A Change - vampire AU

[chosenbylightning]

The call to St. Louis had been a frantic one. While the team at S.T.A.R. Labs had thought Central City was facing another metahuman attack, it was, in fact, a deeply curious vampire who wished to taste the blood of metahumans.

Barry's blood loss had been catastrophic. His suit slashed to ribbons and vampire blood staining his lips as Cisco and Caitlin brought him home. While they worked to stabilize Barry, Joe called the one person who might be best suited to help his son.

Jason, and possibly Jean-Claude as well.

Someone had to. Metahumans they could handle. Not vampires.

Comments

[chosenbylightning]

While Barry sleeps the team continues to work, monitoring blood tests and watching for any signs of possible change and how they can adapt to whatever might come.

"Nnh. Jason?" His voice is rough, barely above a whisper as Barry forces his eyes to open. Things had been chaotic and blurry before he'd gone under, but he remembered Jason, remembered his voice and the feel of his lips on his forehead. "What happened?"

[pomme_de_sang]

Jason had half dozed off while waiting, but his ears pricked at the sound of Barry's voice, no matter how low it was. Werewolf hearing was awesome like that.

He brings Barry's hand up to his lips, pressing another kiss there before standing. "Right here," he says, moving into Barry's line of sight. Easier than making him move. "Don't move too much. You're still on a couple of drips. Blood and saline." Still working to get his blood levels back up. Still, with his heart stabilized, they actually can concentrate on that. "From my understanding, you ran into a master vampire who decided he wanted to see how metahuman tastes."

He turns away, finding a button to call for somebody to get some ice chips for Barry. It would be better for him than straight up water at the moment.

[chosenbylightning]

Blood? His brows furrow as he starts to piece together the hazy memories, a hand flying up to his healed throat and shoulder. "I was bitten," he recalls slowly. "Wasn't I?"

His tongue runs across his teeth, wincing as he finds that his canines are suddenly much more pointed than they used to be. "Oh god," he chokes out. "Oh god. Jason? What happened to me?"

[pomme_de_sang]

No, he's not expecting that. Jason shifts forward, using his free hand to pull up Barry's upper lip. And has to stare because, yeah, those are...

"Okay, that shouldn't have happened."

Because that made sense, Jason.

He let Barry's lip drop, pursing his own. "Right. Yes, you were bitten. You were bitten really badly and, yeah, we nearly lost you. Probably more times than even I know about because it took some time to get here from St. Louis." He took Barry's hand between his, rubbing his boyfriend's hand gently. "You didn't die. You can feel your heart still beating and that wouldn't be happening if you were a vampire."

[chosenbylightning]

Jason's calm is probably the only thing helping Barry stave off a full on panic attack. Turned. He had to have been turned to some degree if he has fangs. He struggles to sit up, giving up at a wave of dizziness.

"What am I then? What happened to me?" He drags a trembling hand across his face. "What about the vampire who attacked me?"

[pomme_de_sang]

Jason moves, helping Barry to sit up as much as he can. He understands about not wanting to take news lying down. Then he perches on the side of the bed, taking hold of Barry's hand again.

"You're still you. There might be a couple of changes, but you're still the same person that you always were." He's been around enough newly turned vampires to know that that's the truth, after all. So even if Barry had turned, it wouldn't change things. "We're not certain what happened yet. Caitlin, Cisco and Harry were still running tests last I knew. I'm just here for moral support and to look pretty."

The self-deprecating smile doesn't exactly get to his eyes. And his eyes are where the worry is showing. "As for the vampire who attacked you, I don't know. Anita and Jean-Claude are out looking for them. I think your dad may be with them, but more for the fact that neither Anita or Jean-Claude know the city well." Or at all. It's a job that, normally, Jason would have taken. But staying with Barry had trumped 'normally'. "If anybody can find them, it's those two. And they'll keep your dad safe."

[chosenbylightning]

His senses are muddled, his head hurts and if he hadn't gone through a few dozen bags of fluids he'd likely be starving. Barry breathes out slowly, listening to the reassuring sound of Jason's voice. "You're here because I love you." If anyone could help him through this, help him understand how things might have changed, it was Jason.

There's no way he can deter Anita, Jean-Claude or Joe from going after the vampire that attacked him and Barry.. isn't sure that he would even want to. Yes, Anita was known as a vampire Executioner and there was a very good chance that the creature that attacked him, that tried to turn him would be summarily executed for what he'd done.

If he wasn't already nauseous he'd probably feel sicker.

