tgrayfic | A Binding Fate: The Aftermath

A standalone picking up where the previous story ended.

Title: A Binding Fate: The Aftermath
Fandom: QAF
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Summary: Completely AU. He knew only one thing about vampires. They didn’t deserve to live. That was, until the night he met Brian.
Rating: This chapter is not rated!
Feedback: I’d love to know what you think!
Beta: Just something I wrote over the last couple of days. I didn't feel the need to bother my wonderful beta

stephmck with this one. All mistakes are mine.

Completed series can be found here

A Binding Fate – The Aftermath

Brian’s POV

I watched it unfold in front of me while trying to keep the situation under control. I kept vigil over him, ignoring the sounds of yelling and knocking from outside the door. My friends, no, my family, were trying to help me. Trying to find out what was happening, even though I was fairly certain they already knew. Michael had been there. He saw the blood. Saw my rage before I threw him out. I’m not sure how much time had passed before they gave up, or if they gave up. I paid little attention to them as the sounds faded into silence, or maybe I was only drowning it out. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Justin.

Even without the strength of the bond, I knew what he was feeling. It’d happened to me so long ago, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. Waking to the confusion, the panic and the hunger that simply couldn’t be ignored. Knowing there was something he’d need, something he’d crave more than he’d ever craved anything before. Something that would now rule over him for the remainder of his existence.

After three hours of watching him, waiting and hoping, he’d risen with a gasp, clinging to the natural habit of filling his lungs with air as he reached for me, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. His breath was heavy and uneven and I knew it would take some time before he’d discover the uselessness of the action. Holding him in my arms, I caressed him into a more tranquil state, giving him the time he needed to come to terms with his death. That’s what it was really. A human death replaced with something much more complex and much more powerful.

All I could do was cling to him, hoping that when his eyes opened and he looked upon me, they wouldn’t be filled with the hatred I was expecting. I’d forced this life without giving him a real choice. But now, I’d let him choose to love or hate me. Time would only tell. When he finally spoke and I heard the gentle tone in his voice, I couldn’t help but thank whoever it was that allowed him to come back to me. I felt his anxiousness, the uneasiness of trying to make sense of it all, but I felt no anger. My worst fear was quelled.

“Brian-”

“I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“Ethan?”

“You don’t have to worry about him.”

It took a moment but then he nodded and whispered, “Everything hurts. Am I okay?”

What was I really supposed to say to that? “It won’t hurt for long. You’re hungry. Your body’s just telling you what you need.”

“Hungry? My stomach is in knots.”

I combed my fingers through his hair, easing him back onto the bed. There’s so much he’ll need to learn. My hand lightly traced his face, my fingers running against the ridges along his brow. He was still painstakingly beautiful. “Justin, do you remember anything? Do you know what’s happened to you?”

He turned to look at me then. Bright golden eyes replacing the blue I’d grown accustomed to. “You saved me.”

I let my hand drop and looked away from him. “I’ve condemned you. I was selfish.”

“Your heart doesn’t believe that. It knows the truth of what was inevitable. From our first kiss, I knew I would be with you just as you knew it, if you’d ever admit it.”

I shook my head. He was wrong.

“Brian-”

No.

“Please.” He sat up, tucking his legs beneath him, moving closer to wrap his arms around me. “Stop. I can’t stand this feeling.”

My eyes shifted to his. Where there was confusion in mine, his held nothing but anguish.

“I can hear your mind saying it, over and over. You think you made a mistake. Doing this… was a mistake.”

I shook my head. “Justin-”

He pulled away from me, scooting back, wrapping his arms around his chest. He wasn’t talking then, but the look on his face spoke volumes of the hurt he was feeling. The hurt I was causing, which only worked to enhance my guilt even more.

When he closed his eyes and laid back on the bed, I reached for him, only to have him flinch and turn away from me. “Go away.”

“What? Justin-”

“Go! I don’t want you here! I don’t need you!”

Hearing those words… “You don’t know what you’re saying. You’re not-”

A growl ripped through the room, startling me, his anger alone causing me to move away slightly. “Get out, Brian!”

