about my car last night. It isn't mine," Trevor admitted.

"You stole it?" Alfredo gasped, taking a step away from the car.

"Okay, no. But it concerns me how unbelievable that is to you. Do you know who you work for now?" Trevor said, looking at Alfredo over the car.

"You work for a crime syndicate, Alfredo. We do crime," he clarified after Alfredo didn't answer. There was a beat of silence in which Trevor ran his finger over the jagged edge of the car key.

"Anyway, back to business," he said, mostly to himself. He tossed the keys over the car to Alfredo, who fumbled for a second but caught them.

"What is—" he started. Trevor came around the other side of the car and leaned against the passenger door.

"This is for you. Try not to wreck it, although it is insured," he said, motioning to the car. Alfredo's eyes widened and Trevor could see the moment it clicked.

"I— I can't take this, you—" Alfredo stuttered, grabbing Trevor's wrist and trying to give him back the keys.

"Fredo," Trevor pushed, keeping his hand stubbornly in a fist. "I'm doing this because I want to. Will you just let me keep you safe?" he said.

Alfredo stopped, the keys pressed against Trevor's knuckles. He let go of Trevor's wrist like it was on fire and clutched the keys with both hands.

"I don't need to be kept safe, Trev—" Alfredo took a deep breath, that now familiar ache in his chest rising again. Trevor felt his breath catch in his throat.

If he had a heartbeat of his own he didn't doubt it would be thundering by now. He didn't know how much he wanted it until now, but Trevor longed for Alfredo to call him by his first name.

"Mr. Collins. I can take care of myself," Alfredo mumbled. "I don't need you to go out of your way for me."

Trevor smiled. "Believe me, this is not out of my way. This is

in

my way. I want to... I want to do this for you."

Alfredo couldn't help but feel a little bit better at that. If it was what Trevor wanted then there wasn't much helping it, was there?

"Not to disturb you, but we are on a schedule, Diaz," Trevor said, leaning in close. Alfredo could feel his warm breath as he moved, nearly nose-to-nose.

It took him a moment to process that Trevor was trying to open the door he was standing in front of.

After nearly jumping a foot in the air he scrambled around to the driver's side and fumbled with the keys. Trevor just watched, drumming his fingers on his thigh. Alfredo relaxed by the time they were on the road but he could still feel his loud and rapid heartbeat in his ears.

Trevor had to admit, though, it was fun making Alfredo flustered. Dangerous, though, as his flushed face reminded him just how filled to the brim with blood he was. Trevor's stomach ached with a ferocity and his throat begged for it.

He just hoped there would be someone on this heist he could get away with gutting and eating. Why yes, his hunger

had

gotten so bad that he wasn't opposed to devouring a whole person.

The heist site was crawling with Shifters when they pulled up to their point. Trevor could already feel the hairs on his arms standing on end. Shifters always gave him a bad feeling. Alfredo shut off the car and stuffed the keys in his pocket.

They both sat for a second, just watching. Trevor spotted Jeremy with his heavy-duty truck, ready to bust through some fences and hopefully people if it came down to it. He saw the ground team huddled behind a building out of sight.

Trevor took a deep breath and opened the door. Alfredo panicked and followed him as quickly as his hands would let him. He dragged all his gear out of the car and trailed after his boss as he made his way down the deserted street a ways before turning sharply and starting to climb a ladder. Alfredo was about to follow when Trevor stopped and looked down.

"What are you doing? You're a building down, Diaz," Trevor hissed, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. Alfredo grinned at him sheepishly and went on his way. He climbed to the roof of his assigned building with ease and stared over at Trevor, crouched on his roof with a pair of binoculars. He was situated closer to the ladder, ready to hop back down to the ground if needed. Alfredo, on the other hand, got comfortable on the street side of the roof.

He glanced at his watch, 9:34. Ahead of schedule by a minute. Nice. Alfredo calmly unlatched his sniper case and got to work. The blanket, he had learned years ago to always bring. It got uncomfortable laying down on gritty rooftops all night. Comfort led to accuracy, he found.

So the blanket went down first. Then he did. Then his carefully assembled and impressively high quality sniper got set up. He peered through the scope and took inventory of the grounds. He counted all of his teammates, Trevor included. He counted all the hostiles he could see. Nineteen. He accounted for unseen hostiles.

Last, but not least, Alfredo fitted his comm into his ear and tuned into his Team's frequency. The Fakes collectively gave their watches one last glance. 9:44:56.

"Heist," Jeremy whispered and all ten of them heard it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Michael and Lindsay were back-to-back gunning down a group of shifters surrounding them. Ground support was taking out the bulk of the defense around the warehouse. Jack was hovering above the site in a chopper, Gavin leaning out the door and dropping grenades into the fray, shouting 'watch the sky!' into him comms. It was mayhem, just how they liked it.

Alfredo had turned down his comm volume to a murmur, letting his breathing steady out. He had eyes on Jeremy, barreling through a cluster of people with his truck. Nearby, ground support was struggling. Alec was down and the rest were crowding around him.

"Collins, we need you!" Sarah screamed, her voice crackling in the comms. Alfredo saw Trevor drop his binoculars and start for the ladder. A moment later he came into view on the street, running as fast as he could while trying to load ammo into an SMG.

Alfredo trained his scope on ground support, picking off the hostiles one by one.

"Keep it up, Diaz," Trevor muttered.

The crowd thinned out and Kent and Steffie carried Alec as quickly as they could to their vehicle. Trevor and Sarah covered them as they went with help from their eyes in the sky. Jack stayed low and Gavin let him know about the reinforcements coming his way.

"Ground team, get him out of here!" Trevor warned, shoving a new clip into his gun. He ducked behind a stack of crates and pulled Sarah with him. Peeking around the edge of their cover he saw Michael and Lindsay getting backed into a corner. Michael cursed into the comms and tossed his gun to the ground, pulling a barbed-wire baseball bat from behind his back and squaring up. Trevor tensed up.

"Weems, relocate to Jones and Tuggey, get them cleared," he hissed, his hands clenching around his gun.

Sarah nodded once and made a break for farther cover. Gavin clicked his tongue, sounding like feedback in the comms.

"Collins, hate to break it to you but you've got a Loc-Shifter heading your way. He's got friends," Gavin
mumbled. Trevor groaned.

"Fine. I'm heading for the warehouse roof, need a better vantage point. This place is like a fucking labyrinth," Trevor replied, checking his surroundings and sprinting for the warehouse.

There was a ladder on the back side of it, trailing up the wall and onto the flat roof. Trevor slung his SMG onto his back and hopped onto the ladder.

Alfredo was watching Trevor like a hawk. He vaguely registered Michael giving thanks to Sarah for getting the hostiles of their back. Gavin updated Trevor on where his tail was. Three hostiles. Coming around the north side of the warehouse. Armed. Alert.

Good thing Alfredo was both of those things too.

He zoomed in on the corner of the warehouse. Trevor was halfway up the ladder. He spotted a hand peeking around the wall. A face joined it for a moment. He waited. When the coast seemed clear, all three of them came around the side of the building. Almost instantly they noticed Trevor, pointing and shouting. Trevor cursed loudly and started skipping ladder rungs.

Alfredo took a deep breath, training his crosshairs.

Bang.

"Got 'im."

Bang.

"Got 'im."

Bang.

"Fuck! I missed!" Alfredo glanced up from his scope, still watching Trevor as he reloaded.

"Collins, he's on you! He's—" Alfredo choked off his words, eyes widening as he watched the man seemingly shift from being at the bottom of the ladder to just barely out of reach from Trevor. He sat stunned, his fingers around a sniper round. He glanced down. It didn't look like his usual ammo. He had just grabbed what was sitting on the table.

"Hardy?" Alfredo breathed. "What are these rounds made of?"

Steffie was tearing a bandage with her teeth when Alfredo's voice came through the comm. She spat out the taste of adhesive and glanced at Kent, who shrugged.

"They're iron, I think. Collins had 'em shipped in when we planned the heist," she said, confused.

Alfredo nodded. "Okay. Okay, yeah. Thanks." He rolled the round between his fingers. Why would somebody need iron sniper rounds?

He looked up again, watching the face-off on the roof. Trevor was stepping backwards towards the edge, his hands held up in surrender. Alfredo narrowed his eyes, ducked down to look through his scope.

The man was holding a knife. Trevor's gun was lying on the roof, abandoned. He looked nervous, scared even. The man with the knife stepped closer. Trevor stepped back.

"Put that down," Trevor warned. "The Agency will turn you to fucking dust if you hurt me." Alfredo breathed out through his nose, in through his mouth.

His finger was on the trigger, ready to fire. But why didn't he? The curiosity was itching at him. What did all this mean? Iron rounds, The Agency, Gavin mentioned a Loc-Shifter? What

was

that?

"Yeah, of course I can fucking tell it's silver!" Trevor shouted. "And I have a guy on standby with a sniper loaded with iron. You don't wanna take your chances with me."

The guy took another step. Trevor backed all the way to the edge of the roof. He glanced up at Alfredo. Alfredo didn't flinch.

"You think you're hot shit just because you're a Shifter? Think again! We own this city, asshole!" Trevor growled, a grin breaking out on his face.

It slowly turned into a snarl, his teeth bared. Alfredo's breath caught in his throat. Trevor's canines were sharpened to a point, his eyes were dusted with shimmering gold—

The man tossed the knife to the ground and rushed at Trevor. Alfredo thought for a second he must have blinked because suddenly the man was on top of Trevor and they were both toppling over the edge of the roof.

"Trevor!" Alfredo screamed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor gasped as felt his feet slip off the edge and the whole world tilted. The Loc-Shifter had his arms pinned at his sides and ground was rapidly approaching. He faintly heard Alfredo screaming his name over the comm as the wind rushed past his ears.

If Trevor had any more time to react he could have landed better. But things being what they were, the Loc-Shifter disappeared and Trevor twisted in the air to break his fall with his shoulder. What a scare he'd give them all if he got up from his skull getting cracked against the pavement.

The breath got punched out of him as he landed. The crunch of bone was loud in his ears as his shoulder hit hard. His feet followed after, slamming to the ground with enough force to send an ache through his body. The pain was bad enough that he'd feel it tomorrow as an itch under his skin.

Trevor was still gasping for air when Gavin repelled down from Jack's chopper and hurried over to him. He tried to shield Trevor's body from the prying eyes of the team, just finishing up clearing the area. Gavin poked at him, feeling for broken bones.

"Fractured scapula, shattered clavicle and a hairline, I think, down his humerus. Definitely cracked and bruised ribs, though. Yeah. Thanks Patillo," Gavin muttered into his comm, no doubt a private channel with her.

Trevor fought to keep his eyes open as Gavin hauled him gently into a sitting position. He vaguely registered how odd it was seeing Gavin so serious.

Jack was easing the chopper down to the ground while Gavin shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around Trevor's shoulders.

"Be glad you don't bleed, you absolute bell-end. And that semi-immortality thing just saved you," he hissed. "I'll wrap things up here," he shouted, attention turned to Jack.

"Get Collins and Agabon to our hospital. I'll deal with evac for the team with Dooley," he said.

Jack poked her head out of the open chopper door and nodded, waving over Kent and Steffie who still had Alec between them.

Gavin gingerly lifted Trevor up and into his arms, taking as much care as he could as he walked him to the chopper and strapped him in.

"Get them there safe," he said. Jack saluted him and he ushered Kent and Steffie away as Jack took the chopper into the sky. Gavin turned his eyes away from the sky to go and find Michael and Lindsay. And hopefully find out where Jeremy went with his truck.

