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lucky-clover-gazette · 1 year

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the girls are bitingggggggg

Teen | 4613 words | Vio & Shadow, not explicitly romantic or platonic

This one-shot is a sort of "filler" piece based on the excellent Four Swords Vampire AU by @kaitopitoo and @othervio. I'm a huge fan of both creators' work for this AU and in general, and highly recommend checking them out if you somehow haven't already.

Specific dialogue towards the end of this piece is directly taken from this comic.

Thank you again to the AU's creators, you guys are the coolest!

“I really don’t understand why you’re not letting me help you,” Vio pouts, and Shadow has to stop himself from laughing at his expression. Are all Hylians this expressive, or is this specific Hylian strange even among his own kind? Perhaps that’s why Vio seems so comfortable with Shadow—outsiders recognize outsiders.

Nevertheless, Shadow will not be swayed. “I told you already,” he tells Vio, “I’m not feeding from you again. The first time was out of desperation, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

Vio shrugs, which brings Shadow’s attention to his bare shoulder. Hylia, it really is just out there in the open, isn’t it?

“I mean, sure,” says Vio, “I definitely would have preferred a bit of warning. At the least, you could have made me dinner first.”

“In a way, I did make you dinner.”

read the rest under the cut or on ao3

Vio stands in the doorway with his arms crossed, lilac-colored blouse too loose on his shoulders to be accidental. “You look like death.”

“I am death,” Shadow retorts, although he grants his guest attention all the same. He, of course, has no intention to bite Vio again—not after the days of gracious hosting he’s spent making up for it—but he is hungry. It’s his own fault, as he’s been so busy trying to provide for his surprise houseguest to secure any kind of sustenance for himself. He may feel woozy, but he can handle the discomfort until the evening allows him to venture outside the castle. He’s certainly withstood worse.

Nevertheless, Shadow will not be swayed. “I told you already,” he tells Vio, “I’m not feeding from you again. The first time was out of desperation, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

Vio shrugs, which brings Shadow’s attention to his bare shoulder. Hylia, it really is just out there in the open, isn’t it?

“I mean, sure,” says Vio, “I definitely would have preferred a bit of warning. At the least, you could have made me dinner first.”

“In a way, I did make you dinner.”

This makes Vio chuckle, and Shadow has no idea why that feels like an accomplishment.

“I suppose that’s true. But you were starving, right?”

“Yes. Normally I can restrain myself, but the injuries from battle had already weakened me significantly.”

Vio rubs the back of his neck—his damn neck, can he stop it with the neck? “I am sorry about that, although we really couldn’t have known any better than to attack. We’re knights and we do what we’re told, and the Princess has convinced everyone that your kind are evil.”

Shadow raises an eyebrow. “You’ve been perfectly well for days, yet you’re still here. Would your Princess approve of a knight voluntarily cohabitating with someone so evil?”

Vio gives him a small smile. “Well, maybe now I know better.”

Shadow isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he picks up his book instead.

“Hey!” Vio exclaims. “I’m talking to you, you can’t just abandon a conversation like that!”

Shadow looks up, genuinely confused. “I… can’t?”

“Not if you want to be polite. Do you get any kind of social interaction on a regular basis?”

“Not really.”

Vio’s expression softens. “That’s… well, that’s a shame, then. Sorry.”

Shadow places the book aside again. “It’s all right, Vio.”

“I mean really, who am I to judge, I’ve spent half of my life with my nose in a book. It’s a very effective way to ignore people. I guess it’s just not very fun being on the receiving end.”

Shadow slides the book even farther away from himself, so much so that it falls off the desk. Vio notices, but ignores it.

“Seriously,” Vio says, meeting Shadow’s eyes. “You don’t look well, and you’ve been holed up in your room all day. If my being here is too much, I can leave. You shouldn’t have to feel like some kind of predator in your own home.”

Shadow shakes his head. “You don’t have to leave. I really am happy to have your company, for as long as you’d like to stay. Do you… do you know how long you’d like to stay?”

“No, if I’m being honest. I had initially planned to leave as soon as I felt physically able, but you ended up intriguing me. Quite honestly, I am still intrigued.”

