Time for a vampire AU

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo's probably left it a little too long this time. He's pale and jittery, and his bones are aching. He should have let Ashley know he was drained quicker. He should've gone back out again sooner.

He's at a club that's known for having a lot of people willing to (or actively interested in) being fed on, trying to hold it together and find someone. He doesn't want to have to go back home and live on synth blood. Ashley would certainly not like. But even less does he want to feed on someone without consent, even if he doesn't take much. The few times he has, it's left him feeling awful.

Thankfully, it's not that difficult to find a guy who's into it, and who looks like he's got a lot of blood to spare. They go outside and off to the side of the building, and he lets Leo feed on him, and even just from the moment his teeth sink in, Leo feels so much better. He barely even notices that the guy unbuttons Leo's jeans and sticks his hand down there, until he yanks his hand back and Leo's being pushed away roughly.

"What the fuck, dude?" the guy says, and it takes Leo a moment of bewilderment, still hazy from the blood rush.

"The hell did you expect? I didn't say you could do that," Leo answers after a moment.

"Yeah well that's how this thing goes, doesn't it?" the guy asks, and Leo feels a little bit sick.

Comments

[sentbydpd]

These things happen. Someone gets nosy, hears a raised voice, jumps the gun and the local police send out the first person they have that's not busy. So it goes, that one one of the supernatural crimes division is on his way into the alley, hand on the butt of his gun and badge visible as he approaches.

"Alright you two, break it up," he calls, already sounding tired. The man still lightly bleeding points at Leo, starting to accuse him of not paying up is part of a "fair deal". His mouth snaps shut when the detective pulls his cuffs and gives a meaningful look.

He waits until the other man has left before taking a handkerchief from the inside pocket of his beaten up leather jacket and holds it out for Leo to take.

"You know I said I'd turn you over to SC if I caught you again," Connor points out wearily as he snaps the cuffs back onto his belt. "Why are you going after club jocks again?"

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo's ready to fight, he can hear the blood pumping in his ears, and it's not exactly conducive to rational thought.

Thankfully the cop gets the other guy to back down, and without anyone to fight, he gradually comes down, the red disappearing from his eyes and his fangs withdrawing. He hesitates for a moment before accepting the handkerchief, using it to wipe his chin. He buttons his jeans again too, feeling mildly embarrassed.

"A guy's gotta eat," he quips. At least he doesn't feel like complete shit anymore.

for Conrad

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo conks out for at least a solid twelve hours, after he had the silver bullets removed from his shoulder. By the time he wakes up, it's already evening again. It takes him a moment to reorient himself, able to see just fine in the dark, but confused by his surroundings. There's art stuff, books, a bunch of random tech - including apparently a toaster that's been taken apart. He's not sure how conscious he even was when he was put in this room.

He definitely feels a little awkward here. Part of him definitely want to sneak out, but as soon as he moves, he realises his shoulder and left arm is still stiff and achey. It's still stitching itself together back there.

He looks around for his clothes, and his jeans are there, but there's no shirt. It would probably be all blood-stained. Usually he's not too bothered by that, but it also definitely has several bullet holes it.

So instead he walks out into the living room wearing just his jeans, some bandages on the back of his shoulder, a sleepy (and rather pale) expression, and hair that's sticking up everywhere.

[thisdweeb]

Conrad has no qualms about giving up his bed for the vampire Connor has been looking after on the job lately. Leo, right? The poor guy had passed out pretty quick once the bullets were out... and then Connor had to go back to work. So it's just been him as he waits for their guest to finally wake up.

He's making some tea when he hears shuffling behind him and turns around, giving a polite and calm smile. Conrad's been doing his best to project a calm, safe energy as Leo sleeps. Don't need any nightmares. (In the back of his mind he finds himself thinking this guy is... pretty handsome. But that's not important right now.)

"Good evening," he says easily. "How are you feeling? Do you need something?"

[actlikeamanfred]

Hey so some shit went down in the last couple days, are you ready

[notamanfred]

Hit me with that juicy gossip.

[actlikeamanfred]

Two weeks pass since he stayed at Connor and Conrad's house, and Leo can't decide which one he likes more. He constantly finds himself mooning over the thought of spending more time with them, yet hesitant if he should even ask in the first place, whether it's a good idea.

Except he is pretty sure Conrad was into him. Then again Connor saved his life. Then again Connor is a cop... And they're both lovely. It's been two weeks of this kind of thinking.

He finally decides to text Conrad on a whim, partly because he already has an excuse.


