Love Bites

chapter 1: your smile, my ghost

a/n - chapter photo creds: @ikigaru on tumblr
title from taylor swift's this love

                             ________

It was supposed to be Applejack's day off, but here she was– plunging a wooden stake into the chest of her second vamp of the night. She winces at the sharp pain in her side but opts to ignore it. If she's bleeding out, she'll figure it out soon enough.

"You're slacking over there!"

Applejack turns to her companion with a scowl. "When you said night out, I didn't think you meant this."

Rainbow Dash only grins at her while the vampire beneath her turns into a pile of ash and dust. "Is this not your idea of fun?"

Applejack rolls her eyes and retrieves her stake, securing it to the belt at her side. This used to be her idea of fun, maybe a lifetime ago, but driving a stake into the heart of a vampire doesn't give her the same pleasure it used to. She's learned every single one of their tricks and besides, they've grown weaker nowadays.

"I was hoping for somethin' more like drinks? Maybe a nice restaurant."

"Boo, boring." Rainbow says. "I thought you were supposed to be like– legendary."

"I ain't anything special."

"That's not what the order says."

"Well they're wrong," Applejack says. "But it doesn't matter. I gotta get going."

Rainbow Dash furrows her brows, gesturing to the blood that was now seeping through Applejack's shirt. "Sure you'll be fine on your own? Looks like a pretty nasty cut."

Applejack lifts the hem of her shirt to reveal a shallow gash on her side, probably from the knife the vamp had on him. "I've seen worse. I'll be fine."

"If you say so," Rainbow shrugs. "Call me if you need anything."

_______

It's almost midnight when Applejack stumbles into her house, clutching her side as she makes her way to the bathroom.

"God, why do vamps need to carry weapons anyway?" She asks, removing her bloody t-shirt and tossing it to the side.

Applejack grabs the nearest washcloth and runs it under the sink before pressing it against the gash. Thankfully it doesn't look infected or in need of stitching, so she sterilizes the wound with some alcohol once it stops bleeding before applying some ointment to the area.

She pulls open the medicine cabinet above to sink to find a fresh roll of bandages. She rummages through the pill bottles and ointments and finally feels a roll of something soft. It doesn't take her long to wrap her wounds anymore. Years of throwing herself into danger have made her especially accustomed to all sorts of injuries.

Applejack uses her teeth to tear the last of the bandages she needs from the roll and haphazardly throws it back into the cabinet.

She falls into bed not long after, not even bothering to throw on an old shirt. Once her head hits the pillow, she doesn't get up any longer, her eyelids drooping closed until she slips into a deep sleep.

Piercing blue eyes haunt her dreams.

________

The sound of her phone buzzing in her pocket startles her awake and she's immediately blinded by the light streaming from the open window.

should've closed the damn blinds last night.

Applejack sits up, her body still aching from the night before, slipping her phone out of her pocket and putting it to her ear. "What do you want?"