#k&j

Jim decides to just hide out in his room until Liz gets there, replacing the phone in its cradle with shaking hands and dashing upstairs. He hides under the bed, just for good measure. It’s never saved him, but it makes him feel a little bit safer.

Liz arrives and lets herself in. She's wearing her belt with all her hunting gear: stakes and silver weapons alike. She doesn't see anyone, with the vampires in the basement and Jim upstairs. "Jim?"

Jim comes downstairs cautiously and walks right into her arms. "Hey."

Liz holds him protectively. "Where are the vampires?"

"Um..." He looks around, not seeing them. "They can't have just gone, it's day. Maybe they're downstairs, where I set Kane up?"

"Okay, I'll go check." Liz starts to go, but Jim grabs her before she can.

"Wait. I don't want you to scare them. They're... not in good shape." Jim warns. "Let me tell them what's going on first."

"You're not going down there alone."

"Fine, then follow me." Jim descends the stairs, Liz behind him. 

Kane and Valen had been frozen on the bed listening to the conversation upstairs with their superior hearing, on edge from the sickeningly familiar sounds of hunting gear jingling, and both start to stir as Jim’s feet come down into view.

"Hey guys, this is my sister, Liz. She just wanted to check out-"

Kane spots the hunting gear, confirming his suspicions, and immediately panics. He shoves Valen behind him like he used to do at the hunters', and Valen's throat automatically makes the motions for a soundless little squeak as he's suddenly shoved against the wall. "P-please, Jim, please, j-just don't hurt her, please, it was me who hurt you, she didn't do anything."

Valen’s heart pounds. Jim had just said I don’t want you to scare them, so…? For what purpose could he intend to have this woman hurt them, but not scare them? It must be just another safety precaution, Valen decides.

Valen's confinement had taken place mostly in the same room as all the objects used to hurt him, in contrast to Kane, who only saw them when they were going to hurt him, so Valen is less scared of them being in the same room than Kane is. He doesn't automatically assume they're going to be used on either of them. He does know it's a very distinct possibility, or probability, especially in Kane's case, being everyone agrees he probably deserves it, so Valen is scared of the thought anyway.

He decides that if they're going to hurt Kane and not him, he's not going to let go of Kane, he's going to cling to Kane the way Kane had clung to him and had to be pried off when they'd been separated initially. It’s all Valen could really do at this point--his notebook is a bit out of reach, over on the floor, and he doubts this hunter would be interested in reading anything he wrote anyway....she probably knows that-

Oh God, she probably knew Jim had been at risk from Valen. Maybe she is angry at Valen, and not Kane. Valen starts shaking with terror. Maybe the pulling of his vocal cords is going to continue, or the wretched bare silver muzzle is going to come back on. He'd thought he wouldn't be afraid of pain anymore here, but it feels like going backwards is too much, because who knows how far back they would slide? 

"No one's hurting anyone." Jim assures. "Yes, she's a hunter, but she's not going to hurt you. Either of you. Right, Liz?"

Liz glares at Kane with burning hatred. "Right."

Kane is not calmed, and continues to protectively shield Valen with his body, letting out a small whimper.

Valen taps Kane again, and pats his back in what he hopes is a comforting way. He raises his head to look at the new arrival. Liz, his sister, Jim had said.

Valen is instantly a little bit smitten. This is a kind of person he doesn’t get to see very much, a woman who looks and acts a bit like a man. Her glare is quite scary, unfortunately, but she's probably just being protective of her little brother--he assumes Jim is the younger sibling, with the way Liz is shielding him.

But Jim is kind, and maybe Liz is too, even though she's a hunter. There had been good hunters, ones that didn't like hurting people. Valen gently pries himself out from behind Kane and, being very, very, very, very brave despite his terror, gives as much of a smile as he can manage and holds a hand out for a handshake. Maybe this is good, right?

