Bloody Cocktails
~ Vampire!Ben & Witch!reader meet again ~
Summary: “I don’t want to hurt you.” - “I know.” - “Please help me.” - “I will.” or: Ben has been mixing his drinks and turned into an addict. Unfortunately, Gwil calls in a favor with you.
Words: 5.4k
A/N: Thank you so much to @literatureandqueen who made this awesome moodboard and inspired me to continue this series. I hope you guys will love badass witch!reader as much as I do!
Backstory (you don’t need to read it first)
*****
Taking a last glance at the large pentagram on the wooden floorboards, a candle in each corner and crossing line, you closed your eyes and then extended your arms outwards palms up.
Putting all your concentration and energy into the spell you felt the magic rush through you like a storm, a strong wind swirling through the room albeit the closed windows as you spoke the latin incantation out loud.
Feeling the surge of black energy pulling you in, you opened your eyes in anxiety - and then groaned as they met a spectrum of color changing rainbow irises.
"Damn it." you hissed through gritted teeth and then let your arms fall to your sides in disappointment.
Gwilym crossed his arms in front of his chest in annoyance. "Seriously? Again? This is the third time this week you accidentally summoned me here. What exactly is it that you are even trying to do?"
With another prolonged sigh you moved part of the salt circle to the side so the demon could step fully into your living room. "Trying to create a gate to Tartarus. I was so sure I had it this time."
Gwil smiled, his pointy teeth reminding you of your other unexpected visitor a few hundred years back. "I am sure you will get it at some point...Magistra."
You couldn't help but smile about him addressing you by your newly earned title. "You heard about that, huh?"
The demon followed you as you made your way into the kitchen, ducking his head under a thorny overhanging plant on the way. "As one of the head demons, I did, yes. Congratulations are in order."
He watched as you motioned for the coffee machine to get to work. With an annoying 'bing' you couldn't figure out how to turn off, the high-tech machine started brewing as two cups flew towards you; Gwilym catching one of them midair before he went to grab the almond milk from the fridge.
"So what's new in the underworld then?" you asked as you sat down opposite him, a cat jumping onto your lap instantly.
"The underworld is fine. Ben is...you know Ben." he replied well aware of what you were getting at.
"Is he still doing that thing?"
The demon sighed and leaned back to make room for the pot to fill his cup. "Mixing his drinks? Yes. Unfortunately."
You scratched the cat's fur absentmindedly. Maybe it had been wrong of you to allow him to drink your blood. Maybe this was all your fault. But then again, he was a grown man making his own choices. "It's going to come back to haunt him eventually."
Gwilym picked up his cup. "I tried telling him, but it's not like he ever listens...Children, what can you do?"
You laughed at his sarcastic eye roll and then took a sip of coffee yourself. "Back to Tartarus. What do you think is missing in the spell?"
***
“We need to discuss Ben.” the handsome woman in front of Gwilym smiled, her eyes sparkling dangerously, her ashy skin almost too translucent for his liking.
“I figured that’s why you wanted to see me.” The demon answered politely before seating himself on the vacant park bench.
The vampire queen followed behind, her bare thigh falling through the slit in her dark black dress as she crossed her legs. “As you know Ben has become quite the...problem. I have gotten complaints from the fairies and even the mermaids before and I have thus far ignored them pretty forcefully, but with his latest fight - against a werewolf nonetheless - I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Gwilym sighed as he watched a baby duckling follow its mother into one of the ponds. “Have you tried talking to him about it?”
A beautiful laugh escaped her, her eyes momentarily turning black before shimmering in purple again. “Have you?” Digging through her purse she handed him a small veil filled with a glittering dark red substance. “You can probably guess that any other vampire doing whatever Ben is doing would have been executed a long time ago-”
“But you have a soft spot for him.” Gwilym finished for her as he cradled Ben’s blood in the palm of his hand, his dark fingernails tapping lightly along the glass.
The queen groaned and then nodded. “I do. It feels like it was only a century ago that I found him all alone in that alleyway, freshly turned, totally lost and confused. I raised that boy. And so did you.”
A hearty laugh escaped Gwil. “We apparently have not done the co-parenting very well, have we?”
She hit his shoulder playfully, but then shook her head. “Apparently not...So can you help?”
He chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds and then nodded very slowly. “I don’t think I can. But I know someone that could.”
***
Your eyes immediately fell upon the tall demon standing in your kitchen and helping himself to a cup of the always hot and freshly brewed coffee. Still finishing towel-drying your hair, you raised an eyebrow in suspicion and then threw the towel over your shoulder where it vanished back onto its hanger in the bathroom by itself.
“Fancy seeing you here. I am pretty sure the hole in the portal is not large enough for a creature your size.”
Gwilym smirked as he raised the steaming cup to his lips, his rainbow eyes switching fast and with a curious stance. “I see you are still trying on that gate to Tartarus.”
You rolled your eyes and motioned for a cup to fill itself and come flying into your awaiting hands before sitting down at your kitchen table. “Cute. But no. The advice you gave worked. It just seems as if I happened to have lost a cat in there. I have been keeping the portal open the tiniest bit in the hopes of it finding its way back by itself.” You happily hummed after taking the first sip of the dark brown liquid. “So what brings you here? You never drop by without reason.”
He studied you for a long time, his eyes finally settling on a rose quartz pink as he sighed. “It’s Ben.”
Of course it was. When was it not the dangerously attractive but so god-damn stupid vampire?
You groaned internally and then shrugged. “I told you: Him sleeping and drinking around and going rogue or whatever is really not my problem. I am the head of hundreds of covens around Europe. I can’t bother with your little vampire friend, Gwilym. No offence.”
“Non taken.” He shook his head and absent-mindedly began scratching the cat that had settled on his lap behind its ears.
“Furthermore,” you started again as your damp hair braided itself in a quick motion and then fell down your back zestfully. “Shouldn’t that be Miss vampire queen’s problem? She’s the one that should deal with this...problem.”
“I agree. But she has asked me to take care of it.”
“And why don’t you?”
The demon sighed again, his eyes turning almost transparent before transforming into a dark green that almost matched a certain vampire’s irises. Why couldn’t he just stop existing all together? Then you never would have to be reminded of him ever again.
“I think he is gone too far. Which is why I have come to ask you. You are the most powerful being I know. Please? He will listen to you. He is still very attached to you.”
“Because I saved his life with my blood.” you interrupted him in between coffee sips and then began playing with a little ball of fire in your hand that you had stolen from the now dead candle on the table.
“And I am asking you to save his life one more time.” His hands reached out to yours, the ball of flame going extinct as he crushed it in between his fingertips before interlacing his larger digits with yours. “For me?”
“I don’t know, Gwilym. I have a lot to deal with already.”
Like a lightning bolt he had gotten up and was now leaning against the sink, a cat carefully balanced on his shoulder like a pirate would a parrot. “I didn’t want to do this, but fine.” He took a deep breath although you were well aware it was for solely dramatic reasons and not because he actually needed it. “Remember that time when you asked for my help for some sort of secret ritual and weirdly enough a week later a famous world leader died under mysterious circumstances helping three different nations to finally declare independence? You know the time where I let you undress me and do very strange things to me that we vowed to never speak of again?” He made eye contact now, forcing you to relive the memories of said ritual in your head and you shuddered before scrunching up your nose; painfully aware of what was to come out of his mouth next.
“I am calling in that favor.”
You groaned, a white cat jumping up in shock and running into the bathroom in a hurry. “Fine. I will take care of it.”
With a delighted smile he pushed himself off the sink, dropped a kiss to your cheek, and then walked towards the living room; ducking under a few plants as he went. “I knew I could count on you. By the way, can I use your pentagram to go home? Easiest way.”
You waved your hand as you followed him and the candles in the corners of the structure on the floor in front of your altar came to life, the lines in between them glowing up in a dark red instantly. “Go ahead.”
You watched him step into the pentagram’s middle and smile at you again.
“I will keep an eye out for that cat of yours.”
And then he was gone.
And all that remained of him was a small dark-filled veil right in the middle of the circle.
Benjamin.
***
Ben awoke in shock, his throat dry, his hands shaky, his point of view hazy as he took in his strange surroundings. The dark green fabric of the couch underneath him appeared to be too warm to be normal, the curtains were drawn shut and it took him way too long to figure out that the quiet thumping was the heartbeats of not one but about ten different cats staring at him in unison.