Alfredo had half a mind to abandon his sniper on the roof and rush to Trevor as fast as he could. But Gavin got there faster. He seemed so calm about it, the fact that Trevor had just fallen off a building that should have killed him. And what was more, the guy that sent him over edge was standing back on the roof and looking down at them.

Alfredo ignored the thumping of his heart and itch in the back if his mind telling him to piece it the fuck together already and he sent a bullet through the guy's head without hesitation.

There. All hostiles eliminated. Heist success.

Alfredo was oddly calm as he packed up his gun and folded his blanket neatly. He climbed back down the ladder and took the time to stash his gear in the— no,

his—

car before he walked briskly across the street and confronted Gavin, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him around.

"You better explain what the fuck just happened because I

know

you understand it," he demanded. Gavin dragged a hand down his face, smearing the dust and sweat from the heist down his cheeks.

"I know, I know. You want answers. And you'll get them, don't worry. But Trevor has to be the one to tell you. It's not my place," Gavin said.

"A dude just pushed him

off the roof!

And then he ended up back up there! How does that make any sense? What is going on here? Is this what Trevor meant when he said there are things in this city that I can't prepare for?"

Alfredo tugged at his hair and frowned at his feet, breath coming in short huffs.

"Are Vampires real, Free?"

Gavin shifted his weight. He reached out and pulled Alfredo's comm from his ear, doing the same with his own. They both disappeared into his pocket.

"Be careful where you ask that question, Diaz. All I can tell you is that this city isn't safe. The LSPD aren't the only ones we have to worry about." Gavin leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Trust what you see, Alfredo. And trust what you

feel."

He gave Alfredo an encouraging smile and patted his shoulder as he walked away.

Gavin quickly ushered the team away from Jeremy's truck and back to their own vehicles when they had found it parked behind a nearby building with Jeremy inside and nearly hyperventilating. He trusted Lindsay to get them all back and wait for him.

"Jeremy?" Gavin started, sitting down next to him. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Jeremy shook his head rapidly. "No no no, not hurt," he choked out. "I just—"

"Gavin," he turned fully and stared Gavin in the eyes. "They're here too, aren't they? The Agency." Gavin sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"Fuck, I thought we were done! And then this guy comes out of nowhere and starts shifting back and forth between me and Michael!"

He pressed his hands to his eyes and took a shuddering breath. "I left for a fucking reason. Turns out they're everywhere, huh?"

He let out a mirthless laugh. "I was hoping

this city,

out of all the ones I could have chosen, might be clean."

Gavin leaned in and started rubbing circles into Jeremy's back. "I know. Me too," he said.

"Why did no one tell me this was a Shifter den?" Jeremy asked.

"Because then you'd freak out."

"I'm freaking out now, Gavin!"

"But we did it. Heist success?"

Jeremy shook his head. "I don't want this again," he whispered.

"Then you don't have to have it. Look, no one knows what you used to do. The Agency doesn't even know you exist anymore. You can feign ignorance and get on with your new, better life," Gavin said.

"I love you, Jeremy. Even though you're dumb." Gavin wrapped Jeremy in a hug and squeezed him tight.

Jeremy smiled. "Love you too, Gavin. Even though you're

more

dumb."

Alfredo and Lindsay's team were parked in an alleyway. Jeremy had his truck tucked behind one of the buildings. Sarah had taken the ground team back to the office first, them being the least likely to get recognized. And there was still post-heist work to be done.

There were sirens in the distance, the cops having finally responded to all the gunfire and explosions coming from the warehouse. They weren't too worried though. The whole city knew their mark, the way they operated. No one would dare touch that property now that the Fakes had it.

Alfredo was resting his forehead against the steering wheel of his car when Gavin tapped on the window. He rolled it down, not moving from where he was.

"Jack says you can head down and see Trevor in the morning. But she also said everyone needs rest tonight. So if I catch you going that way I'll ram your car into a street sign," Gavin said, leaning on the door. Alfredo glared at him.

"You wouldn't do that," he snapped. Gavin shrugged. "I don't know if I would. But I'm serious. Sleep first. Trevor's still going to be alive tomorrow."

"How do you know! That fall should have killed him! He shouldn't—"

"Diaz.

Deep breaths."

Alfredo shut his mouth and took a few long, steadying breaths.

"I promise you will get all the answers you want. You just need to wait until morning. Trevor's tired too. He doesn't need any more stress."

Alfredo nodded mutely. He turned away from Gavin.

"Fine. But I'm seeing him as soon as I can," he said. Gavin waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But Alfredo?" He made Alfredo turn and look at him again.

"Seven hour's sleep. No less." The way he said it made no room for negotiation. "That's all I ask."

Alfredo pushed his hair off his face and sat back in the seat. "Yeah. Okay," he said. "Seven hours."

Gavin seemed satisfied with that and nodded to Alfredo. "Departure in five. The heat's dying down. You should rendezvous at the office before you head home. Debrief's tomorrow at two!" Gavin stepped away from the car and gave Alfredo a wave before heading over to Jeremy's truck.

Alfredo sighed, rolling his window back up and scrubbing his face with his hands. Fuck, he couldn't wait for morning.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Alfredo made it to bed by five till midnight. He burrowed under his covers and was out like a light. The gentle glow of the orange street lights that filtered through his window faded into the gentle glow of the sunrise before he knew it.

His phone alarm went off at exactly seven am and roused him from his sleep. He fumbled with the snooze button through bleary eyes and threw an arm over his face.

His chest hurt.

Alfredo was up, cleaned and dressed by a quarter past seven. He fiddled with his keys as he walked to his car. His car. That Trevor had bought for him. It gave him an odd, tingling sensation thinking about it.

He wondered how much money Trevor usually spent on his friends. Or if that was even something he did. 'Will you just let me keep you safe?' Trevor had pleaded. You. As in Alfredo. As in...

Just him.

Alfredo had been told the night before where the hospital was by a very tired and a very jittery Ashley Dillard. She had been monitoring the heist with Matt via the drones and looked worse than the crew that actually been in the field.

Alfredo cruised down the highway with one hand out the window and emotionally prepared himself for how hurt Trevor was and how hard it might be to see him. He pulled into one of the multiple parking lots as close to the building as he could get.

Hospitals always made Alfredo nervous. They were breeding grounds for infectious diseases. He aimed to never have to set foot in one unless absolutely necessary. And if he was being honest, now was that time.

The very sweet and understanding receptionist pointed him in the right direction when he got turned around in the labyrinthine halls and couldn't remember which room Ashley had said Trevor was in.

He and Alec were both admitted to the same room so he could check on them both. Alec, he had been told multiple times by Matt over the phone and in person, was going to be perfectly okay. Matt had sounded like he was trying to reassure himself of the fact more than Alfredo.

Jack, surprisingly, had followed up Matt's phone call barrage with a simple text, even though Alfredo was sure he hadn't given her his number.

Jack: You'll be fine.

It was odd that Jack had said 'you' instead of 'he.' As if

Alfredo

was the one who got pushed off a building.

Alfredo paused as he walked down the hall, checking the room numbers one by one. He was so focused on reading the placards on the doors that he almost missed Trevor opening one farther down and strolling towards him. Alfredo glanced up at the movement, his eyes going wide. Trevor smiled at him, waving with his free hand. He was carrying a cardboard box under his other arm.

Alfredo nearly tripped over himself in his haste to get to Trevor.

"What are you doing up? How are you up? You should—" He cut himself off. No casts, no braces, not even a bandage anywhere. Trevor was still smiling although it was smaller now.

"Let's talk outside, yeah?" he said softly, patting Alfredo's arm as he passed. Alfredo stood shocked, watching him go. He wasn't limping, wasn't wincing with every step.

Somehow he was fine. And Alfredo was going to find out why if it was the last thing he did. Someone was going to give him fucking answers.

He ran to catch up with Trevor, silently offering his arm for support. He was convinced that his boss was just very good at hiding his pain. Trevor smiled to himself as he laid a hand on Alfredo's arm. He leaned on him a little, whatever might give him comfort. He would probably be the one needing support once Trevor was done saying his piece.

Gavin had given Trevor the rundown. Alfredo was confused and suspicious and more than a little freaked out. 'Be gentle,' Gavin had told him. It warmed Trevor's unbeating heart that Gavin was going out of his way to make sure this went without a hitch. Or, at least, with as few as possible.

Alfredo insisted on driving Trevor home. It was clearly an excuse to get him in a car alone so he could freak out in private. Trevor was willing to accept that. He did his fair share of freaking out when he had woken up a year ago with a splitting headache and no pulse.

Trevor settled into the passenger's seat and let Alfredo close the door for him. He rubbed his tired eyes while he waited. He kicked the box he had put at his feet. One of the cardboard flaps opened up. Trevor nudged it back down, fighting the growl of hunger in his chest.

Alfredo seemed more jittery than when he'd last seen him. He slid into his seat and debated whether or not to start the car. Trevor reached over and put his hand over Alfredo's, guiding it to the center console so he could drop the keys.

"Let's just sit, shall we?" Trevor said. "I've got a lot of explaining to do."

Alfredo nodded mutely. Trevor squeezed his hand and forced a smile.

"Okay... Okay. I'm a Vampire."

Alfredo blinked.

"Technically I'm a Daywalker. That's why I have a day job." Trevor shrugged, trying to choke the tension out of the air by sheer willpower.

"And I'm not the only one. This whole city is crawling with the supernatural. Los Santos is actually known for— will you just say something, please?" Trevor stared at Alfredo with frustration. He was still frozen in place, a small frown buckling his brows.

"How did it happen?" he whispered. Trevor blew out a breath.

He was relieved that Alfredo didn't seem to be outwardly breaking down but he didn't know how he coped. All in all it was a mild reaction. Trevor didn't know if that was a good thing.

"I had a girlfriend a while back," Trevor started. "Her name was Carla. I loved her. But she was a Daywalker. And she didn't tell me. So I followed her around in a haze of blind love. I did whatever she wanted me to, said whatever she wanted. I let her feed off me. For months I was at her beck and call and I didn't think there was anything wrong.

"And then a few guys in suits came and told me that I was being controlled. They said Carla was using Daywalker magic on me. And of course I called bullshit. No way was she mind controlling me. That wasn't real. Magic wasn't real. She was just a Vampire and she told me that she loved me."

"Well, a few months later they found me drained of all my blood." Trevor blinked and a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Carla, it turned out, was kept from feeding for six months and I didn't know about it. I didn't even

know

that my girlfriend wasn't eating. And that was when it hit me. I couldn't remember anything. Nothing she didn't want me to remember. I was pale and thin, I should have been dead. But somehow I wasn't. No one could figure out how I was still alive. I didn't have a pulse, no heartbeat. They cut me open and I didn't bleed.

"One of them, I remember he had on a striped shirt and a silly lab coat, he cut himself on a stack of papers. Just a stupid papercut but I couldn't stop staring at it." He clenched his fists, remembering that feeling of first hunger.

"I killed everyone in that room." The silence that followed was heavy. Alfredo's stomach dropped.

"I killed them and I ate them. Blood, flesh, everything but the bones. And then I ran. I ran and I didn't look back. I didn't think about Carla, I didn't think about the blood on my mouth or the fangs I could feel against my tongue. I ran until I found the Fakes. And they gave me a home and they gave me a family and they gave me answers.

"Alfredo. I'm a Daywalker." Trevor turned to look at Alfredo, his hand still holding on, not wanting to let go.

