Tony was in the car crash again. He was calling for his parents desperately and they, just like always, remained motionless in their seats. The car horn was blasting continuously, his father’s head lying across the steering wheel. They weren’t restrained by their seatbelts this time, their bodies contorted without constraints. “Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! Why are you sleeping?” 

Glass slowly flew through the window as if it were suspended in the air. A sallow light seared Tony’s eyes as it strobed sickeningly. “Mommy? Daddy?”

They both suddenly whirred to life and sat up, whipping their heads around to look straight at Tony. Their faces were pale and eyes an empty black. He screamed and they melted to the floor, vanishing in a dark oozing pit of tar that sucked him down.

Tony was running. Wind whipped in his face as he sped through the forest, tripping over fallen branches and roots, constantly looking over his shoulder. Everything around him was a blur of murky trees and leaves, only moonlight there to guide him. He felt the beam of a flashlight stinging his back. 

“Get back here you little runt!” Rookery’s voice was sharp and clear behind him, the garlic smell of his breath burning under his nose. Tony had to keep running. But just then he felt a quick, painful jab in his back that sent him tumbling to the ground. Dry leaves and grimy mud caked his clothes as he slid over the slick ground. “Gotcha!” he cried triumphantly. Tony turned over to blink up at him, and the man placed his heavy boot on the boy’s stomach. He pressed down, sharp pain shooting through his body. He screamed, his chest heaving as he tried to find room to breathe.

“Look at you, you pathetic brat,” he snarled, shining his flashlight directly in his eyes. “You couldn’t save him, and now you can’t even save yourself.”

“Him?” he whispered almost inaudibly. Suddenly he saw it, a clearing in the thick fog that had encircled the two. He turned his head trying to get a better glimpse of the thing that was lying against a tall, coal-black gangling tree. He squinted, trying to see it through the fog as well as the inky darkness. Rookery sighed impatiently. When Tony blinked, the body was closer than before, almost touching his arm that was stretched out along the mud. The thing was covered in blood; he could barely make out who it was, and the teenager strained his eyes trying to see them. 

He reached out to stroke a finger softly along the being’s cheek, and suddenly he knew who it was. The smooth, pale skin, the sharp jawline, the spiked black hair. “Oh, Rudolph,” he whispered. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he gulped for breath with the man’s foot still on his chest. He tried to reach out for the vampire again, but Rookery wrenched him back, now slapping him across the face, pulling out a stake from his belt. 

“W- wait!” he sobbed, gasping for air. “I- I need to help him! He- he’s my friend! I love him!”

“You pathetic, useless creature,” he growled. “Can’t you see you’ve already done enough? He’s dead, because of you.”

He stood over Tony, raising it up, preparing to drive it through his chest. 

Rudolph came into view from over Rookery’s shoulder. He was crying tears of blood that dripped in thin streams down his pale face. “Why would you do that to me? I thought you were supposed to protect me. You are weak. I never should have trusted a lowlife like you.”

“I- I’m s- so sorry,” Tony was crying now, hot tears trailing down his cheeks, blurring his vision. He watched Rookery bring it down and shrieked as he felt a sharp pierce, the stake running through his heart, a burning pain engulfing him.

Tony woke with a start, screaming. It took him a few seconds to realize he was okay, back in his own room. He threw off the blanket wrapped around his body, clutching his chest. He tried to breathe slowly, but could only gasp for air, hyperventilating. Tears fell down his face, landing on his shirt as he tried so hard to get his breathing back to normal, but each pull of air felt like it had forced its way back out immediately. Then he heard a confused coo from the bed. Oh shit.

“Tony?” the teenager murmured, his head craning to see where the blond haired boy was sitting up, his head in his hands.

“Oh- oh god… I- I’m so, so, so sorry,” he sniffled, turning to look up to Rudolph, wiping his eyes. 

