Chapter Text
They are at a clearing, busy stuffing their clothes and supplies in the carriage. While Remy works, he watches Zidan out of the corner of his eye. The vampire lord stumbled today. Twice, actually. That‘s not normal, Zidan never does that. He also looks rather exhausted and Remy wishes that gone. Though he knows the last few days were hard for everyone in their trio. Xiaodan also looks like she could sleep a week straight. He hates it. He hates that their lovers have to push to their limits like that. But Remy knows that Xiaodan is doing good otherwise. He talked to her the evening before, when Zidan went hunting. She has assured him that she is only feeling a bit exhausted and that she will speak up if it gets too much. He likes to think that she will. Zidan on the other hand… That stubborn bastard would definitely not. Remy and Xiaodan also talked about him. The hunter knows that his concerns are shared with her. Zidan is in a worse shape than either of them and they can’t see a reason on why this journey drains him so much. They both agreed on taking the next days at a lighter pace and keeping a close eye on their lover.
Technically, he knows vampires can‘t get sick with a cold or something, but Zidan looks like he does. But on the other hand, Remy also never thought that it is possible to turn vampires feral with his blood, so… everything‘s possible.
He really, really wants to ask his lover if he is doing fine. If he can do anything to help Zidan or if he can take some burden off of his shoulders.
But Remy doesn‘t really know if he should approach this conversation or not. While their feelings are definitely mutual, he is very much aware of that, he is not yet sure if Zidan would appreciate his concerns on that level.
And because of that, he will only keep an eye on him, for now. If the opportunity arrises and they can touch the subject of Zidan‘s unease, he will certainly do that.
But for now, watching it is.
They work in unison, each of them doing the work without stepping in the way of another. Remy likes that.
He watches Xiaodan fondly as she hoists up their cooking equipment and can‘t help but notice her muscle flex. She might look meager and frail to some, but damn that wonderful woman is strong. She also does everything in such an elegant way. He really admires her for it.
“Like what you see?“ She teased him, without looking at him. “Very much,“ he replies, grinning. He is not ashamed to admit to that.
Soon enough though, they have everything packed up, Remy is putting the last things, in that case their bedrolls, into the back of the carriage, where they would disturb the least.
He then watches Zidan as he is petting the hellhests, noting that he has a fond glint in his eyes. While Remy is still kind of scared by them, which he will never admit to, thank you very much, he knows his lovers are very attached to them. The way they treat them, with the utmost care and love, is sign enough. Well that and the treats they both feed to the hellhests the whole time.
Remy bets that they try to do it sneaky and without anyone noticing, but he notices. The vampires both do it and try to hide it from each other. It is very amusing to watch from the sidelines.
“We should get going,“ Zidan tells him and Xiaodan eventually. Not looking up, though.
“Oh, I am ready, but are you?“ Remy replies to him.
“‘Course I am.“
“Good, then stop petting Cookie-“
“That‘s Peanut.“ Xiaodan interrupted from the other side of the carriage.
“Fine, then stop petting Peanut and get going,“ Remy finishes, in a teasing tone. He tries to get Zidan to bicker with him. He loves to bicker with Zidan. But the other is just shrugging and giving a nod, which, okay, wow. Not even a retort, a sarcastic comment, about how he had to wait on Remy or something? Nothing? Damn, something really is up.
Zidan got up onto the driver‘s bench and gestured for him to follow him up. But Remy just stood there, blankly staring at Zidan, trying to figure out what‘s wrong. “Don‘t you want to sit here with me?“ Zidan says nearly monotone, but Remy can hear a sad tone in it and wow, that hurts his heart in return. Trying not to give his lover the wrong idea about his actions, he gets up and settles beside the vampire. “I just thought Xiaodan would sit with you here, like the last days.“ Which is not a lie. She was with him in the front the last few days. Well, she sometimes joined him in the carriage. Back there, Remy often tries to read something related to the fourth clan. Something that might help them, but so far it was with no success.
“Xiaodan told me she is tired and I wanted her to get some sleep on the way. She is very exhausted.“
“She is.“ And so are you, dumbass, so follow her and sleep. Remy doesn‘t say that though. Abruptly, Zidan looks at Remy with a stern face.