Normally when a Hylian is intrigued by Shadow, they have already deemed him a monstrosity deserving of brutal execution. They examine him like a threat they need to neutralize, like a wild animal whose only desire is to kill. Yet somehow, Vio’s interest feels completely different. It’s still strange, because Vio is an undeniably strange person, but he seems to regard Shadow with the same confused fondness Shadow fosters for him.

Because Shadow is fond of Vio, he realizes, and this entire situation becomes all the more intriguing.

“I usually feed at night, so that I don’t feel weak during the day,” Shadow explains, truly wishing to dispel Vio’s concerns. The fact that the knight is concerned about him at all is astounding, actually, and wholly undeserved. “But in the past few days I have been… occupied. Feeding from a Hylian is able to sustain me for much longer than from an animal, so I’ve forgone hunting in the time since I brought you here. But even a Hylian feeding won’t last me forever, so I’ll have to visit the woods tonight. It’s really not much longer, Vio, I’ll be okay.”

Vio looks thoughtful as he processes this information. It occurs to Shadow that his explanation must come as a surprise, as vampire literature distributed by the royal family is undoubtedly full of inaccuracies.

“It doesn’t sound like you enjoy hunting very much,” Vio says slowly, sitting on Shadow’s perfectly-made bed. It’s identical to the one Shadow had prepared for Vio just days ago, after smuggling his unconscious body back to the only safe place he knows.

Shadow still isn’t quite sure why he had done that—he could have just left the knight to be rescued by his allies. But perhaps Shadow felt embarrassed about the consequences of his hunger, and leaving Vio for everyone to see would have reinforced Hylian beliefs about the brutality of his kind.

And even if Vio had lived, he would still have had to cope with memories of the bite itself—the terror, the pain, an inherent sense of violation far more intimate than any typical battle wound. Waking up in the care of the Princess, Vio could have been made to feel pitiful, disgusting, tainted. Shadow had hurt him profoundly and irreversibly—perhaps giving him a safe place to awaken had partially been an attempt to make up for that.

“I don’t enjoy hunting,” Shadow admits with a sigh, “but it’s something I have to do.”

“But you said yourself that animal blood is far less sustaining than Hylian blood. Like, you have to feed from an animal every night just to survive, while feeding from a Hylian would last you days. And that was when you were wounded—if you’re not wounded, would it last you even longer?”

Shadow grits his teeth. “It doesn’t matter how long it would last me. I don’t feed from Hylians.”

Vio glances pointedly at the still-healing bite on the left side of his neck, then at the perfectly unbitten skin to the right. Shadow groans.

“Can you please wear the shirt normally?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Vio hums, playing with the ruffled sleeves. “Besides, this isn’t my shirt. My shirt, my favorite shirt, was perfectly tailored to my body by the royal seamstress herself, and would never slouch off my shoulders in such a scandalous manner. But I can’t wear my favorite shirt, on account of the copious bloodstains, so I have no choice but to make do with your cast-offs.”

Shadow, again, does not know how to respond. Licking his lips is definitely not the correct response, but he finds himself doing it nonetheless.

“I’m just saying,” Vio continues, mercifully ignoring Shadow’s involuntary response, “that you wouldn’t need to hunt tonight, or for several nights afterward, if you just let me help you.”

Shadow grips his own arms, only stopping when he remembers that he has claws. The nerve on this Hylian, truly, to just burst in and antagonize an actual monster while wearing said monster’s perfectly well-tailored and stylish shirt…

“I really do want to help,” Vio says, no longer teasing. “But I also respect your wishes. I’m not trying to torture you here, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done to take care of me. I suppose I just want to take care of you, in return.”

Shadow shakes his head. “You don’t owe me anything. I bit you, I helped you recover, and now we’re even... at least, as even as we’re ever going to be.”

“Good, then,” Vio replies with a smile. “I’m glad we’re even. Now you know I’m offering my blood as a genuine kindness, and because I’d very much like to keep you around.”

Shadow rolls his eyes. “Hunting takes me three hours.”