Liz sighs. "This is a mess. I'd shake your hand, but I'm pretty sure this one will burst into tears if I get any closer." She nods toward Kane. Suddenly, a realization hits her. "Wait. You said Valen? Valen Kithrara?"

"She's not- the blood farms- she didn't do anything!" Kane pleads, clinging to Valen. "She just married in, she's not responsible, I swear!"

"I'm not going to hurt- her." Liz realizes that she's heard about Valen before, those experiments they’d been doing in the other branch. She’d gotten mixed feelings about them at the time. Torture is wrong, but it was saving human lives…

Now that she sees Valen’s state for herself, she can’t help but think how naive she’d been to think it’s remotely okay.

The person she’d heard about it from had referred to the vampire as a man, though. But she figures that if Valen has had the opportunity to communicate and that fact isn't known, he probably feels safer closeted. She decides not to say anything about it. "I just... okay, Jim, I see what you mean." she concedes. They really don't seem dangerous.

She snatches the notebook and pen off the floor. "You haven't hypnotized my brother. Why?" She tosses them to Valen. "Don't show us. Show Kane and have him read it off."

Valen lowers his hand slowly, a bit disappointed. He flinches back a little as Liz tosses the notebook at him. Why didn't I hypnotize Jim? For some reason it seems hard to explain. Maybe he should have, to get away while they could, before this scary hunter came over.

Valen takes the pen and writes Jim is being kind to us. There's no reason to, and he doesn't deserve it. He hopes that will be sufficient and hands it to Kane.

"Jim is being kind to us." Kane reads. "There's no reason to, and he doesn't deserve it." He looks up. "She's right, ma'am."

"Oh." Jim says softly. "That's... thanks."

Liz considers this for a moment. She figures Jim hasn't even thought about how to feed them yet, given his issues. She doesn't give a fuck what happens to Kane, but this other vampire has been through hell and back and seems innocent. He even spared Jim when he had the opportunity. But they can't just let him go, because he could come back for Kane. "Maybe... I could take one, so there's less danger." she suggests.

The two vampires snap together as though attracted by magnetism.

"NO, PLEASE!" Kane holds tighter to Valen. "P-please, ma'am, please don't separate us!"

Valen's eyes widen and he shakes his head from side to side as he clings to Kane back.

"Please, I love her." Kane pleads tearfully. "Please, I just got her back. Please."

"Okay, we won't. It's okay. Nothing bad is gonna happen." Jim soothes.

Part of Liz wants to bite back about how Kane separated her and Jim for years and didn't care then. But she restrains herself. This isn't just about Kane. Valen looks terrified, and Liz genuinely feels bad for him, a possible innocent in all this. "Fine. Then I guess..." She sighs again. "You still have the padded muzzle. You can put that on Valen after she heals up. I guess this can work. At least put the ankle cuffs back on."

"That muzzle doesn't hurt." Kane whispers, though he's disappointed he won't be able to hear Valen’s voice.

Valen is also disappointed that the muzzle will apparently be going back on, but he'd expected it. At least Jim and Liz seem nice enough to give their concerns a fair chance, and only do things that would make sense for their safety. That's way more than either Kane or Valen had got in the past.

"Right. I forgot. Um, I only have the one..." Jim trails off.

"Put 'em on Kane for now and I'll swing by with another one tomorrow." Liz instructs.

Jim does so, and Kane obediently holds his legs out for them to be locked on.

"One last thing. Can I borrow your notebook for a second, Valen?" Liz asks.

That makes Valen nervous. He isn't convinced Liz is going to give it back, and he suddenly scrambles to think if he'd written anything in it that he wouldn't want Liz to see. But he hands it over nervously.

Liz doesn't look at what Valen's written, just flips to a new page and writes something, and hands it back to Valen. "It was nice meeting you. I'll be back tomorrow." She doesn't say anything to Kane.