“If the wind gets too much or you are getting cold, tell me. If you start to fall ill, due to the motion, also tell me. I will go at a slower speed, but if it is still too fast, tell me. I don‘t care about your pride or ego. If you start to feel unwell, you will tell me.“ Remy blinks at him, that was not what he had expected. But alas, it should have been a given, seeing that Zidan can get pretty protective and Remy never sat in front of the carriage yet, rather up until now always in the back. Due to him not being able to cope well with the speed the hellhests get up to. He starts to suspect that Xiaodan told Zidan she needs to sleep with intent, so that he can sit in the front and slow them down, so to speak.
“I will if you tell me, when you feel unwell.“ He insists on that. He knows Zidan is exhausted as well and he wants to make sure that Zidan knows he can talk to him. Hell, how Remy wishes Zidan would talk to him. Or, at the very least, talk to Xiaodan if he doesn‘t want to talk to Remy.
Zidan looks at him, with a strange mixture of emotion that Remy can not interpret. Damn it.
“I‘m fine.“ His lover supplies eventually. In a neutral tone of voice. Yeah, as if.
“Still.“ He hates that. Why can‘t Zidan just confide in him?
They sit close. One could even call it light cuddling. The bench is not wide anyway, but they still sit as close as possible. That brings a warm flutter into Remy‘s chest. The fact that Zidan initiated the contact only intensified the warm feeling. Their thighs press together, as do their shoulders. Zidan also has an arm around Remy‘s waist (“To prevent you from falling down“).
All in all, Remy loves it. He really wishes that the whole drive is spent in close proximity.
When he twisted around, he could see Xiaodan‘s sleeping form through the window. He is glad, she really needs sleep. Now he only needs a plan to let the idiot beside him get some too.
Chapter Text
Zidan is looking for a good place to stop. He really can’t go any longer. It is a few hours less before they would normally stop. And if Xiaodan or Remy would question why he is stopping so soon, he will tell them that he hopes they can stretch their legs and sleep sooner this time, rather than in the middle of the night again. He might also be so lucky to find a clearing with a small stream, where they can get some water. Which would eliminate any argument points for stopping.
He is feeling rather tired right now, his head has hurted the whole day, a steady pounding that just won‘t leave him the fuck alone. Even though his heart is being a bitch to him, he still enjoyed the ride, because he likes that Remy sat beside him today.
Not only because it meant, he had a reason to go on a slower pace - faster would really have strained his head due to the concentration it took to take the whole surroundings in and not cause a crash. But also because they were not so close for so long in, well, a longer time.
They travelled mostly the whole day and Zidan has a habit of being up at night. Trying to catch up on some work. Trying to get more information on the fourth clan, as well as looking over lab results, that he took with him.
There is so much to do, but so little time, he rather sacrifices his sleep for this, than not doing it. Though he mourns the cuddles that come with being in the bed with his lovers. But only for a little longer, he just discovered some inconsistence and now needs to find out where that comes from. Zidan is so close to the answer, he knows that.
When they finally come near a clearing, Zidan slows the hellhests down and stirrs them towards it. He really, really doesn’t want to go any longer. Plus, this would be a good place to stop and make camp. Get some sleep and stretch out a bit. Enjoy the quiet, now that the wind isn‘t bashing around them anymore.
Coming to a stop, Remy jumps down and stretches himself. Zidan watches as the younger man is stretching in a very dramatic manner. And as he complains about how he doesn‘t know how both vampires can sit in the front for hours.
Smiling fondly, Zidan hops down and frees Cookie and Peanut from the reins. It doesn‘t really take anything more than that, to take care of them. They both know how to behave and know to stay near, to not run away.
“I will go and see if I can hunt something for dinner,“ he informs them. Even if it is their routine - Remy and Xiaodan put the camp up, Zidan goes to try and hunt some food - he tells them anyway. They both nodded and told him to be careful. Before he went away, he gave both of them a quick kiss on the lips and reassurance, that he tries to be back as soon as possible.
Zidan picks out a random direction and was off. He walks until he is sure that he is out of earshoot and sight of Xiaodan and Remy and then lowers himself at the foot of a tree.
He just needs a few moments - or minutes. His head his hurting and it feels stuffed. It is annoying and Zidan is so, so frustrated by it. He can not feel like that. He won‘t let himself feel like that. He can‘t. His lovers are drained and he needs to be there for them.
Zidan really hopes that Xiaodan got a good sleep today and that she is able to sleep tonight too. Remy as well, even if Zidan knows that the younger man tries to put on a brave facade, he is very much tired as well. He really just wants to wrap them in a blanket and hold them until they recover from their exhaustion. Well, he would like to hold them no matter what.
