Chapter Text
In the dimly lit confines of Todoroki's sprawling mansion, a scene both bewildering and heart-wrenching unfolded at the foot of the grand staircase.
Todoroki, the enigmatic vampire with his piercing gaze, stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the naked blonde huddled on the cold marble floor. The man's unruly ash blonde hair, spiky and matted with blood, had once belonged to a wolf Todoroki had been tending to. But now, the wolf was gone, replaced by this strange and injured human. Wounds reopened, limbs quivering, the blonde presented a sorry sight.
As Todoroki approached cautiously, the blonde's body trembled. His fiery red eyes darted nervously, and his ears, now slightly rounded, drooped pathetically. The tail he possessed, once a magnificent appendage, now hung limp against the floor.
"Who are you?" Todoroki asked softly, his voice gentle yet laced with bewilderment.
The blonde made no response, merely whimpering as he instinctively shielded his face with his arms. His exterior, once coarse and defiant, had crumbled, revealing a quivering vulnerability reminiscent of a frightened child.
Todoroki's heart sank as he witnessed the blonde's broken state. The confusion he felt gave way to a pang of pity. Slowly, he extended a hand towards the stranger, his expression softening.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he reassured. "Let me help you."
But the blonde's fear only intensified. He recoiled from Todoroki's touch, his body shaking with terror. Todoroki paused, his heart heavy with a mix of concern and frustration. He had never encountered a human so petrified of a vampire before.
Undeterred, Todoroki lowered himself to the floor, maintaining a respectful distance from the shivering figure. "I understand," he whispered. "You're scared. But I'm here to help."
As the minutes turned into an eternity, Todoroki's patience began to pay off. Slowly, cautiously, the blonde lowered his arms, revealing eyes filled with raw fear and confusion. He stared intently at Todoroki, his gaze holding a glimmer of recognition.
"You..." the blonde whispered, his voice raspy and broken. "You nursed me..."
A wave of memories washed over Todoroki. He recalled the injured wolf he had tended to in the forest, its wounds severe, its spirit broken. And now, staring at the blonde before him, he realized that the wolf and the man were one and the same.
"Yes," Todoroki confirmed, a bittersweet smile playing across his lips. "I found you in the woods. You were hurt and a mess."
The blonde's lips trembled as he fought back tears. "But why?" he asked. "Why are you trying to take care of me? We're strangers." He was starting to calm down and go back to his usual independent and fiery personality.
Todoroki hesitated for a moment before answering. "I... I don't know," he whispered. "I'm a vampire, and you're... well, you're not. But I felt a pull towards you, a sense of... connection."
"What's your name?" Bakugou asked.
"I am Shoto Todoroki, a vampire." Todoroki answered. "and you are?"
"Katsuki Bakugou, a werewolf."
he paused, "Let me help," Todoroki said, his voice a low rumble. "It will be easier if you let me take care of those." He said, referring to the blond's injuries.
Bakugou winced, the pain flaring up as he looked down at his wounds. The deep gashes on his arm and leg were still raw, the bandages saturated with blood. His body throbbed, a constant reminder of the fight that he had against a pack of wolves.
"I don't need your help," he growled, the words laced with defiance. He tried to push himself up, but his limbs were heavy, his strength depleted.
Todoroki didn't move. He simply watched, a faint flicker of amusem*nt in his eyes. "You're in no condition to refuse," he said, his voice smooth and velvety. "And besides, I have a knack for healing."
Bakugou scoffed, but he couldn't deny the truth in Todoroki's words. There was a lingering, almost unnerving aura around the vampire, an aura that whispered tales of power and ancient magic. He’d heard stories about Todoroki, about his lineage, his connection to the arcane arts. This was the man who could supposedly revive a withered rose with a single touch.
“Fine,” Bakugou snarled, his pride bruised, “But I’m not thanking you.”
Todoroki’s lips curved into a slight smirk. “No need to thank me,” he said, his voice a gentle murmur. “I’m here for a different reason.”
After leading him to his bedroom, Todoroki presented him with a set of clothes, leaving them on the bed for him to view. His movements were as controlled and measured as ever, as if any display of emotion might shatter the fragile calm of the moment.
"Now that you are in your human form," Todoroki’s voice was cool, like the air in a winter storm, "I am going to need to sew up some of your wounds."
Bakugou, despite his pride, was too exhausted to argue. He sat down, bracing for the inevitable discomfort. The vampire, despite his detached demeanor, moved with surprising gentleness as he extracted his first-aid kit.
"What happened to you, Bakugou?" Todoroki asked, his gaze fixed on the werewolf's face.
Bakugou, ever defiant, even in his weakened state, answered with a sigh, "Ambushed. A pack of werewolves, like me."
"They weren't your pack?" Todoroki inquired, beginning to examine a cut on the blond's shoulder.
"I don't have a pack," Bakugou gripped, "Don't you know? Werewolves have this thing about rouges. It's like they're born with a hatred for strays like me." He winced as the vampire began to stitch the wound. "The last thing I remember was being thrown into a river. Then... a waterfall. OUCH!"
The sudden cry of pain elicited a startled frown from Todoroki. The vampire glanced up, his eyes narrowed slightly in disapproval, but not at Bakugou, rather at the reason for his wounds.
"The river was freezing," Bakugou muttered, trying to minimize the whimper that escaped his lips as Todoroki stitched a gash across his back. “I managed to get out, but they were gone. I collapsed at the edge of the forest… somehow you found me." His voice was a raspy whisper, his body shaking with every movement.
"It wasn't hard," Todoroki replied, his gaze focused intently on the blond’s wounds. As he stitched, he noticed the way Bakugou’s breaths hitched, the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw clenched. He was a stubborn one, this blond werewolf, refusing to succumb to the pain.
"Well, I guess I'm in your debt," he mumbled, his pride bruised but not quite broken.
Todoroki continued his work, stitching with an almost surgical precision, his movements swift and confident. A strange, unspoken connection began to form between them, a bond forged in shared vulnerability and a shared need to survive. The air, once thick with tension, settled into a charged stillness, a quiet understanding.
As Todoroki finished with the final bandage, a strange sensation coursed through Bakugou. He felt less like a wounded animal and more like a man, a man who had been through hell and was slowly beginning to heal.
"I will leave you to rest," Todoroki said, his voice softer than it had been before. "The food should be enough for you." He indicated a tray set on a side table.
"Thanks," Bakugou mumbled, his voice barely a whisper. He watched as Todoroki turned to leave, his crimson and white hair merging with the shadows of the room.
As he was left alone, the weight of his injuries finally crashed over him, and Bakugou allowed himself to relax, to let the exhaustion pull him down. The quiet hum of the ancient mansion seemed to lull him into a state of weary peace.
The events of the past week felt like a distant, bad dream, a dream from which he was slowly but surely waking. The thought of the pack, of their hostility, of the cold, unforgiving river, all began to fade, replaced by the unexpected kindness of the vampire. In the dim light of the mansion, he thought he saw the faint glimmer of a future, a future where he could be... more than just a stray werewolf. He might, just might, find a place for himself in this world, in this strange, beautiful, dangerous world where vampires and werewolves existed side by side.