Hey, do you have time to fix my AC? I'll cook you dinner in return or something

And by cook I probably mean get take-out, I never had much cooking skills and not really a lot of reason to hone it, but I can make tea at least

[thisdweeb]

Conrad's life is the same as it was but it's hard not to think of Leo from time to time. (Especially with Connor tending to do the same.) His sweet smile once he'd perked up from drinking his blood, that mole, how gentle he was petting Riceball... Well, who knows if he'll ever see him again. A passing fancy, it's fine. This isn't his first little crush, after all.

But.

He's resting his feet after a long shift at the cafe when his phone buzzes. And he jumps a little when he realizes it's from Leo. Leo! Oh right, the AC... he feels all fluttery.

Of course! And tea is perfect payment, thank you. When would you like me to come over?

Investigating The Boy

[sentbydpd]

When Connor goes to write up a proper report about the follow-up with Leo that had turned into a whole big thing that he hadn't rightly been prepared for, he runs into a problem: He doesn't have a current address on file. So he's forced to dig a bit until he can find the last known one he'd been using and receiving mail through and figures it's the best shot he has.

So he takes his car into the neighborhood and is somewhat surprised to realize that this is...well, it's actually quite nice. It almost paints Leo as some kind of dilettante. He has to pay somewhat exorbitantly to park on the street by one of the meters, and when he heads toward the building proper there's a door man that he has to show his badge before the guy will (reluctantly) let him in. He opts to take the stairs rather than bothering looking for an elevator and heads for the apartment number listed, frowning when he realizes that the places up here are large, and rather nice, if the hall and landing are anything to judge by.

He rings the bell at the door and waits, getting the prickling feeling of misgivings immediately when he hears someone moving inside. Something isn't right here. He just wishes he could place what it is.

[actlikeamanfred]

It doesn't take very long before the door is answered by a woman with brown hair and eyes, dressed nicely and looking to be in her fifties or maybe early sixties. The doorbell reads Elizabeth Rosenberg.

She smiles politely, but is obviously a bit confused. "Can I help you, young man?"

[actlikeamanfred]

It's been several days since the shooting, and Leo has completely recovered. Well, physically that is. Mentally, perhaps not so much. It's the middle of the night and he's out and about, when he gets it into his head that he's being followed. Every person who's walking in vaguely the same direction as him, or heading towards him, is a threat.

Even as he tells himself he's overreacting, his panic keeps growing, and he's too far away from his apartment to just flee home and hide. A less rational part of his brain is suggesting he shouldn't do that anyway, because he'll lead them to his safe space and put himself even more at risk.

And then he realises with a pang that he's in the neighbourhood of Connor and Conrad, and before he can even decide whether or not it's a good idea, his feet seem to be taking him there.

It's like four AM or something when he knocks on their door, shivering despite it not being particularly cold out. And then he realises what a stupid idea this is, it's not like he's been shot, he barely knows these two, he probably shouldn't be burdening them with this, he's been over-dramatic, it's fine, he should just turn around and leave. They're probably asleep anyway.

[sentbydpd]

There's a soft woof from the other side of the door, preceding a click as the lock is turned, and one very curly, very half-asleep Connor peers out with a soft frown and that furrowed brow. He glances around and disappears briefly to find his glasses then comes back and actually opens the door so that his dog can greet Leo with a vigorous sniffing around his ankles.

"What's going on?" he asks immediately, registering the slightly paranoid way Leo is looking around with his posture as if trying to protect himself. He probably won't even register the low-slung pajama pants in very ugly-cute purple with dogs in christmas hats and nothing else.

+1 murderboy please

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo's out and about just doing his normal thing. Specifically, he's at a grocery store, although he's not buying an awful lot of food items, for obvious reasons. He's got a hoodie and a thin neck scarf on, both pulled down considering he's inside, and both telltale signs of a vampire who's gone outside before dusk, as well as a pair of sunglasses.

He doesn't really expect to see anyone he knows, so he does a double-take when he spots, Con.. Conrad? (It doesn't look like Connor's clothes.) Leo grins a bit and hurries up beside him.

"Hey, fancy meeting you h..." He trails off, pausing a bit as he sees the guy's face. "You have a beard," he states dumbly. It has not definitely been enough days since the last time he saw him for him to grow a beard.

here he is!!

[formalin]

Curt shops when he can... he does need to eat. And it looks better for the funeral home if he's seen out and about anyway. He's picking up some basic groceries, as well as some ingredients to do some baking for a few families.He's in the dairy section when he senses someone approaching, back turned. Not unusual, except...