He loves to cuddle with them. To feel them pressed against them. To feel their weight on top of him. To feel their body heat warming his skin.
Yeah, cuddling with them is amazing.
Not that he can admit that to them, they both would tease him about it so much. He would never hear the end of it.
But seeing them like they are right now, so worn - he just wants to care for them and for that he will need to be in top shape.
That‘s final. He will be in top shape. Now he just needs to convince his body. Fucking shit. Why can his body not just do as it is supposed to? Let the headache disappear, as well as the light headness. Maybe tomorrow, yeah, tomorrow, he will be fine.
Standing up, he braces himself on the trunk of the tree that he was sitting on, until the spinning in his head goes away. That is just for now, it will go away soon enough. Maybe he needs to feed.
Hunting was over way sooner than he thought. Even with his small break he took and then not moving at his usual fast pace.
He caught a deer - which will give them more than enough food for the time being.
About an hour later, he comes back. When he approaches, he can see both of his lovers on the ground in front of the fire, they were pretty quick in lighting it. But that‘s good, if it is already going, they can eat sooner, rather than later.
When they finally see him, they both smile. And after he put the deer down, Xiaodan stands up to embrace him. Her being the one to give him a kiss this time.
“Sit down, I will cook today,“ Remy ordered him. His tone says he is serious about that, but Zidan doesn‘t want him to have to deal with the work alone. “I will help.“ Seeing the disapproving frown on Remy‘s face, he added, “It will go faster this way.“ That put him at ease, it seems. So Remy and Zidan began to work on preparing the meat and Xiadon started to cut up some vegetables that they could eat as well.
They all basked in the proximity to one another and enjoyed the comfortable silence.
Chapter Text
When Zidan opens his eyes, he could see the early stage of dawn. He closed his eyes again, trying to will the light away. His head was still a bitch towards him and poundeed even worse than yesterday.
He looked around and realized, that he fell asleep, while leaning on a tree trunk, where he started to work yesterday evening. The Vampire read through it a bit and realized that he could not use that. What shit did he write? This is useless. He remembers dostinctly, that he thought it was brilliant yesterday, but now? Just some shit. Damn, he really needs to start over.
Zidan shifted and noted the aches in his joints, probably from the uncomfortable way he slept. Great. So not only his head but also the rest of his body is being a traitor. He really would love to lay down and just sink right into oblivion again, but when he is already up, he can also get a headstart on the day. Do some chores, maybe prepare breakfast or refill the water.
Looking over to his lovers, he yearns to go settle beside them. To touch and hold them.
Shaking his head, he tells himself that he can help them more if he starts with the chores. Just because his body did, in fact, not listened to him yesterday, doens‘t mean he won‘t care for them. He will.
Zidan still steps over and tucks the blanket over both of them proberly, then he starts gathering a few of the Water skins and goes the few metres to the stream. The vammpire crouches down and feels a wave of dizzines. He closes his eyes and draws in slow breaths until it passes. Then he fills the waterskins that he brought with him and slowly starts his retreat to the camp. Zidan decided, that he will start on breakfast, he can sit down while doing it and doesn‘t have to worry about his head protesting too much. So he does just that.
“Woah, easy!“ Xiaodan is by his side, when he stands up and nearly topples over. She grabs his shoulders and prevents that. He nearly cursing himself at realizing, that she has now seen that he is not quite fine.
“Thank you. It‘s okay. I‘m fine.“ He tells Xiaodan, while rightining himself, trying to reassure her. She shouldn‘t worry about him. But she does. She shakes her head slowly, and touches the sides of his neck, to hold his head in place to not disturb it further, he supposes. And damn that touch feels good. It is cool against his skin and to feel her soft hands on him and her near him, is a blessing.
“No, Zidan. You‘re not. Come Sweetheart, sit down,“ she tells him softly, as if a louder tone would scare him away. And maybe, well, maybe it would. Xiaodan knows him, know that he is feeling unwell and that the soft approach is working on him. She firgured that out, years ago.
She stirs him to their makeshift bed and sits him down beside Remy, who grabs a blanket and pulls it around his shoulders. Seeing the opportunity, Zidan lets himself fall face forward into Remy‘s chest. Breathing in his scent and enjoying the closeness. When Remy puts his hands around him and strokes his back, he feels estatic. He loves to feel his lovers close. He doesn‘t want to leave this position any time soon. He feels so comfortable.