She and Jim head upstairs, closing the door this time. The exact conversation between the humans upstairs isn’t quite audible, but it’s obvious Jim is panicked, and enough can be heard to discern they’re discussing the matter of feeding them.

Guilt radiates through Kane. Jim is panicking because of him. Valen will have to go without blood because of him. And he's so scared they'll change their minds and separate them. That one of them will have to go with the huntress.

While Kane stews in that, Valen reads what Liz had written in his notepad. I've heard about you from the experiments, and I heard you're a guy. I didn't say anything cuz I figured if they didn't know, you probably didn't want them to know. You're safe here. My partner is trans too. Jim will be cool if you tell him, and we can get you anything you need.

Valen is shocked and a little startled to read the note and be informed after the fact that he'd been speaking with someone who'd known he was trans. Jim will be cool if you tell him... That’s promising. We can get you anything you need. Does that refer just to things related to being trans, like binders? Or does it mean other things also? Because as badly as Valen wants to get back on testosterone again, there are......some other things that would definitely be higher on the list of things we would want to ask for.

Like blood, but given the conversation he currently overhears upstairs, it seems like that’s going to be off the table for a while. Valen's thoughts drift back to his experiments with the artificial blood. Should he...should he tell them about that? Should he offer to try and continue, to feed himself and Kane, even if as a stopgap? He hates the idea of making anyone else drink that rubbish. He only did it because he was trying to improve it, and wanted to drink less real human blood. But it tasted awful, and it wasn't as nutritious. He doesn't want to start making it again and have Jim and Liz think they wouldn't need real blood eventually. Valen had tried to go without real blood entirely for about two months partway through the project, and his nails and hair had started falling out, and he'd started getting dizzy at random times. It definitely wasn't sufficient as a sole source of nutrition, it could just stave off hunger for a while. And it would probably be an uphill battle to convince them he’s telling the truth, especially if he has to write everything out, and even harder to convince them to take him to his house to get all his supplies...

Maybe he could just decide what to do about that later. For now he can just wait and see what Jim wants to do. Liz's note also prompts him to think about finally bringing up his identity, now that the circumstances are perhaps a little less dire. He’ll tell Jim later, but it seems like it’s finally time to tell Kane.

After the shock of the hunter's visit wears off, and Kane seems comfortable again, Valen writes on the notepad, Can I tell you something I haven't had the opportunity to until now?

Valen’s note interrupts Kane from wallowing in his guilt. "Of course! I'm so glad you can tell me things now. What is it?"

God, it feels a lot harder to explain when he has to write everything out with his still a little unsteady hand. You didn’t see it because the testosterone had already worn off, but when I first arrived at the hunter’s compound, I looked quite different. I had body hair, and facial hair, and my face was less round. I usually prefer to bind my chest. I think of myself as a man. I hope this doesn’t change anything? His face grows redder and redder, waiting anxiously for Kane's response.

"Oh!" Kane's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. He wasn't expecting this. He stares at the note for a moment, gears turning in his head. "Like a transsexual?"

Valen nods. He’s drawn back, being less touchy-feely now. He writes, I probably should have told you sooner. I'm sorry.

"You couldn't have exactly told me much sooner, we only spoke for the first time recently. But, um, yes, I... support." Kane gives an awkward thumbs-up. "No, of course it doesn't change anything. I'm not- I support, you know, everyone. My best friend growing up was gay. I-"

Am I gay?

The thought hits him like a truck. If he loves Valen, and Valen’s a man, then that means he loves a man.

Kane decides to set that aside for now, tapping Valen on the arm 3 times before hugging him. "I love you."

Valen beams, hugging Kane so, so tightly. There, it'd been that easy. He didn't know why it wouldn't have been that easy.

“It's crazy how we've known each other for months and I'm only just now learning something so important about you. I apologize for referring to you as a woman before this."

Valen nods and gives a dismissive wave. It’s not like Kane’d had any way of knowing.