He tries to sit up a bit more, to rest his head on Jason and draw some comfort from simple touch. "I'm scared. You.. you won't let me hurt anyone?"

[pomme_de_sang]

"Well. There's the fact that I love you, too." Which meant a lot in a case like this. Especially when they're facing so much that is unknown.

Jason pulls him forward, so that he can rest against him, reaching up to run his fingers through Barry's hair. "No. No, I won't let you hurt anybody." And it scares him, because making certain that Barry doesn't hurt anybody could have a terrible cost. He's hoping it doesn't come to that, though.

[chosenbylightning]

Barry goes easily when he's pulled, leaning into the solid warmth of Jason's shoulder and the promise that he won't let him hurt anyone. "Cisco. He needs to rebuild the cold gun." A shaky breath. "Just in case." He doesn't want to become like Thawne, he doesn't want to hurt people for the sake of it and he certainly doesn't want to hurt them because he's.. different.

[pomme_de_sang]

"I'm sure that, if Cisco thinks it needs to be rebuilt, he's already working on plans for it." Jason pulls back, looking Barry in the eyes. "You're still you, Barry. Everything about you that I fell in love with. I don't believe for a moment that we'll need that, but I'm sure that Cisco is thinking about it. Right now, how about we don't borrow trouble until we have more of a clue what's going on?"

[chosenbylightning]

"Okay." Barry still doesn't trust himself, doesn't trust whatever has been done to him. Sure he'll sleep over at the Circus with Jason, talk easily with the other vampires, but they were human when they were turned. Metahuman plus vampire equals one hell of an unknown.

It takes the combined effort of Cisco, Caitlin and Jean-Claude to finally determine what was happening to Barry. There were tests that followed and none of them were pleasant, but Barry went through them all without complaint.

He's thirsty though. Drinking cup after cup of water in between the blood tests, speed tests, the MRIs, even the UV lamp test (and that was a relief to know the sun wouldn't hurt him). "Hang on, hang on," he holds up a hand as he goes for yet more water. "I'm a what? Dhampir? I've never heard of that."

[pomme_de_sang]

Jason had stayed silent through most of the discussion. Or, rather, hadn't stayed silent but simply didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation. He spent most of the time making certain Barry had plenty of water, even though the sheer amount that he was packing away was worrying.

Though only slightly less worrying than the actual decision is.

He frowns slightly. "Not a true dhampir, but it's probably the closest to what you seem to be," he says slowly, not paying attention to the others. While he never plays dumb around Barry's friends, he knows that he's not quite bright enough to keep up with the other science. This part, at least, was in his wheelhouse. "A true dhampir is the child of a human mother and a vampire father. It can happen, though generally only with a fairly newly turned vampire. I know of one vampire that fathered a child at about a century old, but that's the oldest I've heard of." Jason blinks, looking around. "Which isn't what you want to know about. They generally don't have much in the way of vampire traits from the father. You, on the other hand, seem to have gotten caught somewhere in between. The fluctuating heart rate gave the blood a chance to get hold, but your...metahuman-ness kept it at bay enough for us to get you stabilized and alive. So...in between."

[chosenbylightning]

"So I'm caught somewhere in the middle. Not quite a vampire, but not exactly a meta anymore." Not exactly what Barry would call encouraging news. Just like when he woke up after the particle accelerator and the lightning, he was an unknown all over again.

But it would be okay because just like before, he had people he trusted around him to help and better still, he had Jason. "Okay." His hand slid into Jason's, comforted by the weight of it, by his steady presence beside him. "So we'll figure out what that means together."

[pomme_de_sang]

"Definitely a meta, but a different kind." Jason rubs his thumb in circles over the back of Barry's hand, a slight frown on his face as he looks down at their joined hands.

He looks up, finally reaching out with his other hand to brush Barry's hair out of his eyes. "Still thirsty?"

The wheels are working. And he's not so certain how happy he is with the answers he's coming up with.

[chosenbylightning]

"Yeah. I am."

He's not so sure about Jason's belief that he is simply a different kind of meta now - he'd been attacked and bitten, had blood forced down his throat and.. and..

Oh god.

It dawns on Barry almost at the same moment it occurs to Jason and he looks up at him with wide, pleading eyes. Begging it not to be true. "No. Oh god Jason no. I can't. I can't hurt people."

[pomme_de_sang]

He'd figured out a long time ago that he's not as fast as Barry and that's something that Jason is fine with.

But he's still plenty fast and a lot faster than a human. For most of them, it looks like Jason goes from holding one of Barry's hands to holding both arms, hands tight just below the elbow. In fact, he knows only Jean-Claude and Barry himself actually saw the move. Maybe Anita did, it's hard to say what she can see these days.

