Sean didn't know for sure how this night was going to go, but he hadn't expected this.

He had been ecstatic that Mark had agreed to meet him, even if his comments left little room for him to delude himself that it was an actual date. Though that hadn't stopped his mind from wandering and creating many fantasies of how the night would go down. Most involved the two of them ending the evening in someone’s bed. But in all of his fantasies, the last outcome he had expected was Mark, shaking and panicking as he stumbled through excuses to leave.

Sean didn't know what had happened, the night had been going well. Maybe not to the standards his mind had created, with Mark's continued emphasis on “friends” and avoiding any touch. But he had still been enjoying himself, enjoying the company of the other man. Sean was very quickly becoming besotted with the American, from his devilishly good looks, and smooth, honey voice, to his boisterous sense of humor and the way he intently listened to every word Sean uttered like it was gospel. He was feeling more for Mark in the short time he had known him, then he had for many of his past partners.

Which is why he was so bewildered and concerned when Mark seemed so shaken after going through his work. The last piece he had been looking at before Sean noticed his panic was the one he did after a strange dream he had had about a month ago. He still thought of that dream, and the strange feeling it had left him with. He had tried many a times to remember the whole thing, searching through his mind but the more he reached, the farther it scattered from him. It bothered him to no end. He couldn't help but think it meant something, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. The image itself seemed to be something taken from some prime time drama show set in the 1700s or something. But the feeling was unshakable. Was it the image that triggered this?

“Mark, are you okay? What’s wrong?” He watched as Mark stood, pocketing his things and grabbing his wallet out while purposely looking away from Sean. At least he wasn’t going to dine and dash on him, he thought a little bitterly. Sean kept asking him what was happening when Mark froze, his head shooting up and whipping to the side.

At first, Sean thought that Mark had calmed down, and he tried calling out to him again, to get his attention, but as he took in the man's stiff posture and the strong grip he had on his wallet, he realized that something was still wrong. He followed his gaze across the bar to where two other men were standing by the entrance, also staring back at Mark. They seemed to know each other. Was this why Mark was freaking out? Whoever these guys are? He brought his attention back to Mark, calling to him again when Mark's gaze snapped back to him, and he was taken aback at the fear in his eyes.

“We need to leave. Now.”

Mark grabbed a couple twenties from his wallet and threw them on the table as Sean, who was still utterly confused and now a little scared, grabbed his tablet and shoved it in his bag. Whatever was happening, Mark was spooked and he wasn’t going to get any answers out of him at the moment, so he saw it best just to go along with him for now. They slid out of the booth, Sean letting Mark lead, unsure of where they were even going to go, but was surprised when Mark grabbed Sean’s book bag, dragging him along towards the back of the pub by the strap. They ducked into the hall that lead to the washrooms, a door at the end of the hall. Mark led them to the exit, reaching to open it then pausing with his hand on the handle as he glanced at the fire alarm situated on the wall beside them. He released his grip from Sean’s bag to grab at the lever, sounding the alarm before opening the door and reclaiming his hold on Sean's strap, tugging him outside.

It was dark outside, the sky covered in clouds. Sean could hear thunder over the sound of the alarm and panicked voices from inside. They were at the back of the building, in an alleyway, dumpsters and garbage surrounding them creating a foul smell. Mark ushered Sean forward, releasing his grip on the bag and heading towards the parking lot. Sean stumbled as he moved to keep up with him.

“Mark, seriously, what in the bloody hell is going on? Why did you pull the fire alarm? What are we running from?” Sean’s pleading questions went unanswered as he had to stop himself from running into Mark as the man suddenly halted. He looked out into the parking lot, which was fairly vacant other than the spectators and patrons milling around on the other end and the few parked cars. Sean recognized Mark's blue Prius among the few cars there, along with a man that was weaving between the vehicles, slowly scanning his surroundings. Sean looked back at Mark, more questions on his lips when he felt himself once again being dragged by his strap as Mark tugged him back behind the building and towards the other end of the alley.