“No! Justin, just-”

He flew around quickly, catching me off guard and pushed me off the bed, his strength surprising even him, the look on his face as evidence. “Leave!”

~*~

I was downstairs and through the front door dry heaving against the fence when I felt Deb walk up next to me. “You know that never really works for us.”

My mind understood that, but convincing my body to agree was an entirely different matter. I continued coughing and sputtering for another couple of minutes before I realized she was right and that I was only going through the motions. Deb let me, standing by, waiting until I was finished before placing her hand on my shoulder. “Did that help?”

Help with what? She had no idea what I was going through.

“I’m sorry, Brian. I know you cared about him and that was something I never thought possible. Michael told us what he saw. The little he did see. We could only guess what happened.”

I turned away from her. “I wasn’t there. I should have been. I should have-”

“You should have what? Known what was going to happen? Seen the future?”

“I should have stayed there! I should never have left him alone and this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Stop it, Brian. You can’t do that to yourself. You didn’t cause that boy’s death!”

I turned around, stunned. She didn’t know. She assumed. She thought Justin was…

“He’s not dead.”

Her hand lifted to her mouth as she stared at me. “You-”

“I couldn’t, Deb. I couldn’t let him go.”

“Jesus H. Christ, Brian! What are you doing out here then?!” She grabbed my arm and began dragging me with her, back to the house. “Is he awake?! That poor kid must be terrified! What the hell were you thinking leaving him alone?!”

I resisted, pushing back against her, pulling my arm away. “I’m doing what he wanted! He told me to leave!”

“And you listened to him?! What’s wrong with the brain in that head of yours?! You of all people know what it’s like. You were left to fend for yourself, to figure things out on your own and you know how bad that screwed you up! I don’t care what he said! You get your scrawny ass back in there and take care of him!”

“Deb-”

“Now!”

As I reluctantly made my way back up to Justin, ignoring the stares from the sitting room as I passed by, I thanked every force in nature that I had Deb around to keep me grounded. She’d been my saving grace the last three decades and now I knew she would be Justin’s.

~*~

When I opened the door to the upstairs bedroom where I’d left him, there was an immediate chill in the air. The bed was empty and the window was open, allowing the curtain to hang in the breeze. “Justin!”

I knew before I’d even stepped into the room. He was gone.

I flew to the window, peering through it, trying to see him out in the darkness. “Justin! Justin!” I screamed, but received nothing in return. No reply. As if I thought I would.

Michael appeared behind me and I grabbed him, full of panic, knowing I was yelling and probably making no sense at all. Luckily, he was able to decipher my jumbled words and shook me until I focused on him. “Brian. Calm down. I’ll help you find him. We all will.”

I stood there for a moment, letting it sink in. Justin was gone and it was my fault. He wasn’t safe out there by himself. He didn’t know. He was alone and weak and I’d failed him. Suddenly, without thinking, I was darting down the stairs, running as fast as my legs would carry me, Michael and probably everyone else trailing somewhere behind.

I stopped at the edge of the clearing behind the Inn and closed my eyes, my body still stiff with panic. Inhaling deeply, catching his scent, I following it until it led me to a path in the woods where the weeds were torn and mangled. I began calling to him again, hearing others off in the distance doing the same. Michael’s, Deb’s and then Lindsay’s voices in succession one right after another. I pushed through the brush and walked quickly, trying to feel him. Trying to use the bond between us to guide me. I was afraid and desperate, not entirely sure if they were my own feelings or Justin’s, though I suppose it wasn’t really important to differentiate between the two. And then I heard him. His voice, calling my name. And I ran.

“Justin!” My arms went around him the moment I reached him. He was squatting in a patch of brush, his arms wrapped around his knees tightly; his body shivering and I knew it wasn’t from the cool air. I knew what he needed. A fresh kill would be best, but I wasn’t going to leave him to find one. Placing my hand on the back of his head, I carefully pulled him forward, guiding him. Tilting slightly until I felt him stiffen against my neck, I urged him to drink. “It’s instinct. Don’t think about it, just do it.”

“I don’t-”

“Just bite and the rest will happen naturally. It’ll drive the pain away.”

