Archive of Our Own

There was no telling how their relationship would evolve over time.

It wasn't a common occurrence for Changbin to be courted and loved by a vampire who found him utterly irresistible in every way imaginable. The vampire loved him much so that he had been refusing to leave his side for just a moment because he feared he might miss a significant moment in his human's life.

"Your lives are so fickle and fleeting, yet you do so much with the time you're given. I might leave and return to you being a different person with a whole new array of achievements—every single one missed by me, someone who claims to love you."

He had always been peculiar. Unique in a way that mesmerised Changbin when he appeared in front of him, tall and elegant and even when he had still assumed him to be human, he had difficulties grasping just how vast his soul was.

He spoke to him of so many things and yet said nothing in the same breath. Told him stories of what he had seen and how it made him fall in love with the world and its people despite the pain they had caused him for all his life. His voice was filled with wonder and a softness that Changbin couldn't place at the time—Hyunjin had been hard to understand before his walls slowly crumbled, revealing a vulnerable, quiet man with a love for life and a passion for art shining so brightly despite the unbeating heart sitting squarely in his chest as a dead reminder for what he was now and the life he had lost so long ago.

Only when they had grown closer—on the behest of Hyunjin himself because he had admitted shyly to have grown quite fond of the way he treated him—did Changbin start to understand that beneath all that grandeur and those sickly sweet words laid a man plagued by the intensity of his own desires. It didn't make him a worse person, quite the opposite, Changbin found himself even more attracted to him after he had confessed to him that he was merely masquerading as a human.

He wept when he told him, big tears relentlessly running down that ethereal face.

"You will hate me," he had sobbed, "there will be fear in your eyes and you will tell me to leave. And I will, because it's your wish, but I will lose a part of myself that I will never get back, something that I was never at risk of losing all these damned centuries."

Changbin took his hands into his, dainty fingers and milky soft skin brushing against his own. They had healed from years of labour and survival and adapted to a life filled with all the nicer things. He smiled, crooked and unsure but genuine. "Nothing you could say could ever make me hate you." Hyunjin sniffled and he reminded him of a child, with his neck tucked deeply into his hunched shoulders and his refusal to look into Changbin's eyes as if he had done something wrong and feared the consequences.

It saddened him to this day that Hyunjin had ever thought his mere existence was something that deserved punishment.

He had been like this for a long time, he told him, for so long that he had difficulties remembering how the first few years of his life were like. Difficult is one of the only words he could utter after thinking. He never made an effort to remember in recent years, believing it best to leave the past in the past and fearing that dwelling on forgotten memories would unlock something horrible that he worked so hard to repress.

For all the years he implied he's lived, Changbin couldn't ever blame him for choosing to forget. He couldn't imagine how much pain and suffering he must have gone through just to get to where he is right now.

A beast, he had called himself. Victim to a neverending thirst that once drove him mad.

"There were others," he said," but a lot of us died. Hunted down like common deer because they saw us as demons, something unholy that needed cleansing and if we couldn't be purified, then they killed us, sent us to Hell." It ached him to speak of it, discomfort painfully written in his face. Changbin squeezed his hands in silent comfort, yet he knew it would never be enough to ease the pains of a distant, haunting past. "I survived by hiding like a coward, other fought and resisted to save more of our kind but all it did was wound them and their pride and get more killed. I wish I could offer you a boring, ordinary love where we fall for each other and spend the rest of our days together like any other destined couple, but—"

It hurt to hear him talk, to feel his fingernails digging their way into piercing his skin as if drawing blood would erase the wounds from the past. "I can't give you that," he continued, "I wish I could, I really do. But I'm a monster and my way of living is not something I want to force you to adapt to, potentially robbing you of your happiness. I couldn't live with myself if that ever came to pass."

Changbin understood. He was already too far gone for him anyway, so he held his tiny face between his hands and kissed him right there on his couch, tasting him for the very first time.

*

He tasted him a lot afterwards. Hyunjin always seemed like he could never get quite enough kisses in before they had to inevitably untangle each other and either go to work or do anything else other than kissing. His kisses tasted like honey and desperation, a love blossoming from under the softness of them as if he had been waiting for him for centuries.

Changbin never dared to ask about his past relationships, fearing that he'd never compare to lovers of the past with all their prestige because he imagined that only the richest of nobles with the biggest piles of money and taste for the finer things in life would try to court a being such as Hyunjin. In the same breath, he could never imagine Hyunjin falling for them in earnest.

Hyunjin had certainly been blessed by the gods themselves to have such an appearance, but it never came with the attitude of someone who was convinced all they ever needed in life was their looks and their sharp tongue.

The only sharpness of him was found in his figure, how the lines of his body tempted and teased and perfectly moulded against his own, and his fangs that poked him whenever his tongue ventured into his mouth. He could see them when he smiled, teeth peeking out beneath his lips and he had mistaken them for adorable oddities before knowing their real purpose.

Despite the thirst plagueing him, Hyunjin was quite the gentleman, never asking Changbin to bite and drink deeply from him. Instead, he'd impolitely stare very intently at his neck whenever it was exposed or caress it with just his fingertips. There was an unspoken yearning hanging in the air that neither of them knew how to address.

Hyunjin had explained to him, with an edge to his voice, that feeding off another person with their clear permission was a very intimate situation to find yourself in. It meant full trust in the other person because Changbin would essentially hand over his life served on a silver platter that Hyunjin had to balance. If Hyunjin ever took too much or forgot to take care of him and his wound afterwards, he would bleed to death.

"Are you hungry?" he had asked him one evening. Hyunjin had been cuddling into his side while they were watching a movie that he chose.

Hyunjin froze against him, going even stiller than usual. He had been so, so hungry for such a long time. Ever since meeting Changbin he had stopped seeking out alternative methods of feeding himself, a small flame of hope flickering in his chest that one day Changbin would find the love in his heart to let him feed off him.

It was stupid, really. Not feeding for such a long time, starving himself and worse yet, endangering Changbin with it. He had been acting like a child, unwise and blind, desperate to cling to Changbin like he clung to his Sire's thighs in the first days of his awakening.

"Changbin…" he started uneasily, full-well knowing what his intentions were. The hunger scratched its unwelcomed claws against his throat since weeks, but he'd always swallowed and willed it away, leaving himself weak.

"I see how you eye my neck, my babybat. Did you know you started sucking on my arm at night when you're asleep?"

"What?" He sat up to look at him incredulously.

"Yeah, it's kinda cute," he giggled, "like, my arm is pretty close to your face at night, so a few days ago you just started… that." Changbin lifted his arm to show him a beautiful, but overall very subtle bruising on his arm that Hyunjin had certainly noticed but dismissed as something he had gotten in the gym, knocking his arm against one of the machines or something.