"That's who I've always been, for all that it matters. I drink blood to survive. Sometimes I lose control and bite into flesh and that's it. I can eat human food but it doesn't help. I can lock myself inside my room for two whole months but it doesn't help. No matter what I do I will always,

always

want more."

Alfredo didn't say a word for a long time. He sat with his lips parted and let Trevor pull his hand away.

"Okay, I think I've done enough talking," Trevor mumbled. "You should head home and get some more rest, I—"

Alfredo leaned across the car and pulled Trevor into a hug, his cheek pressed against Trevor's neck. He sighed, rubbing circles into Trevor's back.

"I'm just so glad you're okay," Alfredo said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor didn't want to let go. He wanted to stay and let time crumble around them and sink his teeth into Alfredo’s shoulder and in his perfect world he would let him.

But Trevor didn't live in his perfect world and Alfredo pulled away before Trevor could make things worse. He held Trevor at arm's length and gave him a smile full of relief.

"Thank you for telling me that. I'm proud of you."

Trevor choked down a hysterical laugh.

"So, are we going to the office?" Alfredo asked.

"Yeah, let's go. I should probably let the rest of them know," Trevor said.

Alfredo had his attention split between driving and Trevor's foot bumping against the cardboard box on the floor as he cruised down the road.

"So what's in there?" Alfredo asked.

Trevor shrugged. "Food," he said cryptically. Alfredo frowned.

"Like hospital food?"

Trevor gagged. "Ew. Um, no… Vampire food," he said, trailing off.

Alfredo was silent for a second before he gasped, realization hitting him. "They just let you walk out of there with a box full of blood bags?"

Trevor shrugged. "'Let me' is one way to put it. I just suggested that they let me take it and they said yes."

“Okay, ‘suggested’ is also a very loose term,” Trevor admitted. “Basically we have this thing called Persuasion that’s exactly what it sounds like. Mine is… a little more powerful, I guess.”

Alfredo shook his head. “Yeah, all this shit sounds crazy. Let’s just get to work, then I can have my mini breakdown,” he said jokingly. Trevor let it slide, but he still shot Alfredo a worried glance.

Lindsay dropped the file they were holding onto Matt's desk. Matt slowly looked down at the manila folder, spilling papers over his keyboard.

"We need to get Trevor a thrall. Right now," they said.

Matt abandoned his computer to look up at Lindsay. "Uh, yeah. We've discussed this," he said.

"But he got pushed off a fucking building, Matt! He needs to eat!" Lindsay almost started pacing but caught themself. They worked their fingers through their hair slowly and focused on even breathing.

"This is getting out of hand. Crazy shit keeps happening and he doesn't have anywhere to get food. He’s getting tired and it's going to become dangerous."

Matt found it sweet that Lindsay cared so much about them to go worrying themself into a fit over Trevor. He also found it worrying that they worried.

"I know. But we can't force it. You know that," Matt said softly.

"I just want— I need him to be okay. He's stressing me out." Endless cycle of worry.

Matt slid the loose papers back into the folder and set it aside to look at after he talked with Lindsay.

"I care too, okay? He's been taking on more of a workload ever since my arm got fucked up and it's not good for him. He hired Alfredo just for this, I don't see why they can't split the extra work."

By carefully shifting the topic from Trevor's unhealthy eating habits (or lack thereof) Matt saw an almost immediate change in Lindsay's demeanor. He silently congratulated himself on successfully diverting their stress. He couldn't bear to see Lindsay on edge because of other people. They shouldn't be under so much pressure. No one should.

"I think Trevor's got a little crush," Lindsay said slyly. Matt smirked.

"Yeah, no shit," he mumbled.

"Do you think maybe he can be—?" Lindsay got cut off by a loud bang. Half the office jumped. The other half hid under their desks.

Matt turned to the office entrance where the door was swinging back from hitting the wall and Trevor Collins was standing in the doorway with his foot raised and a cardboard box under his arm.

"Good morning, crew!" Trevor shouted as he lowered his foot.

Matt glared at him, knowing that he kicked the door in for extra drama but also knowing that he wouldn't be the one to fix the heel-shaped hole in it either.

Trevor stepped through the door with a flourish. Alfredo stepped in behind him with significantly less of a flourish.

"I have a little something to say!" Trevor opened the cardboard box he was holding and pulled out a plastic IV bag full of blood. Half the room winced. Larry averted his eyes. Matt and Lindsay hid their faces in their hands.

"Surprise. I'm a Daywalker." To make his point, Trevor held the bag to his lips and bit into it like an expensive sausage.

Steffie gasped. "What the fuck," she whispered.

Matt rolled his eyes. "You goddamn drama queen," he mumbled, watching the blood drip down Trevor's chin.

"Ahhh, no—" he started, watching the drips hit the carpet, staining it. Trevor cupped a hand under his chin to stop the dripping.

"Oh ass, oh fuck—" he muttered, mouth full of blood, the mess slowly growing.

He had nearly emptied the bag but most of it was on the floor now or running down his arm. Lindsay stood frozen with a look of pure second-hand embarrassment. Trevor hurried to the kitchenette to stand over the sink.

"Trevor, goddamnit, you fucked up the carpet!" Sarah shouted at him.

"Sorry," Trevor replied, shooting her a grin. She grimaced, turning away quickly. Trevor closed his mouth and ran his tongue along his teeth, stinging with the metallic taste of blood.

Alfredo found him at the sink and took the box from his hand, setting it on the counter carefully.

"Your mouth's still all red, Trevor," Alfredo muttered. Trevor wiped his mouth with his hand, only succeeding in smearing his cheek with blood.

"And now I remember why I never get blood bags," he mumbled.

Alfredo laughed lightly. He reached over Trevor and pulled a few sheets of paper towels from the counter. He gently took ahold of Trevor's arm and wiped away most of the blood, leaving Trevor to finish his meal and toss the empty bag in the trash can.

"Are you always this messy?" Alfredo asked.

He ran the paper towels under the sink for a second and moved to clean his mouth. Trevor stood speechless as Alfredo delicately wiped at his lips. Their eyes met and he felt Alfredo's heart rate jump.

Trevor always liked being in control of the situation. He liked knowing exactly where things were going to go. But with Alfredo he couldn't always tell. The man was a wild card. And he loved it.

"No, I like to keep clean," Trevor said, voice just above a whisper so only they could hear. Alfredo was still staring at him, his hand hovering just below Trevor's mouth.

Trevor reached out and grabbed Alfredo's wrist, guiding his hand to the edge of the sink and pinning it there. He kept eye contact, that way he didn't have to focus on anything else. Just them. Just the way he moved just so, trapping Alfredo between the counter and him.

Alfredo abandoned the paper towel, his grip loosened by Trevor's touch. He leaned back, his hips bumping against the counter. His breaths were heavy in the space between their chests. Alfredo broke their gaze to chase a drop of blood trailing down Trevor's neck.

He wiped the blood away with his thumb and let his hand bridge the gap between their faces, his knuckles brushing Trevor's nose as he licked the blood off his finger, staining his tongue darker. Trevor's grip tightened. His eyes turned to molten gold, the shimmering, dusty light swirling in his irises.

Alfredo wrapped his fingers around Trevor's collar and pulled him forward so hard he knocked Trevor's forehead against his own. Trevor kept his eyes on Alfredo, knowing he was probably smirking but not trusting himself to be able handle that.

"Seems you're not so scared of blood, eh, Collins?" Alfredo whispered, giving Trevor a wink.

He gently pushed him away, Trevor giving in immediately and nearly stumbling back a few steps. Alfredo slipped away, leaving Trevor with the sound of a loud, thumping heartbeat in his ears that wasn't his own and shaky, heavy breaths that were.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Matt was somehow both surprised and not by the fact that no one else in the office seemed to notice whatever just happened by the coffee maker. It didn't bother him that they all seemed totally on board with Trevor's Vampire-ness. It didn't phase him at all that what Sarah really found issue with was his apparent lack of sympathy for the carpet.

No no, what Matt was unabashedly ticked off by was the fact that he was the only one in a room of over a dozen people who noticed Trevor and Alfredo almost make out in the shitty little kitchen where they kept the perishable snacks and the good coffee.

Almost

being the word he put stress on.

Trevor was now wiping up the excess blood from the sink and taking very deep breaths. His eyes were firmly on the task at hand.

Alfredo was sitting at his desk and bouncing his leg up and down while he clicked through piled up emails. His gaze was torn between his monitor and Trevor's slightly reddened dress shirt, all that he could see behind Matt's head. His cheeks were flushed and his hand kept coming up to touch his lips, although Matt decided that part was subconscious.

He pretended he didn't notice for the sake of both his and Alfredo's dignity. Last time

he

had tried to kiss a Vampire it hadn't gone well either.

Lindsay turned in early that evening. They left the office with a cheery goodbye to everyone and a promise to bring in some spackle for the poor dented door in the morning.

Matt left a mere five minutes later and no one questioned. They never did. Because it wasn't weird.

What was weird was their side job hunting Vampires and other supernatural creatures for a huge stack of cash that they could easily get from a side heist with the crew. Matt guessed they had just gotten roped into the thrill of the supernatural.

It still surprised him how they'd managed to keep it a secret from Trevor the entire time. Technically they'd never lied by telling him their side-job was bounty hunting. Technically they'd never lied when they told him their interest in the Supernatural was a hobby. Technically.

Lindsay had decided that they would be taking a much more active role in their jobs until Matt's arm healed. He wasn't complaining. After all, Lindsay was the one who got him into the hunting business anyway.

It was a simple job. Find the Vampire, hunt them down and apprehend. Wait for pickup. Easy.

Lindsay hadn't planned for a Lads' Night Out.

They were downtown, the sun just having set over the city and the purple glow of early evening quickly turning to the blue of night. Matt was navigating, trying to decipher the confusing info Lindsay had been texted an hour beforehand. Lindsay was squinting at street signs and following Matt's directions so it really wasn't their fault.

Their target was loitering outside a bar, one of the nice ones. She was decked out in denim and leather, a pair of silver sunglasses atop her head. She noticed them approaching and pushed off the wall she had been leaning against. Her long, wavy hair fell in dark waves over her shoulder. She had a suspicious look in her eyes, like this sort of thing happened all the time to her. The Vampire had decades of sorrow and bitterness in her eyes. A heavy, cold stare that stopped them both in their tracks.

Matt didn't move, didn't speak. Lindsay did the same. This Vampire felt old. Ancient. Like the Moon Dominion herself. She watched them with hazy green eyes, reached into her pocket and flicked open a metal lighter. The small flame reflected off her eyes, gave them a hellfire glow. Lindsay slid their foot back, ready to run.

The Vampire plucked a rolled joint from behind her ear and lit it. Matt stared at the flame, at the red ember glow and the smoke and her fangs as she opened her mouth to smile at them.

She took a long drag from her blunt and flicked the stub onto the sidewalk. Matt flinched as she brought down her boot and crushed it beneath her toes, twisting and scuffing until it was just a pile of ashy dust.

"The fuck d'you want?" she snapped, voice gravelly and full of fury.

Lindsay sighed. "Nothing really. But we all got a job to do, bills to pay. You know how it is," they said.

"You're with them.

The Agency,"

the Vampire guessed. Matt nodded.

"Tell 'em to go fuck 'emselves or I'll gladly do it for 'em," she replied. That got a snort out of Lindsay. Not quite a laugh but an affirming noise nonetheless.

"Lemme guess," the Vampire began. "Y'all don't even know my name. They just tell ya where to find us and we get hunted down like dogs. Ya know that ain't right."