“You’re not the only one in those woods on a hunt,” counters Vio, and there’s a sudden sharpness in his voice. “The others are looking for me, Shadow. And if they find you instead…”

Ah. That had not occurred to Shadow.

“Ah. That had not occurred to me.”

“If you really don’t want to bite me, I will go to the forest and hunt something down for you myself.”

Shadow looks Vio up and down. On one hand, he is a knight—but on the other, he still seems like the kind of person who would kill a deer and cry about it for hours. Hylia knows Shadow had been like that, before he’d been forced by circumstance to desensitize himself completely.

“Seriously,” Vio says, rising to his feet. He places a firm hand on Shadow’s shoulder, and Shadow can’t remember the last time someone did that. “I admire your dedication to your values. If animal blood is the only thing that’s going to keep you alive, I will get you some.”

“The knights could find you just as easily,” argues Shadow, and he doesn’t want Vio to go, not yet, not when his hand is so warm and his mind is so clever and his presence is so unbelievably appreciated.

Vio just winks. “I’m pretty good with stealth. How do you think I was able to sneak up on you during combat?”

“Still,” Shadow says, bowing his head, “it’s risky for you, too. I worry what they’ll think, whenever you do go back… will they accept you, even though you’ve been bitten?”

“I think they would. But my return would also make them hate you even more, and I don’t want to be Zelda’s final argument for completing the genocide of your people. She’s been holding off on an offensive strategy for years, in line with her parents, but your lack of action is starting to make her paranoid. She can’t comprehend the idea of you just minding your business, far away from Hyrule’s citizens, and posing no threat to them or the kingdom. At this point, she’s desperate for reasons to finally take you down, and I’d be a pretty damn compelling one.”

Shadow wishes Vio was wrong, but they both know he isn’t. And with the Hylian standing so close, his bare shoulder and neck only an arm’s length away, Shadow finally loses his resolve.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asks Vio, finally meeting those intelligent eyes.

Vio nods without hesitation. “I am.”

“Did it… did it hurt, the last time I bit you? I’ve never gotten to ask.”

Vio smirks. “What, the deer weren’t interested in a debriefing?”

Shadow doesn’t smile back, and Vio takes a deep breath. “Sorry. Uh, I don’t remember it hurting too badly. I was mostly just shocked and scared, because of everything I’d been told about you during my training. It hadn’t really occurred to me that a vampire attack was something a person could survive. I think… once you actually started feeding, I was confused whether I should grip you tighter or push you away. It was like you comforted me by holding me steady, but you were also the reason I needed comfort in the first place. I felt myself getting weaker the more you fed, I eventually passed out, and then I woke up here.”

Shadow blinks.

“But really,” Vio adds quickly, “it was fine.”

“I’m sorry,” Shadow tells him. “I don’t really know what else to say.”

Vio gives him a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to. I’m not afraid of you anymore. Honestly, I think if most Hylians actually got to know you, they wouldn’t be either.”

Shadow frowns as he opens the drawer of his vanity. Wincing, he withdraws a small item wrapped in white cloth. “Take this,” he tells Vio, “it’s dangerous to… well, you’ll see.”

Vio nods as he takes the item and unwraps it, revealing a weighty metal triforce symbol. “Oh,” Vio says, tossing the talisman in his hands. “Didn’t expect you to have one of these.”

“My kind are weak against holy symbols,” Shadow explains, standing up and motioning to the vanity chair. “If you feel like I’m taking too much, or out of control, you should be able to stop me using that.”

Vio takes the seat, turning to face Shadow’s mirror. Despite the fact that Shadow lurks right behind him, only Vio is visible.

“Damn, Shadow,” Vio laughs nervously, “if you can’t see yourself in mirrors, how in the world do you manage that eyeliner?”

Shadow rolls his expertly-lined eyes. “I have a lot of free time.”

“I’ll bet. It looks great.”

“Thank you,” Shadow says, unsure of how exactly one is meant to take such a compliment. Vio, meanwhile, appears to blush. At least Shadow can spare him that embarrassment by relieving him of any extra blood running through his veins, giving him that delectably rosy coloration—oh, he did not just refer to Vio as delectable.

