#i would say 'we'll be back to regularly-scheduled brainrot later'

[starlitangels]

Fell Through

This idea’s been rattling around in my head for a bit. So... while I’m on a bit of a Sam/Darlin’ brainrot train... here you go. 3.2k words

—

I knew something was wrong the moment Sam opened the door. He looked... wan. That confident posture slouched. The T-shirt under his plaid flannel was wrinkled. That last one was the bit that caught me off guard. Sam was a guy who liked to keep things neat. “What’s wrong?” I demanded.

“What? Nothin’,” Sam replied.

“Don’t you dare lie to me, Collins,” I said, bustling right into his house and shutting the door behind me. “What kind of mate do you think I am? I can tell something’s off.”

“Nothin’s wrong, darlin’,” Sam insisted as I guided him to his spot on the couch and sat him down. “It’s just been a bit longer’n usual since I fed, that’s all.”

“How come? Don’t you have that app where empowered people who want to be fed on can arrange feeding times?”

“Yes,” Sam said, sounding tired. “And I have one of those meetin’s arranged for after sundown tonight, in about forty-five minutes. The meetin’ I had scheduled for last night fell through. But I’m fine. I can manage.”

I inspected him while he spoke, searching for signs of injuries or damage. Because it’s what I would do. Sam wasn’t like me and I knew it, but I needed to check for my own peace of mind. Running my hands over him, checking for wincing or obvious lumps from bad bruising. Lifting his shirt hem and peeking under his collar when he didn’t protest.

“I’m coming with you,” I said.

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”

“I won’t, like, go into that little feeding room you told me about or anything,” I replied. “But you look so drained... I don’t want you to be alone before you get your energy up.”

He gave me a sarcastic look as I finished my inspection and deemed him—relatively—fine. “Darlin’. I can more’n handle myself. And it’s not like Dahlia’s got a high violent crime rate or anythin’. I can drive to a little empowered café on the other side-a town and back without anythin’ noteworthy happenin’. I’ve done it hundreds-a times.”

“And how many of those hundreds of times were you this drained?”

Sam opened his mouth to reply, dug the point of his slightly-extended fang into his tongue, and closed it.

“That’s what I thought,” I said. “Just... let me drive you there, okay?” He sighed. “Please?”

“A’right,” he agreed reluctantly. “You can drive.”

I got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen. “I’m guessing you’re out of bagged blood, then?”

“Mmhmm,” he replied, staying where he was. I opened his fridge. “We can usually only get some every couple-a weeks and we gotta feed every couple-a days max if we don’t wanna... wane.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as I shut the fridge door. “Is that a MoonBound pun?”

Sam blinked silver eyes at me. “... No.”

I snorted, dissolving into laughter. “My grumpy, mature, serious mate just made a damn pun. Oh my God—” I staggered on knees pretending to be weakened by laughter back to his living room and flopped across the back of the loveseat. “This is the best day of my life.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “I thought the day we said we loved each other for the first time was the best day of your life,” he pointed out.

I shrugged. “Eh.” The sarcastic humor in my tone—showing I didn’t mean my dismissiveness—earned me another eyeroll, but Sam knew.

Once my giggles quieted down, I straightened up.

“I think every day I’ve gotten to spend with you since that first day we said we loved each other has always felt like the best day of my life. Because I get to have you in it.” I held a hand out for him. He took it and let me haul him to his feet.

“Feelin’ sentimental, darlin’?” he asked as I let him lead me to the garage.

“You brought it up,” I returned. He tossed me the keys to his truck. I opened the passenger door for him and waited for him to get inside before closing it. Then I circled the hood and got in the driver’s seat. His truck was pretty big, which felt a lot different compared to my motorcycle. But I’d driven it a couple times so I knew how it handled.

The drive in to Dahlia wasn’t terribly long, but Sam did live quite a distance out in the woods. Sam navigated me with his phone to where his meet-up was. The sun had gone down before I got to his place.