This feels truly nice if only Xiaodan would finally come back and join, he thinks, before he drifts off.
Chapter Text
Xiaodan and Remy woke nearly at the same time. The sun has begun to stretch out around the horizon and basked everything in warm colors. They both smiled at each other and shared a kiss, before really trying to wake up fully.
But they did, soon enough, after all, there was one of their lovers missing in bed - which is a shame, really - and they both want to see how he is doing.
Remy looks around and sits up and spots Zidan soon at their temporary, improvised table. He was cutting something, but very slow and not much steadiness behid his movements. Remy now looks at Xiaodan, who is looking at him at the same time, worry clear on both of their faces.
“Wait here. I will talk to him,“ Xiaodan instructs and is on her feet not a moment later. She strives over to Zidan and calls out his name, nothing. Okay, that‘s odd. Not a good sign.
At the same time as Xiaodan reaches Zidan, he stands up, well, tries and nearly falls down again.
“Woah, easy!“ Remy hears Xiaodan exclaim, while catching their lover by his shoulder. He could see Zidan blink a few times before realizing what actually is going on, he can see how the vampire tries to put on a brave facade.
“Thank you. It‘s okay. I‘m fine.“ And what a lie that is. Remy can see the bags under his eyes from here. Can see how his skin looks a sickly sort of pale. And that near-fall? Not anywhere near fucking fine.
“No, Zidan. You‘re not. Come Sweetheart, sit down,“ Xiaodan coaxes him softly and Remy can see how Zidan practically melts into her touch. He stays put on the bed, while she guides Zidan to him and pushes him down beside him. She goes away, to probably get some medical supplies or water or both.
Up close, his lover looks in even worse condition, Remy notes with concern. He takes one of their blankets and drapes it around him. Leaning in front of him, to do so. When Zidan lets himself flop against Remy, he lets out a little yelp. And if anyone heard that, no they didn‘t. It was just a surprise. Not that it was unwelcome, but it was so sudden. Catching up with what was happening, Remy hurried to put his arms around Zidan. Not wanting him to feel like Remy didn‘t want that. He does, very much so. Zidan‘s body is warmer than usual, which is also a concern, he notes. He feels his lover go numb against him and realizes that Zidan just fell asleep.
As Xiaodan approaches, he looks up. Tearing his gaze away from Zidan‘s peaceful face.
“He sleeps,“ he informs her quietly. She looked surprised. “So soon?“ Remy just nodded.
He helped him to lay down, with Zidan still practically draped over his chest. Xiaodan was laying down beside Remy and put an arm around them both, across Zidan‘s back.
“What do you think he has? And how bad is he?“ Remy whispered. He has never seen Zidan so vulnerable. And while he knows Zidan is not invincible, he can not help but think it is not right.
“I think he is just way too exhausted. I saw his notes strewn around over there.“ She pointed in a general direction on the other side of the camp. “I doubt that he slept much the last nights.“ An odd mixture of worry, disappointment and also a bit of anger is written on her face. Remy could understand her. He probably shares a similar look.
“Are you mad at me if I take his notes away and hide them?“ Remy asked her, in a serious tone. He means it. He will do it.
“If you don‘t do it, I will,“ Xiaodan tells him, while stroking Remy‘s arm, trying to reassure him.
He should have known that Zidan wouldn‘t tell them. Would try to hide it. Would try to play it over.
“I wish I would have talked to him yesterday.“
“So do I, but we agreed on letting him come to us. So we did.“
“A mistake,“ he admitted in an angry tone. Angry at himself and also a bit at his lover for being so foolish.
“Don‘t beat yourself up over this. I promise you, he will be fine.“ Although she tries to look assuring, there is still worry written across her face. As if sensing his doubts, she tells him: “He doesn‘t pull that stunt often, but he overworked himself sometimes in the past and he was fine after a few days. I don‘t stop worrying about him, of course, but he will be fine. I know that.“
Chapter Text
Zidan wakes to a comfortable warmth surrounding him. He doesn‘t know why he has the pleasure to feel like this right now, but he won‘t say no to it. On the contrary, he snuggles closer to the source.
“Oh, so you finally decided to come back to the living, huh?“ His lover, that turns out to be the thing he is laying on, teasingly supplies.
“Shut up,“ Zidan just grumbles, without any bite behind it.