But, he clamps his hands down with a strength he's honestly never shown to Barry. It's not a restraining hold, though. It's more like holding on for dear life. "You're not going to hurt anybody, Barry. Not if either of us can help it." He uses his grip to shake Barry ever-so-slightly. "You're the smart one, Barr. Between you, Cisco, Caitlin and Grumpy Cat over there, I'm sure you guys can figure out something synthetic." After a few moments, Jason adds a shrug. "And worst comes to absolute worst? I've bled for far worse reasons. And I doubt you'll need as much as a normal vampire."

[chosenbylightning]

No. No no no. Blood?

The quick and certain grip on his arms shakes Barry out of his very real panic. It had been hard enough coming to terms with being a meta and now this? Fangs and blood and it's almost too much to deal with at once.

"Jason.. I can't," the protest is weak at best. He doesn't want to hurt him, even though Barry knows damn well Jason has acted as a food source for vampires in the past. "I can't do that to you."

[pomme_de_sang]

"Except you aren't doing it to me, I'm offering." Jason's hands loosened slightly on Barry's arms. "Right now, we have to figure out what you need. Whether that's blood or something else, it's something we need to be able to deal with. You don't want to hurt anybody? Well, that's step one."

[chosenbylightning]

He's never been so afraid. Coping with new powers had been hard enough, now there's a whole hosts of new demands that his friends will have to help him with to keep him stable and from hurting anyone.

At least he has Jason with him and Barry tips his head forward to rest on his shoulder. Just.. taking a moment to breathe. "O-okay. Whatever you and Jean-Claude think is best."

[pomme_de_sang]

Strangely, the fact that Barry tips his head against Jason's shoulder actually helps the werewolf relax. It might only be the newness of the change at the moment, but the fact that Barry can be that close to the crook of his neck and not seemingly react is a good sign.

Jason reaches up, running his fingers through Barry's hair. "Right now, I think we should try to do something about what's making you so thirsty so that you can get some more rest." Once Barry was more rested, they could start experimenting, figuring out the best ways to deal with what's happened to Barry so that he won't hurt anybody.

[chosenbylightning]

Caitlin is already deep in discussion with both Anita and Jean-Claude before dragging Harry off to the lab. Clearly she's got something in mind and as much as Barry wants to participate, he's not ready to leave the comfort of Jason's arms.

"You're right. I.. I'm tired." He'll wait while they work, try and keep himself calm. "I need to eat." Running, the fight and the desperate battle to stay alive had taken a lot out of him.

[pomme_de_sang]

"Well, we can probably dig you up a sandwich, but that's a test that we may want to wait on for a bit." Jason kisses his temple before he slips away from the bed for a moment and approaches the small group on the other side of the room. "Anita? Mind if I borrow a knife? Preferably not one of the silver ones."

Part of this would be reminding Barry that he heals damned well, after all. So when he gets the blade, offered with a curious look, Jason takes it and grabs a glass before going to the other side of the room.

To be honest, he should probably do this in a different room. Maybe a different building. Jason knows that Jean-Claude can control himself around the scent of blood and he has already eaten tonight. The unknown factor in all of this is going to be Barry's reaction and that's...that's something that they need to know. So Jason purposefully turns his back to the bed, taking a breath before cutting across his arm. A deep cut so that he wouldn't heal it straight away and he could get about half the glass filled with his blood before it closed again.

[chosenbylightning]

"A test?" Curiosity furrows his brow as Jason slips away to speak to the others. He needs ten thousand calories per day just to maintain his energy - what else could he possibly consume?

The smell rocks him first, rich and warm and Barry's hands fist in the sheets. "Jason?" His voice is uneven, touched with vibrations as he struggles valiantly to keep himself still.

"W-what are you doing?"

[pomme_de_sang]

While Barry's not a full vampire, that doesn't mean that food might not be an issue. Something that they definitely have to think about.

The cut closes on its own, Jason using his other hand to wipe up the excess blood and lick it off his thumb, then wiping the knife on his jeans to clean it off. He'll give it back to Anita in a little bit. For now, he leaves it on the table and makes his way back to Barry. "You're probably going to hate me for this and that's all right. I'm not going anywhere. But you probably need this and we're all better off learning that sooner rather than later."

He's okay with Barry hating him right now. He just wants Barry to be okay.