“Are you squeamish?” Shadow asks, firmly gripping Vio’s bare shoulder. The knight tenses for only a second before relaxing himself.

“Kind of? The first time I was mostly just shocked, and I’ve obviously dealt with wounds before… but I try to avoid seeing doctors. I don’t like the idea of someone knowing my body better than I do.”

Shadow nods. “You have the triforce, so you can stop me whenever you need. Of course, I will also try my very best to stop myself, but…”

“I get it,” Vio says. “I say the same thing when it’s pumpkin soup night at Hyrule Castle.”

Shadow chuckles. “You’re the strangest little Hylian I’ve ever met.”

“How many Hylians have you met, again? I call selection bias. And I’m not little, you’re only an inch taller than I am out of those platforms.”

“I enjoy our banter immensely, Vio, but I’ve been staring at your bare shoulders for the past ten minutes and I find myself quite frustrated. Permission to proceed?”

Vio loudly gulps. “Granted.”

Shadow eyes the side of Vio’s neck he hasn’t yet bitten, then the clean bite wound he had recently left behind. He feels an odd sense of protectiveness over the Hylian, a sort of supernatural possession undetectable to anyone but himself. For the millionth time, he wishes for the presence of other vampires, or really anyone capable of providing insight regarding his condition. The only thing Shadow has is written history, saved before the royal burnings and stowed away in his castle.

He recalls writings of the relationships his fallen kin had once maintained with Hylians, before the church created a divide and carried out its genocide. Many vampires had once been happy to coexist with Hylians, even safely feed from them with full consent. These kinds of recorded bonds had been sometimes platonic, sometimes romantic, and occasionally unlabeled in nature—but in the writings, there is a consistent feeling of intimacy, even exclusivity, projected onto each.

Of course to some of these vampires exclusivity was not important in the slightest, but to Shadow… there’s a sense of security in an exclusive bond. He could feed from any Hylian, and would be mindful of their comfort all the same, but Vio… Vio, he wants around after the bite. How can Shadow possibly explain to the knight that while he appreciates the offer to sustain him with blood, Shadow values his company above all else? How can he himself even begin to understand this unfamiliar and terrifying feeling?

Not on an empty stomach, Shadow decides, running his tongue against a sharp fang.

“Hey,” Vio says, looking over his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Now, with what you said about wanting control of your body—I suggest that you focus on your reflection, as it will keep you from becoming overwhelmed.”

“So that’s why we’re doing this in front of a mirror.”

What Shadow doesn’t say is that he cannot stand the very idea of himself feeding, that he is profoundly ashamed of what he must do to survive. Erasing the sight of himself is just as much a comfort to Shadow as it is to Vio.

“Hold eye contact with yourself,” Shadow says, gently tucking Vio’s hair away from the skin where his collarbone meets his neck. “Especially if you’re sensitive to the sight of blood.”

Vio nods, accidentally displacing Shadow’s hands. He winces as Shadow regains control of his posture and hair. “Sorry. I’ll stay still.”

“It’s all right, Vio. You’re doing perfectly fine.”

This seems to placate the knight, if only slightly. His body is so tense, and this worries Shadow—but what else can he do? Stalling will only perpetuate Vio’s anxiety.

“It shouldn’t hurt,” Shadow mutters, literally breathing down Vio’s neck. “There’s venom—it numbs the wound, should help you stay calm.”

“I am literally so calm right now,” Vio counters, clutching the triforce tightly.

Shadow leans in, just an inch away from Vio’s skin. He notices, out of the corner of his eye, that Vio’s eyes are squeezed shut. “Remember what I said,” Shadow tells him, and Vio winces at his cold breath. “Eye contact.”

Vio opens his eyes. “Got it.”

“I’m going to bite you now.”

“Go ahead.”