“Cute café,” I remarked as I parked the truck and we both hopped out. I’d parked at the very far end of the parking lot so I had plenty of space because I hated parking his enormous bulldozer of a truck in cramped spaces since it often took me several tries. “This is in D.A.M.N.’s ward boundaries, isn’t it?”

“Mmhmm,” Sam agreed. “Not an unempowered soul here who ain’t informed. If any at all.”

“Huh.” I reached out for his hand. He took mine.

We started to cross the parking lot. Sam was leaning a bit heavily against my arm. He was a lot worse than he was letting on. I knew the feeling of wanting to be strong, even in front of people you cared about. So I knew exactly what I was looking for. I let go of his hand and wrapped my arm around his waist instead. He gave me a grateful look and put his arm around my shoulder blades.

Three figures emerged from between some cars.

“I feel like this is some cliché teenager movie,” one of them said to the other two. “A vampire and a shifter.” I caught the derision in their tone and felt the muscles in my jaw tense unconsciously. I rotated so I was between Sam and the three. They were approaching from my side anyway.

“Beat it,” I snapped. One was Psychokinetic. The others felt like maybe an Illusory and a Stealth.

“What if we don’t want to?” the first one who spoke asked. “This is public property. We can stand here.”

“Sure. But harass me and my mate again, and you’ll end up in a wolf’s jaws,” I retorted.

“Darlin’,” Sam warned softly. “They’re not worth it. Let’s just go.”

If it had been anyone but Sam, I would have ignored his dissuasion. But I tightened my grip around his waist and tried to ignore them.

I heard the snap of fingers and an illusory wall sprung up in front of us.

I knew it wasn’t tangible so I walked right through it with a scoff.

One of them grabbed my shoulder and yanked. “Hey, shifter,” they snapped. “We’re not done talkin’ to you.”

I growled low in my chest. “Too bad. I’m done talking to you.” I ripped my shoulder out of their grip.

“Look out!” Sam exclaimed, grabbing me and yanking me out of the way of the Psychokinetic’s shoving blast of magic.

I put myself between him and the three random idiots who were about to get sent to the Healers. “Sam, get inside. I’ll take care of these three.”

“Darlin’—”

“I can handle myself, you know that.”

“I know. But—” He sighed. “Come in when you’re done.”

With a Zip! he was gone.

“He knows me so well,” I muttered under my breath with an affectionate snicker.

Then I squared my shoulders and looked the leader in the face. 

“Alright. I’m here. Still talking. What do you want? If you’re looking to pick a fight, you’ll lose.”

The leader scoffed. “Maybe you can’t count, shifter. There are three of us and one of you since you sent your boyfriend inside.”

“Okay, one: he’s my mate, not just my boyfriend. Two: Maybe after you get two more guys it’ll be an even fight.” I smirked. The thought occurred to me that if Sam heard me say that, he’d probably start worrying about me again.

The leader at the front huffed in frustration.

I easily stepped out of the way of a wild haymaker that threw him off-balance immediately. “You really need to learn how to throw a punch better,” I remarked casually. “If all three of you suck this bad, I could probably beat every last one without even shifting. Yeesh.” I stepped out of the way of another haymaker, this time from the other arm.

I grabbed their shoulder and forced them to face me square before socking them right in the nose. 

“See? Like that.” I smirked and glanced at the other two. “How about you all get out of here and you stop picking fights with people who could put you on your ass without even breaking a sweat? Actually. Scratch that. How about y’all take off and stop picking fights in general? Especially with strangers in parking lots after dark. Because sometimes the stranger grew up roughhousing and really enjoys a good scrap.”

I cracked my knuckles and tilted my head. It was a canine habit that every shifter I ever met did. Even David—though he was loathe to admit it.

The other two looked concerned, but the leader was undeterred. He swung at me again.

“Unfortunate,” I said.

With a sharp twist, I got in close and whacked them in the head with my elbow. They dropped to the ground.

“That was easy.”

I turned to the other two.