Sean let out a frustrated sound as he was once again manhandled, which he wouldn't have minded in a different situation, letting Mark pull him to the other opening as he stopped just before, leaning out to check the surroundings and turning back to face Sean. “I know this is really confusing and probably a little frightening right now Sean, but I promise I will explain. Just please, keep following me.”

A loud clap of thunder echoed through the alley. Sean felt drops of water hit his head as the sky opened above them. They were both breathing heavy, and Sean locked his eyes onto Mark, watching as the heavy rain began to soak his jacket and hair, dripping down his face from his bangs. For a moment, Sean’s surrounding changed. It was still raining, and he and Mark were still locked in an intense gaze, but they were crouched, and instead of hard concrete, Sean could feel mud and grass beneath his feet. They were in a forest, and Mark was looking at him, pleading with him, and Sean felt something akin to electricity running through his veins as a voice in his head whispered to him to trust him.

The moment lasted half a second before he snapped back to reality, the surreal scene quickly fading as he nodded sharply at Mark, who let some of the tension leak from his body as he bowed his head slightly before turning to leave with Sean in tow.

They jogged through the streets, Sean following as Mark would duck into various alleys and back roads. Sean had no idea where Mark was taking him. Pushing down the need to know what was happening and just letting Mark take the lead was proving to be tougher than he thought, as taking direction without question had never been his style. For a moment the idea that Mark had been acting this whole time just to lure him to some secluded spot and jump him entered his head, but he immediately brushed that aside. He didn’t really know why, but he knew that wasn’t the case. They kept this pattern, changing between alleys and backways, until they were pushing through a path that hadn’t been maintained much at all. At this point the heavy rain was creating puddles that soaked through Sean's shoes, his feet squishing uncomfortably in his socks. He had to push hanging branches out of the way and almost tripped a few times on rocks and twigs covered by long grass before they emerged into a large open field. It was a park, with a play area to their right, soccer fields in front of them and a few baseball diamonds across the way on the other side. It was empty for the moment, save for one person who was walking near the diamonds, hands cupped around his mouth shouting a name.

“Felix?! What the hell is he doing here?” Mark gasped. Sean was impressed. He could barely see Felix himself, but could faintly hear him shouting Mark's name through the rain and thunder. Mark picked up his speed, running for the man, Sean barely managing to keep his pace, slipping a few times on the wet grass. Either he needed to work out more or Mark was just inhumanly fit.

As they crossed the field Mark called to Felix, who spotted them and started running to meet the two half way on one of the soccer fields.

“Mark, are you okay?” Felix quickly grabbed Mark by the shoulders as they met, looking him over frantically. Sean felt a stab of jealousy at the ease Mark seemed to let Felix grab him, swatting him away in annoyance rather than avoiding the touch completely.

“I’m fine, Jesus, what’s wrong? Why are you even here?” Mark kept scanning his surroundings as he spoke with Felix.

“I saw…” Felix began, hesitating as his eyes flicked to Sean then back to Mark, pulling him away a few steps and whispered close to his ear. Sean was starting to really lose his patience’s, anger rising quickly to the surface. What had started out as a promising and enjoyable night had quickly turned to him standing in the middle of a storm, soaked to the bone, running from he had no idea what, and seeming to be the only one who was not included in the loop. He had been ready to trust Mark with whatever was going on, but with Felix here, who seemed to know more than Sean even though he hadn’t even been around all night, his anger was overriding everything else. He was done playing this game.

Mark was pulling away from Felix as Sean marched up to the two. “No, I mean, we’re running from them, or who is probably them, but we’ve managed to elude them so far. We just need to get back before they see us. Last thing I want is them knowing where I live.” Mark stopped as Felix looked over his shoulder again, and followed his gaze to Sean. “Sean…”

“Don’t you ‘Sean’ me, I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I ain’t movin’ an inch until I get some answers ya hear?” He was almost yelling, adrenaline laced with fear and anger fueling him. Mark was shaking his head, still watching their surroundings.