Shadow’s fangs ache as he lightly touches them to Vio’s bare skin. A slight pressure, just to get him used to the feeling of something there…

“Did you do it?” Vio asks, and Shadow can feel his neck muscles tense as he speaks. “I’m making eye contact with myself, like you told me, but I feel something on my neck—your teeth, maybe? Are you biting me right now, Shadow, because it doesn’t feel like you are, and—oh. Okay, yes, this definitely feels like you’re… you’re biting me. Shadow, you’re—”

Shadow hums into Vio’s warm flesh, already beginning to draw blood from the small punctures his fangs have made. It flows easily, more easily than Shadow is used to, although that might have something to do with the lack of struggle. And it… it’s good. Usually while feeding he loses himself, becomes the rabid animal he’s always believed himself to be—but right here, and right now, he feels like he’s in control. Because Vio has given him control, and trusts him enough to hold it over him, and can easily stop him if he so pleases.

And this is how vampires must have lived among willing Hylians, all those years ago, and Shadow can see how they’d managed not to be absolutely miserable. Not like he is now, lonely and starving and steeped in self-loathing. In a way, it’s comforting to finally understand everything his kind has lost—but in another way, this discovery makes the loss all the more infuriating.

“Shadow,” Vio mutters, his body slumping against the chair. “Sh—you… I’m…”

Shadow’s grip only tightens. He hasn’t felt this good, this strong, in decades. He would ask Vio how he’s feeling, tell him he’s doing wonderfully, but with his mouth full all he can do is hum louder.

“I… I think ’m gonna close my eyes,” Vio sighs, although his eyes are already closed. Shadow nods. Thank you, Vio. Thank you thank you thank you thank you.

I promise I’m almost finished.

“So tired,” Vio continues to narrate, and Shadow could almost roll his eyes. “And… warm? That’s… odd…”

Stop analyzing it, idiot, Shadow thinks with all the affection in the world. While the venom in his fangs and the physical weakness that comes with rapid loss are almost always viewed as negative side effects of the feeding, they do not necessarily need to be frightening. They could serve as a relief, couldn’t they? Surely Vio must have known that, even subconsciously, when he’d asked to be fed upon again.

Shadow knows Vio’s eyes are closed, and he knows he doesn’t want him unconscious again. That feels wrong, feeding off him while he’s totally out, and this amount of blood should be more than enough to sustain Shadow until he can figure out a way to hunt safely. Or, he supposes, until Vio recovers and allows him to feed again. Not that he expects that, or wants that amount of codependency between them. Because, whether he admits it or not, Shadow is pretty sure Vio gets something from this too. It’s hard to ignore the weak smile on his face and the way he ever-so-slightly leans into Shadow’s touch—seemingly not out of fear, but in search of comfort nonetheless.

Shadow pulls back from Vio’s shoulder, removing his fangs from the flesh, and then leans back in to lick around the wound. He tries to savor the last taste he might ever get of this Hylian (his Hylian, a primal voice in his head corrects, although it is immediately shut down by Shadow’s rational instincts), and then searches the vanity drawer for the closest things he has to first-aid supplies. Still, he makes sure to keep at least one grounding hand on Vio, just to remind him he’s not alone.

“Still awake?” Shadow asks gruffly, clearing his throat. He places a glass bottle of alcohol and a roll of bandages onto the vanity, immediately pressing a clean cloth to the small bite wound.

“Just a little,” Vio slurs, the smile on his face growing. Then he frowns and furrows his brows, and it’s objectively adorable. “That’s not the right way to answer that, is it?”

Shadow removes the cloth. “You did very well.”

“Damn straight.”

“I’m going to disinfect the wound now,” Shadow says, pouring some of the alcohol onto a new cloth. “It will hurt, probably more than the bite itself, but only for a second.”

“I’ve had wounds disinfected before, Shadow,” Vio says, really drawing out the ‘sh’ in his name. “Do your worst.”

Shadow presses the cloth to the wound, hoping that in his relaxed state Vio will tolerate the pain. Shadow had done this before, of course, when he’d first brought Vio back to the castle—but the knight had been unconscious then, unable to resist his care. Now, Vio seizes up slightly, but seems not to mind.

“Done with that,” Shadow says, removing the cloth and putting it aside. “Almost finished, and then you can rest.”

“But my bed’s so far away,” Vio whines, his posture wilting. “Why do you need such a giant castle, anyway?”

