Work Text:
Pyro was halfway through writing notes for one of his sources when he heard a familiar, distinct voice speaking to him.
"Fancy seeing you here again, stranger."
They looked up as perfectly styled cyan colored hair slid into the seat across from him. Scott, his previous classmate- no, his friend, Shelby's new roommate was looking at him with a teasing smile. Shelby herself nowhere to be found. He was alone with the man, icy blue eyes and that perfect smile, the man who was still looking at him waiting for a response. "I sure hope so! Since I do live here…on campus…?" He winces at his own piss-poor attempt at a joke, his cheeks flushing as Scott gives a light chuckle anyway.
"Touché."
"So uh," They clear their throat, trying to will away the heat forming on their cheeks, "What brings you back here, did you read through all those books already?"
"What if I said I was here to see you?~"
There was no willing away the blush turning his face red at this point as Scott leaned forward on the table, those blue eyes sparkling with amusement, almost entrancing to him, "Huh? M-Me? I uh-"
"Scooott! You're not tormenting Pyro, are you?" Shelby's voice rang out as she walked over, giving the librarians a quiet "Sorry!" as they shushed her. Scott's smile grew as he leaned back in his chair.
"How dare you accuse me of such acts! We're just having a friendly chat!" His false offense contrasting with that smile as Shelby took the seat next to him.
"Sorry if he was bothering you, Pyro. I'm still teaching him manners." She giggled as Scott let out a gasp of offense.
They couldn't help their own laugh at the dramatics, "All good, I enjoy the company." They laughed again as Scott let out a hushed "See!"
As the laughter dies down Scott sits more upright, fixing that icy stare on him, voice more serious, "To be truthful, I am glad to see you again. The other day you said you were a history major, right?"
"I am, yes."
"Right. Can I ask you a favor then?"
Pyro blinked, Scott looked almost embarrassed, "Uh, yeah sure. What's up?"
"Well, you see, I actually don't know anything about modern history…like at all."
"Like anything?"
Scott looked away from them, picking at the sleeve of his jacket, "I don't talk about it much, but my education was…lacking in that sense."
Shelby face flashed briefly with some sort of panic before returning to her usual kind smile, placing a sympathetic hand on Scott's arm, she leaned towards Pyro to whisper, "Apparently he was home-schooled, and well…"
"Let's just say I was kept in the dark about a lot of things. Much of which I'm only just learning now. I guess what I'm asking is…would you mind…teaching me? About what I missed?"
Pyro felt his heart tug a bit, he had only just met this man, and already he was being trusted with information like this. "I- Scott, of course I'll help. I can find some of my old textbooks lying around, maybe start with some basics."
Scott grinned, that entrancing sparkle back in his eyes as Shelby gave out a quiet squeal, leaning forward to grab their hands, "Oh that's so sweet of you, Pyro! Thank you!" she let out a gasp, "I know! You can come to the apartment tomorrow! I'll order some take-out, and we'll make a night of it!"
"That sounds like a lovely idea, Shelby." Scott looked at Pyro again, "What do you say? Tomorrow?"
"Sounds like a plan." He ignores the burning feeling in his face as Scott's smile grows. They have no idea how they're going to survive tomorrow, the prospect of Shelby also being there the only thing keeping their nerves at bay.
The trio chatted a little while longer, Shelby making sure Pyro had her number so he could text them his order, before he had to head off to class. He gave a wave to the roommates as he exited the library, planning his new project as he walked further into campus.
☽⛧ཐིᗢཋྀ⛧☾
The next day Pyro was a bundle of nerves. They couldn't sit still, anxious to get through their classes so they could head over to Shelby and Scott's apartment. He kept reminding himself that this is just a casual thing. Scott just wanted to catch up on the stuff he wasn't taught, that's all. There was nothing more to it. Nothing more.