They were laying like this, for quite some time. After figuring out that he was laying on Remy, he also figured out that Xiaodan was laying snug against his back, spending him her warmth. She was probably, well no, definitely awake, he knew because he could her steady heartbeat. It sounded different from sleeping-Xiaodan, so it must be awake-Xiaodan beside him.
“Why did you not tell us you were feeling unwell?“ Remy asked after a while, quietly, as though he might have spooked Zidan away if he was breaching the subject more intensely. And well, Zidan did not know how to answer that. He knows they both would tell him that his reasoning had no secure ground and he still should have told them. But he wanted to care for them. He wanted to help them. Why is he now the one in desperate need for their comfort, when it should have been him comforting them? To be honest though, he likes their concerns and that they try to comfort him. He feels at ease right now and the sleep he got has helped reduce his headache very much.
“Zidan, come on, I am being genuine,“ Remy tells him gently. The Vampire presses his face into his lover's chest. Zidan. Not Malekh. Remy called his name. Damn. His heart did a happy stutter at that thought.
Remy and him never really overcame the habit of calling each other by their surname and while he didn‘t mind being called ‘Malekh‘ by him, he likes the sound of his name coming from him. Zidan couldn‘t keep the smile from his lips. “I like that,“ he quietly admitted into the fabric of the hunter’s shirt. Remy makes a confused sound and Xiaodan chuckles on the other side of him. “Him being genuine?“
“Why are you laughing?! I am genuine plenty of times!“ He exclaimed dramatically, which resulted in Xiaodan laughing more.
“No, I meant…“ Zidan starts, trying to find a way to explain himself- even while feeling two pairs of eyes staring at him. Damn them and their intense stare. “I meant you calling me by my name, not my surname.“ Silence. Zidan looks up, trying to catch Remy‘s eyes. Was he being too honest? Shouldn't he have said that?
“Oh... Uh, I just realized that… Well, I don‘t usually call you that.“ Looking up at Remy, Zidan could see his face turning a shade darker. Good, so he isn’t the only one being a little bit awkward about it all.
“While you both are being really cute right now, we all need something to eat. So we need to actually get up and, you know, cook something.“ Xiaodan exclaimed, then thought for a moment.
“Remy, you will help me, that way it is done sooner and then we can all get comfortable in bed again. Zidan, you stay here, get some rest.“ Her tone was final and left no room for arguments. Although he loves her firm side and is proud of her that she is so confident in ordering people around - this is not the time for it.
He doesn‘t want to let them go, not at all. Can not one of them prepare the food and the other can stay?
Remy and Xiaodan still got up though and when they separated from him, he made a whining sound and stretched his arms out, in a way to demand snuggles. He is sick. He deserves that.
“Oh love, we can cuddle in a few minutes, just let us prepare the food. The sooner we can get it done, the sooner we can all lay down again.“ While speaking, she tucked a blanket over him and then got to work. He reluctantly lets himself be manhandled by her. Zidan knows she won‘t let him help.
„You‘re adorable when you pout,“ his traitorous lover is laughing at him. Remy could have argued against Xiaodan and not left him there all alone. Damn it.
Zidan tells him “Fuck off“ whilst flipping him off, not stopping pouting though.
He looks over to his wife and mourns that he can not steal her warmth. Well… Technically… He could. She is sitting on the grass, peeling potatoes. She can hardly say anything against him joining beside her. He won’t be doing any straining activities, so no harm would be done. Making up his mind, he bundles his blanket and trotts over to her, only swaying slightly, and plastered himself beside her.
“Darling!“ She chides him. Though it has no real effect, because she is laughing at him. Rude, he thinks, whilst smiling.
He snuggles closer to her side and watches Remy cooking some of the leftover meat. This is nice.
When they finally finished eating, Xiaodan finally declares that yes, they can get back to bed. And doesn‘t that sound heavenly? Zidan gets very enthusiastic and throws himself onto the mattress, holding his arms up, so his lovers can lay on top of him. He wants them as close as they can get. Besides, their body weight on his is always a comforting pressure. When they actually do lay on him, well, partly, he gives both of them a kiss and just enjoys their proximity. He really, really loves that.
Notes:
I really hope you enjoyed this fic! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
maelodia on Chapter 5 Sun 12 Oct 2025 07:44AM UTC
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imashadow on Chapter 5 Sun 12 Oct 2025 08:36PM UTC
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