Race for the morning

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

WHO: Aaron and Hans
WHERE: The Hangar/apartment
WHEN: Early May 20th, after they're attacked.
WARNINGS: Discussions of an attack that was unpleasant
SUMMARY: Hans never realized Aaron was a vampire until tonight when Major's fanboys attacked the Hangar they both live in.
FORMAT: Paragraph


At least the smell of blood didn't overwhelm his senses anymore, now that the hangar had been cleaned up. It had not been an easy job, but a couple officers had offered to help them out as a way to get away from the city for a little while.

Now that it was just the two of them, Aaron returned to their common space, taking off his jacket and finally removing his holsters. His glasses had been replaced before anyone had arrived. The clips in his guns were almost spent, but it still felt heavy as he set them on top of his jacket. Beneath, his shirt was stained in spots where the battle had briefly left its mark. He was pulling the rounds out of the gun chambers and removing the clips to reload them. The only thought on his mind at the moment, however, was the veiled meaning behind Hans' statement from earlier.

Comments

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

"I am Jewish, and Vampire, is it still a matter of geography?" He shook his head in a manner that waved off any actual desire for an answer from Hans.

"We've both killed, and lost. That at least, we have in common."

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

"I served with Jews. They were my friends. They shot down men who would have killed me. Do you really believe I would think of them, of you, as different because of something so inconsequential as religion?"

He lit the cigarette, taking a long drag. Desire or not, that much needed to be said.

"We have something else in common: this life chose us, not we it. We did not choose to be killers, but had it thrust upon us. I suspect you did not volunteer to become a vampire, after all."

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

It was a relief to hear from Hans his convictions, that he was more than accepting of such difference, but at his last statement, there was again that telling silence from Aaron. Whether it had been a choice to become a vampire, or put upon him, he was unwilling to deny or admit to either. He could argue both ways, but usually he settled that it had been a choice, one he was determine to accept and live with the best that he could.

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

He folded his hands in front of his face, the end of the cigarette glowing in front of his eyes.

"Was there a choice?" He asked, simply.

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

"Yes." Aaron's shoulders slumped just a little. "I could have died with my daughter, but instead, I chose revenge."

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

"Death or survival as a vampire? No, that is not a choice. What we do to survive, that close to death, is never a choice. It is instinct, at best."

He moved his hands, puffing at the cigarette thoughtfully.

"You did what you had to in order to survive, yes. Yes, that is precisely what you did."

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

"Make of it what you will. At the time, my only reason to live was for the death of the soldiers that drove me to that point." After, of course, he'd found other reasons, but until Cross had retrieved him afterward, there'd been nothing.

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

"I suspect," he said, choosing his words slowly and carefully, "that survival drives us more than revenge. But if it was a part of one, then which element held the balance in the decision hardly matters."

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

There was logic in what he said, and Aaron wasn't about to argue the point any further, though he knew he certainly could. The truth was he knew it wouldn't be worth it, and Hans' logic would win out.

"Sound reasoning."

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

"So, we are killers. But at least we are not monsters. Tainted, perhaps, by association...but that is all."

He nods, firmly.

"And tonight proves I've nothing to worry about, so I will consider the entire matter of your vampirism closed. Unless, of course, there are any dietary requirements I can help with."

He knew he wasn't talking about, say, his blood being used, but he was not precisely aiming for irony.

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

Aaron smiles weakly at that affirmation, it's what he had only hoped to hear.

"My dietary requirements will not be something you need to concern yourself with." He glances back at the door to his room. "My people developed a synthetic substitute, and I have an arrangement with the local Import clinic to maintain a supply which meets my needs."

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

He nodded.

"Good that it is steady, then. Feel free to stock some here. There is a second working refridgerator, in the back. Thankfully, it is wheel-mounted, so moving it shall not be troublesome."

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

"Fortunately, it does not need to be refrigerated. A characteristic we intentionally included and the quantities are small. No additional arrangements here should be necessary."

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

"Well, at least you will make no demands upon my cuisine," he said, in a deadpan. It was difficult to tell if he was joking or not.

"But, it is good to have...cleared the air. Even if you still look at me, somewhat, as being the enemy."

[grey1911.livejournal.com]

"That, is something I wish to change." He glanced down. "I should hope my decision to take up your offer to live here shows my intention, however much that I seem to have failed in it."

[the-enemy-ace.livejournal.com]

"Intent has to count for something," he said, with a friendly nod.

"And in the morning I shall install better locks, and get that partition up, so you can have an actual space."