"Did I bite you?"

"No," he answered immediately. His fingers soothed tensed muscles until they relaxed in his hold once more.

Changbin took a deep breath, leveling his gaze with Hyunjin's to make sure his intentions were extremely clear, so that he would not misunderstand.

"Hyunjin, I want you to bite me and feed. Eat something."

Fascinating how fast a few words could evoke a strong reaction within an individual. Pupils dilated, lips parted with an audible little sound, fingers dug into the plush of the couch. "Don't say that," Hyunjin whispered, voice sitting on the tantalising edge between want and hesitation.

Changbin just smiled at him, kind and understanding. He had never asked how long a vampire could go without feeding before it drove them insane but he had a feeling that Hyunjin was nearing his limits simply by observing him. His nervous little habits had gotten worse, the skin around his fingernails suffering the anxious biting, his lips slowly losing flakes of skin from all the picking. How his eyes stared at him when he thought Changbin wasn't looking, not paying attention to the hunger weighing his gaze down.

He took a lock of hair between his fingers. Hyunjin jolted because of the movement, but permitted him to continue. "I want you to," he told him. "Will you?"

For someone normally so composed, so well-spoken and sure of themself, Hyunjin seemingly didn't know what to do with himself, helplessly staring at him as if it were all a cruel dream invading his sleep and he had finally gone mad from hunger. But Changbin was right in front of him and now he's holding his hand out for him. A shaky hand extended towards his, grabbing it—it's cold as ice, testament that Hyunjin shouldn't exist, but he did. Just as much as Changbin shouldn't invite him so freely in his space, but he did.

With a purposeful tug he pulled him into his lap, helping him position his knees right beside his hips. His hands naturally landed on his shoulders. "You said it's easier if I sit down, right? Or was it laying?"

"S-sitting," he swallowed thickly. "It helps prevent too much blood from going upwards too quickly. I'll… I will try to not puncture your artery and instead go for the vein in your neck." He traced his target with his pointer finger, sliding down the side of his neck, leaving goosebumps in his wake.

"Okay."

"Aren't you scared I'll kill you? Everything could go wrong, Changbin."

"It won't." His hands were securely wrapped around that lithe waist of his, tracing patterns into his back.

"But what if?"

"But what if it doesn't? I trust you."

"You shouldn't."

It made Changbin laugh. Hyunjin didn't find it funny. "Hyunjin, what would stop you? Physically."

Hyunjin was conflicted, emotions flitting over his face as he thought about his question, biting his lips and fiddling with the fabric of his shirt. "Stabbing my heart?"

Changbin didn't expect him to say it so nonchalantly, as if it was the most natural thing to pass his lips that day. "What? I don't wanna kill you."

"It won't, it'll just… paralyse me until you remove the knife or something."

Despite the uneasiness that flooded his system at the thought of needing to stab the man he loved, Changbin relented eventually and agreed to get a knife from the kitchen before they found themselves in the same position with Hyunjin perched atop his lap. The knife felt heavy in his hand, but he pointed the tip of it towards Hyunjin's chest regardless as he leaned closer to him.

Gentle fingers pulled down the collar of Changbin's shirt to expose the expanse of his neck in the eerily quiet room. Changbin's eyes focused on Hyunjin and Hyunjin alone, tracing the shape of his nose and the sharpness of his jaw, the glistening of his eyes and how his throat shuddered when he took a shaky breath at the sight of skin. The vampire was concentrating on doing everything right and safe, instead, his eyes never leaving where his fangs were supposed to puncture.

There was an animal ready to take its meal from his flesh in his lap and yet Changbin felt calm.

"I'm— Changbin, are you sure?"

"It's okay, Hyunjinnie."

"Okay… Okay. I'll… I'm going to start now, okay? If you want to stop at any moment, tell me immediately. If that doesn't stop me, then…" Stab me. He didn't want to say it because it would make the situation realer and worse than it already was, but Changbin understood.

Hyunjin closed his eyes and took another deep breath through his nose. Changbin wasn't sure whether it was to steady himself or to breathe the scent of him in. As soon as he opened his eyes again, he leaned forwards towards the crook of his neck. Changbin's free hand tangled itself into the back of his cardigan as an anchor.

There was no breath to tickle him when Hyunjin nosed at his neck.

As a warning, or maybe an apology, he kissed the spot he was about to ruin forever, softly and gentle, an antithesis to his nature. He lingered there with his lips pressed against the skin covering the vein he so badly wanted to rip open—one hand shaking against the curve of Changbin's jaw while the other stayed still against his shoulder.

Changbin would lie if he said he didn't feel it when a sharp pain broke out in his neck, that he didn't feel Hyunjin's fangs intruding on him in a sensation that felt wrong. He would never tell him of the minute panic that broke out in him as a natural response to being bitten by something his brain told him was a predator, a danger to his life.

The first few moments of the bite weren't romantic at all, like Changbin had imagined. But they were perfect all the same. Being devoured and desired like this was a sensation entirely new to him—the need was partly out of necessity, but the way Hyunjin lapped at his neck while his fangs were lodged in his neck, his body writhing in pleasure, hands spasming against his shoulders in ecstasy betrayed the notion that it was merely for survival.

He took the liberty to grab Hyunjin's waist tighter and feel the way his tummy shuddered with each gulp of blood down his throat, how his pelvis began to rock against him rhythmically as he drank.

It was obscene.

He would lie to himself if he said he didn't enjoy it or denied that a familiar heat pooled in the depths of his stomach. Perhaps that was the effect the bite was supposed to have on an unsuspecting victim—to alleviate pains, get dopamine rushing through your veins and crave it more and more until they stop resisting.

Hyunjin moaned against him, still lapping greedily at the puncture wounds, still writhing in his lap and Changbin began to feel dizzy. From the warmth protruding from their bodies, from the high of getting to show Hyunjin just how much he trusts him, elevating their bond to a higher level; from the rapid pace that blood had been exiting his body—he was nearing his limit.

Opening his mouth only sent a shock of pain down the side of his neck and no sound managed to cut through the thick silence only filled with slick sounds. He tried poking Hyunjin's sides to signal that it was enough, but the vampire kept taking from him as if he were a fresh fountain, lost in his ecstasy. The poking escalated to light, panicked slaps before he resorted to trying to pull him off of him.

With a pained little noise, it forced Hyunjin to snap out of it and lean back on his lap.

His wide red eyes went completely ignored by Changbin who instead focused on how blood, his, trickled down those plush lips and rounded chin. Hyunjin looked divine like this, like an invisible energy was radiating off him now that he had fed on him. He wanted to kiss him.