Curt slowly turns his head, although he looks pleasant enough. "Yes, I grew it myself," he says, reaching up to scratch at it. "I'm assuming you're looking for another person with my face, hm?"

It's said in a way any twin would sound, amused and maybe playfully exasperated. All normal things. Even though internally he's instantly trying to figure out who exactly this guy is, and which brother he mistook him for.

day after one night/morning stand~

[thisdweeb]

So. Conrad eventually goes home to rest... and he knows Connor knows what happened. There's no other reason for him to be drinking out on the balcony. He feels... he doesn't want to say he feels bad or that he regrets it, because he doesn't, but he regrets making Connor feel this way.

They'll have to talk about this, when the time is right.

So he rests up that day and lets his boss know he's still coming in, and he can take an extra shift to make up for it if he needs to. Thankfully it's not an issue, so he heads in for an opening shift the next day.

And it's incredibly dead for most of the day. He's basically just made a few lattes and handed people pastries. When it's his break time, he goes and sits outside to get some fresh air. Hm... he can't help himself. He pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the inside of the cafe, texting Leo.

Is there a coffee strike today I wasn't aware of? So bored!

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo is definitely... a lot more fluttery than he usually is after one night stands. The fact that both of them were pretty into the idea of doing it again probably helps. Even without the great sex, which would definitely make him want to repeat that particular aspect of the interaction, Leo really feels like his crush is starting to grow into a bit more than just a crush...

And then a day later, getting a text from Conrad confirms it. He's... fucking giddy about it. Ridiculous. (But hey, good that Conrad isn't one of those 'wait to text back so you don't seem too thirsty' types.)

Yes. How dare you, you strikebreaker? Stand with your brethren!

time for tender bro moments

[thisdweeb]

Conrad... feels like there's something he's not getting, not entirely. Like he keeps missing a metaphorical step when he's going up the stairs.

The happier he is with Leo the... more withdrawn Connor seems to be. It seems like he's falling back into some bad habits and it feels like he's keeping more walls up than usual. He's entitled to his privacy, of course, but they've always... shared so much.

Which might be part of the problem? He knows their relationship can be a little emotionally unhealthy at times. But his big brother is sad and it makes him sad. He knows he likes/liked Leo, but it had seemed like he talked himself out of it... and then everything that happened between them. Leo ended up expressing interest in him first.

(He does wonder, in the far back and maybe little negative parts of his mind, if it would have been the reverse if Connor had gone over that night. They're identical. But Leo isn't shallow, he knows that. They look the same but they're so drastically different. Well... for the most part. He knows that's his Bad Brains talking, the voice he still has that likes to gently remind him he doesn't deserve anything of his own and should go back to being a worker drone for his and everybody else's own good.)

So one night after getting home from a closing shift, he cleans up and gets into his sleep clothes and... grabs his pillow and heads into Connor's room. He's struck with an intense nostalgia, from when they were boys and kept in their blank and bland rooms. Little Conrad getting up in the middle of the night to climb into his brother's bed and huddle close. Having to crawl out before they were woken up.

At least they don't have to hide anymore.

So without a word, Conrad just climbs in his bed with his pillow and tucks himself in.

Broments!

[sentbydpd]

Connor hasn't been good lately, but he hasn't let it interfere with his job. At the most, he's just a little less sociable than normal when he's there, a little less inclined toward chatter with his coworkers. In fact, he seems to be spending more time than is strictly necessary there at the police station, or putting in extra time out on cases. He doesn't talk to Conrad about it in the hopes of keeping him separate from that life.

When he comes home late one night after an extended stay at his desk taking care of the last of his backlog of paperwork, he does so with a heavy smell of liquor on his breath. He almost collapses into bed without bothering to take off more than his shoes, but stops when he realizes that Conrad is already there, under his blankets, taking up exactly half of the bed.

"Nightmares again?" he murmurs at the sleeping shape of his brother, reaching and carding his fingers through Conrad's hair gently enough that he won't immediately wake him up. He'll just change into a shirt and pair of shorts to sleep in silently then crawl in under the covers, himself.

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo's really grateful when Conrad stays at his place for a little while just to make sure Leo's not alone, even if he feels a little bit guilty about it. When Conrad has to go back to work, and suggests that Leo comes stay with him a bit, Leo pretends to be less worried than he really is just so he doesn't have to intrude on Connor. (He's pretty sure Connor has had to deal with enough of his bullshit through the years, and after the kiss Connor probably thinks a lot worse of him. Judging by his face and the speed with which he left, at the very least.)