He releases Kane, sighing, looking wistfully up at the door to upstairs, and then at the manacles around Kane's ankles. He writes I don't suppose we're going to be fed here, then. I had guessed as much, but Jim is so kind I had hoped a little.

Kane glowers. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I stole his blood every day for years, and made it a miserable experience. No wonder he's terrified."

Valen shrugs. Not like there's anything to be done about it now.

The thought of going without eating forever is starting to get to Valen, though. He would be perfectly happy staying here in Jim's basement for as long as Jim wanted, except for having to resign himself to being this hungry for the rest of his life is just a little too much to handle. And...he has a feeling that no matter how much he likes Jim, and no matter how much he knows Jim doesn't deserve it, the temptation to give in to the hunger and attack Jim is probably going to eventually be too much for Valen to bear. Kane may have the willpower to restrain himself from biting, but Valen doesn't.

But they couldn't make Jim and Liz give them blood. That was why Valen had started that ill-fated project in the first place. It was just so unfair for both humans and vampires that it was like this. It had been the only solution he could think of, even if all signs pointed to it being impossible to actually accomplish.

Valen sighs and picks up the pencil. They’re now facing the very same problem that Valen had spent the past years of his life trying to solve. Might as well open this can of worms with Kane. Not like they had much else to do until Jim decides to open the door. I was vague about my interests earlier, but the thing I pursued in my past was science. I had started a project to try and make artificial blood. Do you think we should bring it up to Jim?

Kane reads the note in astonishment, breaking out into a grin. "Valen, that's amazing! We should absolutely tell Jim, maybe he'd let us feed if it doesn't have to come from a human! Did it work?"

Valen fidgets with the pencil dejectedly, breaking eye contact, hoping that Kane won't make him actually spell out his failure.

"...Oh. But, but you were working on it! If you were working on it, that means you thought you could actually do it. Make blood. Right?" Kane prompts. "It's possible?"

Valen regrets bringing it up now. He'd hoped it was possible. He wasn't sure if it actually was. Everyone had told him it wasn't. He'd been trying, at least, so... He must have thought he could do it, right?

Valen writes, I'd made some progress, but the hunters took me before I could finish it. It's not enough, but it can stave off hunger for a little while.

"Staving off hunger is great!" Kane enthuses. "It doesn't need to be enough. Anything is better than just starving. That's incredible. How much... how much does it make the hunger go away? How much does it still hurt after?"

Valen blushes. I've never drank it when I was hungry enough for it to be painful. But the hunger is less intense, it feels like a stone in your stomach. Or water. You feel full, but not fed. 

"That's great! That's so much better than this!" Kane is very excited now, beaming at him. "Could you do it? You could do it here, make us blood? We have to tell Jim. I bet it would make him less scared, too."

I would need a lot of supplies. I have them all at my house, but I'm not sure if we could convince Jim to take us there. Or Liz to let him do so.

"Oh." Kane deflates. "They definitely won't let us go to vampire territory to get supplies."

Upstairs, Jim and Liz are still talking about blood, but quieter. Only vague snippets like 'feed' and the vampires' names can be heard. They sound like they're arguing, but not intensely.

Valen can imagine the way the argument is going. He's not holding his breath. He shakes his head. I own a home on human territory. It's why I was captured here.

Kane's eyes widen. "You lived in human territory? That's... wow. You're, you're really brave, Valen." He's becoming more and more awed by him by the minute.

Valen feels a little awkward being praised like that. Valen had never felt very brave. He'd been constantly terrified, scuttling around like a bug trying to avoid humans, his heart in his throat if anyone so much as looked at him. If he thought that was impressive, Kane would be absolutely floored when he finds out Valen went out during the day.... Of course, that had been before Valen actually knew what sunlight felt like. He might not be so bold now. And look where his bravery had landed him.

Jim opens the door. "I just wanted to let you know that we're gonna get you some blood. Liz's treat." He forces a smile.