"Changbin, I'm so so—"

He pulled on him again but in the opposite direction, towards him. "Kiss me," he slurred, "please."

Just as much as Changbin couldn't deny him a thing so was Hyunjin a slave to his pleas. His wet lips crashed against his and the metallic taste followed soon after. Strange, to taste his own blood from someone else's lips, he thought in passing. The kiss was uncoordinated, raw, more teeth clacking together and tongues wildly swiping against one another than anything else until Hyunjin broke it. Blood dripped off his lips.

If he wasn't feeling so weak, Changbin would've giggled at the state of him: disheveled hair sticking every which way, a large red stain covering the lower half of his face and painting his lips an even deeper shade of red than what was usual for him. Beautiful. He wanted to take a picture and keep it with him.

"Are you okay?" Hyunjin asked, concern spreading across his face as he leaned back towards the table where they had prepared a few basic first-aid materials like bandages and antiseptic wipes.

"Think so," he murmured. "Dizzy."

"That should be fine, it comes with the blood loss," he told him softly, careful to speak slowly and keep his volume down to not overwhelm Changbin's sensitive senses. "You'll probably be out for the rest of the day, maybe tomorrow too, until enough blood has been reproduced for you to function normally again." Cold fingers cleaned his wound swiftly to avoid further blood loss and lastly covered it with a bandage. "There."

Changbin's body felt like heavy jelly. When he tried to lift his arms again to hug Hyunjin close to his body, because he had been craving warmth and closeness like a neglected child, it felt like he was lifting more weight in the gym than he was capable of. Hyunjin gazed at him for a moment, an unreadable expression flitting across his face before it was replaced with a smile.

Time felt shortened and elongated at the same time, the seconds passing within minutes and minutes passing within seconds. Changbin didn't notice Hyunjin padding away into his kitchen to procure some small snacks and a drink for him that he fed to him patiently. Small kisses were pressed to the corners of his mouth, ridding him of any crumbs that might have spilled. The wetness of a familiar tongue cleaning him up projected an image of himself into his mind in which he looked similar to Hyunjin with a faint stain of dark blood smeared across his lips and chin because of the vampire he had just finished kissing. He found himself liking that image.

"Let's get you to bed, big guy."

A protest rose up in his chest, but he couldn't tell him. He could only watch, and feel, how Hyunjin climbed off his lap and scooped him up from the couch as if he weighed nothing.

"You did really well," Hyunjin told him on the way to the bedroom. "I'm sorry I overdid it, but I'll take good care of you now until you're all better, yeah?"

Hyunjin tucked him into bed. Lucky, that they were already in pyjamas when everything took place and he didn't have to wrestle Changbin into new, fresh clothes. His eyes drooped shut as soon as the back of his head hit the soft pillow behind him. Hyunjin was still hovering over him and the pang of need lapped at his heart at the sight of him once more. A low whine escaped his throat when Hyunjin moved away to grab something that he didn't see, his arms weakly stretching out in an attempt to pull him back to bed before he removed himself from where Changbin could see him entirely.

Gently, fingers wrapped around his hand. "Hmm, what's up? Do you need something?"

Changbin nodded his head, just a tiny movement. Only the dull ache in the side of his neck was a reminder of what had transpired just moments ago, another person peering in through their window might have thought he was sick.

Hyunjin temporarily disappeared from his line of sight. The sound of his steps was absorbed by the carpet framing his bed but the low rustle of his feet sinking into the fibers of it reassured him of his presence. He reappeared on the opposite side of the bed, knees sinking into the plush of the mattress as he crawled into the space beside him and half of his long body disappeared underneath the pink blanket. Another pathetic little sound escaped Changbin as he eagerly shuffled his body closer to Hyunjin's, whose arms opened like he plead for it to lead his head to rest against his chest.

"Your blood tasted divine, by the way. I've never had such a treat before," he told him, fingers carding through his hair and massaging his scalp. "Maybe it's because I hadn't eaten in such a long time," he continues, "or maybe it's because there's emotions involved."

Changbin hummed at the last part.

"You agree?" Hyunjin giggled and squeezed him. "I don't need to feed all too often, so don't worry about me bleeding you dry out of necessity. But it would still… mean a lot to me if we got to do this at least once a month. I'll make sure to take care of you every time."

Again, Changbin weakly nodded against his chest. He would let him feed whenever he wanted to, damn his own biology for not replenishing his blood immediately so he could give him everything he ever wanted. Already being rather health-conscious helped him in this case and he was going to add research on top of it all on how to keep his blood clean and nutrition-filled.

His eyelids started to feel quite heavy and no amount of fight to stay awake would help him for very long.

"I…" Hyunjin started again. "Thank you," he whispered, just loud enough for Changbin to hear. "For trusting me, I mean, letting me do this even when you knew all the risks and the deeper meaning it had for us—for me." He kissed his forehead gently.

Just before the tendrils of sleep pulled him under, Hyunjin muttered a low I love you against his skull.

*

Changbin had been his first real love.

He confessed it to him while holding him close to his body, his cool skin welcome in the sweltering heat. There were a few benefits to dating a vampire, Changbin thought, this was one of them. And in winter he would just make the extra effort of warming them both up, even if it took longer.

"I had never truly loved someone, I think. Most of my partners were out of necessity or boredom," he thought for a moment, playing with a lock of Changbin's hair between his fingertips, "I drained a lot of them once I was done with them. I'm not a good person."

And Changbin should agree, if he were any less devoted to the man whose chest he's currently snuggling into. There should be an uproar inside of him, a desire to get up and flee, fearing that in a few months time it would be his time next to lay lifeless and drained in his bed, only a husk left behind.

That would be fine, he concluded, because there was no one else he would want to spend his life with and if Hyunjin grew tired of him, or accidentally took his life while feeding, then maybe his destiny had been to provide a single chance at love for a melancholic vampire from the very first breath he had taken.

Hyunjin explained that, in the very beginning, he bore a hatred towards humanity, not because of anything they did to him but because they had so many things that he wanted and yearned for. Pure, seething jealousy dripping into hatred made him take and kill whoever he wanted, seeing no worth in their lives aside the blood streaming through their veins.

It did not make him happy, ate him from within until all that was left was a lonely man drenched in blood. Only centuries later would he start to heal. Wandering amongst them, as one of them, made it easier, he told him, to fall in love with their traditions, their way of life. He would always yearn to get back what was taken from him when he looks into their eyes, when he looks Changbin into his eyes, but it wouldn't be followed by the creeping feeling of disgust and hate anymore.