Lindsay nodded, their mouth still closed and silent. It wasn't like them to not say a word.

"But here you are, doin' their dirty work. Tell me," she stepped forward, a flash of movement and hands and then Lindsay was pinned to the wall by their arms. They gasped, the air punched out of their lungs by the force.

"D'you

really

believe what they tell ya?"

Matt jerked forward, moving to try— something, anything, they couldn't die like this, they couldn't get turned. Think about what happened to Trevor, how much he hated it at first—

"Ya take one more step and I'll rip both your hearts out," the Vampire growled, flicking her eyes sharply over to Matt.

Matt froze. Lindsay's eyes were wide with fear, their hands too far away to grab the golden dagger.

"Now y'all listen to me, cuz I'm only sayin' it once," the Vampire hissed, her fangs bared.

"We are

people,

for fuck's sake. Stop treatin' us like we're invasive."

The door to the bar opened then and three very angry people stepped out. Matt swiveled around and came face to face with the Lads of the Fake AH Crew.

Michael was glowering, his teeth bared and his fleece-lined jacket hanging off his shoulders. He cracked his knuckles, taking one menacing step forward.

"You get the fuck away from them or I'll bash your head in, you fucker," he spat, fingers balled into fists.

Jeremy was at his side, switchblade at the ready and Gavin was fiddling with his own lighter like it was second-nature. The flame flickered against the gold rings he wore.

The Vampire rolled her eyes, a performance that was lost on all but Lindsay. She dragged Lindsay off the wall and pushed them towards Michael.

"Ya mind your own damn business and we'll mind ours. It's called coexistence." She flipped her sunglasses down over her eyes and turned, leaving in an instant, faster than a blink.

Matt let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Lindsay stumbled over to Michael and buried their face in his jacket.

"Lindsay we're fucking quitting, I swear," Matt mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. "We have to."

Michael didn't say anything and no one mentioned how awfully scared they were by the Vampire.

Alfredo stayed late at work. Not because he had to. His work hadn't changed, no increase of little jobs since had Trevor officially benched Matt, although he didn't actually enforce it. Alfredo stayed late because he hated to confront people in public and because Trevor was a bit of a workaholic.

"Trevor?" he knocked on the door to Trevor's office.

There was a thumping and a whispered curse before Trevor swung the door open with a smile.

"Hey," he said.

Alfredo slipped past Trevor and into his office. "So, the debrief went well, huh?" Alfredo said, glancing around the room.

"Yeah. It did." Trevor closed the door behind him and went back to his desk. "I'm only happy the team's okay with my— with me," he said softly.

"I think, deep down, we all knew there was something weird in this city," Alfredo admitted.

"And we know you won't hurt us."

Trevor smiled mirthlessly. "Yeah, of course."

Alfredo came around the back of Trevor's chair and put his hands on the headrest. Trevor tried to ignore him, finishing up one last email before he called it a night.

"So, I'm gonna go ahead and assume we aren't going to talk about it," Alfredo said.

Trevor froze, his fingers hovering over the keys.

"I was under that impression as well," he replied curtly. He felt a pang in his chest at the way they both spoke, so painfully impersonal. Alfredo drummed his fingers on the chair. They both knew he was talking about. The incident in the kitchen earlier.

Alfredo could still feel Trevor's breath against his cheeks. When he closed his eyes all he saw was that golden glow.

"Well, if you ever do want to— you know, if we could—" Alfredo stumbled over his words, trying to find just the right way to say what he felt.

"Maybe we could meet for lunch tomorrow?" Trevor suggested, letting Alfredo fall silent.

"Sure, that sounds good," he said, smiling to himself. The ache in his chest, the tightness he had felt lessened. Trevor reached up and patted Alfredo's hand reassuringly.

"Don't sweat it, Fredo, things happen."

Alfredo sighed, relief sweeping through him. He had really hoped that what had happened in the kitchen wouldn't affect their friendship. Yes, friendship. Trevor himself had said they were and Alfredo? Well, he wanted that, he thought.

A new city, a new job, new and exciting revelations about what lie beneath the surface of Los Santos. He'd been bombarded by all of this and yet Trevor had been a constant. He was supportive and understanding and more than a little attractive, though Alfredo was reluctant to admit that for more than a passing moment.

If anyone could help him adjust to Los Santos, it was going to be Trevor.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Michael paced the room, his hands clenching and unclenching in the fingerless gloves he wore, the ones that matched Lindsay's.

"How could you go and yourself mixed up with

Vampires,

Lindsay?" he said with disbelief. Lindsay shrugged.

"To be honest, I was doing this way before I met you," they said.

Jeremy and Gavin were seated across from Lindsay and Matt who were both looking quite sheepish.

"But you're okay? You've never been hurt?" Michael asked, distress and concern now overpowering and annoyance.

Lindsay smiled. "Not any more than I've been hurt doing heists," they assured him. "Michael, it's okay. I think Matt and I have known something's up for a while. We both just needed an excuse for quitting."

"Yeah," said Matt. "Were out. For good. I never really liked the whole chasing Vampires thing anyway. And they aren't even the worst of what lives in this city," he said with a shudder.

"I guess I just like the Supernatural, y'know? And this was an easy in."

Lindsay got up and put their hands on Michael's shoulders. "Thank you for helping us out. And it's over now. No more scary Vampires to worry about."

"Except Trevor," Gavin mumbled.

Lindsay glared at him. "Gavin Free, you take that back right now," they growled.

"Hey hey, I didn't mean it like that. He's not that scary," Gavin conceded.

"All I meant was that he's probably the only Vampire you'll be seeing now."

Michael pinched his nose. "And about that... Can someone please explain?" he groaned. Matt's face lit up. He pulled out his phone, jumping up from the couch and smiling at Michael.

"I'm so glad you asked! I can finally put this Google Doc to use! Look, I compiled all we know about Vampires here, in this chapter."

He showed his phone to Michael, all the info on Daywalkers and Vampires helpfully written out for his own use as well as any aspiring Agency members or vigilante monster hunters.

Michael got lost in the document, his eyes glazing over as he scanned the words.

"This shit is crazy," he mumbled. Matt relented his phone to Michael, sitting back down sandwiched between Gavin and Lindsay.

"Well, that's that. I can't believe we can finally go back to having one job. No more late night calls, no more trying to resist Intimidation, no more gold bullets and silver daggers." Matt closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh.

"In all honesty, fuck the Agency," Jeremy said, his voice the only noise in the quiet room. Michael had almost forgotten he was there. He hadn't said a word until now.

"Fuckin' preach," Lindsay muttered, sending Jeremy a wink.

The next morning, Trevor had gone into work hoping for a nice, relatively normal workday. Not so, said the universe, apparently.

"Alright, so let me get this straight. You're a Vampire. Who can walk in the sun and not get burned to death." Sarah was leaning over the back of a chair and peeking over the monitor at him.

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He was quickly giving Kent's station updated clearance accesses and that required his admin passwords and other insanely rote duties.

"A Daywalker, yes," Trevor said, clipped and professional. This was the third time that morning that he had been bombarded by questions.

Not that he wasn't overjoyed at the prospect of his team being not only accepting but also curious. But his attention being focused on them seemed to have dissuaded Alfredo from approaching him all morning.

He had a short stack of files in hand and had been wandering around the floor pretending to be occupied. Trevor had caught his eye numerous times over the few hours he'd been in. It seemed like Alfredo had been staring at him while he thought Trevor wasn't looking.

"And you only feed on willing humans?" Sarah asked. She glanced down at her hand for a moment. Trevor got the impression that she had a whole list of questions to ask scrawled there in ballpoint, but he couldn't see her hand to confirm.

Trevor snorted. "That's not a requirement but it is human decency. So yes, I do."

Sarah nodded, like she was jotting down notes. Trevor discreetly peeked under the monitor to make sure she wasn't.

"Can you eat human food? Wait, I've seen you eat lunch..." Sarah trailed off, ignoring Trevor's terribly concealed sigh. He closed out of his tabs and sent Kent's computer to sleep.

"Do you bleed? I thought Vampires had blood. But you fell off the warehouse and were fine." Sarah was essentially talking to herself at this point. Trevor stood up and strode down the aisle between the desks, hoping to make a swift escape to his office.

"I wasn't fine," Trevor growled, rolling out his shoulder for good measure. He had healed okay and nothing hurt anymore but he had to make sure all his joints and bones worked properly.

"You looked okay—" Sarah started, darting around the desk on the end and falling in step with Trevor.

"I broke six different bones, Sarah," Trevor snapped, turning on his heel and facing her, teeth bared.

Sarah closed her mouth with a click of her teeth. She rubbed her arm sheepishly and sent him an apologetic look before turning around and heading back towards her own desk.

"Why don't you have blood?" A voice piped up from the desk beside him. Trevor shot a sidelong glance at Ashley, who had been watching his increasingly annoyed body-language but apparently had a blatant disregard for it.

Trevor sighed. "I don't know," he admitted, sounding more tired than anything at this point.

Ashley frowned. "You don't—"

"You know what? I can't answer all your questions," Trevor said, throwing his hands in the air. "I'd love to, really, but I can't. Why don't I... Send you Matt's nifty Google Doc? He's got a lot more information on there. Apparently it's a hobby but at this point I don't know what to believe."

Matt had sent it to him earlier, with no context, but it put everything into a different kind of light. He had wondered for hours about why Matt had so much info on the Supernatural and he'd come to a few conclusions. One of which he didn't want to follow all that closely. He was content pretending that Matt was just a nerd.

"Oh. Okay." Ashley gave him a small smile, didn't ask when or how he'd send it. He would, she knew that. If Trevor was anything he was reliable.

"I should forward it to the whole office," Trevor added under his breath, more of an afterthought or a reminder.

"Yeah, you should," Larry interjected from a few desks down. His eyes were still trained on his monitor but his headphones were hanging around his neck and not his head so Trevor knew he had been listening. To everything.

"I'm really glad you're all taking this so well, all of you," Trevor said, smiling with relief.

"I mean. It's not like you've changed, right?" Ashley said with a shrug. "We've always known you like this and you being a Daywalker doesn't change anything. You're still our boss and our friend."

"And we always knew you were a little weird," Larry added.

"Thanks, Larry," Trevor said, sighing.

"You're welcome," Larry answered, still focused on his screen.

Trevor's attention suddenly snapped away from them, an itch in the back of his mind. Something wasn't right. He glanced around, scanning the office. "Have either of you seen Alfredo?" he said, worry creeping into his voice.

Ashley shook her head. "Not recently. I know I saw him earlier, though.
I wonder where he went. We've been missing people a lot lately. Matt and Lindsay called in absent today, Alec's still on bed rest. If I see him I'll send him to your office, though, you need the help."

Trevor frowned, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. "Thanks. You know where to find me," he said distractedly. As he walked away, he scanned his memory to try to recall if he had seen Alfredo leave, and if so, where to.

Trevor was in the storage closet trying to find a new stack of card stock for his printer. The shelves hadn't been organized in months and it was a task trying to get anything. He had stopped looking for Alfredo after his third sweep of the entire building had come up clean. Alfredo had definitely left. A possible emergency or an early lunch.

But they had planned to eat together today. Trevor's face scrunched up in a worried frown.

Had something bad happened to Alfredo? Trevor forgot his search for paper and began pacing the length of the closet, his hand clasped together and tight around one another. His fingernails dug crescents into the backs of his hands.