They packed up their stuff as their last class got out. His professor letting everyone out early for the day. He debated running back to his dorm, maybe change into something nicer? No, no, casual. They were just going to a friend's place and having food. So why did he feel so nervous? They walked out of the humanities building, taking a deep breath before turning the opposite direction of the dorms and heading towards the bus stop, following the directions Shelby had texted them.
They made their way from the bus to the apartment building, finding the door number Shelby gave them and knocking. The door opened to Shelby, their usual bubbly smile on their face.
"Pyro! Hi!"
"Hey, Shelby! Apologies for being here so soon, class got let out early."
"Oh no worries! I just placed our food order, why don't you come on in?"
He gave her a quiet thanks as he walked into the apartment, looking around at the open-concept kitchen as Shelby moved into the connected living room. He vaguely recalls Apo rambling on about the style, though he couldn't make out her feelings towards it at the time. They were setting their bag down on one of the island chairs when they heard Scott's voice from behind them.
"Shelby, I heard talking, everything alright- oh Pyro. You're early."
Pyro turned towards the living room and promptly thought they were going to faint. Scott stood in the entrance of to the hall connecting to the living room, wearing only a pair of sweatpants and drying his hair with a towel, obviously having just gotten out of the shower. It took all of Pyro's willpower to not stare at the shirtless man, he was positive his face was bright red. He was saved from his current inability of formulating a response as Shelby threw a pillow at the elder, Scott catching the item with impressive reflexes.
"Scott! We have a guest!" She scolded him, sounding absolutely scandalized, "Where is your decency? Go put a shirt on!"
"I'm going, I'm going! I didn't know he was already here!" Scott gave them an embarrassed smile, tossing the pillow on the couch before retreating back down the hallway. Shelby sighed as Scott left and Pyro regained his composure. They gave him an apologetic smile as he moved into the living room, sitting in the lone chair next to the couch. "Sorry about him," she said, "He's still learning how to act like a person."
"Did he escape from a cult or something?"
"Not sure, he doesn't like to talk about it. I only know the basics."
Pyro nodded, not willing to press further. Scott's past wasn't his business anyway and if he wanted him to know, he'd tell him. He looked up as Scott walked back into the room, now wearing a black v-neck t-shirt, and sat on the couch next to Shelby. He looked at them, giving one of those charming smiles, "Since you're here Pyro, shall we get started?"
"Huh? Oh, right, yes. Where exactly does your knowledge end? I want to know where my starting point is."
Scott hummed, they could see him doing the math in his head, "Think around the early 14-hundreds? Even then, it was more local."
"Oh, wow. They really did keep you in the dark."
Scott made a sound of agreement as Pyro got up to grab his laptop out of his bag, bringing it back to the chair with him. They started typing out a lesson plan, getting feedback from Scott as he typed, Shelby scrolling on her phone. The two spent a good while planning, deciding to start by briefly recapping the medieval period prior to the 15th century before moving onto the new stuff…which was basically everything. He was just finishing some notes on what to cover for the Georgian Period of the English monarchy when there was a knock on the door.
Shelby jumped up and bounded towards the door, "That must be our food!"
Pyro saved the document they had been writing on before shutting their laptop as Shelby chatted with the delivery man, giving him a tip before bringing the bag into the living room and plopping on the floor. She dug through the bag as the two men joined her on the floor, handing each their order. They had decided to get food from a local American burger place, Shelby mentioning that Scott had never had one before. Pyro couldn't help but notice the older man's meal was cooked rare, actually it looked almost raw.
Shelby turned on the T.V., putting on a random show to serve as background noise as they all ate. It didn't take long for Scott and Shelby to become invested in the plot, giving dramatic reactions as the show went on. At one point, the big twist, Scott let out a gasp and grabbed onto Pyro's arm, the touch making his heart race. Scott glanced at them, a strange look crossing his face before it turned into that smile, Pyro returned the smile as he turned back towards the T.V., pretending to pay attention to the story and not the hand still holding onto his sleeve.