Still, when he has to go to the store a few days later, he pointedly does not go to the same one he met Curt in. Even so, he may still be a little bit paranoid. Not because he really thinks the chance of bumping into him is even that high, it's just... Well, taking precautions. This time it's really early in the morning, when the sun is still low enough that it doesn't really pose a problem (though he's still got his hoodie and everything). Different store, different time of day, should be totally fine.

[formalin]

Unfortunately for Leo, when your job has you driving all over the city you go to any store that's closest at the moment. The fridge and cupboards have been getting scarce since they've been too busy to shop and there was finally some free time.

Tobias is off getting what he needs and Curt is just standing in an aisle, perusing. He's going to need to do a lot of baking soon for the next funeral they're hosting...

And then he feels a familiar little ping in the back of his mind, a psychic energy signature he's felt before. Felt in association with his siblings. For a half second he's grinning before it disappears and he turns his head to see that familiar face.

"Leo. What a coincidence. How have you been?" he asks, like he doesn't know full well they were all thrown into chaos because he had a mundane conversation with him. Absolutely hysterical.

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo doesn't even bother buying the stuff he came there for. He's not going home anyway. He just leaves his basket by the cash registers, apologises to the cashier, and walks right out of the store, putting on sunglasses, and pulling up his hood and scarf to cover his skin.

Once he turns the corner, he just breaks into a sprint, running all the way to Conrad's apartment. Thank god for that vampire endurance, right? That and just generally caring about being in decent shape, enjoying physical activity. But even with that, he's still pretty winded once he reaches their place, running out of adrenaline, breathing hard as he reaches their door.

He rings the doorbell, and it occurs to him that he doesn't know if either of them are awake, or at home. He' didn't even stop to call or text them.

[sentbydpd]

When the doorbell rings it doesn't even take that long for an answer to come, accompanied by the tap of excited claws on hardwood.

"...Leo?" It looks like Connor had just woken up from a nap on the couch, hair a tousled mess and his glasses crammed up on his nose (a line on his cheek marks where the earpiece had been pressed against it as he'd slept) as he blinks down at the panicked face in front of him. The concern is immediate. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

even more tender broments

[thisdweeb]

So the sushi takes a bit to get there because of a bad accident on the highway, so Connor's rolls are still fresh when Leo heads out. Conrad's sitting there staring at the bag on the kitchen counter, looking at the clock, looking at his phone and then... sighing.

No, he can't wait any longer. And he's not letting Connor exhaust and hurt himself anymore. They're talking about this, or at least starting to talk about this now.

So he puts on a less goofy shirt and grabs the food, heading on out to the Detroit Police Station. There are always a few double takes when he walks in, since they don't see him much there, but he asks the person at the front desk to call for his brother. Says that he knows he's working late and he's brought him some food.

So he waits. He's kept himself walled off mentally until he arrived.

[sentbydpd]

He'd be hard-pressed to say that he'd expected this. Conrad didn't show up at random, generally waiting for him to come home to tell him things or make sure he ate. But then again, he was making that hard, wasn't he?

Connor is in the break room brewing a fresh pot of coffee when a page comes that he's got a visitor. When Conrad lets his walls down at the same time, Connor just sighs, grabbing his half-full coffee cup and swallowing the last of it down in a few swigs. Conrad is going to want to talk. He can feel the hint of frustration and anxiety there. But where Conrad is faintly radiating, Connor is still bottled up tight.

When he finally goes out to meet Conrad in the waiting area, he very much looks like he's been on the job for days straight. The bags under his eyes are dark and his hair hasn't been brushed, just clean from the washing early that morning. He regards Conrad with a slight grimace. At least things are slow right now, so he can bring Conrad on through to the main floor, heading back to the break room.

[actlikeamanfred]

And then Conrad texts him, letting Leo know that, well... progress was made? Connor's no longer avoiding Leo hopefully? So Leo texts Connor and photo he's kind of wanted to send for a week or so now.

It's a photo of his makeshift balcony, with the addition of the little planter Connor brought. He's very happy here. 🌱

He doesn't send anything else, if Connor needs time then Leo doesn't want to be pushy or needy. He just wanted to... open communications again or something. Make it less awkward. Make sure Connor knows it's okay to contact him.

[sentbydpd]

When Connor had gotten home the night Conrad had talked to him at work, he'd settled into bed and taken out his phone, opened up his messages, then just...stopped. He wasn't sure how to open up that line of communication again after how suddenly and roughly he'd snubbed Leo (at least, in his own mind.) So he kept navigating away form his messages and poking at other apps, or watching videos, or doing a little bit of quick research. Then he tabs back to his messages when he thinks he has a good icebreaker, only to freeze again.