Trevor's attention sharpened at the sound of sudden footsteps, heavy on the carpeted floor, thumping towards him. Trevor stopped, frozen in place. He slowed his breathing and turned towards the door. It opened, a figure darting inside, and closed just as quickly. Someone fumbled against the wall and flicked the light switch off, plunging the closet into near-darkness.

Trevor squinted in the dim light, his eyes adjusting quickly.

Alfredo was making his way closer, feeling in the dark with his hands outstretched. Trevor went to meet him, catching both his hands and clutching them close to his chest. Alfredo's mouth was slightly parted in an effort to quiet his heavy breathing.

"Fredo, what—" Alfredo shushed him, his expression rapidly turning to fear. Trevor gazed at him, trying to figure out what was happening.

Trevor led Alfredo to a back corner of the closet and sat him down on a container of old electronics.

"Fredo, what is going on?" Trevor whispered.

"I think we're gonna have to reschedule lunch."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor frowned.

"What do you mean? Where did you go, are you alright?" Trevor whispered, his urgency translating into a hissy tone of voice.

Alfredo nodded, grabbing onto Trevor's hands a little tighter. His eyes were blown wide and had a hanging sort of far in them, something Trevor hadn't seen before and frankly never wanted to again.

"Y-yes, I'm okay. I went out to get some air, I felt stuffy in the office." Alfredo carefully slipped his hands out of Trevor's grasp and scrubbed at his face.

"And I mean we're going to have to reschedule because I'm pretty sure I just led an armed rival gang into our office."

Trevor was silent. His mind was running through a million different scenarios, each one worse than the next. But he knew Alfredo didn't do it on purpose. People with guns were terrifying.

"Alright, who's out there?" Trevor asked, shutting down into strictly work-mode. He needed full concentration if he was going to get his team out of this alive. From the silence outside, he assumed it had turned into a hostage situation. Trevor imagined his team huddled under their desks at gunpoint. His hands clenched into tight fists.

"Everyone. Except Jarren and Jacob, they went early for lunch. I don't know when they'll be back," Alfredo mumbled. "And Lindsay and Matt, they're out too. And Alec..."

He was clearly blaming himself for this, body language was giving it away. Trevor wanted to reach out, assure him that it wasn't his fault and that they'd be fine but if he did then his focus would only be on Alfredo. He knew it wouldn't do him any good to abandon his team because Alfredo was in distress.

Stupid Daywalker heart.

Trevor nodded stiffly, pulling out his phone and sending a quick text to tell them not to come back, that it was dangerous.

"They have basic combat training, they can handle themselves. How many hostiles?" Trevor asked, turning his phone to silent and sliding it back in his pocket.

Alfredo sat up straighter, schooled his expression. "I noticed three, but there could be more," he said, keeping his voice even and quiet.

"Good, three for now. Hell, Sarah could singlehandedly take them out," Trevor mumbled.

Alfredo fidgeted. He opened his mouth, closed it. Trevor turned to him, an eyebrow raised in silent inquiry.

"I don't think so, Trevor. They're not human," Alfredo finally said, forcing out the words like they hurt.

"Shit," Trevor whispered. "Shit, okay, what did they look like?" he said, trying to keep calm. There were so many possibilities, so many dangerous things that could have found their way into his building. So many things that were threatening his team. An armed gang was bad, but an armed supernatural gang was worse.

"I— um, they were..." Alfredo swallowed, his eyes darting around the dark room. Trevor grabbed Alfredo by the shoulders and gently guided him to look at Trevor.

"Fredo, talk to me," he urged.

"They kept changing. They looked different every time I turned around. I— I didn't know what to do.

What are they?"

"Well. Fuck." Trevor clenched his teeth, trying to keep his fangs in check. A sudden surge of hunger had come over him, not as powerful as before his fall but still. He felt it. And along with the anger that Shifters had the audacity to come into his building and fuck around with guns? He was just about ready to lose it.

"Okay, we pissed them off with our heist prep," Trevor said matter-of-factly. "They're shapeshifters, Alfredo. Face-changers if you want to be an asshole. Those guys at the warehouse, they were all Shifters. Some of them could teleport like—"

"Like the piece of shit who pushed you off the roof," Alfredo finished, his voice just this side of a growl.

"Yeah," Trevor said with a smirk. He liked that Alfredo got so defensive when it came to him.

"So how do we get rid of them?" Alfredo asked.

"We have to send a warning. Killing them is only going to make them angrier, send more after us. We rough them up a bit, send them back with a message. Don't fuck with the Fakes or we'll wipe you out."

"How do we do that?"

"Shifters are strong, tough. I don't think you can hurt them enough."

"And you can?" Alfredo guessed. He looked up at Trevor pleadingly with his big, brown eyes.

"I would, but I don't have the energy," Trevor began. "And not to mention—"

"Then eat." Alfredo said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I left all my blood bags at home, Fredo," Trevor argued, exasperation making its way into his voice.

"You can— You can feed off me." Alfredo said it with conviction, although his slight embarrassment wasn't lost on Trevor.

"No."

"Come on, they need you. I don't mind, it's fine," Alfredo insisted, ignoring his own heartbeat starting up a thundering in his ears.

"No. No no no, I don't know what I'd do, what if I lose it again?" Trevor mumbled, shaking his head.

"You won't. I'll make sure." Alfredo's hand found Trevor's, merely an assuring touch. Trevor pulled away, standing up and taking a few distracted steps away.

"I— I can't, Alfredo. Not now," he pleaded.

Alfredo set his jaw. "Fine. Then I'm going." He stood up and pulled a pistol out of the waistband of his jeans. Trevor started forward even as Alfredo cocked it, turning towards the door.

"You can't hurt them! If you're human, not without iron," Trevor said.

"I'm going to try." Trevor went cold. It swept from his head to his feet, the dread. Alfredo wasn't hesitating to put his own life on the line even in a losing fight. Alfredo started forward, ignoring Trevor's attempts to speak.

"No. Get back here, I won't let you—" Trevor lunged, catching Alfredo by the wrist and pulling him back. With his strength, he didn't need to do much to get Alfredo stumbling backwards into his arms.

"Then eat! Goddamnit, Trevor!" Alfredo writhed out of his grasp, spinning around to face him. Trevor was shocked by how fervently he said it.

"I am

offering!

Your team is in danger. They need you."

"I need you too. But I can't risk hurting you."

Alfredo dropped his shoulders, a look of defeat coming over him. "I don't give fuck about me, Trevor. If they die— if they die because of this—"

Trevor stepped forward, brushing Alfredo's hair off his forehead. "I can't do this to you, Alfredo. I can't hurt you." He said it so tenderly that he could pinpoint exactly when Alfredo's heart rate increased.

"You won't. I know you won't," Alfredo mumbled.

"No." Trevor looked at him. "No, I'll find another way— I'll—"

"Trevor, you have to do this. For them. For

me."

Alfredo gazed at him, his hand reaching over to a nearby shelf.

He set down his pistol, gently, slowly. Trevor opened his mouth to answer but a glint of metal caught his eye. Alfredo was holding a letter opener. It hadn't been used in a long time, not since they'd made the full switch over to email. But it was sharp.

Sharp enough.

He turned it over his fingers, brought the blade down to his other hand. Trevor's eyes widened.

"Alfredo... What are you doing? Don't—" Alfredo dragged the point of the blade along his open plan, cutting a jagged line across the flesh. He hissed with pain, his eyes screwing shut as the wound dripped thick drops of blood onto the floor.

Trevor gasped, the heady scent of blood flooding his senses. He staggered back, putting distance between himself and the shining rivulets of blood trickling down Alfredo's wrist. He had dropped the letter opener, it's silvery surface stained with red. Trevor choked against the growl of hunger in his chest.

He clenched his hands tightly, resisting the pull of the blood. Ignoring the base instinct that made him want to lunge forward and lick Alfredo's arm clean, to tear his fangs into the cut and eat and eat until Alfredo collapsed into his arms, pale and panting, his eyelids fluttering closed even as he tried to keep them open.

Alfredo looked up, through squinting eyes, at Trevor, backed up to the wall with his mouth parted, the tips of his fangs showing between his lips. Alfredo wiped the blood off his wrist and tried to stop any more from dripping onto the floor.

"Please, Trevor." Trevor flinched at the way Alfredo said his name. He dared another glance at Alfredo and saw him lifting up his arm, offering his hand to Trevor.

"Please save them."

Maybe he shouldn't have waited so long. Maybe, at the first chance he got, when Alfredo was pinned under his weight in the middle of the street with a bleeding elbow he should have sunk his fangs into his arm.

Because, god, it felt like he had been missing out.

Trevor had never in his life tasted something more delicious. He was vaguely aware that his eyes were glowing again. He could see the yellow-gold light reflecting off the letter opener on the floor.

Trevor was kneeling on the ground, gripping Alfredo's wrist and holding his hand up to his mouth. He ran his tongue along Alfredo's palm, vaguely aware but uncaring of the sharp breaths he let out when Trevor dug his fingernails into the pulse point on his wrist.

The tips of Alfredo's fingers brushed against his cheek, his thumb ran over the bridge of his nose. It almost felt comforting if not for the heavy fog clouding his judgment. Warm, pulsing blood could never be compared to anything else. It was all that occupied his mind, the taste of it on his tongue, the sting against his lips.

His tongue was pressed flat against Alfredo's hand, catching the flow of blood as it surged forth from the cut. Trevor let his eyes slide shut, the warmth flowing into his mouth and filling his chest. Alfredo jerked his hand, letting out a hiss of pain but Trevor's held his wrist. He was nipping at the edge of the cut, easing it open so it would bleed more.

His cheek was smeared with blood now, drops running down his chin. It was eerily similar to the day before. Alfredo stood on shaky legs, watching as Trevor stared up at him through half-lidded eyes, his warm breath against Alfredo's hand.

He would never admit how hot he found it, but his heavy breathing and flushed face probably gave it away. Trevor dragged his teeth over cut, getting a small grown from Alfredo. He pressed down, hard, and his fangs sunk into the soft flesh.

Alfredo's legs gave out.

He collapsed onto Trevor, leaning heavily against his chest but still trying to keep his arm up. Trevor pulled away with a gasp, quickly gathering Alfredo in his arms and staring down at him, hoping he was okay.

Alfredo looked up and met his eyes, Trevor returning his gaze, the golden light fading quickly. There was blood smearing his cheek and staining his lips a dark red, a small drop ran from the edge of his mouth and down his chin. Alfredo reached up and wordlessly wiped the blood from his mouth, tenderly following the trail from his chin and back up to lips.

Trevor caught his fingers between his teeth. Alfredo's breath caught his throat. His hand was trembling, the wound hadn't fully stopped bleeding. Trevor was looking at him with a warning, a question in his eyes. Alfredo couldn't think of anything else except the fact that it was his blood on Trevor's lips. His blood-streaked fingers almost in his mouth right now.

Alfredo grabbed the back of Trevor's neck and leaned up, their lips meeting in a sloppy, bloody kiss. It was mostly teeth, Trevor eager to return what was supposed to be a chaste kiss. Alfredo held Trevor's cheek tenderly, not minding the sting of his cut on Trevor's stubble.

Trevor tried to speak through heavy breaths, his voice muffled by blood and spit. Alfredo broke their kiss reluctantly but let Trevor talk. He rested his forehead against Alfredo's, hid golden eyes never leaving Alfredo's own.

"Alfredo, I—" he stopped, running his tongue along his lips to try and clean them.

"I need to save my team."