“So. Gonna take off and let me be on my way or do you wanna end up like this idiot?” I asked, nodding to the little gang leader on the ground.

The other two exchanged a look.

And ran.

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. I wouldn’t wanna fight me either.” I made a face and turned, jogging to the entrance of the café.

I got to the door at the same time as it opened.

Sam was blinking heavily, almost like he couldn’t get his vision to focus.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

He shook his head. “My meet-up... they’re not here.”

I ran a hand down my face from cheek to chin. “Rude,” I muttered. “C’mon. Let’s get back to the truck.” I half-supported him across the parking lot. Sam eyed the downed gang leader. “They tried to hit me. I knocked them out and the other two fled. Don’t know what they wanted. Don’t care. Probably just looking to make themselves feel big by hurting others. Picked me because I looked tough.”

Sam snorted. “Picked the wrong shifter,” he muttered.

“Agreed.” I opened the back door of the truck. Sam gave me a look. “Just get in,” I said. He climbed in. I climbed in after him, sitting beside him on the back bench.

“What’re ya thinkin’, darlin’?”

“I’m thinking you need to feed before you pass out or go feral from starvation,” I replied.

“And?”

Instead of replying I half-shifted enough to sharpen my teeth and bit into my wrist, offering it to Sam. “Here,” I said, releasing my magic and reverting to full-human form.

“Darlin’—”

“Just drink, cowboy.”

He’d kissed me softly dozens of times, but the brush of his lips against the skin of my wrist was so gentle it was like he was trying his best to not touch me at all. I could feel him drinking my blood, but it felt safe. Nothing like...

I clenched my jaw and blinked hard to clear my head, not wanting to shake my head like I often would have. I didn’t want to startle Sam.

After a moment, Sam grabbed my hand and forearm in both hands, holding my wrist closer to him and drinking harder. I flinched, but forced myself to relax. I knew him. He’d only take what he needed. He wasn’t Quinn.

When I started to get a little lightheaded, Sam pulled away, healing my wrist as he did. He wiped my blood of his lips with his wrist—and then licked it up. Never one to let anything go to waste. His eyes were wide as he watched me sway a little. “Darlin’. I... I’m sorry. I—”

“I told you to. Don’t beat yourself up,” I said. “You needed it. I could give it.” I shrugged and handed him his keys. “I think it’s better if you drive now, though.”

He took the keys and nodded. “Just rest, darlin’.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice. This time, anyway.”

That earned me a fanged grin. “That’s certainly a first.”

—

Sunlight was peeking past blackout curtains in Sam’s house by the time I opened my eyes.

“Sugar. Fluids. C’mon,” Sam said the moment I was mostly-awake. He nodded to the bedside table—where a cup of apple juice and some cookies were sitting. Beside my phone and chapstick. I assumed he’d removed them from my pockets—and also removed my jeans by the feel of it when I moved. “You gotta get your blood back up.”

“Not even a ‘good mornin’, darlin’, how did you sleep’?” I asked, poorly mimicking his accent, as I pushed into an upright position.

He sighed. “Good mornin’, darlin’. How did you sleep?”

“Great,” I replied. “Better a big blood donation to make me woozy instead of blacking out from a bonk to the head. Never ask David about that, by the way. Any time that incident is mentioned I get a half-hour lecture. Somehow different every time.”

“Now is not the time for humor, darlin’.”

“Why? It’s how I cope with literally everything.” I picked up one of the cookies and put the whole thing in my mouth. It wasn’t particularly big so it wasn’t like that was difficult.

Sam watched me. “You... I drank from you,” he said, disbelief on his tone.

“Yup.”

“Why—why did you bite into your own arm?”

“Because if I didn’t, you wouldn’t.” I stretched my neck and took a swig of the apple juice. “But if I did, you wouldn’t let the effort go to waste.”

He sighed. “You shouldn’t—”

“Sam,” I interrupted. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Darlin’, after everythin’ you’ve been through because-a... my kind—you shouldn’t have to—”

“You—are not—Quinn,” I said slowly, emphasizing each word. “I trust you.”

