The day had been a stressful one, it usually was for Greg Lestrade. Not only did he have to spend most of the day going head to head with his superiors about something that was very clearly not his fault but he also had to deal with Anderson and Donavon reminding him that it was technically his fault.
He'd had to stay late trying to sort it all out, on top of his usual work load as well. By the time it was all done it was around 1am, and raining, and he had to walk home because his car was in for repairs. Yet another piece of evidence that it was technically his fault.
'Bloody typical.' He thought as the rain dripped down the front of his hair onto his face. The cold breeze that blew made the tips of his ears go bright red and he had to shove his hands into his pockets to keep them from dropping off.
As miserable as he felt, he also felt oddly at peace. He was finally alone on the streets, alone with his thoughts. No annoying bosses to have a go at him and no irritating co-workers to get in the way. He sighed almost contently, he could at least try and make the best of a bad situation.
That was until he was pulled roughly into an particularly dark alleyway and he tripped over his own feet onto the floor. His hand subconsciously found his gun but he didn't draw it, not yet.
He looked up to see a shadowy figure standing over him. They were dressed in a black, no dark scarlet suit. The tie was black. Black as night.
Before he knew it he'd been pulled to his feet and shoved against the wall. His eyes had gotten used to the darkness, without the lampposts to help now, and he could see this person better. A man, slightly taller than him, auburn hair, red eyes. Red eyes? Two strong hands held his jacket firmly, not that they really needed to, this man was so close to him that he wouldn't have been able to move anyway.
"Aren't you going to say something?" The man spoke, his voice was calm and still. Almost as if he did this on a regular basis and it was just another day at the office.
Greg's eyes trailed down as something glinted in the moon light. He expected to see a necklace around the man's neck but instead he saw pearly white teeth. Sharp teeth, two sharp teeth.
Red eyes? Sharp teeth?
"You're a vampire?"
The man sighed in irritation. "Yes, well done. I assume you know what happens next, do please try not to scream. It makes this so much harder for the both of us."
Greg didn't say anything, he didn't make any move to stop this mysterious man as he leaned in to taste Greg's blood. Greg didn't make any sound, he just stood there. Suddenly the man just stopped and pulled away.
"When I said don't scream I did expect something along those lines to happen. Do you want this or something?" He asked, looking quizically at Greg.
"I'll be honest, I've had a crap day. I'm bloody freezing and soaked through. I have nothing to go home to but empty takeaway containers. Besides, you seem to need the blood more than I do and I don't think I could stop you even if I tried." Greg explained as he nodded towards the grip that this man had on his jacket.
The man let go and took a few steps back, observing Greg from where he stood. "You could easily stop me, you are carrying a gun after all."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Oh no, you hide it quite well. You might want to stop holding your hand so near it though, it does look like you're about to grab something. That and the fact you went to take it out earlier but decided not to for whatever reason." The man rattled off a few statements. "That leads me to wonder why you didn't though."
Greg stayed where he was and listened to the man talk. He slipped his hand into his pocket when what he was doing was brought to his attention. "Just because I carry it doesn't mean I like using it."
"Even if it's to save your own life?"
"I've never used it to save my own life and I doubt I ever will." He wasn't trying to brag, it was true. "I didn't need to though, I'm still alive aren't I?"
The man in front of him raised a brow at Greg and nodded. "For now, yes."
Greg undid the first button of his shirt and tugged it a bit to reveal his neck. "Whenever you're ready then."
"You know, most people try to bargain or beg for their life."
"I'm not most people."
"No...you're not." The man looked Greg up and down and observed him cautiously. Greg was different, he didn't like different, but he found himself slowly warming up to this scruffy looking man. "Mycroft Holmes." He extended a hand for Greg to shake.
Greg shook it. "Greg Lestrade." There were a few moments of silience before he spoke again. "If you knew I had a gun then why did you try to kill me?"
"I assumed you were too in shock to use it. Now I know you just have dangerously good morals." Mycroft replied, his lips drew in a thin line.
"I'd say that's not true but I was about to let you feed anyway." Greg said, which earned him a suspicious look. "I mean, if it stops you from killing someone else then I'll do it. Even if you do kill me at least it wasn't someone else."
"How generous." Mycroft was being sarcastic. This man must be an idiot, he was willing to die just so no one else did.
Greg shrugged and started to walk off. "Take it or leave it mate. I doubt you'll find anyone else on a night like this."
A hand was on his shoulder before he'd even walked a few feet. He felt the warmth of Mycroft's breath on his neck.
"Are you sure?" Mycroft was surprised to find himself asking that question. Since when did he care about who died? He'd killed before, why was it different now? Why didn't he want to kill this one?
"Just get on with it."
Greg imediantly felt a sharp pain on his neck, it burned like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He clenched his fists and fought the urge to pull away. Despite how wrong it felt, it felt good too. He felt Mycroft's body pressed against his, it had been a while since he'd been this close to someone and it felt almost like a hug. Apart from the whole being eaten alive part.
After a few minutes of this Mycroft pulled back and took a handkerchief out of his pocket. He pressed it against the wound he'd given Greg. "You'll want to put pressure on it for a while."
Greg took over holding the handkerchief against the bleeding. "Is that all you need?"
"That will satisfy me for a while." Mycroft replied dismissively. "You should go home, it's dangerous out here."
Greg barked a laugh. "So it would seem." He was still there, leaning against a wall now because he felt a little dizzy from the blood loss and Mycroft was still there to make sure Greg didn't collapse. Of course there were other reasons they stayed as well.
They stood in silience for a minute before Greg spoke. "So is that it? Will you disappear into the night now and I'll never see you again?"
Mycroft looked at Greg when he spoke. "Not necessarily. I'll need to feed again at some point."
"Is that the vampire equivalent of a booty call?"
Mycroft spluttered and looked away, he was blushing. He tried to come up with someway to respond to that but nothing came to mind. How does one respond to that? Other than yes of course.
"I'll take your silience as a yes. Well this'll be intresting, just try not to jump me on a god awful night like this next time yeah?" Greg said, smirking despite himself.
"I- Yes, of course. Perhaps w-we could go somewhere more comfortable next time?" Mycroft didn't think there would be a next time because he thought he would have killed this man on the spot, so now he didn't really know what to say.
"Good idea, I'll try not to get so wet next time as well." He was referring to the rain but the double meaning was intentional.
Mycroft was almost a flustered mess, almost. This was not how he expected his night to go. "...You should really think before you speak."
"Oh I did." Greg replied without missing a beat. "Boy if this is how you get after a little blood, you must go crazy when the blood donation service is in town."
Mycroft had no idea what was going on. The man he'd tried to kill not moments before was now teasing him.
"Anyway, I have work tomorrow so I should probably head home. Do you want my number or..?"
Mycroft shook his head. "I'll find a way to contact you."
"Alright well see you around Mycroft." Greg said before pushing himself off of the wall and walking out of the alley down the road.
Greg had thought his night was going to be terrible and while it didn't go quite how he expected, it wasn't that bad after all.