Pyro stayed for several more episodes that night, promising to return on Thursday to start actually teaching Scott things. That session ended in Scott laying dramatically across the couch, lamenting about having to learn so many dates. Pyro and Shelby laughing at him before Shelby proposed watching another show, one she thought Scott would really enjoy. While Pyro was never fond of these kinds of shows, Scott's reaction was worth staying for, the man was having a wonderful time, even if he didn't seem to understand all the references.
The night ended with Scott practically begging Pyro to come back Saturday to watch more with them. And who was Pyro to refuse? Especially as those ice blue eyes shined with excitement when they agreed.
☽⛧ཐིᗢཋྀ⛧☾
Pyro sighed as he checked his phone again, stepping off the bus and walking towards the apartment building. Shelby still hadn't responded to his text letting her know he was coming over. Their phone told them it was a little after 3pm, they knew she should be home, so should Scott of course, but he didn't attend classes. He remembered the girl's words as he left Saturday, "Feel free to stop by anytime! If the door's unlocked, you're free to come on in!" He smiled at the memory. It had been a long time since they had people they could call friends. There was Apo, or course, but he didn't really have anyone outside of her, and she had to deal with him, being roommates and all.
He made it to apartment door and tested the knob, unlocked. He pushed the door open, giving a light knock as he does so, stepping inside. "Hello…Sorry to stop by so suddenly, there's a power outage on campus, so my class got cancelled." They busy themself with taking off their shoes as they talk, "Dorms are out too and I needed to charge my laptop, hope you don't mind-"
He freezes mid-sentence, eyes wide as he stares at where Shelby was just stirring from having dozed off on the couch. Pyro didn't see Scott around, but what he did see was a bat on Shelby's head. "Shelby…" they began, speaking slowly as to not startle her, "Don't freak out. There's uh- a bat on you."
They blinked at him, he could see the moment they became both aware that he was there and of what he said. A look of fear on her face turning into one of dread as she sat up, the bat also seeming to stir as she moved. "Oh, Uh, Pyro! I- well…I adopted a pet bat?"
"…What?" He deadpanned, "I'm not stupid, Shelby. That's illegal. What is really going on?"
"Yeah, I knew that wasn't gonna work…" She sighed, reaching up to poke at the bat, Pyro watching as it seemed to respond to her touch. "The jig is up. We've been found out."
Pyro looked on in horror as the bat lifted its head and made eye contact with them. He briefly thinks on how he's never seen a bat with blue eyes before said eyes seem to widen, the bat scrambling off of Shelby and disappearing, Scott appearing in its place. They didn't register backing away until their back hit the apartment door. "Wh-What the fuck!?"
"Please don't be scared!" Shelby begs, "Please, Pyro, I promise you're safe! Scott's not dangerous!"
They looked back and forth between the two, Shelby's nervous, but reassuring expression contrasting with Scott's almost…heartbroken one. He still wasn't sure what just happened, what he just saw, but…he was sure of one thing, both of these people, who he had begun seeing as friends, we're looking at him like they were terrified of his reaction. Like they were scared he was going to leave, of him seeing them differently. They knew how that felt.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking directly at Scott, at those eyes. "Who are you? No- No, What are you?"
"My name is Scott Goldsmith. I'm a vampire."
Pyro couldn't help it, he starting laughing. He saw Scott- Goldsmith, fucking hell, wince at the reaction. Shelby, to her credit, looked more concerned than anything.
"…Pyro? Are you alright." She went to step towards him, Scott grabbing her arm.
"Give him space."
Pyro felt like he couldn't breathe. They had been hanging out with a vampire, vampires are real, and not just any vampire, but the Scott Goldsmith. The man who used to basically run Oakhurst. Who lived centuries ago.
He should have noticed sooner, he had been studying the history of Oakhurst, hell he's been specifically studying the castle Scott owned for weeks now! How didn't notice the similarities between the man they had been spending so much time with and the portraits from the textbooks!?