A laugh broke out of him and he squeezed Changbin tighter. "I kind of started feeling maternal towards some of them, like I had to protect them," he told him with a soft smile playing on his lips that Changbin would die for. "It's hypocritical coming from someone like me but I'm stronger and faster, more experienced than any of you will ever be, so I couldn't help but thinking it."

Changbin laughed with him then. It did sound a little ridiculous. And adorable. "Are you feeling maternal towards me?"

Hyunjin's eyes lit up at the question, his smile shifting into a lop-sided smirk. "Yeah, but only because you're useless at surviving without me."

"That's not true," he gasped in mock offense, poking an accusing finger into the firm side of his waist.

"I had to set up the new TV and I was born in a century where they didn't exist! You're in your twenties."

Exasperated, Changbin had heard enough, his body snapping up to playfully wrestle with Hyunjin, whose giggles sounded so melodic in his ears. He knew that he could easily throw him across the room with ease, which was incredibly hot, but he never showed him the full extent of his super-human strength. Hyunjin liked being overpowered and playing the weaker one of the two so that Changbin would sit on his hips and pin his arms besides his head, just to see those big eyes stared up at him that he never resisted. Maybe it had been his tactic all along to look more like innocent prey until he could strike back when Changbin least expected it.

In his confines, Hyunjin titlted his head to the side, revealing his long neck, to press his nose into Changbin's wrist, inhaling deeply.

"You know I can always smell you? Your blood smells so sweet." It's not meant to be seductive, or maybe it was just to get his blood pumping. But it would be counterproductive to make all of his blood rush downwards, Changbin thought. Yet Hyunjin persisted on dragging his nose across his wrist, deeply inhaling as he did so. "I want to bite you," he kisses a spot further down his arm, craning his neck up in the process, "right here."

"My neck already not good enough for you anymore?"

Some time had already passed since Hyunjin had last fed, the first time that he ever did from Changbin and he had wrongly assumed that Hyunjin would want to feed from his neck every time, as if that were the only fountain of blood that would satisfy his hunger. He hadn't even considered that he could bite him anywhere else but admittedly, the thought excited him more than it probably should have.

Hyunjin scoffed. "That would never happen, my sweet. But I thought," he swiped his tongue across his skin, right where his veins were the most visible, "you would look very pretty with my mark here."

Teeth marks and two puncture wounds right there on his arm would be hard to conceal and hide from other people, especially when he was such a fan of short-sleeved shirts. The thought of everyone seeing him carry a strange wound with pride filled him with an inexplicable happiness, but also dread at having to explain how he got it. What would he even say? 'Yes, sorry, it's a stupid wound I got while handling a meat fork?' People would think he was insane or a danger to himself and focusing back on the positively obsessed vampire shadowed by his body made him think that maybe he did have some kind of lacking sense of self-preservation.

"And if I'd let you? Bite me there, I mean."

Hyunjin's mouth dropped and stayed open in a silent gasp. "Oh, Binnie, you know what saying something like that does to me. Don't say it if you don't mean it. Please."

How on earth did Hyunjin already look so gone?

"I would never lie to you."

He moaned at that, pressing his nose back to his skin fervently. "Can I? Please, can I?"

And who is he to deny him of whatever the hell he wanted? He wiggled his hips to get more comfortable, knowing dizzyness would make him want to be seated properly very soon. As permission, he let go off Hyunjin's wrist to let him grab onto him in earnest, and nodded.

Hyunjin wasted no time, licking a broad stripe over where he would bite before sinking his quickly elongated fangs into the soft skin of his arm. The sound of it is still just as jarring as the sharp, cold pain that happened simultaneously. He could only describe it as a ripping popping-sound, like when the piercer finally pierced the skin of your earlobe and that sickly sound is right by your ears. It was similar to that, just further away.

There was something serene about getting to watch his lover feed on him. He might even prefer this position. When he bit his neck, he couldn't even watch his expressions—the tightly furrowed eyebrows, eyes closed in ecstasy and his plush lips enclosing around the supple skin of his arm. He could feel his tongue flick out and lick at his wound with quick little movements as to not waste a single drop of blood.

The pain shot up the entirety of his arm, his fingers slowly feeling prickly before he eventually couldn't feel them at all. He was starting to get just a little dizzy from the blood loss, but that was nothing he couldn't manage, too endeared with watching Hyunjin get his fill from him. A strange sense of accomplishment and something akin to pride blossomed in his chest at the sight—a vampire, no, his lover was feeding on him and this act of bearing himself to him was something that only he could provide him with.

Hyunjin had told him time and time again, after feeding on him for the first time, how wonderful of a meal he had been, that he was only used to thrashing or blissfully sedated victims and that that would sour the blood by a noticeable margin. But not him, not his Changbin, who sat so prettily on their couch and offered his smooth but strong neck up. He had praised him, told him how well he had done, and that he was still dreaming of how he felt beneath him whenever he allowed himself to slip into sleep.

There was no doubt about Hyunjin enjoying himself past the happiness of a meal in the way that he moaned and his hips bucking up towards him every now and then.

As much as he would love to watch Hyunjin be in absolute bliss forever, he was only a human and humans unfortunately needed a certain amount of blood inside their bodies.

"Hyunjin, that's enough," he said as loudly as he could, hoping to break through the heavy haze of his mind. When he didn't listen, still sucking away at his forearm, Changbin tapped the fingers of his free hand against his cheekbone. "I'm getting dizzy, baby."

Hyunjin broke himself free of his arm, breathing heavily with blood dripping down his incredible lips, fangs peeking out.

Changbin was so turned on right now.

"'m sorry, you okay?"

He nodded, gazing at the two rather clean punctures in his arm. He's probably going to have to patch this or wear bandages over it for the first few days before he could wear it out in the open. With Hyunjin-inflicted wounds he never knew how long they would actually take to heal, or if they would become scars in the first place. His neck was surprisingly free of any traces of a vampire using him as their meal.

Something about his saliva, Hyunjin had said, healing properties or something.

"Always," he smiled down at him, "help me lay down for a moment, though."

Hyunjin almost jumped to action at the request, sliding out from beneath him to guide Changbin to lay on his back with his large and gentle hands. Feeding sessions were invigorating for Hyunjin, but extremely tiring for Changbin, the difference in energy would always be felt by both parties, yet Hyunjin would always beam at the opportunity to take care of his favorite human. Sitting or laying beside him as he slept off the initial exhaustion, caressing his hair or simply looking at him as he slept had become some of Hyunjin's favorite pasttimes.

He fed Changbin something sugary before taking him into his arms in the corner of the couch. "I'm starting to get a little obsessed with your blood," he told him honestly.

"Mh? That so?"

"Yeah. I've never tasted something like that before, it's like finding a unique expensive wine."

"I'd let you drink it all."