“Sit up,” Shadow instructs as he unrolls the bandage. Vio does as he is asked, although there seems to be a time limit on his cooperation.

“You’ll use my bed,” Shadow tells him as he wraps the wound. “Right here, in this room.”

“I’d argue with that,” Vio says, and Shadow believes him, “but I really am exhausted. Are you done?”

Shadow finishes up the wrapping and places down the remaining bandage. “You’re all set. Think you can get yourself to the bed?”

He watches as Vio tries to stand on shaky legs, only to collapse back into the chair. Shadow takes that as his answer.

“Is it all right if I carry you?”

Vio looks like he’s already nodding off, but still grants him a slight nod. Shadow picks him up bridal-style, one arm supporting his back and one under his knees, and gently deposits him onto the large four-poster bed.

Shadow turns to leave and hears the rustling blankets as Vio tucks himself in. He’ll come back in a few hours with some water and food, as Vio will need to feed himself sooner rather than later to get back his strength. In the meantime, Shadow can begin thinking of ways to hunt that won’t result in his or Vio’s capture, for however long this arrangement between them persists.

He will not, however, allow himself to think of the many terrible ways it could end.

“Wait. Don’t go.”

Shadow slowly turns his head to see Vio, all cozied up in his bed, reaching out a limp hand.

“What do you need?” Shadow asks, already calculating how quickly he could get him a glass of water or entire loaf of bread. He said he liked pumpkin soup—Shadow could make that happen, probably, or at least he could try—

“No, I don’t…” Vio tries to sit up and Shadow moves to stop him, guiding him back into a relaxed position by the shoulder.

“Just rest, Vio. You need it after that.”

He turns to leave again, but feels Vio’s hand grab his own. Even while weak, the knight manages a firm grip.

“Wait,” Vio repeats, this time with a smile. “Stay here, with me. I’d like your company for a while, Shadow.”

A small gasp escapes Shadow’s lips.

Well.

It would be an effective way to monitor his health.

“I’ve never had another person in my bed,” Shadow admits, and he actually finds himself nervous at the prospect.

“Loser,” Vio teases, and squeezes Shadow’s hand twice. “But so am I. Don’t worry, I don’t mean anything by it.”

“What… what would you mean, if you did?”

“Dunno. I’m tired.”

Shadow blinks. He almost wants to pry harder, ask Vio how he really feels about him while his guard is down. But, of course, he could never actually take such advantage of his weakened state.

And besides… Shadow isn’t sure exactly how he feels, either—just that he does. Somehow, despite all the odds against them, he likes Vio and feels safe around him. Those are not easy bars for just any Hylian to clear, and Vio has managed both with surprising ease and only minimal blood loss.

He tucks himself in bed beside Vio, whose warm body is entirely foreign and admittedly pleasant. Shadow wonders what he’s meant to do next—lay beside Vio, leaving distance between them? It seems like a silly hesitation for someone who had his teeth in the knight’s neck just ten minutes ago, but an important one all the same.

Vio curls on his side to face Shadow, not-so-subtly making grabby hands in his general direction. “You could hold me, you know. If you want.”

And Shadow does want, meaning be damned. He takes Vio in his arms, allowing the knight to nuzzle into the space between his shoulder and neck. The irony of this is not lost on Shadow, although ‘irony’ may be too cruel a word for such a tender parallel.

Shadow wraps an arm over Vio’s waist and hears him sigh contentedly. “Shadow…”

“Yes, Vio?”

“I don’t want to lose you. I won’t… let them…get you…”

Shadow’s eyes widen, but only for a second. He shushes Vio and hears him exhale, almost as if he’s wanted to say those words for days.

Despite popular belief, a vampire’s heart does beat. It is the rate at which it beats that is determined by the amount of blood in their system. So it makes perfect sense that Shadow’s heart beats quickly now, given the recency and potency of his last feeding. It is an anatomical feature, divorced from emotion, and the notion of any other possible explanation is simply absurd.

Shadow watches Vio sleep peacefully in his arms and smiles.

Absurd.

#fs #four swords #four swords manga #vio link #shadow link #four swords vampire au #vidow #vio x shadow #my writing

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