“Good, you are awake.” he heard a voice to his left. However, his head felt too much like it was going to burst once he tried to turn it.
“Where am I?”
“Paris.” the witch stated dryly and took a seat on the armchair opposite him, a black cat instantly jumping up and curling into her lap.
Attempting to keep his thoughts straight, the vampire studied her quietly. He hadn’t seen her in centuries, yet somehow she seemed to have not aged more than a year or two. Her hair was longer as it fell in unruly waves over her shoulders and back; the dark red lipstick was a new addition to her usual wide flowy dark green dress.
“I was in Russia.” he finally managed to press out through gritted teeth whilst his throat seemed to close up more and more.
The witch sighed as she snipped her finger and the heavy curtains flung open behind her, casting the room in a faint glow that only dawn could give. “I know. I found you beat up on the street. I teleported you here.” She took another heavy breath as she got up again and leaned against the floor-length window, her eyes ghosting over the eiffel tower in the distance before turning back to him. “What are you doing, Benjamin?”
*
“How are you not dead?”
You almost rolled your eyes but knew better as you stepped around the pentagram on the floor and began playing with another flame ball in your hand. “Really? That is what you want to talk about after avoiding me successfully for what...400 years?”
He struggled to sit up, his eyes faint, his skin ashier than normal. The demon hadn’t lied to you. Benjamin was in fact very far gone. So far, you weren’t even sure if you could still help him come back.
When you had gone to look for him you had expected to find quite the terrible scene. What you had not expected, however, was your search spell guiding you into a backstreet in the heart of Russia, the vampire hunched up on the floor, a quiet sob escaping his lips as he waited for the deep gashes in his skin to heal.
Yea, to sum it up, he was doing very badly.
And you hated how much you cared.
“But to answer your question.” you finally continued, your eyes still searching for the sun rising over the roofs of Paris in the distance. “Somehow drinking your blood made me age very very slowly. I had time to study. I was instated as the new Magistra a few months back. Which you would know if you weren’t busy fucking your way through the magical kingdom.”
You hadn’t meant for it to sound so bitter, yet here you were, your anger and possible jealousy getting the better of you.
“Well, congrats.” he groaned in his deep agonizing voice and then began gagging on air in the most unattractive way. “Thanks for helping me...but I should go.”
You watched him as he tried to get off the couch, the weakness showing in his eyes and arms as he fell back against the cushions a few moments later. “Or maybe I could rest here for a bit longer.”
You exhaled slowly and then stepped towards him, your fingers automatically pressing against his forehead in a powerful joint. His eyes closed instantly and you ordered the curtains to fall shut again.
“Sleep, Benjamin.”
*
Ben awoke in shock once more, the faint memory of having lived this before tumbling through his mind.
Russia.
Paris.
Her.
With a jolting headache he started another attempt at sitting up straighter, a ball of fur falling from his chest in the process.
Her.
His fingers still shaky he managed to get up; a deep gut-shattering hunger burning through his veins.
Her.
He was not sure how he had dragged himself into the kitchen; he did not realize he was hunting at all.
Her.
The witch’s blood was the only sound his ears seemed to pick up, her loud heartbeat his anchor as he took step by step, the desire almost hurting and clogging all other reasonably thoughts.
Her.
He watched her stand in front of the sink filling up a watering can for a few seconds; he could feel his eyes darkening, his fangs sharp against his bottom lip.
Her.
With a final leap he jumped forward in lightning speed…
… and was suddenly pressed against the opposite wall, his back pushed against a wooden cabinet, the tip of a dark oak wand drilled into the bottom of his chin, forcing him to make eye contact with her.
*
“What exactly do you think you are doing?” you barked out, fury racing through your body as you studied his every move. You had to admit you quite enjoyed the scared little whimper noise coming from his pale lips. “Did you really think you could just sneak up on me in my own home and kill me? After I just fucking saved your ass in Russia of all places?”
His fear-filled eyes slowly returned to their natural green as they glanced towards your lips, another deep groan falling from his mouth while his fangs retracted and his shoulders fell back against the cabinet. “Do it. Come on. Kill me then. At least I don’t have to live with this constant hunger anymore.”