They looked back at the vampire, trying to see the infamous tyrant of the Middle Ages, but they couldn't. There was no smug smile, proud of the suffering he caused. No coldness in those light blue eyes. Instead, he could only see a man, a man who was looking at him with concern and apprehension. He only saw Scott.
"Shelby was telling the truth, I have no desire to hurt you."
He nodded at Scott's words, managing to take another deep breath as they stood upright. They stared right into those icy eyes, "Explain."
☽⛧ཐིᗢཋྀ⛧☾
Pyro was bundled up on the couch with a cup of tea, all courtesy of Shelby who was still radiating nerves, likely worried he was going to get up and bolt at any second. For all it was worth, Pyro thought they were taking this fairly well. Scott filling him in on all the real reasons behind their time together these last nine days…had it really only been just over a week?
They now understood that they weren't teaching history to someone who had escaped some sort of weird cult, but a man from 1400s, actually from before that, who had been cursed for the last six centuries. It also explained how confused Scott seemed to be about…well pretty much everything. The more Scott talked, the more things made sense, and the less terrifying it seemed. Scott may have once been some sort of powerful evil overlord, but he had lost all that after being cursed, now he was just a guy.
As the conversation shifted, Pyro found themself asking questions, gathering more info on what Scott did know before he went to sleep. That smile, no less charming even if he was more aware of just how sharp the teeth were, being turned on him again once he said he still wanted to teach him, that he wanted to remain friends. Besides, who better to get information on the castle for their paper than the person who lived there?
It had started getting late, Shelby convincing Pyro to crash on their couch instead of trying to make it to the dorms after the emotional night. He agreed, sending Apo a quick text of his whereabouts. The three of them didn't head to sleep though, instead continuing to talk through the night. Shelby turning on the T.V. to provide background noise, some trashy romance drama playing.
After about twenty minutes of watching, Pyro couldn't take it anymore, he turned to Shelby, "So, I know we're supposed to believe both these guys want the girl, but I'm not the only one who sees the tension between them, right?"
Shelby laughed, "Oh for sure! That fight they had a bit ago? There was no straight explanation for that. They are definitely gay for each other."
"…Did we change what words mean? Because those two don't seem very carefree." Scott was giving the two of them a strange look, like he wasn't sure he really wanted an answer.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot you're ancient." Pyro took a second think, "Um, how do I put this in words you'll understand…it means men who like men now? Like, romantically."
"…And is that a...bad thing?"
"Well, no. Some people are still assholes about it, but we're legally allowed to exist now, so, they can deal with it."
"We?"
"Yeah, 'Gay' has kinda become a term for anyone who doesn't fall into the expected heterosexual lifestyle, but there are other terms. For example, I like guys and girls, so I call myself Bi. Shelby?"
"Women."
Pyro laughed at her one word response, the laughter dying as they turned back to Scott. The vampire staring at the floor, a faraway look in his eyes. "Scott? Everything alright?"
He blinked, gaze turning back to Pyro, his next question sounding so hopeful it made their heart hurt. "It's- I'm allowed now?"
Pyro wanted so desperately to hug the man, he had a hunch, it was a less talked about thing in the books, that Lord Goldsmith was said take male lovers behind closed doors, but to hear it from the man himself, it made all the texts condemning him for it seem even more cruel. It didn't excuse the harm he caused in the past, but maybe, maybe it could help put it into context. They chose to reach out, lightly placing their hand on his arm. "Yeah, you're allowed now."
He swallowed as Scott turned to stare at the ceiling. Shelby moving over to hug him, "Are you okay, Scott?"
"I'm fine, thank you." He smiled again, though this time, they could see it was as real, "Just thinking about how different things could have been. About someone who could have had a different fate."
The conversation fizzled out after that, no one wanting to push anything further. Shelby quickly set up the couch for Pyro to sleep before her and Scott went to their separate rooms, leaving Pyro alone with their thoughts. Wondering who Scott was thinking about and what happened to him. Maybe in time he would share, but until then, he'd wait. Vampire or not, Scott Goldsmith acted very human in Pyro's eyes.