“Are… are you alright?” the pale teenager uttered.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” he sniffled again, “it’s these stupid nightmares I’ve been having since… since forever.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the blond gasping for air until he calmed down, his breaths growing steadier and steadier. When he had wiped a few more tears away, Rudolph sat up and opened the covers. He moved over and pat the empty spot. “Come here,” he murmured. 

Looking at him with red puffy eyes, he gulped and slowly stood up. Tony sat down at the edge and brought his feet up onto the mattress. He flopped down, letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “O- oh,” he breathed as the vampire brought the duvet over the two, pulling it up to their shoulders. Rudolph turned onto his side, propping his head up on his hand, gazing worriedly down at the blond boy beneath him. Tony blushed again; an annoying habit he had gotten himself into when he was with his friend. He prayed that in the dim light Rudolph would not be able to see his red color. 

“You don’t need to tell me about it, but you should know that I’ll be here whenever you want. I don’t care what it is, I’ll be there if you need me. I promise.”

“Th- thank you,” he whispered, turning on his side as well. “Thank you for just being there for me, and thanks for taking me to your birthday party.”

“No problem, mortal. I would have surely died of boredom without you,” he grinned, and just then, Tony remembered something. 

He smacked his head, groaning. “Oh, I completely forgot!” he leapt up, running out into the hallway and down the stairs. He returned seconds later brandishing a large colorful bag with tissue paper overflowing from it. “I got you a birthday present!”

He handed the bag to him, and Rudolph stared at it, dumbfounded. “No one’s ever gotten me a birthday gift before.”

“Seriously? Not even your family?” he cried, gaping at the vampire. 

“Well, once Gregory and Anna knit me a hat, but it was more or less just a mass of yarn in the end, so they gave it to me as a joke. I’d say that didn’t count. I guess birthdays aren’t really a thing we make a huge deal about anymore,” he sighed, looking somberly at his present. “There’s just been too many. I only had a party because I’ve been a vampire for three hundred years. I suppose it’s sort of a milestone.”

“Well, then don’t look so sad about it! This is your first birthday gift in a long time, and you should just open it!” Tony eagerly sat on the bed, biting his lip to keep from smiling too wide at his friend as he watched him pull out the paper cautiously. The first item he pulled out was a record.

“ Beethoven’s Best ? Has this… got anything to do with music?”

“Yeah! We can play it on that over there,” he pointed energetically at the record player in the corner of his room. Turning back to face Rudolph, he gestured to the record in the teenager’s hands. “Would you like me to play it now?”

“Yes,” he grinned at Tony. “That would be lovely.”

The vampire handed Tony the record, who pulled it out of the sleeve. He walked over and placed the disc on the spindle. He moved the needle to the center of the record, the entire player spinning to life, the beginning notes of a symphony sounding throughout the room. The teenager looked back at Rudolph, who was baffled, but smiling. Tony walked over to the bed and sat down again. 

“There’s another thing in there, if you wanna see it.”

The other item in the bag was a smartphone. “Oh,” Rudolph gasped when he pulled it out, recognizing it as one just like Tony’s. He turned the white box over in his hand, running his fingers along the smooth casing. “I- oh, thank you,” he turned back to Tony, smiling widely.

“Well go on, open it!” the blond encouraged him. Rudolph slid the lid off and looked at the phone in awe, breathing in softly at the sight of dark screen. He sat there looking at it for a few minutes until Tony realized the vampire didn’t know what to do. “Here,” he said, reaching for the phone. “I can help you set it up.”

“Ok- okay,” the pale teenagered smiled, his fangs peeking out from behind his lips. Picking up and placing the phone in the mortal’s hand, Tony showed him how to power it on. Rudolph flinched when the screen lit up, filling the dark room with a flood of white light. They got to setting up a password and phone number, and Tony showed him the touch screen buttons, like a flip phone, but Rudolph didn’t know what those were either. Once he had taken him through the entire phone setup, he took out his own smartphone.

“Okay, what’s your phone number?”