“Please, I know this is a shitty situation, but we aren’t safe right now. We aren’t far from my place. Let's get back there and I will explain everything. Please Sean, let's go.” Mark turned, and he and Felix began to continue on their way. Sean wasn’t having it. He began to protest again, reaching out and grabbing Mark by the arm to pull him back to face him.

Lightning flashed, illuminating the sky as thunder crashed around them, deafening, but Sean barely registered it. The moment he grabbed Mark's arm, he felt a shock, rock through his entire body. He gasped, eyes wide as he held Mark's bicep, the other man’s head turned to him, own eyes wide, burning intensely into him. Sean felt like his soul was laid bared, and his body was buzzing beneath that heated gaze. His skin was alight, acutely aware of every drop of cold rain that pelted his body. Sean was holding his breath, unsure as for what, waiting for something to happen, wanting something to happen-

“Mark!”

Sean was abruptly snapped from the spell, hand falling from Mark's arm at Felix’s voice, both men turning to see three bodies, the men from early, making their way towards them from across the park. Mark swore and immediately moved, pushing Sean roughly behind him, the same shock going through him again for a moment, leaving him dazed, as he tried to get a grip on the situation.

“Felix, take Sean and run.” Mark's voice was low, feral. Sean shivered at the sound, but was quick to protest.

“We are not leavin’ ya. Whatever is goin’ on, it’s obviously not good. We aren’t leaving you to go up against three guys alone!” Sean moved to stand beside Mark, but was pushed back, farther this time, as Mark flung his gaze to them.

“I said leave. I will be fine. Tell him Felix.” He turned his gaze to Felix, who was looking between the two of them and the men who were making their way over, looking helpless.

“Mark... I don’t think we should leave. Not this time.” Felix looked scared, and for the millionth time, Sean was wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into.

Mark let out a frustrated sound. “Come on! You know I can handle this, but I can’t with you here!” Mark’s eyes flitted to Sean's before back to Felix.

“But, what I saw-”

“You know there’s no guarantee of that even happening just because you saw it!”

“Alright!” Sean roared, done with this whole situation. “I don’t know what the fuck you two ‘re on about, but we are not fucking leaving you Mark. So either we stay or we all go.”

Mark went to say more but was cut off by another voice.

“Oh, don’t leave now, we just got here!”

The three men were suddenly right in front of them, only a couple yards away. Sean was once again taken aback at all the unexplainable things happening tonight, but pushing it down to deal with later. Right now, there were three unknown men before them, who Sean now had a better chance to study. What he quickly learned was that these men brought upon a feeling of dread that quickly enveloped him. There was something about them, some sort of aura that surrounded the group that set his whole body on edge. They were all about a foot taller than him, all dressed in black. They guy in the middle, who had spoken seemed to be the leader, was broad with cropped brown hair. The one on his right was similar build with longer, stringy black hair and the one on the left was scrawnier compared to the others and bald.

“Alright, your shit is with me, not them. Let them leave and then we can have atter. I’m all yours.” Mark moved to a position where he was between the three guys and Sean and Felix. The two of them both took a step forwards, protests on their lips.

The three men laughed, and the leader stepped forwards. “You really think we don’t know who they are to you? Like we would let them get away.” He snarled, moving forwards again, followed by the other two.

Mark looked back again, telling Sean and Felix to run, and Sean, who was too busy keeping his focus on Mark, didn’t see Felix stride up to him until he was right beside him. He turned to Felix, watching as the man brought his hands up to Sean’s head, his face impassive, rain streaming down his face. He mumbled out a quick “what” as he felt fingers grazed his temples, applying pressure there, before he felt a quick shock through his body, as darkness swallowed him whole, everything going black before he even hit the ground.

