„Fuck!"

Nines didn't swear often, but in his current situation it was more than appropriate.

He kept cursing while he stumbled across the file room, trying to figure out what to do. He leaned heavily on one of the file racks.

The sun was up already, he could feel the familiar pulling on his consciousness, tempting him to just give in.

No. Not yet.

He heard the door open. Fuck.

A wave of Tinas scent hit him, her cheap perfume burning in his nostrils when she came closer.

Well, better than anyone else.

His head was growing heavier every second he stayed awake.

„Nines? Are you okay?"

His half-closed eyes snapped open again at the sound of her voice.

„No!" he groaned, welcoming her supporting grip on his shoulder.

Nines could feel himself slipping, he didn't have much time.

„NInes what happened?? Are you hurt?"

„No -shit, let me sit down- listen."

He let himself sink to the ground, leaning his back to the wall, Tina kneeling before him.

„I don't have much time. I'm gonna black out. Don't freak out, I'm okay. I won't wake up, so don't waste your time trying. Call Gavin."

She stared at him blankly.

„Call him, now!" Nines growled, maybe putting a little bit too much into it, but it worked.

Tina snapped out of her frozen state and pulled out her phone.

Nines was falling.

He let go.

At first, Tina didn't notice, she was occupied with trying to reach Gavin, who'd gone on an extra patrol because a colleague called in sick and no one else was free.

The phone rang. Once. Twice.

„Yeah?" „Gavin! Thank god. N-Nines he's- i don't know but he said he was gonna black out and he just did and-" 

"Tina."

"-wait is he breathing? Gavin he's not breathing! Fuck I need to-"

„TINA!"

„WHAT?"

„Listen to me. Calm down. Nines is fine. I can't explain it to you right now, but this is normal for him, okay? Where are you exactly?"

„File room"

Gavin sighed in relief. No windows. Nines wasn't so stupid after all.

„Okay I need you to lock the door okay? Don't let anyone in, understood?"

She didn't answer.

„Tina did you hear me?"

„Yeah, yeah. I'm locking the door right now."

„Good. Stay calm. I'll be there as fast as I can."

***

Gavin cursed himself for the stupid decision to fill in for Leeds. Of course he didn't make it back by sunrise.

At least it was Tina who found Nines, not anyone else.

Gavin hurried through the station, trying to avoid catching anyone's attention. Luckily it was the end of nightshift, everyone was either really eager to get home or just settling in for the morning and too tired to notice him.

He reached the file room quickly and knocked on the door.

„Tina open up, it's me." a frightened face showed itself in the door gap, eyes darting around the hallway before letting Gavin in. Her eyes were red and swollen, she had definitely cried.

Gavin kneeled down next to Nines, who laid completely motionless, propped up against the wall.

He was as cold as ever and the lack of breathing truly made him look dead.

Gavin shivered.

Seeing him like that was hard, especially when he wasn't curled up to Gavins chest in their apartment like he would every night.

Gavin took a deep breath, pushing the thought aside and concentrating on how to get him home.

„Gavin, please talk to me! He's... he's not dead, is he?"

„No. He's fine Tina, I promise."

She sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve. „I swear Gavin if you're fucking with me I'm gonna kill you for real."

Gavin snorted.

"Okay. I'll explain when he wakes up. And he WILL wake up. I promise."

He rubbed Tinas shoulder.

"It's all okay."

„Fine, what do we do?"

"We need to get him outta here. The others can't know."

"We can get him out through the back door. Almost no one goes there."

"Yeah... theres just one more thing... he can't go into daylight. At all. It'll kill him."

Tina blinked. "Are you fucking with me?"

"I'm sorry but sadly, no. So how do we get him out of here?"

She sighed. „I guess at this point I'll just stop questioning it... okay what about a body bag? The thick ones?"

Gavins face lit up "Yes! That's perfect."

He ordered Tina to stay with Nines and to make sure nobody got in, then he snuck out to find a body bag, wich was surprisingly hard in a police department. When he finally returned, he found Tina sitting next to Nines.

"Are you okay?" She looked a little... lost.

„I'm fine, it's just... he looks so dead." her voice shook a little on the last word.

"I know."

Gavin remembered the times he woke up in the middle of the night, the haunting picture of Nines sprawled out on the bed, not moving, not breathing, no heartbeat... it took a while to get used to that.