Alfredo blushed at that. He didn't mean to get so caught up in it, it was just that Trevor... Trevor was something else, something that Alfredo needed to work out. He nodded numbly, letting Trevor pick him up and tried not to address the fact that it seemed like Alfredo only weighed a few ounces to him. He was propped against the wall gently and Trevor took the time to brush Alfredo's hair back with a smile and hastily wipe his own mouth with the hem of his shirt.

"I'll be back in a second," And with that, he opened the door and slipped outside.

Alfredo leaned back and knocked his head against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a long groan.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor set off at a sprint down the hall, following the scent of the Shifters. He could hear the quick, fearful heartbeats of his team as he drew closer. They didn't see him coming. One moment he wasn't there, the next he was pulling a Shifter into a headlock, twisting his weapon sharply out of his grasp. The knife he had clattered to the ground and Trevor kicked it away with his foot. The rest of the Shifters, he counted four others, turned to look at him. Three of them had guns. One was holding a large serrated hunting knife.

Trevor growled low in his throat and lunged forward, throwing the other Shifter away from him as he went. His head cracked against the corner of a desk and he slid to the floor, lying still. His hands outstretched, Trevor moved faster than sight, like a blur in the room. He grabbed for the nearest Shifter, latching onto his arm and digging in his fingernails. He yanked the gun out of his hand and sent it to the ground.

The sound of a terrified gasp was what froze him. The click of safety flicked off. Trevor stopped dead. The other Shifter, the one with a gun, was standing tall, his mouth split in a sickening grin. He had the barrel of his gun pressed against Larry's temple. The one with the knife was holding the blade dangerously close to Sarah's throat.

Trevor grit his teeth, not loosening his hold on the Shifter. He clenched his fist around the Shifter's wrists, threatening to snap it like a twig. The Shifter groaned in pain.

"You let them go," Trevor demanded. He tried, but he couldn't keep the waver out of his voice. He didn't know what he'd do if his team got hurt here, in their own building because he wasn't...

Enough.

He thought of Alec, laid up in the hospital and Matt with his arm in a sling.

Alfredo in the storage closet. His hand cut and bleeding. Trevor took a deep breath and stabilized himself.

"Let them go,"

he tried again, his words this time a demand. They were powerful, deep and rumbling through the floor, loud and crisp as they filled the room.

"Let them go."

The Shifters dropped their weapons, their eyes glazing over. Trevor struck. He let go of the Shifter he had, bringing a foot down on his back as he moved forward. He was furious, now, nothing could change that. Fuck sending a message, he was going to kill every Shifter in the room.

Alfredo heard thumps and scraping metal from outside the closet. He cringed at every one, hoping that it wasn't Trevor, wasn't any of their crew getting hurt. He hoped, even if they'd agreed not to kill the Shifters, that he would walk out there to a room full of dead bodies. A sickening thought, Alfredo knew, but in his line of work that term didn't mean as much.

He wanted them to pay for ever even daring to hurt his team. He was still new, hadn't known them for long, but they'd grown on him. He loved them like family.

Alfredo inched towards the door as the thumping and grunts got louder. He cracked open the door and peeked out, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see anything. The coast seemed clear, though, and he was feeling brave.

When Alfredo peeked around the corner of the hall into the main office space he almost regretted it.

Almost.

Trevor had grabbed the Shifter who had the knife, pulling him to his feet by the neck, his fingers digging into his throat. Trevor's eyes were blazing with an almost fiery gold now, his lips pulled back in a snarl. The Shifter was staring at him in mute fear, shaking like a leaf. Trevor glared at the Shifter.

Had anybody ever told Trevor that he was ripped? Alfredo kept his eyes trained on Trevor's triceps as he slowly began to crush the Shifter's windpipe.

The whole room fell silent when Trevor finally let the limp body fall to the ground. His heavy, ragged breathing was all they heard.

He pointed behind him at Alfredo, still timidly hiding half behind the wall, without looking.

"C

o

m

e

h

ere,"

he said, somewhere between a whine and a growl. His eyes were glazed over with gold. Alfredo stumbled forward, half propelled by instinct alone and half by his own

need

to be as close to Trevor as he possibly could in that moment.

Trevor held his hand out as Alfredo approached, beckoning him. Alfredo gingerly placed his hand in Trevor's, the wound on his hand still fresh and stinging.

Trevor took his hand and pulled him closer by his arm.

Alfredo gasped, suddenly face to face with Trevor.

"Hi," Alfredo breathed.

"Hi," Trevor said back.

In Alfredo's defense, it was Trevor who kissed

him.

He'd blame it on the adrenaline. He'd blame it on the rush he got from seeing Trevor decimate an entire room of Shifters. He could blame it on a lot of things but as things stood, he just really wanted to kiss Trevor back.

This time he wasn't craning his neck. This time there wasn't as much blood, but Trevor's tongue still ran over Alfredo's lips like he was searching for it.

It took him a second to trust himself enough to grab ahold of Alfredo's shoulder, but once he did, Trevor didn't seem like he was going to let go. He steadied himself against Alfredo, barely even giving him a moment to catch his breath.

"Okay, I hate to break up a beautiful moment but someone needs to explain," a voice piped up.

Alfredo pushed away from Trevor, his eyes wide. In the doorway stood Geoff Ramsey, flanked by Fiona and Jeremy.

Alfredo almost passed out.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

To say Geoff was pissed off would be a gross understatement. His hands were clenched, whiteknuckle, at his sides. His usually crisp suit was rumpled and creased and to make it all worse Fiona looked like she’d been dragged out of bed for this.

Trevor went still as death.

"Someone care to tell me why those two were making out in a pool of blood?" Geoff asked the room, gesturing at Alfredo and Trevor, who were still looking like a pair of deer in headlights.

Larry shook his head slowly, like he was afraid one of the Shifter would rise up and try to stab him again.

"We're not in a

pool of

—

"

Trevor glanced down, his face reflected in a shimmering red that was seeping into the carpet from one of the Shifters. He didn't remember that…

"Oh, okay, there's a teensy bit of blood!" Trevor admitted, gingerly stepping away from the growing pool and taking Alfredo with him.

"But they started it," he assured Geoff.

Geoff looked at him like he was

this close

to shooting one of them in the head. And Trevor wasn't entirely sure it wouldn't be Geoff himself.

"Trevor," Geoff sighed, so tired and

my god he cared so much.

"Please, just tell me the whole story," he pleaded.

“It’s a long one.”

“I’m used to that,” Geoff shot back.

So Trevor heaved a sigh, wiped the smear of blood off his lips and sat Geoff down a safe distance away from the pile of dead Shifters to tell Geoff

everything.

From Carla to Alfredo being hired, to the heist at the warehouse to just then, when Alfredo had come to hide in the closet with him and the Shifters had threatened his team.

Geoff took the whole Daywalker business surprisingly well. He muttered something about Gavin and all his gold but Alfredo didn't really understand it. He was still reeling from that second kiss.

And the fact that most of his thoughts were some version of

"oh my god oh my god I want to kiss him again and again and again"

and Alfredo didn't have time to unpack all of that because Geoff was looking at him and moving his mouth which probably meant that he was asking a question.

"Diaz? Diaz, I'm talking to you," Geoff said, snapping his fingers in front of Alfredo's face.

Alfredo startled out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yes, Mr. Ramsey?" Alfredo said, his eyes wide. From Alfredo's side, Trevor snickered behind his hand.

"I just needed to know if you're hurt," Geoff said, sounding tired beyond words. Alfredo clenched and hid his cut hand behind his back.

"No sir, I'm not hurt," Alfredo lied. He noticed Trevor still beside him.

"Geoff nodded. If he suspected anything, he didn't think it was important enough to bring up.

"Well, I'm gonna keep Trevor a little longer to help work out this whole shifter business and plan better security. I want you home

ASAP.

Fiona or Jeremy will take you, just to avoid any tails."

Geoff paused.

"Oh, and nobody comes back into work until we know it's safe. So stay home."

Alfredo didn't move.

"Well, Diaz, you're dismissed."

Alfredo took a deep breath and glanced at Trevor.

"If I might, Mr. Ramsey, I'd like to stay until I can go home with Trevor. He and I have things to discuss," Alfredo said confidently.

Trevor turned on his heel and tried to flee, much to Alfredo's disappointment. In a moment, Alfredo had a hold on Trevor's sleeve and didn't consider letting go to be an option. Geoff grumbled to himself and left them alone, waving his hand dismissively at Alfredo when he opened his mouth to object.

Trevor yanked his harm away more forcefully than he needed.

"What do you want, Alfredo?" He said, acid dripping off his tongue. Alfredo pulled back like he had been burned.

"No, first you tell me what the hell has gotten into you," he demanded. Trevor's complete one-eighty caught him off-guard. It stung.

"Nothing's gotten into me," Trevor started. "I just came to my senses." He spoke quietly, trailing off like he didn't want to say these things. Alfredo didn't

want

him to say these things either.

So why? It sounded like a

rejection.

"Trevor? Are you— what happened with us, we—" Alfredo tried to collect his thoughts, to put into words exactly what that kiss made him feel, all the nuances that

"oh my god oh my god I

want to kiss him again and again and again"

sounded like on his breath.

"Trevor, I think—"

Trevor slapped his hand over Alfredo's mouth, his fingers covering his nose. He pressed hard, his other hand against Alfredo's neck as he drew himself up, blocking the light with his shoulders.

"No. Don't you dare say that,"

Trevor pleaded, his eyes glistening. But they weren't shining gold.

Trevor blinked, silvery tears falling onto Alfredo's forehead. The tips of Trevor's fingers dug into Alfredo's cheek. Alfredo suddenly realized that he could n

ot breathe.

"I know—

I know what I did,"

Trevor hissed.

But—" and this was when Alfredo's blood ran cold, "I've come to my senses."

He gripped Trevor's hands with his own and wrenched and pried until he let go, his eyes screwed shut in a desperate attempt to contain his own tears. He shoved Trevor away, pushing his chest as hard as he could.

Trevor stumbled back and, as Alfredo turned and ran from the room, he heard a crash. Trevor had fallen against one of the desks and likely knocked the hardware to the floor.

Like he cared.

I've come to my senses.

What the hell did that mean?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor sat surrounded by cracked and shattered monitors, staring blankly at the wall. Alfredo had long since left the room and it didn't seem like he was going to come back. And Trevor certainly didn't blame him. He'd have done the same thing.

Idiot.

What was his problem? The moment things actually start to feel

real

he caves? Trevor bit tongue and dragged himself up from the wreckage. It was a good thing they made regular backups of each station. One of the monitors blinked on, showing an array of colors in distorted stripes.

Trevor kicked the monitor. It folded inward, crunching around his toe.

Alfredo left in a hurry. He pushed open the door to the building and squinted against the late afternoon sun. His eyes stung but he shoved them down. He didn't want to go home, not without Fiona or Jeremy. The last thing he wanted was Geoff Ramsey mad at him.

He stamped his foot and cursed under his breath. It was

frustrating.

He began to pace, fingers flexing and clenching into fists at his sides.

Who did Trevor think he was? He got Alfredo to like him.

Really really like him.

Like him in a soft and gentle way. He wanted to take walks on the beach and spend way too much on a fancy dinner. And he liked him in a 'I let you drink my blood and it hurt but I liked it' kind of way. He wanted it again.

Alfredo wanted so many things

again.

He wanted to be able ro kiss Trevor whenever he wanted to, to let him sink his fangs into his neck whenever he needed.

It hurt, feeling like he'd been used. The second Alfredo wasn't useful anymore Trevor pushed him away.

He wondered, as the same strip of sidewalk passed under his feet again, if he didn't do it on purpose.