It shouldn't be this hard. He hates that he's made things this complicated for himself.

Then a message comes as he's dozing, and his chest clenches at the preview bar. Still, he doesn't want to leave Leo hanging anymore, so he opens it and ends up relaxing at the image of the planter sitting among the rest of Leo's plants. It still takes him some time to reply.

It comes in the form of a photo of Riceball laying across his legs in bed.

I'm being held captive right now.

[actlikeamanfred]

Connor and Leo keep exchanging texts, occasionally flirting, sometimes even rather overtly so. Strangely enough, it's a much slower build-up than he ever had with Conrad. But it also gives them both some time to get used to the idea, and for Leo to check in with Conrad that he's absolutely sure that this is okay and is what he wants. And eventually Leo believes him, because Conrad doesn't seem to have a jealous bone in his body, and just seems delighted that Connor and Leo will be happier.

Still, there's the matter of moving it from text flirting to actual reality. Leo hasn't seen Connor in person since the other day, before Conrad suggested this whole arrangement. But Leo get butterflies in his stomach just thinking about getting together with Connor, both nerves and excitement.

So he asks Conrad when would be a good time to come over, and they even plan for Conrad to leave the house for a bit just so Leo and Connor can get some time to talk. So when Leo rings their doorbell in the evening, it's after he's already gotten a text from Conrad saying he's out. God, he hopes this goes well. It's what they all want, so it should be fine, right?

[sentbydpd]

Connor too had been apprehensive about moving forward with this, and whether Conrad really was sure, and Leo really was ok with it, and every little thing that he could be anxious over, but in the end he does agree that they should try and hang out in person and see how that sits. He doesn't expect Conrad to have to go before Leo gets there, and he jokes that they're just trying to set him up here.

Before he can let himself go down the pessimistic spiral again, he goes to start a pot of coffee (as if that will soothe his nerves) then goes to occupy himself with Riceball. It's hard to stay wound up while holding onto the canine incarnation of a cloud.

When the doorbell rings, it takes maybe three seconds for him to get to it and when he opens it, there's white fur clinging to the front of his shirt and jeans. This is obviously fine and normal. His smile is a little bit uncertain, but it does the slow growth from one side to the other before he invites Leo to come in.

Gravity

[sentbydpd]

Hunter calls are rare these days, but sometimes they do come. When they come, they're never pretty. But this was one of the reasons the Supernatural Crimes Division exists in the DPD, and why, when the reports of a hunter enclave crashing a party in downtown Detroit come in, the force mobilizes with their young Lieutenant at the head, his partner right beside him ready to charge in. There's some quick review of protocol, arresting perpetrators, making sure they're able to speak to authorities, to find whoever is running their operation. If they're lucky, they'll be able to keep the vampires that are being targeted from being killed.

Half the force comes to park around the ground floor of the building, some go into the parking garage to take up posts near the elevator leading in, and Connor, secured in lightweight body armor with an earpiece in and active, gives the report that he's moving in to try and secure a perimeter at the rooftop. That was where the first gunshots were reported to have been after all, and likely to be the epicenter of the violence. He comments to his partner that if they made the arrests that night, he'd be paying for breakfast the next day. Gavin just had to watch his ass. So with the assurance that his best friend would be watching his six, Connor heads up the elevator, letting the officers that were already on scene know that he was on his way.

This is an expensive apartment building, that much is obvious before he even reaches the suite with its big, wide open balcony. A shattered fishtank in the entry corridor has spilled water all over the floor to mingle with the blood from one of the bodies. Someone had tried to rush the intruders, he speculates into his earpiece as he draws his sidearm, checking quickly that the safety is off and keeping it down in front of him, at the low ready. A fish flops sadly in a collected puddle of water, and Connor cringes, but scoops it up carefully to drop it back into the remaining water in the tank. Then he creeps further into the apartment, and a chill sinks into his chest.

Bodies on the floor, in the kitchen, injured people being watched over by a pair of hunters. One makes a move to keep him from going any further, but in a blur of motion he's got them on their knees, reading them their rights loudly as he cuffs them together and has officers from outside moving in to collect them. Their weapons have been kicked halfway across the room by the time his backup arrives.

Moving out onto the balcony reveals a few more bodies. Partygoers enjoying the night air with their music and drinks. A man floating in the lit, heated pool that's gently steaming in the night chill. Overhead, a helicopter shows up on the scene to report the newly developing story.