“Oh, uhm… here,” he opened up an app with his number displayed on the screen, having already forgotten it. Tony typed the digits in, immediately pressing the “call” button, and laughed loudly when the vampire jumped as the phone rang. 

“Press the green button!” he said, trying to stop laughing. Rudolph jabbed the screen and stared at it when the call was accepted. “Put it up to your ear!”

He stuck out his tongue at Tony and lifted it up to his ear. The teenager yelped when Tony’s voice came clear as day from the device, leaving Tony sprawled out on the bed, clutching his stomach as he doubled over with laughter. 

“That’s not funny! I’m not even used to this weird technology anyway!” Rudolph pouted as Tony’s laughter began to die down. “I hope you’re pleased with yourself.”

“Of course I am. Now I can talk to you when you’re not here.” 

Rudolph smiled so brightly that Tony started to flush all over again, his cheeks growing hot as he looked away, trying to keep his racing heart under control. 

The symphony in the background sounded it’s final notes, ending in silence. When he glanced back up, their eyes met. Rudolph’s gaze flicked down to the blond’s lips for a moment before they looked into each other’s eyes. Tony felt something almost magnetic pull him towards the vampire and he realized he was sitting up and leaning in, watching his friend do the same, his eyes on Tony’s lips. He felt like he was pushing forward in slow motion, cutting through thick air just to get to him. 

Tony closed his eyes, hoping what was about to happen was actually real. But the moment suddenly vanished when an angry sounding introduction to a symphony resonated throughout the small bedroom. The pair jumped apart, giggling nervously. They each looked down and away from each other, not wanting to talk about what had just occurred, thinking the other one was embarrassed.

“I- I should probably get to bed,” Tony murmured after silence had fallen between the two, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have a double shift tonight anyway.”

“Alright,” Rudolph said, placing his gifts down onto the floor. Tony turned to go back to his cot, but he stopped, hesitant to sleep there. He was so afraid his nightmares would come back as soon as he was asleep. He didn’t want to see the vampire harmed again, nightmare or not. “Are you gonna stay here? Are… are you going to be okay on the floor, I mean.” 

Tony smiled at the boy. Rudolph was so kind to him. The blond teenager had never had anyone care so deeply about him like this immortal being he had just met only a few weeks ago. “Umm… I- I-” he began, trying to keep smiling, but his expression faltered and his eyes welled up with tears. He took a shaky breath, and Rudolph noticed the glint of his watery eyes in the dim room.

“Oh,” he breathed, tugging at Tony’s shirt so he would lie down. “Just stay right here. Everything’s going to be okay.”

The blond lay down, his head hitting the pillow with a thump. He turned over on his side, facing the pale boy as tears started to stream down his face. Rudolph moved in close to Tony, wrapping his arms around him. He buried his face into his friend’s chest and sniffed, his worries fading away. He felt so safe in his arms, with the vampire stroking over his hair, gently hushing him.  

“I’m sorry… I’m too sensitive. You must be sick of it by now,” he whispered into the teenager’s chest.

Rudolph’s hand paused in his hair, moving to tilt Tony’s head up, looking worriedly into his eyes. “Don’t ever be sorry,” he affirmed. “You’ve had such an awful childhood, and it’s not your fault Rookery has made you grow up like this. Now you should get some rest. You don’t look like you’ve slept very much lately.” 

“Thanks, Rudy,” he whispered sleepily, smiling to himself when the vampire inhaled softly at the new nickname. Tony snuggled further into Rudolph’s pale, muscular arms, taking in his earthy scent. He closed his eyes tightly, feeling everything around him fade away, far away. He was so safe now. He had everything he had ever wanted right here and now, holding him in their arms. Tony didn’t care that he wasn’t with Rudolph romantically. He was just happy he had such a valuable friendship with him. The blond teenager just wanted to stay like this forever and not have to get up for work; not have to get up for school. Just being in the vampire’s arms was enough for him. Tony didn’t need anything else.

