Justin let himself into the loft late at night. He had imagined finding Brian in bed, sleeping. He would wake him in the nicest of ways; they'd talk; and then Justin would do everything in his power to help.

Of course, his plan was far from the reality that greeted him. Brian was lying on the floor, an empty bottle of pills and an almost empty bottle of Beam next to him.

"Brian! Fuck. Brian. You stupid human!" Justin fell to his knees, wincing at the slight pain to his still tender skin. He rolled him onto his back, lifting Brian's head onto his lap. He could barely hear his heart beating. "Don't you dare die! I didn't go through all that hell to return to you dying."

Justin tried giving Brian CPR, but nothing worked. As he held Brian's cooling body close to him, his fingers stroking his wrist and noting the weakening pulse, an idea hit him. They could have forever.

Justin stared at Brian's fragile body, his beautiful face, his pale lips. He knew he couldn't give up on someone who was everything he wanted. No one had ever caused such strong feelings within him.

"I'm so sorry. I hope you won't hate me when you wake up."

Closing his eyes and squeezing them shut as he gathered himself, Justin brought Brian's wrist to his lips. He bit down, not allowing the monster within him to enjoy the moment. This wasn't for their pleasure; rather, it was necessary to save Brian.

He could vaguely remember what Bernard had done when he'd turned Ethan, but he'd been too enraged to fully focus on how his master had turned his boyfriend before his eyes. Justin figured biting down on each pulse point of Brian's body would do the trick. He even massaged the spots to make the venom spread quicker. He could vividly remember Ethan thrashing about and yelling during his transformation.

Brian was too still, too quiet, too dead.

When Justin was sure the venom was working, hearing Brian's heart fighting against the invading substance, he carried him to the bed. On the nightstand, he found the test results.

Justin hadn't studied medicine, but he could tell the results meant Brian was fucked, with everything well below the normal range. The words written by the doctor were heartbreaking - he'd given Brian one week.

Justin had had no idea someone's life could change so drastically in only one week.

It had been almost a month since he'd left with Bernard and, according to the date on the test results, Brian was nearing the end of his week. He'd probably freaked out and decided to end the torture, but it hurt Justin that Brian hadn't called him. They'd had figured something together. He'd promised to come back.

Now they were going to have forever, provided Brian ever forgave him for turning him into a creature of the night.

oOo

Justin stood at the large windows under the full moon's light, biting his nails anxiously.

How much time had passed?

Was it supposed to take so long?

If he somehow failed at this, he wasn't sure he could forgive himself. It was the first time he'd done it, but he'd heard of it, seen it happen before his eyes, and it didn't seem like rocket science.

At that moment, he heard a raw scream from the bed. Then silence. Deafening silence.

Finally!

Relieved, Justin rushed to Brian's side.

Brian sat up on his bed, wide, glowing eyes staring at Justin in shock as his hands wrapped tightly around his own neck.

"Hurts!" he cried out.

"It's all right, Brian," Justin said soothingly, approaching the bed.

"No! It hurts so badly, like nothing I've ever experienced."

"I know. Do you trust me?"

"What kind of question is that? Besides, aren't you supposed to be in fucking Hollywood?" Brian snapped, momentarily forgetting about his raw throat.

Justin smirked. "I was, but then word reached me that you'd decided to kill yourself."

"I didn't kill myself! Do you think I wanted this? You weren't supposed to know! No one should have known."

"But Michael heard the message on your answering machine."

"There's nothing you can do. Go back to Hollywood." Brian looked away, absently rubbing his throat. "Can you get me some water?"

"When I got here, I saw your test results." Justin pointed to the papers on Brian's nightstand.

"Like I said. It will be over soon. Go back to Hollywood, become a success, and forget about me."

"What did I tell you? I love you! I won't let anything hurt you!"

"You can't make the cancer go away, Justin."

"I just did." Justin grinned triumphantly.

"Are you high? Would you get me some fucking water? My throat is scratchy."

"It's not water that you need," Justin whispered, shifting closer. "Close your eyes."

"Why? What are you doing?" Brian eyed Justin dubiously as he rolled his sleeve up.

"Close your eyes, Brian. Good boy." Satisfied Brian was listening to him, Justin ran his nail over his wrist before pressing the cut skin to Brian's mouth. "Drink."

Brian's eyes flashed open when he felt his lips touching Justin's skin. Repulsed, he pulled back, but before he could protest, he tasted the fragrance of Justin's blood. Delicious. Conflicted about why he was committing such a savage act, Brian nevertheless grasped Justin's arm with both his hands, pressing his mouth to the cut from which the blood was oozing. He felt his canines elongating.

Terrified at the change, he pulled away again, watching Justin in horror.

"I can't believe this. Do you ever do as you're told? Drink! I'll answer all your questions later," Justin promised, stroking Brian's head.

Unable to resist, Brian succumbed to his inexplicable need for Justin's blood.

"Careful. Easy," Justin chided when Brian tore open the cut on his wrist a bit more.

Once he'd had his fill, Brian pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sorry," he mumbled, transfixed as Justin licked his own wrist until the wound closed.

"It's okay. You'll learn in time."

"Would you care to explain what the fuck is going on? If I didn't know any better, I'd say…"

Justin quirked an eyebrow. "Then say it. Acceptance is the first step, Brian."

"They gave me the good shit at the hospital. This isn't happening." He shook his head wildly.

Justin touched Brian's hand. "When I arrived, I found you on the floor. Later, we'll have a talk about you attempting to take your life. You scared the shit out of me." Justin bit down on his lip. "Your pulse was weak. You had minutes, if… if that." His voice caught in his throat. "I never wanted to do this. Ever."

"Are you for real?" Brian snatched his hand back.

