14. Reputation Ruined

H arlow stood there with his arms crossed, only a few steps away from his cabin, as Foxx paced back and forth in front of him.

"So, what we need you to do is speed your heartbeat up. Scent wise…I ordered some spray that is supposed to mimic a human's… Like, I know there is a way for you to actually produce the smell yourself, but…as it's not something vampires can do, I can't really teach you how to do it. I'm not even sure how you are releasing the vampire scent."

Harlow stared. How the fuck does one speed up their heartbeat? "Fake human smell thrown into the mix or not… Won't people question me smelling like both?"

"Due to us fucking, you usually had the scent on you before this. So we probably could explain it away with that. But also, the spray I ordered is supposed to be for vampires. It will…probably overpower the vampire scent. So, it should be fine," Foxx said hesitantly.

"That was a lot of ‘probably', ‘supposed to', and ‘should be', brat."

"I know, okay! Just try!" The vampire huffed before threatening him. "Or else I'll start harping on the cameras again, and we both know you don't want to deal with that right now!"

He grimaced. "It's been three days…can't you let it go?"

"Oh, so you do want to talk about it right now?"

"Nope!" Harlow said quickly, before adding, "Speeding up my heartbeat right now."

Foxx's eyes narrowed.

He cleared his throat and attempted it. At least he would have if he…knew how…

"How…?" Harlow asked hesitantly. "I… My heartbeat…doesn't normally speed up, besides maybe when I exercise and well, fight…"

"So sorry, I forgot about you being emotionally stunted for a moment there." Foxx rolled his eyes. "When's the last time your heartbeat sped up without exercising? Unless you'd rather run around until it's beating fast. Which, mind you, we don't want it beating fast, we only want it to beat slightly faster than it is right now.

"The normal heart rate for humans is between sixty to a hundred beats per minute, while a vampire's normal is about thirty per minute when at rest, and about forty when moving, minus strenuous activities. Which is what yours is at now, not including…the double beats hidden beneath. Our heart rate can get up as high as a human's due to emotions or exercising."

"Not much of a range, rate wise, is there? As for…running, I don't particularly feel like it… Also, wouldn't doing it that way take awhile?"

"Our heart rate isn't affected by health or age… So yeah, as you said, there's not much of a range. And, yes, it likely would take awhile. You can handle a lot more now before getting tired."

Harlow sighed. "Well…the last time was…when you were playing with those vampires before killing them."

"Did it speed up then?" Foxx frowned "Why?"

"It was hot. And I found it exciting, like I'd just won a fight or something." He shrugged. "I don't know."

The vampire snorted. "Well, I'm not turning you on. We'd end up making absolutely no progress and you know it."

"I'm not an animal, I can restrain myself." Harlow huffed, even as he was thinking over what Foxx would possibly do to turn him on.

"That perverted grin on your face tells me otherwise."

He blanked his expression. Yeah, Harlow really needed to go back to practicing being normal. Or rather, at hiding what he was thinking. Harlow had gotten way too used to just…not giving a fuck.

"What, beyond exercise and arousal, gets your heart going?"

He grimaced. "Well…those nightmares."

"Right! You thought you were dying. Well then, that's it! Think about me dying."

"I'd rather not," he said without even considering it.

"Harlow, I don't care if you'd rather not. If thinking about me dying is going to help you NOT die, then you are going to do it!" the vampire snapped, before giggling and adding, "But I will give you boyfriend bonus points for being cute and not wanting to think about me dying."

Harlow's jaw dropped, before he managed to sputter, "C-cute? I am not cute!"

"Okay, maybe not, but it is very sweet that you don't want me to die."

"You are mine. It's only logical that I don't want you to die."

"Okay, less sweet now…" Foxx sighed. "Just do it!"

He felt the need to ask. "Boyfriend bonus points?"

"JUST DO IT, OLD MAN!" the vampire hissed.

"FINE!"