He remained still and I let him, knowing he would eventually find his way. Finally, after a few long moments, I felt the prick of his incisors as he reluctantly bit. Just as I’d told him, he began the pull and swallow without further encouragement. My fingers dug into his arms, trying to pull him in… trying to pull him closer to me. This did more for our bond, the bond between a new vampire and his sire than it did for his need to feed, but it would quench his hunger until he was ready to hunt.

“Brian,” he whispered, a few minutes later. I found myself impressed with his self-control. I thought back to my first time feeding and how I’d longed to hold onto that warm feeling forever. And then I realized. There was nothing warm about the blood he was taking from me. It was as dead as I am.

I pushed him away, only to scold him. “Don’t ever disappear on me again.” I could feel his emotions, muddled and confused as he started slowly falling apart, afraid to look at me. “Justin. Listen to me.” I made sure I had his attention, raising his chin to meet his eyes. “I was wrong to leave. But what I was feeling… it had nothing to do with thinking that this was a mistake.”

“But I felt it. I could hear what you-”

“You felt my guilt. Guilt because I took your life… your humanity. Which is something I have to deal with. But it wasn’t regret. I would never regret keeping you with me.”

He blinked slowly. If his body would allow them, I’m sure I would have seen tears. “I thought you didn’t want me.”

I shook my head and pulled him close again as I placed my lips against his. “We need to work on this ability you have of reading my mind. It only works if you get it right.”

“Brian!”

I felt Justin tense up in my arms. He pulled away and his eyes narrowed on Michael as he slowly approached us. I watched Justin carefully, gripping his arm to hold him beside me when he began to growl in a low, deep steady rumble.

“Stay back, Michael,” I warned, tightening my hold when Justin tried to move forward in front of me. “We’re fine. Meet us back at the house.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

The comment warranted another growl.

“Justin, calm down.” I wasn’t really sure what the problem was. I could feel the anxiety crawling through him in waves and the only thing I was sure of was that I had to get Michael out of there.

“What did I do?! I didn’t do anything!”

“It doesn’t matter, just go!”

“Brian!”

“Go, Michael!”

With a huff and noticeable pout, he finally listened to me and turned around to leave. It took several minutes after he was gone before Justin’s agitation simmered.

“Justin-”

He shook his head and stood up, pacing two steps forward, three steps back. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t understand what I’m feeling.”

“Well I’m rather sure that was anger.”

He turned to me and frowned.

“There aren’t any true answers. You are going to feel a lot of things a lot of different ways until you learn to control the intensity of what you’ve become.”

“I don’t know if I can, Brian. Everything is different. It’s too much.”

“It’s supposed to be. We are different! Open your eyes, Justin and look around! You haven’t even noticed the clarity of what you can see, or the sounds, the smells…”

“The burning in my stomach?”

Solemnly, I nodded. “That’s a part of it, too.”

“And what do I eat, Brian? Animals? Like you?”

I stood up then, going to him, answering the only way I could. “That’s your choice. I can’t make that decision for you.”

“I don’t think it’s a hard one to make.”

I closed my eyes, wishing for his sake that that were true. “It’s impossible to know until you’ve been around them. You’ll be drawn to people, Justin. To their warmth and their blood. It’s nature. It’s what we are.”

“But not what we have to be.”

“No,” I agreed, placing my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a deep, tender kiss. I wondered how long it would take for him to learn to hide his true features. I longed to see blue eyes and the smile that captured me.

~*~

As we walked together back to Deb’s Inn, I tried to soothe his uneasiness, but I knew the truth of what lay ahead. I knew the temptation and how hard it would be for him. I could help guide him in the ways I’d become accustomed to, but ultimately, he would have to decide what it was in his nature to become. I wouldn’t stop him, whatever his choice. I would stand beside him for as long as he would have me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

foreverfolked.livejournal.com

Thank you for continuing this story. I really loved the original. You did a fantastic job and I can't wait to find out what you do with this... there is more right? I hope so. I'd love to see the learning process Justin will go through and what else is in store for Brian and Justin.

Emotionally intense and hot! Great Chapter, Rory

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A Binding Fate: The Aftermath

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