You shook your head, a feeling of almost pity making its way towards you heart and you quickly suppressed it by running your wand expertly downward and toward his non-beating heart. “That would be way too easy, Benjamin. You brought yourself into this.”
Hell, it would have been so easy, a few mumbled incantations, a quick lightning bolt, and the problem would have been solved forever. Except for the fact that you had promised Gwilym, and a promise in this world was worth more than any amount of money.
You took a careful step backwards and then slipped the wand back into the shaft of your thigh-high boot before returning to your watering can.
The vampire had not moved when you had turned around a minute later and you watched him curiously as you began watering the little herb garden in the corner of your kitchen. Could you have used magic to water it? Most definitely. But the love was what made it grow strong, a lot of magic users tended to forget that part.
“I’m so hungry.” Benjamin finally choked out and then sank to the floor with a heavy grunt. “Human blood is...I’m sorry I tried to kill you.”
“You would have never succeeded with that but I appreciate the apology.”
He managed to get up again by holding onto and steading himself on multiple objects of furniture and then staggered towards a test tube sitting on your kitchen table. “What the hell is that? It smells like a bloody cocktail.”
Not missing the irony he was oblivious to, you sent the watering can off back to its cabinet and then stepped next to the vampire, his radiating cold sending a shiver over your arms. “That’s your blood, Benjamin.”
Still mesmerized by the different colored streaks swimming in the dark red of his blood, he spoke quietly. “Where did you get this?”
Not bothering to reply you reached for the tube and swirled it around for a bit before setting it back down. “See the silver? That’s mine. And the purple? Fairy blood. The blue is definitely from a mermaid. I am trying to figure out where that brownish copper stuff is from.”
“Werewolf.” he whispered so lowly you had almost missed it and then turned to fall into one of your kitchen chairs. His eyes were filled with despair in an almost translucent green tone as he met yours. “I’m losing my mind. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even know what is happening to me.” His face fell onto his arms as he groaned again and you studied him cautiously, your head crooked to the side.
“Can I draw another blood sample from you?” You finally asked and he nodded weakly, his forehead still pressed against the wood of your kitchen table.
Honestly? He looked like shit.
But the most beautiful shit you had ever seen unfortunately.
Stepping closer you pulled on the material of his black long-sleeved dress shirt. “Can you take this off for me?”
You monitored him struggling with the top button for at least half a minute, his fingers too shaky to get it through the matching hole and then sighed.
“Here, let me help.” Crouching down you placed his hands on his thighs and then began undoing one button after the next, careful not to let his naked skin touch your fingers.
“My head hurts so bad, I can’t hear my own thoughts.” he mumbled whilst shrugging off his shirt and you only allowed yourself to marvel quickly at the faint scars running all along his skin in various places.
You rummaged through the medical bag that had appeared next to your side and found a freshly sterilized syringe - this was the 21st century after all. “When was the last time you had magical blood?”
He studied you closely as you turned his arm over and then ran a warm finger tip over his cold forearm, trying to find the perfect place to pierce his vein. You had to admit you missed doing this with a knife and a dirty coffee cup.
“Maybe last week? It all blends together.” He hissed when you finally inserted the syringe and then began to draw blood into its adjacent tube expertly.
“What kind of blood was it?”
“Fairy.”
You nodded and then slowly removed the needle, his arm healing up instantly.
“Do you know what’s wrong with me?”
You nodded again and then motioned for another clear container to come flying your way. Waiting until you had transferred the last drop of his blood, you ultimately answered. “You are addicted to magical blood. Like an alcoholic...or a heroin addict. But your drug of choice is magical blood.”
He groaned as his head fell back. “Is there like a rehab for fucked vampires or something?”
“It’s not that easy.” you mumbled deep in concentration and used your hand to heat up the tube, its content splitting into its different colors instantly. You carefully studied the silver witch blood and then set the tube back down. “When was the last time you had witch blood, Benjamin?”
You had not been prepared for the way his eyes found yours like a ship a lighthouse. Even in his pained state they were still as magnificent and captivating as ever. And you hated yourself for thinking so.
“I don’t know. Whenever we saw each other last. So...a few hundred years?”
“Right.” you whispered, a faint memory of his fangs against your back and neck running through your mind that you quickly pushed aside. “That’s not good.”