"Come on, Brian, don't do this to me. You know what's going on."

"This is insane."

Justin gauged his lover's expression, slowly inching closer and wrapping his arms around Brian. "I'm so sorry, but I had to do it."

"You're warm. I guess all you needed was sunny California to treat your bad circulation."

Justin chuckled darkly. "I'm warm because we're the same temperature now, Brian."

"We always were."

"Brian, you can't be that dense. You know what's going on. Please, accept it."

"You can't expect me to believe that you are a fucking vampire. Worse. That I am now one, too."

"Fine. Don't believe. Just don't go out of the house during daylight, or my efforts to save you will have been wasted." Justin got off the bed and headed to the door.

"Wait!" Brian was beside Justin in a flash, grabbing his elbow. He stopped, shocked at his fast movement. "What the fuck?"

"Speed is something you can learn to control," Justin muttered, annoyed that his lover wasn't cooperating. He'd expected Brian to be reluctant, but his behavior was much worse than he'd imagined.

"You mean I really am… and you are…"

"Yes." Justin sighed. "Look, I get that you probably hate me."

"You know I couldn't hate you! But this is insane, Justin."

"It's the fucking truth! I never told you because you were in this for fun. Just like I was… in the beginning."

"It's changed for me too," Brian whispered, wrapping his arms around Justin.

"I know. I can feel it."

"So… what now? You can't just leave. Not now."

"So you still want me? After I destroyed your life?" Justin looked into Brian's eyes pleadingly. "I couldn't let you die, Brian. I love you too much. I haven't been this close to anyone in centuries."

"Why do I have a feeling you mean that literally?"

"Because it's the truth."

Brian led Justin to the couch. "Tell me. Everything. We have time. You made sure time is something we'd have. So go ahead and tell me your story."

Justin snuggled into Brian's side, basking in the feeling of having him near once again.

"I don't even know where to start. I guess back when I was human is a good place."

"How old are you actually?" Brian asked, raising a brow.

"I was born in December 1513," Justin said shyly, staring into Brian's wide eyes. "I lived a pretty decent life in London until—"

"London?" Brian echoed him.

"Uh, yes. I'm from England. I was an aspiring artist and planned to go to school in Paris. Bernard… uh, you know him as Brandon… he gave me the world in his opinion. I was stupid to fall for his kind words and gestures. However, if being gay is hard now, imagine how it was back then. So I fell for everything he told me, letting him turn me in April 1533. Then we went to Paris. That's probably the only promise he ever kept - he showed me Paris and helped me become the artist that I am today."

"Brandon? The asshole who kept trying to get into my club after I banned him?"

"Yes. He was there for me." Justin squeezed Brian's hand, unsure how to explain what a Sire was to the one he'd turned without scaring him. "You see, there is a strong connection between the Sire and a newborn vampire. A vampire will always obey the one who turned him. Well, unless he has a mind of his own and is smart enough to break free," Justin added with a smirk.

"You mean I have to obey you?"

Justin tried not to laugh at what Brian had chosen to hear from his speech. "Not necessary, but there will always be a strong bond between us. I doubt you'll ever want to break it. I had to break free from Brandon because he was a monster. It didn't even take me long to figure it out. After a few decades together and meeting several other vampires, I knew Bernard was a bad seed. I stopped listening to what he was telling me to do and ignored all his instructions, all his rules, until I managed to rip myself from him. I visited Europe. I schooled myself in feeding without killing, in surviving with as little as possible, in embracing what Bernard had made of me. When I returned to Paris a few centuries later, I fell for a violin player."

"Are all vampires artists?" Brian asked curiously.

"Uh, Ethan was human back then."

"Ethan? Your friend...Ethan?"

"The very same. I thought that was love; until I met you, Ethan was the only one I'd ever loved."

Brian pulled his hand away. "Do you still love him?"

"No. We're simply friends. You're everything to me, now and forever." Justin cupped his cheek, leaning closer. Brian's eyes darkened, and then he was kissing Justin with insatiable hunger. Justin hadn't expected Brian to experience hunger for anything other than blood for a while, but nevertheless returned the kiss fiercely.

"So you turned him too?" Brian asked when they broke apart after kissing longer than usual, neither man needing to breathe.

"Bernard found me, and he could tell how much I loved Ethan. He hunted us - that's the most accurate description. Even though I tried to keep Ethan safe, I failed. Bernard lured me into a house on the outskirts of the city where he lived. He kept me in a dungeon for weeks, weakening me, then shackled me to a metal chair and made me watch as he turned Ethan before my eyes."

"That's sick."

"That was Bernard. He was a sick motherfucker." Justin shrugged.

"Was? He no longer is?"

"I took care of him. That's why I left so suddenly," Justin said, meeting Brian's eyes. "I made him believe I was leaving you and going back to him. It was all he wanted - to have me back. I was his weakness and I played it to my advantage. I killed him yesterday, with some friends' help."

Dazed, blinking rapidly, Brian watched him as he tried to absorb everything Justin had related.

"I know, it's too much information. Like you said, we have forever." Justin stroked a hand through Brian's hair.

"So no going out in the sun?" Brian nodded toward the rising sun.

"Sadly, no. Unless you want to become crusty."

"And to think I cursed the fucker for getting in my eyes yesterday on the drive back from the hospital."

"Care to explain to me about that? Why didn't you call me? I had to hear it from Michael."

"Because Michael is a nosy fucker. I didn't want anyone to know. I hoped there was something that could be done, but it spread more quickly than the doctors had anticipated."

Justin hugged him tightly. "If something happened to you..."

"It almost did."

"I'd like to say I saved you," Justin whispered, dejected. He knew that this wasn't saving someone.

"You did. You made me what I always wanted to be - forever young."