He slowly fell asleep, his eyelids growing heavy as Rudolph held him tighter, reassuring him. The only things he heard were the vampire’s steadying breaths and the quiet crackle of the record player.

＊＊＊

Tony’s alarm blared in the room, a glowing orange light peeking through the drapes. Tony shot up, slamming the screaming thing off. He rolled over, deciding he wanted a few extra minutes to doze in bed until he actually had to get up. He could just pick up the speed on the drive to work. But he turned, coming face to face with the sleeping vampire in his bed. 

While they slept, Tony had come to wrap an arm around Rudolph’s shoulders, who was holding him securely by the waist, both arms circled around him.

 Rudolph looked so peaceful, his perfectly chiseled jaw and cheekbones glinting in the waning afternoon light. His hair was a bit sleep-tousled, sticking out elegantly at different sides of his head. His dark lips were parted from sleep, his breaths coming in and out steadily. He was less intimidating in his sleep; Rudolph always felt nearly unreachable, even when he was so kind to him. Tony couldn’t quite figure him out, which made him all the more frustrated that he couldn’t express his feelings for Rudolph. His friend smiled softly in his sleep and breathed light breaths against the blond’s neck. Chuckling to himself, he saw his friend’s eyelashes flutter and he pulled Tony closer in his sleep. Tony felt a warmth rise to his cheeks and he smiled, lying in his arms for just a moment more before he had to get up.

Hearing the static of the record player sitting in the corner brought Tony back to his own thoughts. He had to get up, he’d be late for work. The blond turned over, delicately sliding out from his friend’s arms. Grabbing his uniform and shrugging into it, he heard Rudolph sigh sleepily into the pillow, reaching out unconsciously to the empty spot where Tony had just been. Tony smiled at the sight and walked over to the tiny bed. He brought the duvet back up to the vampire’s chin, who snuggled into it, a corner of his lips twitching upwards.

Tony ran a hand silently along Rudolph’s cheek, sighing when he heard another soft sound from the vampire. He took out a pen and paper from the bedside table, scribbling something down before glancing at the digital clock. He cursed, realizing just how late he would be. Dashing out of the room, he bounded down the steps, running out the door to the truck. Jabbing the key in the ignition, he sped off, racing down the block, praying his manager would not be too upset.

When he had driven a few streets over, his phone suddenly rang loudly in his pants pocket. He cursed again and pulled over, sliding the phone out of it. Tony smiled when he saw Rudolph’s name on the screen. Answering the call, he brought it up to his ear. 

“Hey, Rudy!” he said loudly, grinning into the phone. 

“Hello,” came a far away, muffled voice.

“You need to come closer to the phone. I can’t hear you,” he bit his lip to keep from laughing. It was just like talking to a grandmother. He supposed Rudolph was old enough to be one, though.

“Is this better?” the boy’s voice came through clearer. 

“Yeah,” he said, smiling again.

“Tony…” 

“Yeah?”

“How- how come you left?”

Tony’s throat tightened and he stared out at the road blankly. “Uhm, I had to go to work. Double shift. Remember?”

“Oh… right…” the vampire breathed lightly into the phone. “You… you left me a note telling me to call you. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I… I was just wondering… I mean,” he blew out a breath, running a hand through his hair. He could already feel color rising in his cheeks. “I thought you’d wake up later and call. I… wanted to know when you’ll be back again.”

Rudolph chuckled into the phone. “I probably should have mentioned that… I might not be back for a while… Frederick will definitely be angry that I left my own party early. He was already cross with me when we arrived; you saw.” 

“Oh… I- I guess I’ll see you then.”

“Alright, mortal. Good night.”

“‘Night,” he murmured, a pit growing in his stomach as he ended the call. He would have to go a long time without seeing his friend, and Tony didn’t think he could handle it. But he pulled the truck back onto the road, speeding down the street to see if he could make it to the store in record time.