Mark had been taken so off guard by Sean’s touch that he didn't notice the vampires until it was too late.

He had been so focused on getting Sean, and now Felix, who had come looking for them after he saw them in a fight with said vampires, that when Sean grabbed his arm, he was unprepared for the all too familiar shock that always left him so raw when he experienced it again after the years in between each Jack. For that electric current that carried through every nerve in his body, leaving his skin on fire. Leaving it craving more. It was the strongest one yet, leaving him completely frozen, eyes locked onto Sean's, burning into him, seeing into his very being.

And because of that, he found himself in the impossible situation of three vampires honing in on their position, and two ridiculously stubborn humans refusing to get themselves to safety.

The gears in Mark's head were turning. If it were just Felix, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but with Sean here, there was an added problem; there was no way he could hide what he was.

He highly doubted these guys would make any attempt to hide themselves, and there was no way Mark could explain his way out of being able to keep up with them. And if he lost control, which given Sean’s proximity to danger was very high on the probability list, was a situation he wanted to avoid at all costs. He actively squashed down the memories that tried to worm their way in. If Felix would have taken Sean, at least then he could let himself loose, kept the three busy long enough for them to get out of range, but whatever Felix had seen had him shaken, and not wanting to leave Mark's side. This whole situation was all kinds of fucked, and he had only moments to figure out what the hell he was going to do.

That's when Felix suddenly walked up to Sean, grabbed his head and Mark watched in stunned horror as Sean dropped like a bag of bricks, unconscious.

There was a moment of silence, only filled by the sound of the rain and thunder before everything happened at once.

“Felix what the hell did you do?!” Mark screeched as Felix yelped, stumbling back from Sean’s body as he fell to the ground, visibly shaking as he looked at Mark eyes wide and scared.

“I have no fucking clue!” He looked past Mark and scrambled to his feet. “Behind you!”

Mark quickly turned as the leader had lunged at Mark, barely side stepping him, grabbing him by the arm and spinning to throw him back at his lackeys, who both stumbled under his weight, trying to keep their leader on his feet. Mark looked back at Felix. “Watch Sean, keep him safe.” He ordered, before turning back to the others, who were stalking towards Mark, teeth bared and snarling. Mark let out a snarl of his own, feeling his own teeth wanting to extend, as he crouched. Whatever happened with Sean and Felix, it solved one of his problems.

He didn’t have to worry about losing control in front of Sean.

Mark lunged forwards with a yell, barrelling into the leader with his shoulder, pushing him back into the other two, taking them to the ground. From there, he crawled up the man's body, straddling him as he started to pummel his face. The other two moved towards Mark on the ground, both reaching from either side. Mark let up on the one beneath him, grabbing both arms as they came towards him and jerked, bringing the two colliding together. Mark grabbed them by their heads, nails digging in to gain purchase as he brought his arms back and shoved forwards, sending the two sprawling. He returned his focus to the leader, but yelped as his body fell sideways, the leader reversing the position as he grappled with Mark, landing a few hits of his own. Mark brought his knees up and pushed against his chest throwing him off, giving himself enough room to get back to his feet.

These men were weak, no training. Probably at the bottom of the chain in their nests. He didn't think they had been sent after Mark specifically, merely stumbled upon him on their night out looking for a meal. The only problem was Mark didn't have his stake; it was in his car. He was going to have to decapitate them, but he doubted they would be willing participants. He knew he was going to have to wear them down to have any hope of keeping them still long enough to do it.

He squared up with the leader who came in with a right swing that Mark dodged under, jabbing him in the ribs as he went. The leader yelped and let out a frustrated growl before yelling at the other two who were still in the process of getting off the ground. He swung back around to face Mark, letting out a flurry of punches. Mark evaded them all before grabbing him in mid swing and twisting up, bringing his knee up and snapping his leg out, kicking him in his temple. The leader dropped as the other two came rushing in again, and again, Mark dodged each swing and grab, landing his own blows. He felt his energy start to wane, and he saw the leader getting back on his feet. He dodged another swing from the bald one, ducked down and swept his foot out, taking him out by the feet then springing up a few feet away.