And on the edge of the roof, with a heavy-duty handgun trained on him, is a hunter holding a bleeding Leo with a silver chain wrapped around his neck. A shot is fired, grazing Connor's arm and splattering the glass behind him with red.

"Drop your weapon!"

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo doesn't go to fancy parties that often. Generally speaking, neither his social circle nor his clientele is among the extremely rich, but sometimes there's a friend of a friend, and it's not unheard of. And most of the time it's fun, and sometimes very lucrative.

Of course, you gotta be careful with people who specifically want to hire vampire sex workers. It's not uncommon to have complete creeps, or outright dangerous people. Leo doesn't generally take risky jobs, neither desperate enough nor enticed by the amounts of money involved, especially these days. But this was someone who actually had a good reputation, with no stories of strange disappearances or anything like that. At worst, there was some drug use, but that doesn't bother Leo.

And it was fun! A few humans, including their employer, and a dozen vampires or so. Some, like Leo, were hired, while others appeared to be guests. And for most of the evening, it was mainly social, conversations and dancing. They never actually reached the part where sex would enter the picture.

Most of what happened after that is a blur. As far as he can tell, it wasn't a set-up. It was an attack. He's honestly not sure if his host is even still alive. One of the friends he arrived with gets shot at some point and Leo tries to help, gets covered in blood, but they're silver bullets. He has no idea if his friend will make it.

And then more people are arriving, cops or something, and somehow Leo gets taken as a hostage. The silver chain is making him light-headed, the burning pain making his legs go weak and wobbly.

When Connor arrives, Leo's sure he's hallucinating. He's been praying for Connor to come, Connor's saved him from stuff like this before, Connor will make sure he's alright. Someone is here, but he's pretty sure that person looking like Connor is just Leo's mind playing tricks on him.

[sentbydpd]

It's so cold here. He can feel it. He can feel the cold here and up until now, the entire time he'd been shunted out of his body, he hadn't been able to strictly feel much of anything.

Hello, Connor.

The voice drives the cold deeper, and Connor staggers, then falls back, arms wrapping around himself.

What's happening?

You're home.

[formalin]

This is always such a pain in the ass.

It changes every time he's taken here; sometimes it's a vibrant garden, sometimes it's a humid bog and rarely it's cold and frozen. This time it's a blizzard, which is lovely. Even if he knows none of this is technically 'real' it's hard to overcome how cold it seems. He supposes that's what happens when this psychic space is controlled by someone far more powerful than you.

He's laying flat on his back in the snow before he gets up to a standing position. He brushes the snow off of his clothing and starts to walk. It isn't hard to mentally ping where Connor might be, so he makes his way there. It doesn't seem to be far.

"Get up," he states. Curt never attempts to warn for his presence, and being in this place evidently hasn't changed that.

jerry house!

[thisdweeb]

Conrad is exhausted in every possible sense of the word when Caleb and his extended family start ushering them home. Connor is alive but not out of the woods yet, so many things could happen and now it's finally time to let himself rest.

And to take care of Leo. For all his eyes hurt from crying off and on all night and the pounding stress headache, he just wants to take care of Leo. Leo's been through so much this evening, he can table his own feelings. Or at least his exhausted, traumatized brain is telling him that. He'll more than likely feel a little different in the morning, after he's slept and eaten and able to contact his therapist.

But for now, they're ushered into a spare room with a comfy looking bed and attached bathroom. Conrad just stands there a moment, suddenly not sure what to do once they're alone.

"Do you need anything?" is the first thing that falls out of his mouth.

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo has lost all sense of time since the rooftop. Even when awake he feels like he's walking around in a dream state, and frequent but short naps in chairs hasn't really helped. He couldn't tell if it's been a few hours or a week. It's probably not quite a week. He's pretty sure the others would've needed to eat more proper food at some point. Not that he was keeping much track of anyone but Conrad.

He's just as lost when they enter the room, looking around and waiting for something to do to reveal itself to them. What do you even do?

"No, I'm fine," he answers quietly, which they both know really just means 'I can't think of anything that would help.'

surprise reunions

[victrix]

Veronica had dropped everything and started to rush back to Detroit the second she got the call from Clara about what had happened. Her assignment can wait, it's a family emergency. Her coworkers can finish up the case no problem. She gets a rental car and then the fastest flight she can manage, and she still ends up getting there over a day later.

