AU: Strawberry Fields Forever

[Joshua Bernstein]

A follow up to Pigs, Sheep, and Wolves

When the last rays of sunset had withdrawn and the shadows of night lay upon the City, then did Joshua Bernstein arise from his coffin. He drew back the thick curtains that shielded his room during the day, peering outside. Although it was no longer daytime this was, as was said by mortals, The City that Never Sleeps. The stars were difficult to discern among the twinkling of electronic lights - windows and neon signs and enormous backlit billboards and the shine of headlights.

There was a constant hum of noise, as well, people chattering and horns honking and appliances whirring. Sometimes during the day the roar of bulldozers filtered through his slumber, but that was quieted during the night.

He glided towards his closet, riffling through his clothes. He had a taste for expensive suits, and although it was possible the nights activities would include blood and death (someone else's, he hoped, as always) he didn't mind terribly if one of them got a little dirty -- that was the price one paid for being in his position, and anyway he certainly had the money to buy another one.

And besides, he had to look nice for Sean.

Not that he would necessarily tell the Hunter that.

He picked out something in a dark blue, something that would allow him to blend into the shadows if necessary, and a crimson tie. With the assurance of centuries of practice he dressed, unable to see in a mirror if his ensemble looked good but confident in his abilities and his appearance nonetheless.

"I'm going out." He announced to Hart as he exited his bedroom to find the other vampire waiting. "Remember, everyone is to stick to the agreement even in my absence." And he gave his second in command a stern look.

The younger vampire nodded tersely. "Yes, sir, Lord Bernstein," He agreed.

"Good."

Josh pulled out his cellphone as he swept downstairs, phoning his driver. However far away his chauffeur was he knew the other vampire would have the car outside as soon as he left the mansion.

His senses were on alert as he stepped outside -- although he had ample security, one never knew just exactly what the Hunters might come up with to circumvent it. But there were no hunters waiting tonight.

Only one, in Strawberry Fields.

His driver dropped him off at the edge of Central Park, and he used supernatural speed to rush past the strolling mortals until he arrived at the agreed upon meeting place.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had managed to sleep for several hours, waking in the early afternoon. He kept hours akin to the stereotypical college student, which, while not ideal for integrating into the greater society, suited him fine. After showering and dressing, he hid a dagger in his boot and went out to the local diner for a late brunch.

He spent the rest of the afternoon engaged in research, copying information from old books at the New York Public Library until the sun began to set. As much as he enjoyed reading alone at the top of the library tower, he had a date, and he detested lateness.

Stuffing the notes into his bag, he stopped back at his apartment briefly, just long enough for him to grab the rest of his arsenal.

He made it to Central Park as the sky turned red with the setting sun. Enough time for him to buy a hotdog; he would need the protein for the energy boost; they had a lot ahead of them tonight.

Finished with his hotdog, he stood by the Imagine plaque, waiting for Joshua to arrive.

When the sky darkened, he remained alone, waiting.

He continued to wait, although he kept his head cocked, prepared to run off should duty call.

Finally, the vampire appeared, and Sean nodded in his direction. “Hello.”

His greeting was restrained, given the events of the night before and of this morning.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh narrowed his eyes at the less than enthusiastic greeting.

"Hello." He echoed, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. "Did I interrupt you? Should I leave?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“No,” Sean replied with a shake of his head. With the Vampire Lord there, he jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the walking path. “We should talk.”

They had much to discuss. The fallout from last night remained fresh in his mind, and they had been unable to talk about any of it, due to dawn’s emergence that morning. While a useful Achilles’s heel in terms of his sworn duty and his hunting, it proved frustrating when trying to interact with his lover in moments of particular importance.

He made do, just as he made do with every other aspect of his life. He made do with the lack of social life. He made do with the fact that he went out every night and faced a very real threat of death. He made do with the fact that he had done so for so much of his life that he no longer recalled what normal people did, not from experience. From observation, perhaps, but that meant little in the harsh reality of his life.

With that, the hunter turned and began walking down the path, secure in the knowledge that Joshua would keep up with him.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh scowled darkly but followed after. Regardless of his (extensive) pride he actually held enough genuine affection for the Hunter that he continually debased himself in such situations, following along even if it would be far better for his ego to simply cut things off.

Although perhaps not for his continued survival. He wondered idly if Sean would kill them if they broke up -- even if he kept their bargain.

He almost certainly would.

Best not to think of that.

"And what do you wish to discuss, leibling?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Both Sean and Joshua compromised for the sake of their relationship, perhaps in ways that the other could never imagine or understand, if he knew. The hunter gave no thought to what he would do if Joshua ended their relationship, not due to a dearth of imagination, but because such thoughts failed to interest him. He was invested in this relationship, and that was enough.

Sean said nothing until they had traveled a bit down the path, walking deeper into darkness. He tilted his head, listening with his ears and with his mind for nearby people. When finally satisfied with the amount of privacy they had, he turned to look at the vampire. “What were you thinking?”

Contrasted with so many arguments of the past, the hunter’s voice held no anger. No frustration, no indication that his question held a right answer and a plethora of wrong ones, or that Joshua had to tread lightly with his answer. Instead, Sean simply wanted to know.

Rather, he needed to know.

He needed to know what the vampire would risk everything to try to diablerie Miles. Why he would have taken that course of action rather than simply restraining him so that the hunter could finish the job properly.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh had the grace to look uncomfortable at this question. Long moments passed before he voiced an answer, low, nearly inaudible. Diablerie was a great crime for a vampire not of the Sabbat.