“What is?” The vampire groaned again, a growl leaving him as the veins under his eyes darkened.
Your hand already back on your wand you relaxed as he slumped over, his back muscles contracting before he almost passed out, his forehead leaned against your table once more.
“You are going through withdrawal. But unlike a drug addict, the magical blood isn’t leaving your system. It stays. That’s a problem, Benjamin.”
He listened to your explanation in a seeming daze and you nodded to yourself before helping him by grabbing the underside of his arm.
Somehow managing to get him into your bedroom and onto your king sized bed - the cats had to sleep somewhere too - you sighed as his eyes instantly fell shut from exhaustion.
“How do I fix this?” he mumbled quietly, a droplet of sweat running down his forehead even though you didn’t know vampires could sweat.
Taking off your shoes and placing your wand behind your ear you sat crossed legged next to him, a few cats sensing your unrest and cuddling up beside you immediately. “You aren’t fixing this at all. I might be, though.”
You watched him flip and noticed for the first time the glowing lines along his back in between his scars. Exhaling in shock you reached out to run a finger over one of the silver ones that ran all the way from his shoulder blade down the left side of his spine until it disappeared into the waistband of his black jeans.
Yours. That line was yours.
He hummed lightly as you followed a lilac shimmering line from his right toward his left as it faded out towards his waist.
Too distracted by the way the blue line seemed to go on forever over his arm, you realized too late that he had shifted and only managed to shriek in shock when he had you pinned underneath him against the mattress all of the sudden.
His eyes were black as night, the veins under them more prominent than ever, his fangs reflecting the faint light coming in from the kitchen.
Holding your breath you tried to free your hands to reach for your wand that had fallen from your ear onto the pillow within his swift motion.
However, before you had the chance to wrap your fingers around it, his body slumped against yours, his head falling heavily against your panting chest as a sound that sounded almost like a sob escaped him.
“I’m so sorry.”
Still in shock you somehow willed yourself to use the free arm to instead run it lightly down his freezing naked back. “It’s alright.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Please help me.”
You swallowed dryly before exhaling a breath you hadn’t noticed you were still holding. “I will.”
*
Ben awoke for a third time that day, this time in a bed and he vaguely remembered what had happened there as he tried to orientate himself.
He watched a cat leave the room and then return a minute later with the witch following closely behind. He smiled lightly as he remembered their second meeting a few centuries ago.
‘Do you understand them?’ - ‘When they want me to.’
“Good, you are up.” She stepped forward and then placed a shot glass filled with silver laced liquid onto the nightstand next to him.
He eyed it nervously and then her. It had been a long time, but he could never forget that smell.
“That’s your blood.” he finally stated the obvious and then tried to sit up against the headboard, every limb in his body protesting against the movement in agonizing pain.
“It is. Mixed with some other stuff. But yes.” she explained and then sat down next to him, her leg almost touching his but not quite.
So close but yet so far.
He craved her - no he desired her, in ways he had forgotten about since that cabin in the woods.
“I need you to be fully conscious while we discuss this. So drink up. I hope it’s enough.”
Ben nodded slowly and then reached for the glass, his fingers so shaky he pulled back instantly. “Can you?”
She nodded, a look of uncertainty hushing over her features before she leaned forward and brought the small glass to his bottom lip.
In one eager sip he swallowed the liquid down, his senses awakening not even the fracture of a second later, the life filling his body once again, a newfound strength rumbling deep in his bones and muscles.
“Thank you.”
She sighed. “Don’t thank me yet. We have a lot to do.”
Not managing to suppress the impulse, he watched his hand reach out to brush aside a strand of hair that had fallen into her face and tugged it behind her ear.
Pretending not to hear how her heartbeat had sped up at the motion he cleared his throat. “Lay it on me then. What do we need.”
Her hand shot into the air and she caught the paper and pen flying towards her head just in time and then dropped both utensils against his chest. “We need a list of all the magical people you have drank from. When I say all, I mean all, okay?” She got up. “I will be in the other room. Just come out when you are done. Take your time. It’s important.”
*
You had not even set foot into your living room yet when your eyes fell onto the tall demon standing in the middle of your pentagram, a ball of fur protectively cuddled up in his arms.
“I believe this is yours.”