She's been white knuckling it the entire time, trying desperately not to think about anything too much. Clara would tell her if there was any bad news, she knows this. She knows this. But still, what if she's too late? What if she never gets to say another thing to his gangly, dweeby little ass? God, what the fuck was the last thing she ever said to him? She can't even remember, doesn't want to pull up her texts and check until she knows one way or the other. Connor is her best friend and she knows he'd been having a rough time but she'd been so busy with work lately... Veronica feels like a shitty friend for half of the trip. Even though she knows Connor knows how much she loves him and vice versa.

Clara is waiting for her with some coffee when she arrives at the hospital, brushing her hair back and kissing her softly. Then she takes her to Connor's hospital room and gives her space.

She hates what she sees. Hates seeing him like that. It takes all she can not to cry because she knows Connor would hate that. She goes to his bedside and brushes her fingers through his hair as the machines beep. "I'm here, it's me. It's Vero. You better wake up, Connie." She chokes a little, pausing so she doesn't start bawling. "Who's going to keep an eye on Gavin otherwise? Please..."

She leans down to kiss him gingerly on the forehead and takes a step back. It's too much for the moment. He's there, he's breathing, his vitals are okay... so she's going to drink her coffee and find her wife.

Veronica halfway stumbles out into the hall and leans against the nearby wall, putting the warm side of the coffee cup against her forehead and taking a few deep breaths. Fuck, she hopes her dad gets here soon.

If anyone approaches, she won't notice right away.

[actlikeamanfred]

Leo feels like less of a zombie than the last time he was in this hospital, but he's still... not great. Everything about this place makes it impossible for him to relax. But at the same time, until Connor wakes up, he finds it difficult to spend too much time away from here. No matter how stable they tell him Connor's vitals are. And he knows it's probably not gonna get any better once Connor wakes up, cause he knows he'll then want to be available for Connor to see him every and any moment he wants.

At least now he's sort of keeping it together, not walking around in a daze. He knows he's... probably got some stuff to work through, and he's trying not to think about what happened on the roof, but he's vaguely functional. At least enough that he doesn't need to be babysat.

He's been spending a lot of time in Connor's room, mostly just leaving when someone wanted a private moment. Conrad's having some food with some of the family, and Leo had sort of intended to go with them at first, but the hospital doesn't offer a lot of eating options apparently, which means they had to go outside. It's still daylight, and, well, Leo doesn't really eat so it didn't seem worth the hassle. Of course he had to convince Conrad that it was alright to leave him for a little bit, and that Leo has plenty of other family members here to go to if he needs anything.

Leo's heading back to Connor's room now, to sit with him if no one else is there. Turns out there is someone, except she's outside in the hall rather than inside, and Leo's not entirely sure he's interrupting.

He hesitates a bit, approaching the door and peeking inside, but no, there's no one there, so he looks back at the woman uncertainly. He doesn't recognise her, he thinks. "I'm sorry, were you...?" he asks, letting the question trail off.

IT'S CHA BOY

[chaosclone]

The hospital is buzzing with activity, but then again this is Detroit, and that is almost always the case. This means it takes him some time to get anyone to talk to him and even then, the only one that does is a nurse that jogs up to him from behind as he's wandering down a hall looking for a sign with directions. She looks like she's about to tell him off, until he turns to face her and her expression goes blank.

Yeah, that seems about right. Anyone that's been exposed to more than a few of them at a time tends to have the same reaction. He doesn't wait for the Jesus christ, there's more of them to wear off before tipping his metaphorical hat to this woman and asking, incredibly politely for someone in mosaic-pattern board shorts and a muscle tank with a cat in a taco shell on it, where the trauma wing was and what room he might find one Connor Stern in. It's the middle of the night, and she already looks frazzled enough, so he's patient as he waits for her to pull the information up at a nearby station computer.

After tipping her a little wink and thanking her for her help, he saunters off, down the hall toward where he can feel the combined energies of siblings past and present. Hm. Lots of Conrad energy. He must be hanging around here somewhere. Some other folks, new energies he doesn't know, but obviously people that care about Connor, if they've hung around long enough for him to be able to feel them around. It's like being hit by several soft pillows until he tunes them out.

He's got his shoulder pressed against the wall outside his brother's room, hands in his pockets and legs crossed as he waits his turn.

IT'S YA GIRL

[clonevoyant]

Cecilia's had a tough couple days herself, though nothing she'd claim was as bad as anyone else's. These moments always just leave her with a general malaise headache, all the negativity and stress. She's gone home after the initial night with her family and slept a good twelve hours straight. She's just glad she called out of work for a couple days ahead of time. (Sorry Simon!) Cecilia had told the girl she's been seeing that there was a family emergency and she might not be available for a few days and not to worry, she definitely wasn't suddenly ghosting either.