"Is he like that every night? -I mean- day?"

He nodded. „Let's just get him home okay?"

Nines was heavy. So much was clear. Both of them were covered in sweat when Nines was finally slumped down in the back of Gavin's car, but at least the body bag was completely sealed off. They had even taped the zipper with ductape, just to be sure no sunlight got in.

The drive home was short, luckily, but Gavin noticed Tina growing more and more nervous, glancing at the bag from time to time.

"He's fine." he reminded her.

They arrived at the underground garage, opening the bag and lifting Nines on their shoulders.

The ride on the elevator seemed like ages, but then they finally made it into Gavin's flat.

Nines, still unconscious, was sat down on the couch and Gavin proceeded to pull off the jacket and button-up shirt when Tina stopped him.

"Hey hey you might wanna leave him some privacy ok?"

Gavin looked at her blankly, then chuckled.

"Look around Tina."

He gestured to the closed up windows, shielding the whole flat from sunlight.

"We've been dating for months. He lives here. There's nothing I haven't seen and I don't think he'll mind you seeing his boxers."

Tina froze. „What? When did that happen?"

"Since he started working with us. We met shortly before."

"You bastards... carpooling my ass!" She laughed.

"Dang. He's a good guy. You're lucky."

Gavin smiled.

„Yeah you could say so."

He then proceeded to quickly change Nines into more comfortable clothes, giving him a little kiss on the head before leaving him on the couch.

He sighed, knowing there was no way of curling up next to Nines and finally getting some very needed sleep right now.

Tina awaited.

"So? Why's your boyfriend dead and fatally allergic to sunlight? Please don't tell me he doesn't eat garlic."

Gavin sighed, roughing up his hair. "He does, actually. But you're on the right path."

"Are you shitting me?? Gavin. Nines. Is. Not. A. Fucking. Vampire."

He looked at her, too tired to actually care.

"If you don't believe me, wait for him to wake up. He'll prove it to you."

She leaned back, presumably giving that option a thought.

"Fine, let's just assume you're not fucking with me, how does that work?"

Gavin groaned. He really wasn't in the mental state to explain the whole thing to her right now.

"Can we not do that right now? I'm probably not capable to form complete sentences right now. i'll explain everything tomorrow, it'll be easier when he's there for the details anyways."

Tina sighed, burying her face in her hands.

"Fine. Tomorrow. I'm really tired. Can I stay here?"

„Sure. I'm taking him to the bedroom. Is the couch okay?" 

"Yeah it's fine. I'm the intruder here. Need help carrying him?"

"Nah I'll manage."

He heaved Nines over his shoulder -god he was heavy- and carefully carried him to the bedroom, tucking him into the covers. He returned to check on Tina who had curled up on the couch, providing her with a fuzzy blanket.

"Need anything else? Bathroom's over there."

She shook her head and yawned.

"Wake me when he's up okay? I still wanna see with my own eyes that he's okay."

"Yeah yeah, I will."

When he finally flopped down onto the bed next to Nines, unmoving as always, he instantly fell asleep.

***

Somehow Gavin was awake before Nines, getting up quietly and making coffee.

Tina was up shortly after him but Nines took his time. She cocked an eyebrow at him while sipping on her coffee.

„You said he'd be awake when the sun sets."

Gavin shrugged.

"Staying awake to hide and tell you must've tired him out. He can't resist it for long."

Nines and Gavin had the day off and Tina called in sick, so they waited.

At some point Tina was dozing off again on the couch while Gavin finished some reports he left unfinished.

About an hour later than Nines' usual waking time a pair of cold hands sneaked around Gavin from behind, a cold nose pressing to his neck.

"Good morning sunshine..." Nines mumbled, his voice thick from sleep. It was undeniably adorable.

"If I was sunshine you'd be dead."

Gavin commented, noticing Tinas head peak up from her nap.

Nines smirked,  inhaling Gavin's thick scent. He caught a whiff of Tina's scent as well, and suddenly all sleepiness vanished in an instant. He was hungry.

His fangs itched, eyes locked onto Tina.

No. Don't hurt her.

He froze, clinging to Gavin and pushing his face further into his shoulder.

He inhaled his scent deeply, letting it drown out everything else.

Hungry.

Gavin had noticed what was going on, holding very still except for mumbling at Tina to stay where she was.

„Nines"

Something stirred in his chest at Gavin's tone. He was calm. So calm, so reassuring.