"Nonsense. Having you here with me is better than having one really good meal. Now sleep." Changbin didn't need to be told twice, his eyelids heavy from exhaustion and being cuddled into Hyunjin and a blanket is just too good to resist the sweet call of slumber.

*

Hyunjin had grown bolder in his asking for blood, no longer entirely avoiding that which made him an otherling. Though an increased meal frequency made him feed far more often than before, it also prevented him from going overboard in his taking. Changbin no longer felt the need to sleep the entire day after and Hyunjin felt a little better about himself.

More opportunities to bite into him also opened an entirely new world up to Hyunjin in which Changbin was littered with fang marks all over his body. The thought excited him. Vampires were very territorial creatures, you see, and by his standards Changbin belonged to him.

His instincts had been insistently telling him to put some kind of marking on him ever since they got into a relationship, but Hyunjin never dared to cross that threshold—it would be uncouth of him to suggest such a public display of their bond.

Popular would be to bite him so deeply in the neck, the spot nestled just the width of three fingers away from his jaw, that it would leave a lasting scar. Every vampire would instantly know that this human had been claimed by another and intruding upon that bond would only lead to conflict.

Yet the temptation of possession drove him insane. Not a night went by where he didn't wish Changbin would walk around in broad daylight with a big, symbolical sign that screamed: "I belong to Hyunjin!!"

It all boiled down to his desire to keep Changbin at his side. To hear his heartbeat thump against his ear forever until the end of time. Just like right now, where his head is resting on his chest and his arms encircled his strong waist, his body haphazardly thrown across Changbin's body to be as close to him as possible.

"I love you," Hyunjin murmured into the plush of his chest.

"I love you, too," Changbin retorted, shifting slightly to card his fingers through Hyunjin's hair.

Excitement rushed through him when Changbin's heart beat just a tiny bit faster at their confession. He made it something of a personal hobby of his—he could hear it even when he was just standing somewhere nearby, as long as he was close to him—to listen to the rhythm of his heart flutter and stutter whenever something that excited him happened.

It was endearing, and made him miss his own heartbeat just a little bit.

Yet his heart beating so beautifully also reminded him of the inevitability that, one day, it would cease its function. That the warm body beneath his would run cold and the things that made Changbin Changbin would evaporate and only live on in Hyunjin's memory. Most days, he succeeded in keeping the thoughts at bay, Changbin was still young, after all.

"Jinnie, you okay?" Changbin's voice broke through the spiral his mind was steadily walking down on. His hand was cramping with the way his fingers dug into the plush of Changbin's stomach. Hyunjin apologised sheepishly and returned his hand to rest comfortably on his pec.

"Just lost in thoughts," he murmured. Unsure of whether to voice his worries or keep them to himself. He didn't want to burden Changbin with something that, realistically, he wouldn't even have to deal with. The aftermath of dealing with his death was resting entirely on Hyunjin's shoulders.

"Talk to me."

"Do you think," he started, refusing to move, "that, one day, maybe, I could…" Anxiety gnawed at his heart, the feathers of nervousness tickling the inside of his ribcage. "I don't know, it would be selfish of me."

Changbin puffed out a soft laugh at that. "Be selfish, then. You can tell me, I won't judge." He wrestled him around until Hyunjin was suspended above him, but Hyunjin's eyes were shy, avoiding direct eye contact with him. If he was able to, he would have reddened skin.

"Can I turn you one day?"

Hyunjin wished he never uttered those words. Rather kept them to himself and caged forever. That way, he wouldn't have had to experience what it feels like to see Changbin's, his human's, expression to shift from a soft smile to a pitiful one. His favorite human, his partner, was pitying him. And he knew all too well what his answer would be. Hyunjin would lie if he said the sharp pain in his chest wasn't located where his dead heart laid.

"Oh Hyunjin," Changbin whispered, lips pressed thinly. He went to cradle him like a child, and quite frankly, he felt like one. One who just asked an innocent question where the answer would be more painful than the child understood in the moment. "I don't think I want that, my love."

It felt like he punched him in the gut. He had known Changbin would answer this, it just wasn't written on his soul to ever consider turning into a vampire, not now, not yet, at least. Hyunjin could try again in twenty, thirty years, but the Changbin who held him so sweetly right now was happy with his life. As a human. Not as what he was. Hyunjin honestly couldn't find it in himself to blame him, but it hurt all the same.

"Not yet," Changbin added after a pause. "I don't know what future me will think but right now, life is beautiful and I'd like to continue working and living as a human. You still have me, I'm only in my twenties, so you're not gonna be free of me that quickly."

"I'll die with you, then," Hyunjin sniffed, determined.

"What do you mean?"

"If you don't let me turn you, which I understand and respect, I'll die with you. I won't argue about that."

What was once an expression of pity slowly shifted towards that of someone dealing with a brat. Which Hyunjin was, he guessed.

"How will you even go about that?"

"Lie on your grave and let the sun disintegrate me. Make sure flowers bloom all around."

"Oh wow. You would first want to mourn me before you go? I'm pretty sure cremated ashes are actually harmful for soil, too."

Hyunjin huffed, annoyed. He slapped his chest in mock offense. "Let me be romantic!"

"Nothing romantic about potentially damaging the environment! Around my grave, too!" Changbin was giggling in full-force now, shaking Hyunjin with every movement. And Hyunjin preferred that, despite the ache of not getting to spend eternity alive together with him still sitting squarely in his chest. He laughed with him, trying to pout despite the corners of his lips steadily being pulled upwards.

He loved him, he really, really loved him.

His teeth ached with the need to claim, his stomach swirling with a sudden pang of hunger at the sight of him, flushed and happy and relaxed. There was nothing better in the world than seeing your mate hale and safe, and he knew his blood would taste all the sweeter for it. Hyunjin stared at him, laughter dying down. Letting his eyes roam Changbin's strong body, he desperately searched for a spot to sink his fangs into that he hadn't accessed before.

He could drink from his upper arm, the resistance of the muscle of his bicep a sweet challenge that tempted him ever since he saw Changbin in a tanktop the very first time. It would be tough to not accidentally tear into his muscles, but Hyunjin would lie if he never thought about biting those arms of his. Feeding or not, actually. He just wanted to bite his arms and not let go for a while. Changbin would probably let him and that's a worse thought.

Another spot sprung to his mind, one that he never dared to consider for feeding because he feared crossing that threshold would transform him into some kind of freak. Or rather, bring out the freak hidden within him.

Soft, plush and to die for, he loved seeing his fingers sink into Changbin's skin, loved the feeling of flesh spilling out between the cracks of his fingers—it was only natural he wondered what it would feel like to bite into Changbin's impressive chest that he loved so much.