You smiled excitedly as you practically ran the remaining steps and then allowed the cat to jump on your shoulder in a swift motion before purring. “You found her! Thank you so much...I...thank you, Gwilym.”
The demon smirked, his eyes finally settling on their usual rose quartz color, before they fell toward the floor. “You could thank me by removing this salt circle. I have been standing here for at least five minutes like an idiot.”
“Right. Sorry.” you giggled and with a wave of your hand, some of the salt lifted and dropped into a neat pile in the corner of the room.
“Thank you.” Gwilym stated as he seated himself on your couch. “So how is it going with Ben?”
“It’s going.” you sighed and then fell onto the cushion next to him, your head almost automatically falling into his lap. “This was a big favor to call in.”
His sharp nails began softly running along your scalp and you purred happily as he answered. “May I remind you of the counter performance I did for you? I strictly remember this weird position we were in where we-”
“We do not talk about this.”
An image appeared in your mind, of the demon’s body towering over yours, your breathing going fast as his hips…
“Don’t.” you pressed out and the picture vanished as fast as it had formed.
“Or what?” his eyes had turned into a dark black and you sat up straight as you allowed your magic and energy to collect in your center, the light in you burning brighter and brighter, your eyes pierced into his, your powers ready to collide…
Before the both of you broke out into a fit of giggles and laughter, his face falling into the crook of your neck, where he pressed a quick kiss against your pulse point once he had collected himself.
The demon sat up slowly and spoke without turning around. “Hello, Ben.”
You turned to look at the vampire that was leaning in the door frame under a thorny plant, a crinkled sheet of paper in his hand as his eyes glowed in a dark green.
“Am I interrupting something?”
You cleared your throat and quickly ran your fingers through your from the massage messed up hair. “You are not. Gwilym was about to leave anyway.”
With a motion of your hand the candles on the floor lit up and the lines in between began to glow almost as brightly as the ones on the vampire’s back.
Your eyes fell toward the cat curled up on the armchair and then onto the tall demon as he stepped into the middle of the circle. “Thank you again.”
“For you always, my love.” he replied with a knowing smirk before vanishing and you turned in place to find Benjamin staring at you, his face filled with something that you could only pinpoint as jealousy.
You almost smiled to yourself.
How does it feel when the tables are turned, vampire?
*
“Did you get the list?”
Ben ripped himself from his trance, his mind still replaying the two of them laughing on the couch, Gwil’s lips where his own should be. “Yea. Here.”
She took the paper from him and he studied her closely as she tried not to look shocked when she saw all the names (at least the ones he had remembered that didn’t say “some tree fairy”). It was okay. He had been, too. He hadn’t been aware of how out of control he was.
Now that he had finally stilled his hunger, although he was aware that the little amount would wear off quite fast at this point, he could finally think straight again after all.
“And you are sure these are all?”
He nodded and then fell to the floor, his still naked back leaned against the side of the couch, a cat demanding to be pet instantly by curling up against his legs.
“Okay. It’s important for the ratio.”
“The ratio?”
She took a deep breath and then sat down in front of him, her knees almost touching his as she crossed her legs. “I have worked out a spell...a potion so to speak. But you are going to help me get the ingredients. The creatures have to give them to you out of their own will so I can’t just ask for them to be delivered here like I normally do.”
He nodded as he followed along, unsure where this was going, but highly aware that he would not like it.
“We need some mermaid scales, some werewolf hair, a bunch of fairy petals...seriously what is wrong with you and the fairies?”
He shrugged and then leaned forward without thinking, his nose bumping into hers with the newfound confidence her blood had seemed to have given him. “What about you? What do I need from you?”
Her breath ghosted over his cold cheeks with every exhale, warming them up, bringing him back to life for a second each time. “My magic should do.”
His eyes fell towards her lips, her bottom lip pulled in between her teeth nervously.
“We should get started.” she finally whispered to interrupt the silence that had settled between and around them, only tainted by the sound of her heart beating fast in her chest and in Ben’s ears.
With a last glance towards her lips, the vampire nodded and then pulled back. “We should.”
*****
Thanks for reading. As already mentioned there will be a Halloween special (18+) that will be about the ritual that Witch!reader and Demon!Gwil performed. So stay tuned for that :)
Also check out my Masterlist for more Vampire!Ben ♥