„It's okay." he bared his neck a little more to Nines, the movement making his skin move under Nines' lips, sending little shocks through him.

Gavin moved them backwards, slowly, always staying between him and Tina.

Nines growled, still fighting. He hated this, hated loosing control to a point where he was unable to stop himself. He would never go too far, never hurt Gavin, but until he took that first bite, until the first animalistic urges were satisfied, he was helpless.

He couldn't stop shaking.

He knew, as soon as he gave in Gavin wouldn't resist- he couldn't. But even now, when he could still fight back, he was encouraging him, holding him and whispering calming words to him.

His lips moved back by themselves, his bared teeth lightly scratching over Gavin's skin, making him jump, but Nines' grip was inescapable.

A tiny drop pooled to the surface, the smell hitting Nines at full force.

He exhaled, let go.

Gavin squirmed, then melted into Nines' grip.

He growled, pulling him back and against the wall behind them, turning Gavin around so the faced each other. He pinned Gavin to the wall, fighting not to bite down harder. Luckily the thirst eased with the energy flooding him and with every sip he regained control.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered Tina, frozen in fear still sitting on the couch. He inched back slowly, his tongue darting out over the wound to pick up the last few drops that clung to Gavin's skin, making him shudder. He sighed when Nines eased his grip and slumped into his chest, a little unsteady on his legs. Then he remembered Tina, his head peaking up to check on her. She hadn't moved, eyes wide in shock and obvious concern for Gavin.

Shock, not fear, Nines noticed. He cleared his throat.

„Are you okay? I'm sorry you had to see that."

She nodded, glancing at Gavin.

He blushed. Holding back the sounds that escaped him when Nines drank from him was nearly impossible.

„Are you...?"

He exhaled, steadying himself by leaning onto Nines.

„I'm fine. It doesn't hurt. More like the opposite." he blushed deeper, brushing invisible dust off of his shirt to avoid looking at Tina. she nervously picked at her fingernails.

„I'm sorry." Nines broke the uncomfortable silence. „This is awkward. I didn't realize how hungry I was."

Tina nodded, still nervous but kind of intrigued.

„So you do this a lot?"

„Not too often, I have... other resources, but he's quite eager to give." Nines chuckled. „And I let him do it, he doesn't force me or anything. It's fine." Gavin added.

She eased a little, scooping over for Gavin to join her on the couch. He happily complied, his knees still felt like they were gonna give out.

„I'm kinda dizzy" he mumbled, holding onto Nines for support on his way there.

„I'm sorry" Nines mumbled. He retreated after sitting Gavin down, giving Tina some space. Her eyes didn't leave him until he sat down on a kitchen stool across the room.

Then she turned to Gavin, inspecting the dark spot he had left on Gavin's neck.

Gavin flinched when her fingers briefly brushed across it.

„It really doesn't hurt?"

Nines smiled at her concern. „Being fed from triggered a pleasure response, so you don't... fight back. Not like that would be necessary, but it makes it easier. especially for us. I wouldn't want to hurt him."

She nodded and looked at Gavin, who awkwardly scratched the back of his head and shrugged.

„I know this is weird for you, it's fine if you have questions. Just ask."

His eyes met Nines', who took the hint. He got up. He needed to cool off anyways.

„I'm going out, we need groceries and I'll stop by at the haven."

He leaned down to Gavin, briefly kissing him and stroking his thumb across his cheek.

„You recover. And have a talk."

He winked at Tina and then left, the front door clicking shut behind him.

Gavin sighed, his limbs still feeling heavy from the blood loss. Nines had taken quite a lot this time, but he knew it'd fade in a while. He always recovered quickly.

Tina awaited.

"I'm gonna make coffee." he murmured and gestured for her to sit down at the kitchen table.

„So you've got yourself a vampire boyfriend. Not bad. And he's good looking, too." she smiled, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

„Through I never thought he was gay. The whole vampire thing must've thrown off my gaydar."

She leaned back and closed her hands around the mug he sat in front of her.

„So? How on earth is he a vampire? Are there more of them? Can he turn into a bat and fly?"

„He got turned by another one, yes there's quite a lot of them and no, he doesn't fly or turn into animals. That'd be weird."

Tina raised an eyebrow.