"You study vampires, you know us better than other mortals. Do not tell my coven of this." He warned, in case that needed saying. Not only for the diablarie, but also it's cause. "The beginnings of frenzy."

If Sean hadn't shown up when he had it was possible that Josh would have attempted to destroy every living (or unliving) person in the area - including Sean. Frenzy was, much like diablerie, only acceptable by the vampires of the Sabbat. Not those who attempted to retain some level of...civilization.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I wouldn’t.” Sean made deliberate eye contact with the Vampire Lord, to emphasize his sincerity. He had no intention of speaking to Joshua’s coven about anything, certainly nothing private belonging to his lover. His interactions with Joshua’s coven consisted almost entirely of waiting for the Vampire Lord or otherwise using his resources on the few occasions where the Hunted relented and accepted them. Given that any betrayal of Joshua to his coven put them both at risk, he would have to be foolish as well as vindictive to involve them in anything at all.

The Hunter frowned at the confession, although he said nothing.

He had not expected that answer.

He certainly did not want that answer. However, he trusted that Joshua knew himself well enough to offer it, particularly given that it was as ominous as it was problematic.

After several moments of silence, Sean crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “How do you feel now?”

He had no doubt that Joshua was better under control, given the fact that they could have this conversation at all. Still, he needed to know as much as possible before they could continue with the work that they had begun the previous night.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"If I felt it was likely to happen again I would not be here with you." Josh lifted his chin slightly.

If he had not managed to head it off, then they would have dealt with that last night. As it was, he was now under control.

"I do not wish to hurt you, leibling. If I thought this problem would arise tonight I would have canceled. And you know I do not enjoy canceling our dates."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I’m not afraid.” That was true. Sean could not look on Joshua with fear, which came from a combination of factors: security in his own training, abilities and reputation; affection for Joshua; trust from the years of their relationship despite the improbable odds; knowledge of Joshua’s affection for him in return; knowledge of the vampire frenzy enough to plan ahead; knowledge of the City’s landscape such that he always had several escape routes in the back of his mind.

However, despite not being afraid, the Hunter was concerned. Concerned for Joshua because, in all of the years that they had known each other, the Vampire Lord had never displayed any indication of frenzy before. Not with him, and not through the grapevine.

Sean turned to look at his lover, nodding a single time in acknowledgment of both the fact that Josh would take reasonable precautions with him, as well as the fact that the Vampire Lord disliked canceling their dates. He knew that.

He felt similarly, even if they rarely admitted as much to each other.

Which brought them to the next question.

“What should we do about it?”

Aside from keeping quiet, which he had already promised and had no intention of breaking. If Joshua believed that he might repeat that in the future, they would have to implement precautions.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"What should we do?" Joshua repeated, raising his eyebrows at Sean. "I am now fine so we do nothing."

As the frenzy had not continued that meant that the circumstances leading to it had been taken care of. Unless something new triggered it, which was beyond his control.

Beyond anyone's control.

"If it happens again I expect you will have to stake me."

Protecting mortals was Sean's duty, after all. If he entered frenzy he would pose a threat in a way he didn't now. Now he could choose how much of a threat to be. He needed blood to survive, but that didn't necessitate killing. Frenzy however he couldn't control. He would kill until it was over.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had encountered a few vampires in frenzy before, although rarely. Certainly not with the same frequency that he encountered, and killed, other vampires throughout his career. He knew the process, and he knew what would come if they persisted in their untreated state, although he did not say so. Instead, the Hunter had provided Joshua with the out. The Vampire Lord had chosen to steamroll over it, unsurprisingly.

Sean had reached that same conclusion, but he did not want to reflect further on that. He and Joshua did not make for a typical pair: their personalities mixed like oil and water more often than not; they fought regularly – both with words and sometimes with more than that; by all rights they should be sworn enemies, and they were, with every other member of one another’s kind. Yet, they loved each other, even if Sean was loathe to say so with words and Joshua’s proclamations sounded more patronizing than sincere.

The Hunter did not want to kill his lover, and so he would not devote the mental energy to that line of thought for now. “As you say,” he agreed, and then promptly changed the subject.

“I did some research while you were sleeping.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Joshua folded his arms across his chest. "Go on."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean mimicked the vampire’s position, crossing his own arms as he continued to walk across the trail. “We still have doppelgangers to find,” he reminded his lover. That had been the point of their stakeout two nights before, although the night had so quickly escalated into a mystery followed by a break period for the day and more research, and then shaking down vampires from other covens and then the battle with Miles and the complete obliteration of that coven.

Yet, before all of that, they had been hunting doppelgangers, because they had appeared suddenly. Doppelgangers did not simply appear, did not come into creation from a wishful thought. Someone, or something, was creating them.

“There’s a witch named Jade Parrish up in Westchester who might have some answers. I’ve heard she responds to bribes.” The Hunter preferred to bribe when he could, since threats required follow through, if the person did not respond as needed. “I was going to take the Metro North up there, unless you wanted to come along.”

If Joshua wished to see through this other mystery with him, they could take the vampire Lord’s driver and town car. It would be cheaper and faster, and would also blend in with some of the extravagant wealth up in that area.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Jade Parrish." Josh repeated the name thoughtfully. "She has quite the reputation doesn't she."

He would admittedly be somewhat annoyed if it did turn out she had information that nobody in his coven had been able to unearth. He had spies all a lot the city and none of them had any hint of who was behind the doppelgängers but some fancy mortal witch knew?

His people needed motivation to up their game.