He hooked a finger into the collar of Changbin's worn shirt, wrapping the fabric once around his pointer finger. "You…" he started, lips dry. "I want to—"

"Do whatever you want with me," Changbin interrupted.

Hyunjin shivered.

Possessed, he pulled his collar down to expose one of his pecs to the cool bedroom air. Changbin seemed surprised for a second but didn't complain, keeping his eyes trained on his face. Just once, he had to squeeze it, hear him groan somewhere in the back of his throat, before planting himself in a more comfortable position across his body again, face flush with his chest. He grinned as he pressed a kiss right beside his nipple. "May I bite? Here?" He pressed another one right on the opposite side, too. "Or here?"

He laughed again in soft disbelief. There weren't enough words in the world, in any language, to describe what Hyunjin felt—what having Changbin's arms slung around his waist as he gently shook from giggles did to him. "You're not gonna be able to squeeze that one too hard for a while then. Are you okay with that?"

"You have two for a reason."

"Reason being you squeezing them?"

"What else?"

"You're right," he sighed. "Come on, nobody's ever bitten my tit before."

Now Hyunjin had to laugh. His fangs were already poking into the plush of his lip, desire and hunger thrumming comfortably through his veins. Rowdy little beasts, they are. But Changbin loved them—he remembered him curiously asking whether he could touch them, one day, and Hyunjin had allowed him to. A neat set of two fangs sat in the front row of his teeth. His canines made up the main set and were retractable and when at full length, they reached just below his bottom lip. The set right beside them, on his lateral incisors, sat a smaller pair that was largely intended to help keep prey in place, to have a stronger hold on it. Changbin had pricked his finger, then, to which Hyunjin could only apologise and, oh, so pitifully lick the blood away.

"That has to be changed."

Only the minor ache of a prick announced his bite this time, no ceremony, no grand show of preparing his tender skin. Yet it felt softer all the same with Hyunjin's eyelashes kissing his cheeks as his eyes were closed in pleasure as he took his share from him. He allowed himself to hold him tighter, a hand sitting atop the back of his head to cradle him against his chest.

The sight must have been absurd: him, with his collar stretched out and Hyunjin sprawled across him, clutching him with his face buried in Changbin's chest.

Guilt was still gnawing at him after his confession of wanting to stay human, but seeing Hyunjin snap back into his old, hungry self soothed some of his worries away. They would have to talk about this again at a later stage in Changbin's life and when that point in time arrived, he would have to make decisions that affected both of their futures and possibly both of their ends. A scary thought, to have so much resting on one person's shoulders, but Changbin swallowed it down to focus on the moment, content to have his lover in his arms.

Hyunjin swallowed and groaned around the flesh sitting between his teeth.

Changbin rested his head against the crown of Hyunjin's, sighing and stroking his back.

*

Hyunjin's love was tender and sweet. Heart eyes followed Changbin wherever he went. He yearned for him whenever he left, and greeted him with a brilliant smile and incredible clinginess when he returned to their shared home. There was reason to believe that everything in Hyunjin's vast world revolved around Changbin in some way or another.

Hyunjin had other friends and acquaintances, some of them vampires, but every thought, every plan would end with Changbin involved. He showed him off as his human—a title that had and will never be bestowed upon anyone else—to his friends and they were equally in awe as they were truly happy for Hyunjin to have finally found someone he could confidently claim as his own.

It felt nice to belong to someone like that. Vampires had an odd obsession with possession and rules of territory and what they had a claim on. Hyunjin had always worriedly emphasised that he would never ever see him as something that belonged to him in the way that some other vampires talked about the humans they kept around—pleasurable pasttimes that were cute in the moment but forgotten in the next. Some of them didn't like to get attached, knowing full well half a century will pass all too quickly for them.

Hyunjin loved Changbin.

He loved him in a way like he truly loved for the first time in his long life.

Stars in his eyes and devotion on his lips.

Lips that now pressed tenderly into the softness of his skin, eyelashes tickling his nose. He tried to cover as much of Changbin's skin in kisses as he physically could, not leaving a single centimeter unloved. Simply wouldn't allow it. Delicate fingers cupped the bone of his jaw to move his head as he needed.

"I love you so much," Hyunjin whispered, leaving a particularly loud kiss close to his ear. The smack and 'mwah!' echoed in his brain, sent pleasant shivers down his spine. "So, so, so much." He accentuated every word with another playful kiss, his hunger for him unending and Changbin's need for his love bottomless.

"I could eat you up!" With every kiss, he pretended to bite him, dramatically adding a silly growling sound to every nibble. "You're so cute, so adorable!"

Changbin giggled loudly, squirming against his unreleting hold.

"My Binnie, so cute, so soft!"

A chomp without fangs near the spot where his neck and shoulder meet.

"My Binkie. My cutest little adorable human!" He was beginning to speak in pout even though Changbin could barely hear him over his own giggles and his useless struggle against roaming hands that clamped down on him whenever he threatened to slip out from under him. "One day I'm not gonna be able to resist and eat you in one big bite—you're that tiny and adorable. Just one bite is enough, ohh."

With him secured in his arms, he rocked back and forth, now giggling with him.

"But you can't eat me, what about all those movies we wanted to watch?"

Hyunjin gasped. "You're right! Maybe I'll have to settle to only taking a big chomp out of you, then." Again, he playfully bit into Changbin's arm—fangs retracted, of course.

Unceremoniously, Hyunjin slipped his fingers beneath Changbin's shirt causing it to ride up his stomach. His fingers tip-tapped along his skin, tracing patterns only he knew the meaning of.

It was no small secret that Hyunjin loved Changbin's body no matter where in his fitness journey he was situated in. But something about the softness of his tummy had him especially enamored, his hand almost absentmindendly seeking to sink his fingers into the plush of him whenever they cuddled.

Now was much the same, large eyes focusing on how Changbin's skin yielded against his fingers. "Perfect," he mouthed, impossibly silent against his bicep.

Hyunjin slipped down to lay between his legs, the side of his head resting on one half of his stomach. Love blossomed in his chest at the sight, couldn't help but reach out and card his fingers through those dark locks of hair while Hyunjin busied himself again with pressing kisses everywhere he could reach.

Every centimeter of skin got the same amount of love. From both kisses and hands kneading into his flesh.

A kiss to his bellybutton, to the side of his waist, to the underside of his tummy so dangerously close to his waistband, to his soft v-line that he lingered on for just a second too long for it to be coincidental.

Changbin had to giggle, not only because Hyunjin's breath was tickling him, but also because he felt so utterly loved, something that seemed so ridiculous in his mind. He had truly found someone who held enough love for him to pepper him with kisses and never grow sick of it. Sometimes he didn't know if he deserved it. So, he held onto Hyunjin tighter. He would hear no complaints from him.