He definitely should have asked about the bonus points before he'd said the rest… Oh well…

As there was no way he could trick his body into panicking while staring at the man, Harlow took a deep breath in and out, and closed his eyes. He thought of the house, the spikes, the explosion, the sun. Harlow flinched at how easily the images came to him.

But instead of the past, seeing Foxx suspended on a spike, what showed in his mind was of the very yard he was standing on right now, and instead of Micah's body burning earlier, it was Foxx's. His vampire was splayed out on the ground as the sun ate away at him.

Harlow swallowed hard, hands clenching at his sides as he watched the man slowly fade away.

"Harlow!"

His eyes snapped open at his name, more so at the touch of another's hand. Chest heaving, he stared wide eyed at Foxx.

"I'm fine," Foxx said slowly. "I'm fine, Harlow."

Swallowing again, Harlow nodded silently while a drop of sweat trailed down his face.

"Your heart is racing. Slow it down. I'll tell you when you need to try to hold it, okay?" the vampire said gently.

He nodded, just concentrating on taking deep breaths in and out. He cursed in his head on realizing he was trembling.

"I'm fine, all in one piece," Foxx assured him.

Foxx was fine. Calm down, he told himself. Fucking hell, Wes was right. He sort of already knew Wes was right, but… Fucking hell, this was a clear indicator that Wes was fucking right! He definitely could and did feel .

Harlow kept taking deep breaths in and out, his eyes constantly on Foxx as he listened to his own heartbeat slowly calm down.

"Now! Try to hold it!" Foxx ordered.

Grimacing, his breathing increased in time with his heart, and he managed to keep the speed for about a minute. After that minute, his heartbeat dropped rapidly, and for a moment, it wasn't the vampire heart rhythm he heard, it was the dhampir one. After a moment more, his heart went back to mimicking.

Slumping, he sighed. "Well…that sucked."

"It's a start. The goal is for you to manage to increase your heartbeat to the amount I showed you, without passing that point. So, thinking of me dying isn't going to work long-term." Foxx clapped. "Okay, enough of that! How about you fish, while I watch, drink some blood, and order supplies?"

"Sounds…like a plan. I just need to grab my gear, and…you need a chair, there's only one on the dock."

"Okay…I'll go grab blood from the car. And you can grab your gear and a chair, then we can meet at the dock in say five-ten minutes?"

No…that didn't work for him.

"Why don't you come with me, and we can just grab the chair and then the blood on the way to the dock?"

They ended up needing to keep the blood bags in this jeep, as they'd discovered his fridge had died sometime between now and the last time they were here. He had his chest freezer for fish, but…it wasn't really a good option for storing blood.

Foxx blinked, his head tilting. "Why do I need to come with you?"

Harlow stared blankly, saying nothing, as he didn't want to admit that he'd freaked himself out.

After a few moments of silence, Foxx slowly said, "Ah…okay, I'll go with you."

He cleared his throat and went up the two steps onto the porch. He was about to head inside when Foxx spoke sweetly behind him. "Just so you know, you not wanting me out of your sight is cute."

Harlow groaned. His reputation was ruined… Also, how was this considered ‘cute', but the cameras obsessive?! Like, it meant the same fucking thing, didn't it?

Foxx wrinkled his nose when Harlow pulled a worm out of his bait bucket. Not wanting to see the man spear the fucker, he looked back at his phone.

Eyeing the government's blood supply website, he sighed as he tripled his normal order. At first, he'd assumed six bags a day would be enough for them both, but Harlow seemed to consume closer to four, plus the three Foxx needed. Bringing the total number of bags used each day to seven. And Foxx had to feed while Harlow was fucking feeding, just to prevent himself from passing out. He would have attempted to over consume, but his comfortable maximum really was three. Foxx often felt bloated and overly full if he had more than that in one sitting.

What it all came down to was… Well…there was really only one solution. Foxx sighed again and said, "I'm going to have to start filling blood bags for you."

"Why?"