„Okay, I can't tell you everything in detail, I didn't quite take notes in vampire history 101 but there's different groups of vampires. Kinda like social boxes. The cool guys don't hang out with the scum and so on. A part of them is almost zombie like I think? They carry some kinda diseases so its very few of them. Whatever.

So, Nines' brother, who he barely talks to, was turned by one of the important people in the upper class.

Nines was gonna be next but some fucker thought it'd be fun to turn him first and therefore ruin his life. The guy was like, second lowest class so that sucks for Nines.

He can't escape his ‚social status', so he became an investigator. Snitching on others that behaved out of line and killed humans on their own. I'll get to that."

Tina still looked confused.

"So there's a whole vampire society we all don't know about? Right under our noses?"

Gavin nodded.

"And it's better for us not to get involved. They eliminate every threat to their secret." "Exept you did."

"Exept I did. The only reason I'm still here is him."

Fuck, he didn't think he'd ever be telling this to anyone, but here he was.

„So, Nines did his own thing separated from Connor and working as an investigator. I don't know much about his life before we met, he doesn't talk about it much.

Well, then came the case."

"The one that earned you detective!"

"Yeah, that one. Jesus that was a disaster. The guy we arrested? He was the twin brother of a vampire. He thought they had both been turned and kept brutally killing people, so their... 'agency' had Nines come take care of it."

"How'd it end?"

Gavin shuddered. He would never forget the brutal end to the two vampire's fight. Nines was a monster, after all.

A very cute one, though.

"He killed the guy. They tried to take my blood. His brother was arrested by our people and they got rid of anything that proved the brother being there. It was brutal to be honest. I'll spare you the details."

Tina shrugged like she wanted to shake a bug off of her shoulder.

„He's always been so sweet but sometimes... like when he turned off all recording devices with that one rape suspect and came outta there ten minutes later with a full confession and a traumatized criminal? He's not... dangerous, is he?"

Gavin shook his head.

"Not at all. He's the most loving and generally caring person I've ever known. He can be scary if he wants to, but he wouldn't hurt anyone of us."

Tina closed her eyes and exhaled quietly. All of this wasn't easy to process.

"Okay. What does- he needs blood right? he can't just take from you every time can he? It's not healthy!"

Gavin smiled, shaken by how much she cared about him.

"They have a system of delivering blood bags to everyone. I don't how that works exactly. That's what he meant by „haven" earlier. They deliver the blood to his old flat and he picks it up. Even through he said... well he's low-class, so he gets the shitty stuff. Drinking from me keeps him energized and full way longer. And I recover pretty quickly. I think the same stuff that makes me feel good when he drinks from me also helps me heal. I don't know. Usually vampires don't really care about their... donors." he cringed at the word.

„But he knows I'm always willing to give and that's the only reason he let himself go like that earlier. I'd rather have him drink from me than having him hate himself for wanting to hurt you like that any longer. He hates that part of himself." His gaze drifted into the distance.

„It's not easy living with it. Part of him is and alway will be an animal, no matter how hard he tries not to be. I'm trying to help him loosen up a little and relax a little sometimes, but he won't let go. It's like he's always fighting." he sighed quietly.

It was good to finally open up to someone about it. Keeping a secret like that wasn't easy.

Tina leaned forward and rubbed his shoulder a little, giving him a smile.

„I'm glad you're okay. And you two seem really happy. I've noticed you change in the last few months, I'm glad it's to the better. I think you needed someone to hold on to."

Gavin smiled, squeezing her hand softly.

„I'm glad you're taking it so well."

„Am I?"

„Well I ran into a chair and thought you were pranking me so..."

„Wh- how?" she leaned back to look at Gavin in confusion. He shrugged.

„He showed me his.. other form. Teeth and stuff. It's scary as fuck."

„More than he has now?"

„Oh yea, definitely. I'm talking a whole mouth of razors, basically. He can be way more scary if he wants to. He can like- i don't know- unhinge his jaw."

She stared at him with a wide eyed grin. „What the fuck."

He giggled. "Yea that was my reaction, too."

„What are you laughing about?" Nines asked, a breeze of cool air following him into the flat as he carried in the groceries and his blood.

„Nothing." Tina giggled.

________________________________________________________________________________

So yea, this is the first one shot I wrote about the Dakeverse, the one that made me want to upload a few of these and the one that (until now) took me longest  to finish. I kept changing the last part but I think I'm happy with this version. Thank you for reading!