The giggle snapped Hyunjin out of his reverie.

Another playful bite was Changbin's reward.

Only that it didn't feel all too playful when the short-lived sharp pain set in and Hyunjin lowly growled.

He had bit him.

Without warning, without any of the usual signs, his fangs pierced his skin to reach that sweet sanguine delight waiting just for him.

Changbin could feel icy perspiration run down his hot back, his fingers tingled and his thighs quivered. The sensation felt odd, not unpleasantly so, a contrast to the playful atmosphere that dominated their dynamic just a few seconds ago. Broken apart by a sudden hunger.

When Hyunjin parted, his lips glistening red, he was panting, muscles pulled taut—his body towering over his like a panther protecting its prey from fellow scavengers, yet they were utterly alone in the safety of their room.

Sometimes Hyunjin forgot. Primal instincts kicking in before reason followed, his eyes narrowing, fingers tightening around Changbin. Securing and marking the blood as his was the only thing that mattered in the moment—it scared Changbin, sometimes, to see him reduced to a state that they had both hoped to have left behind in the past where everything was a battle.

It never lasted long. He never fed outside of their shared home. Familiar scents, soft touches and assurances that nobody else was going to take Changbin away from him, drain him in front of his eyes and steal his resource made him relax.

A tremor went through Changbin when he feared that today would be the same, that the evening was going to be spent with an upset Hyunjin, who was distraught over something he could not control.

Relief flooded him when Hyunjin's eyes refocused on his face all on their own, a soft smile playing on his bloody lips, a giggle coming from his throat.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Got overwhelmed by your scent."

"All good. Thought I lost you for a moment."

"No, I'm… okay. Better. Now."

He looked him over. "Kiss or wipe away the blood on your lips?"

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Hyunjin immediately crawled upwards on the bed to dangle above his face. "Pretty please," he added, gentleman as he is.

"As you wish. But only because you're my cutest adorable little vampire."

There was an attempt at a gasp, astounded that he would use his own weapons against him, but no time to settle on a playful grudge when Changbin's lips crashed into his, silencing him and the world around them.

*

Changbin had quickly decided that being among more than one vampire was a little bit like he was the last piece of meat on the plate at a family dinner.

Wherever he went, eyes followed, whispers were exchanged.

"Look, the human just passed us and he smells divine!"

"Do you think whoever claimed him would mind if we took just a drop?" — "Are you an idiot? He reeks of Hyunjin!"

"That's what Hyunjin settled with?"

"Eugh, I don't know how he can tolerate the smell of his blood, much less the taste. Why would he ever settle for sub-par blood, that boy? He could've had any noble, any celebrity he ever wanted, the imbecile."

Changbin had also learned incredible restraint within the last one and a half hours of being here in the moonlight, as it turned out. Figures that some vampires would develop a superiority complex over humans over something as trivial as taste.

The rather aggressive repopulation effort really paid off. Turning humans, whether they wanted to or not, into vampires boosted their surviving numbers high enough for them to have a functioning system for modern society.

Hyunjin didn't know the exact numbers, he never bothered to learn, but he told him that they were high enough for the act of turning someone becoming something that was loosely regulated. Unapproved or inexplicable transformations could net you severe consequences nowadays.

"Lying about them being your lover kind of works," Hyunjin had shrugged with a wrinkled nose.

The event was supposed to be a simple get-together of a few locals "to strengthen bonds and preserve territorial peace" as Hyunjin put it when he was still busy adorning himself with jewellery in front of their bathroom mirror. Changbin had been his plus-one, attached to his arm like a beautiful designer bag. Unusual for it to be a human, and it showed in how everyone took a step back when they entered together through the gate.

Something about vampires holding pool parties in the moonlight amused Changbin, though the romanticism of it even he couldn't deny. Especially when Hyunjin looked so beautiful cutting through the water in a race with himself. It wasn't every day that he could witness just how athletic Hyunjin was, regardless of his vampirism.

He was a fantastic swimmer, that much was clear. Confident strokes brought him from one end of the gigantic pool to the other in no time at all.

People gathered around the deck couldn't help but glance his way.

Well, when they were able to stop their gossip about Changbin being here, anyway.

Finished with his latest round, Hyunjin spotted him and leisurely swam to the edge of the pool. His dark hair clung so prettily to his face, his red eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Hey, boyfriend," he simpered.

"Hey, vampire boyfriend," Changbin replied.

"Care to join me for a few rounds?"

"I'm no match for you, that'd be unfair."

Hyunjin had trouble keeping his eyes focused on Changbin's face. "Mmh, maybe it's just an excuse to get you into the pool with me."

"You're not very subtle about it," Changbin laughed. "But no thanks, I'd rather watch you put on a show."

"Mmyeah? Fastest swimmer around here, which, uh… isn't that hard because most of these people refuse to even go near a body of water."

"Why are they here then?"

Hyunjin shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. "Networking, free shit, showing off how superior they are to each other, I suppose? They're all greedy."

"Wasn't there a myth that vampires would die in still waters?" Changbin crossed his arms in front of his chest, letting his gaze wander over the rest of the guests somewhat close to the pool. Everyone's in swimwear or variations of it—women with large sun hats and flowy pieces of fabric tied around their waists, the men with useless sunglasses, expensive watches, open designer shirts. People farer away from the pool area refused swimwear altogether, preferring to show up in their normal formalwear.

"Running waters, yeah. That was never true, though. People just assumed we were repelled by it when their villages were completely surrounded by it," Hyunjin sighed, coming closer to hold onto the edge of the pool near Changbin's feet. "Whole time it was just because getting through rivers was tedious and tiring when you were already zapped of your strength, especially during the winter. Those that were hungry enough weren't stopped by a little water, though, so it was kind of just wishful thinking. Why are we talking about this?"

Changbin shrugged this time. "Killing time. These people are kinda lame."

"These people are staring at you."

"So what? Let them." He was aware that Hyunjin's protectiveness likely kicked in the second they arrived. With so many prying, hungry eyes he could hardly blame him. It was a miracle that he let him wander off alone, though 'alone' would not be the right word to use—Hyunjin pretended to be busy somewhere nearby him at all times before jumping into the pool when Changbin settled into a conversation with a nice vampire lady that was directly in his line of sight.

"I don't like it," Hyunjin murmured, lip half-submerged in the water. His hand reached out to encircle his ankle.

"I'm pretty sure they can tell that we belong together."

"It's not clear enough. You don't get it." Hyunjin was pouting again as he lifted himself out of the water. Water rippled down his lithe, muscular body and disappeared in some wine red swim shorts.