Foxx looked up. "What do you mean ‘why'? I can't keep ingesting seven bags a day. Life will go smoother for both of us if you have a supply ready when you need it."

"Why can't you? I'd rather bite you than feed from a bag."

"And I'd rather bite into the warm neck of a human?—"

"No biting anyone," Harlow snarled, his fangs flashing.

Foxx rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, if I do, you'll kill them."

"Yes, and I'll make you have to hide the body."

He snorted. "I won't bite anyone, you psycho, but I do need to build up a supply for you."

Harlow huffed. "Do you have to?"

"Yes! Stop whining, old man! You can still bite me, but not as much. Not to mention, you need to at least have some sort of blood supply ready, just in case of injuries. Or in case I'm injured."

"Just don't get injured—problem solved."

Foxx chose to ignore and not respond to what Harlow had just said. "As I was saying, we NEED to have some sort of blood supply at the ready for you. And I can't keep drinking so much. It's too time consuming. I also don't drink as much as you seem to need. I can't keep up." Foxx sighed. "I'll buy a blood drawing kit, and start building a supply. Once it's built, you can still bite me enough for one bag, but beyond that, you need to be using the supply I make."

"Why bite a bag when I can just bite my boyfriend?" Harlow sulked.

"If you want to bite so badly, just bite the vampires on our cases. Actually, that's the best solution when we start back at work. You can feed on them and…" He trailed off at the horrified expression on Harlow's face. "What?"

"You…want me…to bite random fucking vampires?"

"I mean…yes? Why?"

"Fuck, no!"

"What do you mean fuck no?!"

"I mean, I am not putting my mouth—" Harlow gagged, shaking his head. "I am not putting MY mouth on some random filthy vampire!

"Harlow, you can't just feed from me!"

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because I'm only ONE person! I can't keep up!"

"Foxx, there is nothing on this fucking earth that will make me agree to bite someone else other than you," Harlow growled.

"WHY NOT?!"

"Because it's DISGUSTING! Do you even know how many surfaces people touch?! How many people don't fucking wash their hands even once during the day?! How much garbage they consume?! The places they go, the things they do?! How can you expect me to feed on a stranger, let alone those usually dirty ass creatures we fucking hunt, who live in run-down, abandoned, piece of shit houses?!"

Foxx stared in shock, silent for a moment, before blurting, "Oh my Goddess… Your whole touch issue isn't just you hating people, is it?! You're a germaphobe!"

Harlow jerked back at the accusation. "I am not a germaphobe! Every single reason I just mentioned is VALID! Besides, here's a clue, I wouldn't be able to do my job if I was a germaphobe, now, would I? I'd likely freak out on every fucking hunt if I was!"

"No, see, your weirdo brain doesn't like touching people, but somehow it's fine as long as you are hurting them, or they are dead! Or in my case, fucking. How the hell did you sleep around?!"

"I'm not a germaphobe, and I will NOT be biting someone else!"

"You are infuriating!"

"I am setting my boundaries!"

"As in, you intend to keep draining me until I kill you?"

"Planning to kill me, brat?"

"Thinking about it, old man!!"

Harlow snorted. "Bet I'd win now."

"Bet you're going to end up in the lake in about five seconds."

The dhampir blinked. "Stay where you are, brat, or it's you who will end up swimming."

Foxx smiled sweetly. "If you say so. Oh, by the way, no more neck."

"Why?!"

"Because your bites take two full bloody days to heal, and we are trying to fucking hide your existence!"

Harlow growled. "FINE!" The man spun and swung his fishing pole, no doubt attempting to cast, but instead, there was a loud snap as it broke in half when the man failed to control his strength.

The dhampir stared in horror at his pole. "W-what…"

Foxx surged to his feet and…shoved Harlow off the dock. As the man landed in the water with a loud splash, he spun away with a happy hum. Folding his hands behind his back, Foxx skipped towards the cabin with a smile on his face. Said smile only widened on hearing Harlow resurface, the man sputtering and splashing away.

"FOXX!"