Valen picks up on the obvious discomfort in Jim's voice, but he's ecstatic nonetheless. Maybe they wouldn't need to fight the uphill battle of convincing them to get equipment and supplies for imitation blood after all. He gives Kane's arm a few excited taps, trying to squeal with delight.

"Really?" Kane asks, stunned. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Jim, I, I don't know what to say, thank you so much!" He tears up a little, emotional about the fact that he's actually going to be fed.

"Yeah, 'course. Uh, so Liz is gonna just let you feed directly, says it'll be easier that way right now. 'Specially because Valen doesn't exactly... have lips right now, to drink out of a cup or whatever. Your mouth looks pretty bad, would you still be able to feed normally?" Jim asks.

Valen wrings his hands. He's not sure, but he's afraid that if he says no, they'll change their minds about feeding him, thinking it too much effort. No alternative is immediately obvious to him. He can at least give it a try. He still has his teeth, and that's really all he needs. He gives a thumbs-up.

Jim takes them both upstairs. Liz has removed her jacket. "Okay, you're only each getting half a meal, since I'm just one person and Jim's off-limits. You hear me? Off limits."

"Yes, ma'am." Kane says immediately, clinging to Valen. "I-I understand. Thank you so much for feeding us. We're so, so grateful."

Valen scribbles THANK YOU LIZ. He's too afraid to write I LOVE YOU like he had for Jim, because Liz is scarier, but he adds:

I've never fed directly from a human before. What is the best way to do it, that will make you most comfortable?

Liz immediately looks away before reading, then considers, sighs, and looks at the note. She figures by now that Valen's not going to use persuasion on her. Even if he did, both vampires are too weak to overpower Jim, and Jim could just call for help. It's daytime. She smiles as soon as she reads it.

"I dunno, I've never been fed from before. Bitten, sure, but not fed from." she admits. "That's sweet of you, though. Just do your best. And not the neck. Let's try the arm, yeah? That’s how they do it at the doctor. Who's going first?"

Jim looks like he might pass out, but he doesn't want to leave the room.

"You." Kane insists, nudging Valen forward a little. "I got to feed during the experiments. You go first."

Valen does not argue, feeling relieved and selfish. He creeps forward and crouches, taking Liz's arm, feeling goblin-like. He gives her one last glance, as though to give her a chance to change her mind, before opening the skin. He doesn't actually bite--He was one of the few vampires that had studied human wound healing, a subject very few vampires found much use for, considering it a subset of veterinary medicine--but he knows that a shallower wound will heal faster and not be as painful. So he drags his fang across to make a cut, holding Liz's arm delicately, taking dainty, gentle sips.

Jim watches this whole process with extreme anxiety. Saying that seeing his sister be fed from is very unpleasant for him would be an understatement. He fights the urge to push Valen away from her, protect her from the vampires using her as food.

Kane has been starving for two weeks: he is very hungry, but not to the point he can't control himself. He waits patiently for his turn.

Valen doesn't lick the wound closed when he's finished, because he figures it would be optimal for them to feed from the same cut, leaving it open for Kane. He steps back and gives a gesture that's half a bow, half a curtsey, dipping and holding it with gratitude.

"Great! That went well." Liz smiles at Valen, but her face falls and becomes icy when she turns to look at Kane. "Your turn."

Kane is very nervous. "Yes, ma'am." he says meekly, approaching her.

"Wait." Jim steps in front of Liz suddenly. "Don't touch her. Feed from me."

"Jim, you don't have to-" Liz starts.

"I want to." Jim shoves his arm out, but he's shaking. The only thing more unappealing than Kane feeding from him again is watching Kane feed from Liz. Not that. He can’t let that happen, ever. No matter what he has to do.

Kane looks back and forth between Jim and Liz anxiously, waiting for confirmation.

"It's fine." Jim insists, very much looking like it's not fine. "It's nothing we haven't done before."