Mark held himself ready as he caught his breath. He took a moment to check on Felix who was crouched over a still unconscious Sean. Felix caught his eyes, and he quickly lifted his shirt to reveal a stake, tucked into the waistband of his pants. Mark's eyes flicked back to the vampires as they started to circle Mark, as a plan formulated in his mind. He just had to get over to Felix when they were down, not wanting them to follow and attack that close to Sean's body. Mark kept his gaze on the leader who was in front of him, keeping the other two in his peripherals as they both moved around him, keeping Mark in between the three. They seemed to be waiting for him to make the first move, but Mark wasn’t stupid and he knew if he waited long enough that one of them would grow impatient and attack first.

What Mark wasn’t expecting was one of the lackeys, the bald one, to break off and lunge for Felix and Sean. Mark roared as he dove for him, but was knocked to the side by the other, tumbling to the ground. He got pinned under him, and the leader came flying forwards and began kicking Mark in the ribs. He gritted his teeth, trying to get his eyes on the other. He saw the bald one approaching Felix who was standing in front of Sean, brandishing the stake from his waist, only to have it slapped from his grip. The vampire then grabbed Felix by his throat, choking him.

Mark's heart stuttered; he was unable to yell to Felix as another kick impacted his side. He needed to act or else Mark was going to watch everything he loved crumble in front of him once again. He stopped trying to force the other one off and as the leader came in for another kick, he grabbed his boot, twisting and bringing him down on top of them. The impact startled the lackey on him, and Mark was able to push both of them off his body. He stood and ran at Felix whose eyes were rolling back, hands slipping from their grip on the ones on his neck, swooping down to grab the fallen stake as he marched up behind the man, and drove the stake through his back into his heart.

He screamed, releasing his grasp on Felix’s neck who fell to his knees, coughing and gasping for air. Mark removed the stake, grabbed the vampire by the neck and threw him back away from them. He landed with a thud, twitching for a moment before going still. Mark stood protectively in front of the two humans, glaring at the other two vampires, daring them to take another step. They looked at their fallen comrade before meeting Mark's gaze. The other lackey started to move forward, but was stopped by his leader who was still staring at Mark, his gaze more inquisitive than angry. His follower looked at him in confusion as he continued to stare, before breaking eye contact to grab the body, hoisting it over his shoulder and turning to leave, the other begrudgingly following.

Mark stood there until they were long gone from his sight before turning and dropping to Felix’s side.

“Are you okay?” He gingerly cupped Felix’s face, pushing it slightly to the side to look at his neck. Ugly purple and black bruises forming already. Mark winced at the sight, face crumbling a bit. Felix noticed his expression and placed his hand over Mark's.

“I’m fine, you saved me. I knew you would.” He smiled at Mark then let his hand fall as they turned to Sean. He was still out cold on the ground, mud smeared on his face, clothes completely soaked, but he was unharmed. His face was relaxed and his breathing even. Mark leaned over Sean's face, placing his hands on either side of his head and leaning down to touch his forehead to Sean’s. He took a shuddering breath, embracing the feeling that came with the contact while Sean was unaware of it. He was fine. He was okay. He kept him safe this time. He kept both of them safe. Mark had been so terrified when he first saw the vampires in the pub. His only priority was getting Sean out and getting him safe. He nearly lost it when he watched Sean drop, far too reminiscent of the night he had been forced to remember in the form of Sean’s art. He held his position for another moment before letting out a deep, weary sigh, opening his eyes as he pulled away from Sean, only to scoop him up in his arms, his head tucked in between Mark's shoulder and neck as he carried him bridal style. Felix stood with him, nodding at Mark's silent question if he was good to go, and they started making their way back to their home.