Work Text:
Title: "Dracula's Hope"
Author: Kat Lee
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: Drac finally has hope.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Dracula looks around, unable to believe his ancient eyes, as for the first time since his wife's death, hope stirs inside of him. He hasn't been sure he's doing the right thing until just now with everybody shouting his name. His friends call to him as well as the humans dressed like him, urging him to go, telling him this is his moment, and at last, he moves with a smile.
He knows they're right: This is his moment. It's not just about Jonathan and Mavis. It's about hope. It's about him. It's about wanting to get his little girl back. It's about wanting to live again for the first time since Martha was killed.
He can't believe the humans are helping him as he runs underneath their capes. He keeps expecting one of them to slap his cape down just as he passes beneath him so that he'll be burned by the sun, but they don't. They stand steadfast and true on either side of his path, keeping him covered for as long as they can, screaming at him to go, cheering him on and not just because of love. They're not doing this for Mavis or for Jonathan. They're not simply doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They're doing it because they care for him. They like him. Perhaps, they even love him as much as a human being is able to love anything.
Tears sparkle in his dark eyes as he runs. He hasn't felt this joyful since Martha gave birth to their little Mavy Wavy, a deed that had been supposed to be impossible for Vampires. He's never been cared for like these humans are caring for him. He's never had such . . . such fans, he supposes is the word. These people around him would do anything they can for him, and they're doing so much already than they'll ever know.
He wonders how much he truly had to hide these years. He wonders if he was right to hide Jonathan in the beginning, but then, if he hadn't hid the boy, they probably never would have gotten to know him. They never would have given him a chance. Even if his cherished Mavis had wanted the human kid to stay, the rest of the monsters would have won out. He would have had to have shunned him from the hotel to stay in business.
But in hiding him, Dracula had given them all a chance he'd not known and wouldn't have understood, if he had, at the time. They had actually gotten to know a human. Jonathan had made friends with Frank. He'd entertained the monsters and actually acted like one of them. He'd made Drac laugh like he hadn't since Mavis had been a child, and he'd made Mavis fall in love with him.
Up until now, Dracula had been afraid of what would happen when Mavis fell for the human boy. He'd even doubted going after him was the right thing when he'd admitted that they had zinged and Eunice had pointed out that monsters only zing once in a lifetime. Jonathan was his Mavis' zingmate, but Drac had still worried, even as he'd been coming after the boy, how he would treat his Mavis if given the opportunity.
The kid wasn't afraid of her or of him, wonder of wonders. He'd left only because he'd wanted Mavis not to shut Dracula out of her life. For that alone, Drac would always be thankful to the boy, but he'd still feared how he would treat his baby girl. There was much more to loving somebody right, after all, than just not being afraid of them or their lineage.
He had to treat her right or Dracula would rip his head off with his fangs, but now as the humans protected him from the sun and all the things he'd seen Jonathan do with his friends replayed through the famous Vampire's mind, Drac realized that Jonathan was definitely the right zing mate for his Mavis. He would treat her right. He would love her as she deserved to be loved. He would cherish her, be gentle with her, make her laugh, and protect her from the humans when needed.
Yes, even now, as the humans kept him safe, Dracula realized that not all the human beings would be like the herd currently shielding him with their capes. Not all of them would be so open and kind to monsters. Few of them would be like these people and love them. Most would still fear them. Most would probably still hate them and try to kill them as soon as they discovered what they were.
His people still had to be protected from humans, but not all humans were bad. Humans like the ones lining his trail now would be welcomed at his hotel in the future, but they were going to have to investigate each human long and hard before they allowed them into their world. Jonathan would come in handy in that. The kid would be able to get closer to the humans in ways the rest of them could never hope to do.
Perhaps humans and monsters could live in peace together, but only some humans. Protection was still a necessity. He'd never let his Mavis or any one else be killed again for being different from the humans, but he didn't have to spend every moment protecting them from now on. Nor did he have to do it all alone. Jonathan, other humans like him, and his own friends could help him.
His beloved Mavis was about to start on a new life. Soon, she'd be married to Jonathan and want time alone and away from him and the hotel. Dracula knew now that he could let her go and not worry constantly about her. She wouldn't be killed while she was out in the big, human world. She would come home safely to him, and if anything happened, Jonathan would call him. He'd be to their side as fast as possible.
But perhaps, he thought as he left his human fans with a grin, perhaps it was time for another life to start for them all. Perhaps it was time for him to start a new life. His mouth opened. His fangs shone in the sun, and he still smiled despite the golden rays beginning to torch his pale body. It was time for him to start living, and he would. With or without Mavis or Jonathan, he would live a new life. He would live his life again, finally, and he would be happy and safe. "Goodbye, my Martha," he breathed as he turned into a bat and flew after Jonathan's plane, but he knew, in his heart, he would see her again one day. He'd be reunited with her in the afterlife, where, one day, they would all exist, as the ancient stories always promised the humans they would but Drac now knew monsters like him could as well, happily ever after.
The End