John was quietly cursing at himself as he grasped his hand in pain. He had only wanted to let some light in, and in the process happened to forget the fact that he was a newly turned vampire. His hand had only been in the sunlight for a split second, but even that was enough to turn his skin red, bits peeling.

The vampire flinched as he heard the front door opening, he was sure that Alexander shouldn't have been home this early. He quickly hid his hand behind his back as his boyfriend entered the kitchen where he stood.

"Hey Alex, you're home early..." John spoke a little awkwardly, and Alexander gave him a strange look. Crap, I'm gonna get another lecture.

"Alright, what did you do?" Alex asked, taking a step closer.

"Me? Nothing, nothing at all, just behaving and not hurting myself in idiotic ways." John wanted to throw himself into the sunlight again at how disappointing his lying was.

Alex narrowed his eyes. "You're hiding your hand. Let me see."

Reluctantly, John revealed his burned hand, and Alex let out a small sigh. "You tried to open a curtain, didn't you?"

"It's just been so dark in here, I wanted to let some light in. I'm still not used to this, y'know." John explained, but Alex didn't seem to be listening as he was too busy staring at his hand.

"How much does it hurt?" Concern was clear in Alexander's voice, leaving John to feel guilty.

"It's not too bad, really." John quickly said, but Alex was already taking the first aid kit out from a drawer. "C'mon, there's no need for that. I'm a vampire, remember? It'll be healed by tomorrow."

"It looks painful, so I'm still treating it." Alexander said, pulling out some bandages. "At least let me wrap it."

John let out a small sigh, leaning against the counter. "Fine..."

Alexander gently took his hand and began wrapping it with bandages, being ever so careful. Anyone who spent five minutes with Alex would know that generally, gentle was the last word one would use to describe him. But not with John, with John he always became more gentle, less impulsive, and John loved that.

It wasn't long before Alexander finished, and John leaned in to catch his lips in a short, soft kiss. "Thanks Lexi~." He muttered against his lips, and he could feel the heat coming from Alex's cheeks.

"I told you not to call me that." He pulled away, the slightest bit of a whine in his voice. "You can be a real pain sometimes, Jack."

"Insults don't work when you add on a loving nickname." John teased, and watched as the other man became increasingly red. It was quite easy to fluster Alex if you knew what buttons to press, and John knew them all.

Alex was muttering under his breath, hastily putting away the medical supplies. He wasn't even going to try arguing; another rare feat.

"How was work?" John suddenly asked, looking down at his freshly bandaged hand. "Have we missed much?"

"Not really. Not much is happening, so it was boring. Burr kicked me out of his office so I just came home early." Alexander responded with a small shrug. "Oh, and Lafayette wants us all to go out when you get back."

"Count me in. It's been a while since we all went out together." John said with a smile. "And before you say it, I won't get too drunk and I won't do anything stupid."

"Good. You better not, because I don't want to deal with a drunk vampire." Alex slowly shook his head. "That would be an interesting experience..."

John let out a light chuckle. "Sure would. But I don't want to expose myself as much as you don't want me exposed, so I'll be careful."

"Damn right you'll be careful." Alex leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, before cupping his face and staring into his eyes. John stared back, a small smile gracing his features. "I'm not losing you. We'll figure this out."

"Hey, don't even worry about that. When have I ever been reckless?"

Alexander narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, I know, I have been, but..." John paused, moving his hands to rest on Alex's waist. "This is different. I really will be careful."

"Like you were careful opening that curtain?"

"Shut up, Lex." Before Alex could shoot out a weak insult that was obviously coming, John pushed his lips against his. Alexander quickly melted into the kiss, letting his arms rest around John's neck. John really was the best at avoiding arguments with his boyfriend.

~*~

John laid back on the couch as boredom consumed his mind, eating away at it. It was the following day, and Alexander had gone to work, leaving him alone once again. He probably should have been fine being exposed to sunlight by now, but Alex didn't want him to risk it.

Taking a deep breath through the nose, John focused on Alexander's scent, which always lingered in the house. After becoming a vampire, John found his senses enhancing to far past what was possible before. It had been jarring at first, making him over sensitive to everything, but slowly he had started to become adjusted to it. Alex's scent was one thing John didn't mind being amplified, it seemed to draw him in and comfort him all at once.

All of a sudden, a new scent came to John's attention. Distant yet distinct, the warm, spicy smell drifted to his nose. Being new to this, John couldn't gather much from the scent, only the fact that it was a person.

A knock on the door forced John to sit up, but before going to answer, He went to the window, cautiously pulling the curtain open. He would rather burn himself while alone than have someone witness it if he would in fact burn. He stuck his unburned hand in the sunlight, and smiled at the lack of pain. All there was was a slight tingling sensation.

Another knock came, and John headed to the door, pulling it open. Sunlight spilled into the house, and he had to squint through it. Standing there was a young woman, her dark curly hair done nicely, red dress eye catching.

"Can I help you, miss?" John asked politely, while the woman stared past him into the house. Soon she turned her attention back to John.

"Oh, yes, you live with another man, don't you?" She started, "His scent is very strong here... is he home?"

John felt a little surprised at this woman's openness about being a vampire, until he remembered that she was definitely more experienced than him and could most likely tell that he was a vampire too by scent. "I do live with someone, but he's at work right now. You're welcome to come in though."

"Thank you." The woman nodded to him, stepping inside. As John closed the door behind her, he realized he had done what would've been the stupidest thing he could do in a normal situation; inviting a known vampire inside. I'm a vampire now too, so it should be fine...

John led her to the living room, where they both sat down on the couch. "So, you have business with Alexander, miss..."

"Reynolds. Misses, actually. Maria Reynolds." She stuck out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, mister..."

"John Laurens." John replied, taking her hand and shaking it before pulling away.

"Laurens... that sounds familiar." Maria thought for a moment. "Are you in any way related to the man who chained up and tortured vampires in his basement?"

John cringed a bit. "Yeah... my father was a little brutal in his ways, but he had good intentions." He quickly changed the subject, "Why did you want to see Alexander?"

"Alexander... that's a nice name." Maria spoke softly. "I just need to talk to him about something. What's his full name?"

"Alexander Hamilton. What could you need to talk to him about if you didn't even know his name?" John questioned, tilting his head slightly.

Maria glanced away. "I need to thank him..." She suddenly stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Laurens, but I'll just come back later if Mr. Hamilton isn't home."

"Well, alright. It was nice meeting you too, Mrs. Reynolds." John replied, and watched as she walked out of the house. Confusion clouded his mind at the encounter. He hadn't heard of this woman before, what could she possibly need to thank Alex for?