Kane hesitantly takes his arm. "I'm not going to hurt you." he says softly. "It's different now. If you tell me to stop, I'll stop."

"Okay." Jim can’t watch, his fist curled so tightly his knuckles go white. "Go."

Liz goes to hold Jim’s other hand while Kane feeds. He copies what Valen did. He drinks half a meal, because that’s what he was told to do, then licks it closed. "Thank you, Jim. Thank you."

Jim nods. "I'm gonna go lay down. Liz, can you... finish up here?"

"Yeah. Go lay down, big guy." Liz pats him on the back as he goes, then turns to Valen and holds out her arm. "You can finish."

Valen feels sorry for Jim. He knows what Kane did to him, and how scary it must be for him. He thinks Jim must be so very brave, and so very kind.  He wants to give Jim a gift of some kind, but he has nothing at the moment. Maybe later he can think of something.

He meekly steps forward and drinks a bit more blood from Liz, then licks it closed. He holds up the paper that says THANK YOU LIZ again. He knows this is stressful and unpleasant for them. He thinks about the artificial blood again, but he doesn't dare ask Liz alone without Jim there. Maybe later, when the two vampires have earned some more trust, they could discuss it. Valen steps back and takes Kane's hand.

Kane's eyes are squarely on Liz, and he grips Valen's hand tight. He knows Liz hates him, and he's just fed from Jim in front of her.

Liz does give him a glare. Kane leans in closer to Valen, and she sighs, looking to Valen, too. "I'll be back tomorrow. And the next day. Think of anything you need, and I'll go get it. Time to go back in the basement."

Valen gives a little excited bounce. He scribbles out quickly on the notepad, I can do seamstress work if you get me supplies. So Jim does not have to keep lending us his own clothes. And I would like to make a gift for him, and I can sew something for you as well. I can sew men's and women's clothes.

Liz gives a small smile and leads them back to the basement. "You got it. I'll grab some already-together clothes, too."

"Thank you so much for your help, ma'am." Kane says quietly.

Liz sours instantly as she looks at him. "One last thing. If either of you hurt him, I will kill you. And Valen's not the one I'm worried about."

Kane nods vigorously. "I wouldn't. Never again."

"Good." She sighs. "Back tomorrow with sewing stuff."

She locks them in the basement and goes to check on Jim.

"That... that couldn't have gone better." Kane says quietly.

Valen nods and gives him a long hug. He writes, Jim was so brave. I hope he is OK. That must have been very stressful for him. And I can tell Liz is annoyed. I suspect she would not be so helpful if it were just you alone. Maybe that's why she wanted to take me off Jim's hands.

Kane shudders and holds him tighter, aware of the fact that Valen is basically all that's keeping him safe. "Yes. I wish so, so badly I could just take it all back. That I could just never have hurt him. Thank you for protecting me."

You protected me first.

Kane leans down slightly and kisses Valen on the forehead. "I always will."

Valen gets flush with warm feelings. He's never felt so genuinely safe with anyone before. He's starting to feel like no matter what horrible situation he finds himself in, Kane being there would always make it a little better somehow. Everyone who had ever loved him had conditioned that love on certain things, wanted him to behave or be a certain way, but with Kane, it feels like no matter what happens, nothing could lessen the feeling of caring for each other.

Before they go to sleep, Valen asks Kane to sing to him again, and he does so, an older love song from back home in vampire territory.

Afterwards, cuddled into Valen's side, he timidly asks, "Are we... a thing?" He's not too sure. He feels like this is what romance is, but he's never been in a relationship before and wants to be sure. Friends say I love you, too.

Valen rolls over and gives him an exasperated look

Kane laughs, his anxiety suddenly gone. "Okay, okay. That was stupid of me. I… guess that makes me gay, doesn't it? My parents would disown me. I don't even care." It feels exhilarating, to finally have a love that he doesn't need to reach desperately for.