He didn't want to believe that Trevor was malicious. He didn't

want

to believe that didn't mean anything to him.

Trevor had been hurt before. Found out that he'd been lied to and used by someone he cared about. Alfredo guessed that if he was in Trevor's position he'd be scared of doing the same thing.

Maybe Trevor thought he was making things better by pushing him away. Avoiding the worst outcome.

And that made a sad, cowardly kind of sense. Alfredo had realized, not so suddenly, that sometimes it felt like he was doing things and he didn't know why and he didn't remember agreeing to it.

Of course that terrified him. It was that special kind of golden glow, that tone of voice, the way he said things—

And what if it kept happening? They'd end up just the same. Another Trevor and Carla, a tragedy to tell. Alfredo didn't want to be a tragedy.

But he’d always

known

that something was up. He’d always seen that glow and pushed back against the Persuasion. He could do it. They could both do it together. They’d be okay if he could get Trevor to sit down and talk with him.

Trevor had said it without thinking. He had assumed— because he was weak and scared and there is nothing wrong with that— that there was no other way. No way to stop his history from repeating. He couldn't think, in that one crucial moment, of a better way to say "I am sorry, because I want this but I am scared of it all going wrong and that last thing I want is to hurt you."

And now, after he had stewed in his own mistakes, he wanted to try. He'd put everything into it, into making sure it would be better this time.

He

had

come to his senses.

Fiona was leaning against the wall in the hallway as Trevor headed out of the building. He stopped, watching Fiona balance a knife on her finger.

"I'll let you know right now, Trev, it's gonna be worth it," she said cryptically.

Trevor smiled.

"Yeah, I think it will," he replied.

Alfredo looked up as the door opened, stared for a second at Trevor as he paused in the doorway. He hadn't expected Alfredo to stick around. With a deep breath, he closed the door and said his piece.

"You don't need to say anything," he started, putting up a hand as Alfredo opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't— I didn't mean what I said and it came out wrong. The truth is I don't want to end up like Carla.

I know

you know that."

He chanced a step closer to Alfredo, holding out his hands gently.

"I like you, Alfredo. I do. And I want to do things better."

Alfredo sighed, uncrossing his arms. He took Trevor's hands and squeezed them tightly.

"Trevor, would you like to meet me for dinner tomorrow night? There's a nice place by the pier with a view of the water," he said, flicking his eyes from their hands to Trevor's face.

"Um— yeah, yes. Of course. How’s seven?"

Alfredo cracked a smile. "Seven's good. I'll see you then," he said, slipping his hands out of Trevor's grasp and turning away.

"Hey Alfredo?" Trevor called. Alfredo turned his head, eyebrows raised.

"You'd be making me blush right now if I could," he said, grinning. Alfredo stood speechless, his own blush creeping across his face. With a huff, he hurried around the corner of the building to his car.

Trevor stood watching that spot until Jeremy peeked his head out the door and asked if Alfredo was heading home yet.

Trevor was in a daze all that night. He was excited already, and no doubt that excitement would build during the next day. He had a

date.

More importantly,

Alfredo

had asked

him.

What was he going to wear?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Alfredo was sure that if he'd been at work he wouldn't be getting anything done. It was four in the afternoon and he was already panicking. For fuck's sake,

he'd

been the one to ask!

It was a good opportunity, though. He and Trevor needed to talk things through. And who knew, maybe at the end of the night things would be better and Alfredo could get another kiss. Or two. Or more.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed and staring into his closet when he felt his face flush. He wasn't going to last if just

thinking

about Trevor made him blush.

He wondered how dressed up Trevor would get. Would he dress casual like he did back at the club? Would he wear a tie?

What kind of thing did he usually wear for a date? On that note, what did

Alfredo

usually wear for a date? It's been so long he didn't really know what would be best.

Maybe he should just dress for the restaurant. It was kind of fancy. It had outdoor seating and waiters wearing suits.

Should he do something different with his hair? Did he have

time

to do something different with his hair?

Six thirty rolled around and Trevor had been standing in the shower for ten minutes. He had spaced out the second he noticed the dried blood on his hands washing down the drain. That had taken his mind back to—

Black hair and dark eyes

—

Sweet, warm blood smeared across his lips

—

A smile, the way his breath felt against Trevor's cheeks

—

Trevor stepped out of the shower and grabbed blindly for a towel. He pushed his hand through his hair, slicking it back. A look in the mirror told him

yes, absolutely go with that.

He dried off and styled his hair, combing it back just so.

He couldn't possibly show up to his date in his regular attire.

No.

He had to make a statement. Show that he gave a shit what Alfredo thought of him. And he

really

gave a shit. Especially after he fucked it up so badly the last time he opened his stupid mouth.

Seven rolled around and Trevor sat on the hood of his car in front of Alfredo's apartment building. He was tossing his keys over and over, listening to the jingle of the metal suspended in the air. His gaze stayed trained on them as they went up, again. Again. Gone.

With a start, Trevor looked up into Alfredo's grinning face. He spun Trevor's keys on his finger, tilting his head to the side.

"So much for super senses, huh?" He teased. "I didn't even think it was possible to sneak up on you."

Trevor grinned, a little guiltily.

"You looked lost in thought," Alfredo said. He sat down next to Trevor on the hood. "Something on your mind?"

Trevor grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, almost nose-to-nose.

"You," Trevor whispered. Alfredo smiled.

"What a coincidence. I was just thinking the

same thing,"

he said. He dropped the keys into Trevor's hand and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Let's get going, yeah?" He said. Trevor got up in a flustered haste, Alfredo following suit. They sat in the car in silence on the way to the restaurant. It was a quiet, safe kind of silence. It felt nice not to have to talk.

The sun was setting beautifully over the ocean when they arrived. Trevor's hair reflected the light like a golden-orange halo. Alfredo recalled the way his eyes lit up just the same. He liked the way Trevor looked at him when that beautiful light danced across his cheeks.

Alfredo had had the foresight to reserve them a table. He wasn't going to wait all evening.

A nice looking hostess with a very convincing fake smile showed them to a small table on the balcony directly overlooking the water. Trevor stared out over the gentle waves, breeze rustling his hair.

As they sat down, Trevor's attention was drawn from the waves. Alfredo had his head propped up on his hands, eyebrows raised. He looked like he was waiting.

For what, Trevor could guess.

He didn't say anything yet. His thoughts were still swirling around in his head and he didn't know if they'd come out right. He thought about, however, what he'd say word-for-word as he heard a pair of soft footsteps approaching.

Alfredo glanced sharply up at the waiter who greeted them. He seemed on edge about everyone except Trevor. It didn't sit right with him. He felt guilty and it didn't make sense.

Alfredo smiled as the waiter filled their glasses with cold water, a few well-placed words about specials as he handed them menus.

Trevor scanned the menu with disinterest. It didn't matter much to him, anyway. Maybe he'd order something for Alfredo and let him take it home for later. The gentle background chatter of the restaurant nearly lulled Trevor to sleep as he watched Alfredo.

A pair of eyes peeked at him from over the top of his menu. Trevor started.

"Nothing to eat, Trevor?" Alfredo prompted. Trevor shrugged.

"Food doesn't taste good anymore," he said honestly. Alfredo visibly deflated at that. He seemed crushed. Trevor found it sweet, that Aflredo felt so much for that little something.

"Doesn't matter much to me anymore, blood's delicious," he added in a stage-whisper.

Alfredo cracked a smile at that.

"Sure seems like it is," he mumbled. Trevor choked on his tongue. Alfredo grinned.

"I'm just teasing. Helps me calm down," he said.

Trevor leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.

"Are you still shaken up from the Shifter attack?" He asked. Trevor wasn't exactly sure whether he expected an honest answer, but Alfredo shrugged, turning his eyes away.

"Yeah, a little bit. I've never liked to be followed like that, but then three guys show up looking

different,

it's—"

He sighed. "I'm okay now, though."

Trevor nodded. If he ever saw another Shifter in his life he'd rip his throat out.

Trevor didn't really pay attention when they were ordering. He was running autopilot, his mind still wandering, thoughts drifting back to

'I want to do this right,'

and

'I can't hurt him.'

"Hey, Fredo?" He asked. Alfredo looked up at him. The sun was setting in a blaze of deep oranges and almost red. It lit up his hair from behind like a halo of fire.

"I'm sorry."

Alfredo stared at him, something new and different in his expression.

"Thanks," he said, reaching his hand over the table, palm up. "I know."

Trevor tentatively placed his own hand on top of Alfredo's. Their fingers closed around each other and Trevor could feel the warmth flowing outward from Alfredo's palm.

"And I know it's been bad in the past. But I'm not the past, you know? I didn't like hearing that," Alfredo continued.

“I know that now. I’ll do better. I can be better.” Trevor smiled sweetly at him. "You are a bright and shining future," he said, sighing.

Alfredo blushed.

If anything, that moment was one of the closest to contentment Trevor could pinpoint in his life. Sunset coloring the sky, a breeze carrying cool air across the coast and Alfredo sitting in front of him, holding his hand and smiling, hopeful and kind and full.

And then, in the space of barely a minute, his stomach dropped and that moment of contentment left.

Trevor's phone chimed in his pocket. The hairs on his neck stood on end, the distinctive tone putting him on edge. It was Jeremy's emergency text sound.

Trevor's hands flew to his pocket and even though he mourned the loss of Alfredo's warmth, he couldn't think straight. Panic was setting in, even before he read the message.

Jeremy: Shifters are prowling the city. Get home.

Trevor went cold. They'd be dead for sure if the Shifters found them. He wouldn't put it past them to already know the Fakes faces if not names. Word got around fast in the supernatural world.

Jeremy: NOW.

Trevor stumbled out of his seat, grabbing Alfredo's hand clumsily as he went. Panic was cemented in his bones now.

"We have to go right now, it's not safe," Trevor said in a hurry. Alfredo jogged to keep up with him. “Shifters again.”

"Are they back, have they found us?" Alfredo asked just as hurried and frantic as Trevor. He wove between the tables, footsteps firm as he took them to the front exit.

"No, not yet, but we don't know how soon they might," he muttered.

Alfredo jumped ahead of him and pushed the door open.

"Then let's get going, I'd rather not run into them," he said. He headed for the car, his attention focused solely on getting there without interruption. Trevor, on instinct, scanned the area around them.

His ears picked up the sound of footsteps, of breathing, hushed and muffled. He didn't take any chances. Moving forward, he put himself between Alfredo and the noises.

"Alright, no time for that, I'm going to carry you," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Alfredo's waist. He looked surprised but not against it.

"How is that going to be any faster?" Alfredo asked. Trevor grinned.

"Superpowers," he said simply.

Alfredo had seen, and been confused by Trevor's Daywalker speed before. He had seen him suddenly so close— in the blink of an eye right before him. He'd never

experienced

it before.

It was light, a feeling of weightlessness, of being suspended in air. Alfredo had to hang on tight as the wind whipped past his face. Trevor's eyes were blazing with golden light, his gaze focused straight ahead. Alfredo couldn't tell where they were, the blurred lines of color shooting past not being very helpful.

It seemed simultaneously an instant and a year before they slowed. Trevor stumbled to a stop and gently let Alfredo down to the ground.

"Here we are," he said, putting his hands on his hips. Trevor didn't look as if he'd just run several miles. The only tell was how his hair was ruffled atop his head.

"Where are we?" Alfredo asked, looking up at the unfamiliar but expensive looking apartment building they were standing in front of.

"My place," Trevor said easily. He clapped Alfredo on the back and headed for the door.