But when she woke up, she had the wonderful deep boned feeling that something very good was going to happen today. She isn't sure if it's 'Connor waking up' good because she knows how things about Connor 'feel' and it wasn't that. Still, it's put a little pep her in step.

So she gets ready at her own pace and decides to head down to the hospital. Once she sets foot there, she can feel that specific energy. It's like air full of static during a lightning storm, warm and safe and protective. She perks up and walks through the halls at a good Business Strut before she finds the brother she knows is there.

"Chaddy!" she says once he's in site, rushing up to him with open arms. "You made it!"

[actlikeamanfred]

When Leo's finally allowed to see Connor, he's remarkably calm. Well, outwardly, at least, and only really because he feels like he needs to keep it together for Conrad, who already warned that he probably wouldn't be able to keep it together himself. Inwardly however, Leo feels like he might have another panic attack, or throw up again, whichever comes first.

He doesn't right away though, and it's not until they've spent a little bit of time there that he needs to hurry to the bathroom. He probably shouldn't have had some of Conrad's breakfast, not with all this stress.

Siblings filter in and out, there's a fair amount of crying from pretty much everyone. It's awful, seeing Connor like that. But given the last Leo's seen of Connor was him going off the side of a building, it's... reassuringly solid. He looks awful, but he's not dead. Leo can touch him and hold him and hear the machine beeping out his heartbeats. And at the same time it also makes everything feel painfully real.

It's a long time till Leo gets the chance to be in the room with Connor on his own. He's fairly sure the staff don't trust him, being a vampire, but thankfully he's given at least some minutes of privacy.

He's sitting on the side of his bed, holding onto Connor's hand, stroking his hair softly. "Hey you," he whispers, looking down at Connor's face, his heart aching. "I know you probably can't hear me, but... I wanted to thank you for saving me. You just keep doing that, huh? No matter how stupid it is..." It was true to form, if nothing else. Leo knows Connor wouldn't have been able to live with himself if Leo had been the one to go over the side of the roof.

"Listen... You need to wake up, okay?" he says, barely audible, and the first of many tears start rolling down his cheek. "You need to wake up so I can tell you how much I love you. Cause I haven't told you, and..." He sniffs. "It would be a real asshole move of you to die before I got to tell you, okay?"

He sniffs again, reaching up to wipe at his face with the back of his hand. "So get on that, yeah? Cause I... I love you so much my stupid heart hurts, and that's.. That's just not fair, you know?" he whispers, choking a little. He leans down to kiss Connor's cheek, and then he just closes his eyes and rests against Connor and the pillows, crying quietly until Conrad comes back for him.

[sentbydpd]

With the urging of the rest of Connor's family, Leo is left alone. The doctors don't like that he's in there but with every one of the Sterns, save one, vouching for him, there isn't much that they can really do. So Leo is allowed to stay with Connor during visiting hours, at least on those days that at least one of the other siblings can be around to keep an eye on the two of them.

It takes several days before the breathing tube is taken out of Connor's throat and replaced by a simpler oxygen machine, and the chemical coma he's being kept under is ceased, replaced by sedatives and slightly increased dosages of painkillers, antibiotics, anti-rejection medication, and generic neuropozyne. The physical trauma starts to heal, slowly but surely.

In that time, Connor's mind has drifted, exploring the hospital within range of himself. It's a miserable place, all told, full of accidents and debt collectors that don't have the decency to wait until folks are able to sit and discuss payment arrangements. Some of these people, he thinks, are going to be left destitute. Even with his health insurance, he knows that if he pulls through this mess, he too will probably be working off this debt for years.

It isn't so important anymore in the moment, though, as darkness swallows him and he slides back into place inside himself. The fuzziness of drugs keeps him from moving much at all. A kindness really, as one of his arms is caged in place so that the rods keeping the new structural work around his bones in place can't be jostled. His fingers twitch, and his eyes move slowly back and forth as he confirms that yes, he has arrived back in his bed, bound to a pile of broken bones and new synthetic parts. He also registers dimly that the weight in his bed is unevenly distributed. His free hand, bandaged over the glass fragment lacerations, is very itchy but more than that, it's resting against something solid. Warm.

He reaches out as much with his mind as he does with his hand to feel out the shape of Leo still napping on the edge of his bed, his fingers carding gently through the other's hair in a sluggish motion. He doesn't trust himself to speak, but he waits until he can feel the other stirring before murmuring into his mind.

Hey, stranger.