Valen gives him the wishy-washy hand wobble signal. Eh. Yeah, kind of does, he thinks. A little. Scary to realize, huh?

Valen reaches for his notepad and pulls it up onto the bed. He writes, Why should we care about the opinions of those who don't even consider humans as fully people? What could they possibly be correct about?

"Yeah. You're right." Kane nuzzles into his shoulder. "I'm glad I found you, even if it took all that."

Valen writes, My husband is convinced that I'll come to my senses and start behaving properly any day now. I've asked him to sign the divorce paperwork many times, but I can't get him to. I suspect my family and yours would get along just as well as you and I do.

"If we're ever free, I'll march right down to Priscus and tell him you're taken." Kane says with a grin. "Bet that wouldn't look too proper."

Valen smiles, turning over and backing into Kane so that they're spooning, wanting to fall asleep that way. It's cozy.

***

Things continue rather peacefully for the next few days. Jim starts using a blood draw kit, but Liz just lets Valen feed directly from her. She brings over clothes, including binders, and sewing stuff. Kane asks Valen to teach him to sew, so they can do it together. Valen comes out to Jim, and everything seems to be going well.

One day, when the three are in the living room together, Jim gets a phone call.

“Hey, Jim, how are you? It’s Chase. Just calling on behalf of the vampire hunters to check up on ya. Just wanted to make sure everything went okay with the leeches after pickup. Your sister and your local branch handled disposal after you were done, right?"

Kane gasps, his blood running cold at the sound of his tormenter's voice. He immediately takes Valen's hand, pressing into him fearfully.

Valen doesn't have the same Pavlovian conditioning as Kane about this voice, but he certainly recognizes it and knows to fear it. Valen puts an arm around Kane and gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. He does three taps on Kane's shoulder, then looks up at Jim with wary eyes, trying not to cry.

Jim glances at the vampires briefly. This is not good. "Uh, no, they're uh, still kickin'. Not literally. Listen, this isn't a good time." He wants to talk to this bastard as little as possible.

"I'll get out of your hair, then," Chase says agreeably. "Shit, good on you for having the balls to not go for it right away after what that one did to you. Especially after it took out the researcher at the other branch."

Jim freezes. "What?"

"Valen," Kane whispers urgently, feeling impossibly trapped. It's daytime, and they've been fed a little, but they're both still so weak. His stomach feels like it's made of ice. 

Jim..... doesn't know that Kane killed Nick. He doesn't know, and clearly this is unwelcome news.

Valen's mind also races to the possibility of escape. They can't die now, or be sent back, they can't, things have just started to finally, somehow, get better. Valen trembles, gripping Kane firmly, hoping against hope that maybe somehow Jim will understand.

Kane starts to cry, clinging to Valen. He hopes that whatever punishment he's given doesn't involve Valen being hurt, too. He hopes it's anything but being sent back. Even if it's the sun for a month, that would end. Being sent back would be forever.

"Yeah, the parasites were at a different branch before, but the fucker killed its keeper and ran. They were halfway back to vampire territory when we caught 'em. Shit, did no one tell you? I thought someone would’ve mentioned it to you or your sister. Guess everyone else thought the same shit. You need someone to come help you out?"

Kane sobs into Valen, shivering. Valen's eyes widen at that. Just Jim, Valen felt like they had a shot at reasoning with. But if any of them came over...

Valen pleadingly shakes his head at Jim. Please. Please just let it be over.

Part of Jim wants to say yes. He wants to say Yes, this is too much, I'm scared, help me.

"N-no. I can handle it," Jim stammers instead. "Bye." He places the receiver back on the hook, but doesn't let go of it as he turns to look fearfully at Kane.

"Please!" Kane wails, hysterical. "I'm sorry! Please please please, I'll be good, please don't make me go back!"

Valen keeps his grip firmly on Kane and moves himself in between them. Pressing Kane back into the wall protectively, just as Kane had done for him so many times.