“I felt you flinch.”

Okay. He had me there. “Instinct. Not conscious.” I popped another cookie in my mouth. “My body did it, my mind didn’t want it to.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Sam chided.

I shrugged. “I was literally raised by wolves.”

That earned me a roll of his eyes, but he was smiling a little.

I chewed and swallowed. “Sam, I trust you. I knew you wouldn’t take more than you needed.”

The smile vanished. He looked down where my knees were covered by the blankets. “I did.”

I shook my head and took a sip of apple juice. “No. Your body knows what it needs more than your mind does. You took what you needed. Even if it was more than you wanted to take from me.”

Sam sighed and shook his head. “I’ve been a vampire for a long time, now,” he said softly. “I know when I’m sated. Maybe last night was the most drained I’d ever been, but I had a good guess how much I’d need to be fully fed.” I took his hand and tugged. He climbed onto the bed while I scooted over and snuggled against my side. “I knew how much I needed to take from the empowered person I was supposed to meet up with.” He pushed his hand that wasn’t snuggling me through his hair. “I took more’n that from you.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Sam,” I said softly. “I’m a shifter. There’s more magic in my blood than there is in a regular empowered person’s. I can’t blame you for liking the taste a little more.” I gave him a wink.

“Darlin’,” he breathed, finally meeting my eyes. He swallowed. “The closer a vamp gets to needin’ to feed, the more our... the more our fangs ache. They feel hollow. The sensation gets worse the longer it’s been. Feedin’ makes it go away. But—” He tore his eyes away and turned to look toward the door to the hallway. “But it didn’t with you. Or, at least, not as fast as it normally would.”

I reached over and cupped his chin, gently encouraging him to face me again. “Hey,” I entreated. His silver eyes met mine. “I think you’re scared, and that fear is blowing things out of proportion. It happens to everyone.”

“I’m not blowin’ things outta proportion—”

“But it doesn’t change the fact that I trust you. I trust you more than I trust damn near anyone else. Actually, scratch that. I do trust you more than anyone else. Don’t tell David I said that. He’d get all grumpy and make it into a thing—like I don’t think he’s a reliable alpha or something stupid.” I blinked a few times. “Maybe he wouldn’t. I think he’d get that I trust my mate more than anyone else.” I shook my head, trying to clear the jumbling thought-spiral so I could finish. “Anyway. Point stands. You’re not gonna do anything to hurt me. And you’re probably the only one in my life who never has, intentionally or not. So... stop. Stop beating yourself up over something I initiated, okay?”

Sam opened his mouth.

I cut him off before he could say anything. “And before you make some claim that being hungry was making you not think clearly: don’t even try that argument with me.”

Sam closed his mouth.

I snuggled against his side, wrapping both arms around him. As a shifter, I tended to run hot. Vampires tended to run cooler than a human. But Sam’s warmth—subtle as it was—was comfortable. He smelled like home. Like safety and the chance to relax.

“Got it?” I asked.

He sighed. “I hear ya,” he said.

I tilted my head up from where I’d rested it on his chest and puckered my lips a little.

He kissed me.

“I love you,” I said softly.

“I love you too, darlin’. So, so much. I... I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“Musta been something bad, considering I’m a train-wreck and a menace.” I nipped playfully at his earlobe.

“Hey. None-a that,” Sam chided forcefully. “If I don’t get to beat myself up, neither do you.”

I bit my lower lip and smirked. “Fair enough.”

My stomach growled, ruining the mood. Sam looked toward my torso. “Hungry?”

“Apparently.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“I... plead the fifth,” I said.

He snorted. “C’mon, you menace,” he joked. “Let’s go get you some breakfast. Least I can do after last night.” He scooped me out of the bed and carried me downstairs, setting me on the counter.

“All Southern gentleman, aren’t you?”

He kissed my temple. “Just for you.” He turned to survey his kitchen. “Now, what do you want?”

—

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