[chosenbylightning]

"What? It's nearly a scream as Jason extends the glass of blood in his direction and Barry throws himself backwards hard enough to upend the bed. He pushes himself against the wall as if he can somehow escape both the blood and the way his body is reacting to it.

He wants it. He wants the offered blood and that is terrifying as hell.

"No. No. No, I can't do this. I can't. Jason don't," he pleads, hardly aware that his canines are growing into fangs.

[pomme_de_sang]

Blood really stopped being an issue for Jason so long ago that it's not funny. But he forgets, sometimes, that other people have a lot of issues with it.

He sets the glass aside, instead rounding the bed to make his way to Barry. "Barr. Barr, breathe. Okay? Just keep breathing for me." He crouches, taking hold of Barry's arms again, just below the elbow.

[chosenbylightning]

Barry has pulled himself in as close as possible, arms wrapped tightly around his chest. No. This can't be happening. He can't be dependent on blood. It's too much - too overwhelming.

Familiar hands on his arms start to pull him out of his panic, blinking up at his boyfriend, at the guy he went and fell head over heels for and Barry can't stop the tears as they start to fall. He's never been so scared. "I can't. I can't do this Jason. Think about how much food I have to have."

If he had to drink blood? God. It's too much. People would die just to keep him on his feet.

[pomme_de_sang]

"Yeah, I know." Jason shifts in closer, wrapping his arms around Barry's shoulders and kissing the top of his head. "I'm sorry, Barr. We will find a way to deal with this."

[chosenbylightning]

The storm of tears doesn't last long once he finally lets it go. He can't ask anyone to sacrifice their life to keep him on his feet. He simply can't. Somewhere above him he can hear Caitlin talking urgently with Jean-Claude. Blood packing. Serums. Increasing potency.

Just like before - his fate is in the hands of his friends and his team.

[pomme_de_sang]

Luckily, Barry's friends and team are good people. Expanded from what it was before and, with luck, that will help.

Jason waits until the worst of the tears are over with before he shifts. "Let me get some protein bars for you, huh?" There's a little worry that Barry's body is going to reject food, which...would be a really bad thing right now. But considering everything else, Jason's not sure it's something to worry about. Other than possibly needing blood, everything else seems to be functioning normally. "I'll take the glass and get rid of it, all right? We'll just get some food in you so you can rest."

[chosenbylightning]

Barry nods mutely, scrubbing the tears away as Jason moves to get rid of the blood and fetch a few protein bars for him. They taste as terrible as ever, and despite Jason's worrying his body doesn't reject the food. It's not enough for long term, but it's enough so he can rest.

They get Barry resting quietly in medical, with Jason close by while Caitlin and the team continue to work.

By morning they have answers and a serum. A high-density serum synthesized from some of Jason's blood and quite a bit of guidance from Jean-Claude about the physical needs of vampires. It'll take some testing, but they're hopeful.

[pomme_de_sang]

They end up having to find a room for Jean-Claude to sleep in for the day. Though 'sleep' isn't quite the right word for it. And Jason makes note of which room it is so that he can make sure to keep Barry out of it.

The last thing Barry needs at the moment is to be faced with a "dead" vampire.

Sometime during the night, though, Jason had climbed into the bed beside Barry and had curled up with him. They both really needed the closeness and, honestly, if Jason spent most of the night with his head on Barry's chest, ear right over his heart? Well, he doubted anybody could blame him.

The news in the morning is hopeful, though, and allows Jason to relax a little bit, gripping Barry's hand tightly. "See? Nothing to worry about."

[chosenbylightning]

They both needed the rest and the comfort of touch, listening to one another's heartbeat and simply breathing together. Safe and whole and for now that was good enough because it had to be. Barry held on to Jason because he was the anchor keeping him stable throughout the changes. The certain voice in his ear reminding him that he was still him. That he was still good.

For the record? The serum sucks. It hurts like hell, racing through his veins like liquid fire, but it dulls the thirst and eases his discomfort.

"I'll have to use it at least once every other day," Barry explains to Jason as he tears into another protein bar. "Every day if I'm using too much energy, but Caitlin thinks it'll help. That I won't be a danger to anyone as long as I can stay on it."

[pomme_de_sang]

"Which means keeping an extra dose with you. And both of us learning how to administer it." Because, yeah, Jason's not going to be leaving Barry to deal with this alone. And if that means learning how to stick a needle in Barry so that he doesn't go stupid dhampir on people, so be it. "And I'm sure they're still going to be working on it, see if they can find a way to make it less painful."

Because, yeah, Jason doesn't really like the idea of Barry in pain. Even if it passes fast enough.