I can fix this. I can fix this. We're all just scared.

He reaches a placating hand out to Jim. He's afraid to make any sudden movements, to reach for his notepad to say something.

Jim flinches back, letting go of the phone as he steps further and further away. They're vampires and there's two of them and one has persuasion and the other is Kane and he killed someone.

"No," Jim squeaks, wincing when he remembers he's not supposed to be defiant. He stares back at Valen with wide, terrified eyes. "Please don't hurt me, sir." The words sound odd in his mouth: he never even begged much back when he was Kane's, but he can't afford not to now.

Oh. Valen had expected Jim to be angry, or demand an explanation... but of course he would just be scared. So, so scared. Jim didn't know, how could he?

Not letting go of Kane, Valen reaches over and gets his notepad, sliding it over and scribbling out quickly. Valen has always been.....verbose, but he realizes he needs to keep it short and simple.

JIM

I PROMISE YOU'RE SAFE

KANE HAD A VERY GOOD REASON TO KILL THAT MAN

Jim looks away immediately, before he can read what's on the paper. His eyes well up with tears. He's going to use persuasion on me. They're vampires. They're faster than me. I won't be able to get out the door. Just like at Kane's.

Kane, trembling, reaches out to turn the paper around. Valen is trying to help, to convince Jim, and he needs more than anything for that to succeed.

"It- it says, J-Jim, I promise you're safe, Kane had a very good reason to- to kill th-that man," Kane reads, voice shaky with tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to h-hurt anyone anymore, but he just, he wouldn't stop. He w-wouldn't stop hurting us, I know I, I deserve it, but Valen doesn't!" he cries. "Please, I understand if- if you need to p-puish me. Please don't hurt him." Despite his words, he continues cowering behind Valen.

Jim knows that feeling. He'd planned to kill Kane, after all. He tries to tell himself it's okay, it's not like before, he's not going to be hurt. "Okay," he says quietly, practically a whisper. "I won't. I won't hurt either of you. So just, please don't." 

Valen scribbles out on the notepad again.

We won't hurt you

You saved us

I would do anything for you

Kane killed him to save me from being tortured and raped every day

We wouldn't hurt you

Kane chokes on his voice and can't bring himself to read this one out loud.

Figuring the vampires could probably overpower him together even in their weakened state and so whether Valen uses persuasion is meaningless, Jim slowly turns around.

He fills with sadness as he reads the note. "Oh," he says softly. "Yeah. That'll do it."

Kane looks to him with desperation for a long moment, wondering what his punishment will be decided as.

Jim looks him straight in the eye. "You did the right thing."

Kane certainly wasn't expecting that. "R-really?"

"Yeah," Jim confirms. "Hell, I wasn't thinking right, I was too panicky. Even without that stuff, he was hurting you and holding you captive. Of course you'd defend yourself." 

Valen is overtaken by such intense relief that for a moment all he can do is cry, clutching Kane and sobbing into his chest. After a moment of that, he reaches out and takes Jim's hands, unsure of how to communicate the thunderstorm of emotions rolling over him, grateful tears brimming over in his eyes.

Jim holds Valen's hand gently. "I won't hurt you either," he assures him, starting to calm down himself. "You're safe here, too."

Valen starts to go in for a hug, then thinks better of it, rocking on his heels between Kane and Jim. He picks up his notepad and draws a big heart on it, then shows it to Jim.

"Yeah. Hearts all around." Jim smiles.

***

***

K&J x MMSS crossover taglist:

@barebarb

@cc1010foxy

@emcscared-whumps

@hurtpluscomfort

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@pigeonwhumps

@secretwhumplair

@some-thrilling-heroics

@t0rture-me

@thecyrulik

@thejinglingcourtjester

@vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff

@whuarri

@whump-cravings

@whump-my-heart-away

@whumpycries

@wolfeyedwitch

@whump-addict

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