"Come on, before the Shifters get wise," he added. Alfredo scrambled to follow him, sending worried glances around.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Trevor wished he had food in his fridge.

As things stood, the empty cardboard box of blood bags was all he saw when he opened it. That and a bottle of water.

He frowned. Alfredo collapsed on his couch. Well, takeout it was.

Ha made a quick call to some pizza shop and went to join Alfredo. He was pushing his hair out of its windblown state and trying not to look like he was checking out Trevor's living room.

An arm around his shoulders brought his gaze back down to Trevor.

"Sorry I had to cut dinner short," he said. He really was. If he had his way, they'd spend a lovely evening together.

Although, there was no reason they still couldn't.

"How does pizza sound? Because it's on the way," he said, patting Alfredo's shoulder and pulling him close. Alfredo leaned into his touch and hummed in agreement.

"Pizza's good," he said.

"Do you want to just watch Netflix ‘till it gets here?"

Alfredo visibly relaxed. "Oh, absolutely. I'd love nothing more than to laze around with you all night," he said. Trevor laughed at that, shaking them both.

"I feel the same way," he said softly.

Trevor started to get tired a short while after Alfredo had eaten and they'd settled down to find something new to watch. His eyes kept slipping closed and he nearly dropped his head onto Alfredo's shoulder.

"Hey," Alfredo nudged him gently, "you know we can go sleep if you want."

“No, let's finish this episode," Trevor said through a yawn. Alfredo paused the show, turning to give Trevor an unimpressed look.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

Trevor flicked his eyes away.

"You know, yeah, let's go to sleep," he said. Alfredo didn't miss it. The way he avoided the question. He wondered if Trevor would ever consider feeding from him again.

The only reason, he guessed, that he'd even done it in the first place is because it had been an emergency. He probably had some idea in his head of hurting Alfredo if he did it again.

Trevor leaned against Alfredo, heavy with sleep, as he supported him to the bedroom. Trevor was content to fall on his bed, fully clothed and pass out right there.

Alfredo kicked his foot.

"At least take your shoes off, Trevor," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and doing the same. Trevor clumsily toed off his shoes and rolled over.

"Hey, before I forget," Trevor said. "I was gonna ask you earlier but you were talking to Jeremy a while back, what was that about?"

Alfredo was silent. He flopped down next to Trevor.

"It's great if you're getting more fieldwork," Trevor continued, "I know I hate to sit still for too long."

Alfredo sighed. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"I'm going on a sniping job with Jeremy tomorrow," he said flatly.

Trevor's eyes widened.

"That's great! Dust off your skills— or, well, we all saw you during the heist prep," he said excitedly.

Alfredo smiled. "Thanks," he mumbled. "But, it's—"

Trevor pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"It's what?" He asked

"It's a three-week mission," Alfredo said.

That gave Trevor pause. He was going to miss Alfredo. It hadn't been long but he'd already begun to think of him as an integral part of the team. He was going to

miss Alfredo, his blood tasted so good and the sound of it pumping through his body made him feel powerful

—

"I'll miss you," he said, putting his hand over Alfredo's.

Alfredo grabbed his hand. "Enough about that, I read Matt's google doc about Vampires," he said. Trevor would have loved to say that his attempt at changing the subject didn't work, but it did.

"Any questions?" Trevor asked. Alfredo shrugged.

"Not really, he explained everything pretty well," Alfredo said. "But— well," he shifted.

"How do you make a contract with a Daywalker? Is it like a Devil thing? Do I have to sell you my soul?"

"Uh... Like a Thrall's contract?" Trevor asked.

"Yeah, that thing," Alfredo nodded.

"It's actually really simple. We just have to make eye contact and exchange promises and then we’re bound by the Sun Dominion until we want to dissolve it." Trevor said it like it was the simplest thing in the whole world.

"What do we say? Like, what's your promise?" Alfredo asked, his voice quiet in the dark room.

“I give myself in body and heart,”

Trevor mumbled, his fingers tracing circles on the back of Alfredo’s hand. He felt a pinch at the back of his neck, a shiver that was hot and cold and both all at once.

He could hear Alfredo sigh in the darkness. He could make out the flutter of his eyelashes as he flicked his eyes to Trevor's face, trying to find his gaze in the dark.

"And then what am I supposed to say?" he asked. Trevor heard his heartbeat quicken, felt his hand warm up under Trevor's.

"You say 'I give myself in body and blood.'"

Alfredo shifted under the covers, his feet brushing against Trevor's leg. He turned his head to the side, nose buried in his pillow. His eyes locked onto Trevor's, and found himself unable to look away.

"I give myself..."

Alfredo pulled his hand up to his mouth, taking Trevor's with it. Was this really happening? Trevor stayed frozen in place, afraid that if he moved he might wake up.

Even when Alfredo sat up, pulling Trevor with him, he was in a numb kind of daze. Alfredo's smile brought him back.

That's what always did it.

Trevor clasped his hands around Alfredo's grinning like he couldn't help it.

"In body and blood,"

Alfredo finished, placing a kiss on Trevor's hand. Trevor could feel the fierce rushing of blood in Alfredo's veins.

He could pinpoint the exact moment when they were bound. He could feel it, a sudden shift in the air, a dusty golden glow almost exploded around the room. Alfredo watched the light with wonder, hand pressed to his chest.

"What was that?" he whispered into the new silence. "It's like—" He frowned. "I'm really hungry right now," he mumbled.

Trevor shrugged. "Yeah, we're bound now. You can feel my hunger." The tight excitement in his stomach didn't die down, but now it shifted. From a

waiting

to

wanting.

Alfredo ignored the whole

we're bound now,

business and frowned. "You're hungry. Got any blood bags left?" He asked.

Trevor's eyes settled on the wall behind Alfredo's head. "No." He knew that Alfredo knew that. He knew Alfredo was asking

specifically because

he knew.

"Do you want to—" Alfredo started.

"I'm not doing that again," Trevor snapped. He couldn't.

Alfredo sighed heavily. "I literally just made a Thrall's contract with you. Didn’t we talk about this?"

Trevor felt embarrassment creeping up his cheeks despite his lack of blood. "And?" He muttered.

Alfredo crossed his arms and pouted. "Trevor, listen to me. You are the only one who had a problem with what happened in that closet."

"When I embarrassed myself in front of you and also let you see me murdering people mercilessly?"

Alfredo shrugged. "Yeah, I'm cool. I… It was embarrassing for me too, you know? But I'm not going to say I didn't like it." Alfredo reached out and touched Trevor's leg. He closed his eyes.

He didn't even know if it worked this way, but he tried to send his feelings, his emotions down his arm and through their contact. It felt silly, but he still tried.

"Look. I like you," Alfredo started. He kept going, even when Trevor opened his mouth to protest. "You're really funny and I like watching you do insane Vampire stuff. And I don't know what it's going to take for you to get it."

"I made a contract.

We

made a contract. You're my Thresher now." Alfredo stared into Trevor's eyes. He could see—

and feel

— the golden light washing over him. It was warm and safe.

"I

want you

to feed on me."

Trevor worried his bottom lip between his teeth, caught in silent deliberation. His fangs peeked out from under his lips. "Not gonna lie, that was really hot," Trevor muttered.

"Everything you do is really hot," Alfredo countered.

Trevor leaned forward and buried his face in Alfredo's shoulder.

"Not tonight. I just don't want to do something I’ll regret," he mumbled.

"Okay. Not tonight. But you won't, Trev," Alfredo assured him. "Because you aren't alone. And besides," Alfredo lifted Trevor's head up and cupped his cheeks gently.

"I could take you in a fight," he said cheekily.

Trevor snorted. "We both know that's not true," he mumbled. Alfredo shrugged. "Yeah, but I got you to laugh," he reasoned.

"A snort isn't a laugh, Fredy," Trevor shot back, shoving Alfredo onto his back. He leaned over placing his hands on either side of Alfredo's head.

Alfredo smiled, his eyes soft and open.

"I know. You'll laugh again, though, I know you will."

Trevor sighed and rolled to the side, flopping down next to Alfredo. He scooted closer and put his head on Alfredo's shoulder.

"You're probably right. But not right now. I kinda just want to sit with—" he flapped his hand around— "this new feeling of being bound to someone."

Alfredo nodded.

"It feels nice."

Trevor hummed happily. "Okay, now go to sleep," he said with a smile.

Alfredo woke up in an empty bed. It was a little disappointing, but the sounds of movement in the kitchen reassured him.

He padded into the kitchen, looking around for his jacket, wherever he'd left it. Trevor emerged from the kitchen, a glass in his hand. Alfredo almost asked for some, but when he saw the

color

he resisted.

Trevor raised the glass in greeting.

"A little breakfast," he said. "Found it in the fridge. There's leftovers in there for you, I'm sorry I don't have any other people food."

Alfredo shrugged. "No need to, right?" He spotted his jacket on the back of the couch.

"I think I'll grab a slice on my way out," he said. "I have to go soon."

Trevor set his glass down and approached Alfredo. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Alfredo, gentle and yet Trevor didn't want to let go. He never did.

"So... you're leaving," he said. His words made the jacket on Alfredo's shoulder feel like it weighed a ton. He didn't need to return to reality quite yet. Thinking it, knowing it, didn't hurt as much.

"Yeah. But you'll be fine. It's only about a month. You can last that long without me, right?" He said, keeping his tone light. It took effort.

"I mean…"

.

.

.

.

.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Right?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Three weeks later.

Trevor paced the floor, tapping his phone against his hand impatiently. He had about an hour too much energy sitting under his skin and the only way he could think to get rid of it aside from wearing himself out with Daywalker powers was pacing the arrivals platform at the Los Santos airport.

Alfredo and Jeremy were supposed to arrive any minute. Their plane had landed. All he was waiting for was for them to come through those doors.

Trevor couldn't keep the grin off his face. He knew he looked odd to the rest of the tired people on the platform, but he couldn't care less. He was going to see Alfredo again for the first time in three weeks. Their rare and short phone conversations (that they technically weren't supposed to have) had been barely enough to keep him from tracking them down and tackling Alfredo to the ground.

He just wanted to

hold him.

To feel his warmth, the way his blood pulsed through his body. He wanted to look at him, see his smile, taste the sting of iron on his tongue—

Jeremy stepped through first, the bags on his shoulders weighing him down. Matt hopped up from his seat with excitement, his hands up in the air as he ran to meet his teammate. Jeremy laughed and dropped his shoulders as Matt wrestled the heavy duffle bags off him. He rolled out his stiff shoulders as Matt walked with him to get his suitcase.

Trevor stood rooted to the spot.

Alfredo looked like he was one well-timed blink away from sleep. He stumbled onto the platform, one hand rubbing at his eyes. Trevor may have shocked a few people into disbelief when he rushed forward, using a little bit of his speed to catch Alfredo by the shoulders and wrap him in a hug.

Alfredo managed to hug him back, humming against Trevor's shoulder.

"I missed you," Trevor said. Alfredo huffed out an amused breath, almost a laugh.

"I bet you did," he said. "You gonna let me fall asleep right here? Will you carry me home?" He muttered. Trevor knew he didn't really mean for him to hear but, well, superpowers.

"I will after we get your bag. You're lucky you got Jeremy to carry it," Trevor said.

"I'll hold you the whole way there," he compromised, nudging Alfredo's head up gently.

"I've never been more tired in my life," he grumbled.

Trevor chuckled. "You look like shit," he admitted. Alfredo grinned at him. And,

oh, that smile.

"I missed you so much."

"I did too," Trevor said, and with his arm around Alfredo he walked with him.