He sat down next to him. The water was cool to the touch. "Explain it to me."

"You're too…" Hyunjin turned to him, brows furrowed and wildly gestured vaguely in his direction, "…unmarked!"

"Then mark me, I don't care."

A growl of frustration ripped from Hyunjin's throat then. He gathered him up, dragged him to stand up by the meat of his arm before ushering him into the darkness of a few bushes. Rays of moonlight still shone through the cracks between the branches and leaves, the shadows dismorphing Hyunjin's face into that of a beast, fangs glinting in the light—they had protruded hungrily, lustfully piercing his lower lip.

Changbin wiped away the thin trail of blood from his chin. Hyunjin bit down harder.

"I want to mark you," Hyunjin purred, crowding him against the brickwall behind them. "From neck to ankle. No matter where they look, they should see that you already belong to someone else. To me. That's what I want."

Changbin swallowed. "Nothing would make me happier, Hyunjinnie. I'm already— What are you doing?"

Meanwhile, the vampire had dropped to his knees as if he were to worship the very ground in front of Changbin. Though a repenting sinner he was not, as Hyunjin bent down to seize his leg for himself. Clutching the limb to himself, he looked up, once, for approval and upon its granting, his fangs lodged themselves shallowly into the flesh of his ankle.

The pain was sharp, unlike anything else Changbin had felt before. With teeth nestled so closely to bone it was hardly a surprise.

The brick wall was cold against his back. Dirty. The granules of soil clinging to him.

Hyunjin seemed unbothered by the fact he was kneeling in mud. He doesn't brush the dirt off when he gently lets go off his leg to stand before him again.

He didn't lick the wound, not this time.

The sting of it reminds Changbin of its presence.

"Let's get out of here. You don't want that to get infected," he said through bloody teeth.

Gingerly, he held his hand as they emerged from the bushes. They didn't arrive with much personal belongings, so each of them grabbed their bags and leisurely walked back to the car parked out front.

No goodbyes were uttered, the pool left behind without a second glance.

*

Hyunjin had turned into quite the fiend ever since then.

Changbin's body was now littered with tiny bites at every pulse point and beyond.

He reveled in it, kind of. Maybe even more than Hyunjin did. Though he doubted that when Hyunjin's usual reaction upon seeing the amount of marks on his naked body was his eyes dilating and glossing over within seconds.

Even now, right there between his legs, Hyunjin couldn't stop staring at his own bite marks in awe, like they appeared out of nowhere but were something he would worship all the same.

He kissed them, gently, his wet lips pressing into his skin and lingering there, feeling the small indents of his teeth. Sometimes, his tongue would flick out and trace them and dip into the minuscule wounds to savor them, a quiet anticipation to taste that familiar metallic flavor again, like Changbin didn't have a vast amount of unblemished skin left that he could feed from.

Hyunjin had always been greedy, from the very moment they met. He didn't admit it until they were in a relationship and Changbin truly understood just how deep his love would go—others would be intimidated, but not him. It was kind of endearing how Hyunjin's mind circled around him 24/7. It could get suffocating, but Changbin found himself bouncing back rather quickly. He wanted to keep Hyunjin by his side, so there was no reality in which he was allowed to get tired of his affections, he simply wouldn't permit it.

A groan from between his legs snapped him back to the (very important) moment at hand. His fingers carded through Hyunjin's soft hair, causing a small, drunken smile to appear on his lips.

"All mine", he whispered.

"Yeah, it's all yours," Changbin confirmed, though he was sure Hyunjin's brain must be feeling like it was padded with cotton right now.

Another low growl came from him, his face now squished against his thigh.

Changbin had to put in active effort not to get too excited. This was about feeding and about Hyunjin. Nothing else.

"They look like little stars," he murmured. 

Changbin looked down confused. 

"The scars, my bites. They look like little stars," he repeated.

They did. Tiny, little stars formed countless constellations across his skin, each and every one of them telling their own story of how they came to be. Changbin looked back fondly on all of them and remembered it all. If someone asked, he could probably recount every tale. Hyunjin doubtlessly remembered, too.

When the bite came, a whole five minutes later because Hyunjin was too busy cuddling with his thighs and watching how his fingers dipped into his flesh like he had just discovered fire, the pain was subdued and not as sharp as he had expected.

He had picked a spot up high, almost up to where his hip connected to his leg, and on the inside where his flesh was tender. Properly kneaded and admired beforehand.

While he loved the feeding sessions where they were nearly sitting ontop of eachother with no limb untouched, Changbin had come to prefer whenever Hyunjin fed from a spot where he could observe him for a change.

The way his brows furrowed when the first gush of blood hit his tongue and how they subsequently relaxed over time into an expression of bliss and happiness had been saved into the depths of his memories. His arms were hugging his thigh, holding it steady, and even now Hyunjin couldn't help himself but squish the meat of them.

Changbin sighed and relaxed back into the pillows of their bed. The movement disrupted Hyunjin in his ecstasy, causing him to detach himself and look up at him with those damn wet puppy eyes.

"You okay? Can you take a little more? Please, you're doing so good… Just a little more, Binnie," he whispered with bloody lips, not even bothering to lick them clean yet. "I just need a little bit more, please."

He was begging now and Changbin found it hard not to drag him up and kiss him silly right then and there.

His head was beginning to get a little fuzzy, a foggy blanket draping itself over his sight.

"Y-yeah, just a little."

Why would he say no to a face like that?

"Okay, yeah. Yeah. Just a little. I promise."

Hyunjin clumsily bit somewhat into the same spot he occupied earlier, missing it just by a few milimeters as Changbin would later have to find out when there were four bumps trying to heal on the inside of his thigh. Jeans were going to be a pain in the ass for a while. But Hyunjin always wanted to see him in shorts and show as much skin as he could. And he had always wanted to see him wear a skirt. Too bad that his thighs were touching no matter what, though Hyunjin would loudly (with eyes as big as saucers) disagree with him calling it an unfortunate circumstance.

Just a little turned out to become quite a lot, actually.

He couldn't make out the numbers on his digital clock on the nightstand anymore and his toes got a little cold.

With just a few taps to the crown of Hyunjin's head, he defeated the blood-sucking, extremely beautiful beast.

Everything after was kind of blurring all together. He vaguely noticed the cold spreading out, the familiar warmth and weight between his thighs disappearing and reappearing to the side of him. What he definitely felt was Hyunjin clumsily force-feeding him something with clammy hands before wrapping his entire body around his.

And when he later woke up, refreshed and content, he would find Hyunjin still wrapped around him in a safety cocoon, his face buried into his neck, and in a deep vampiric rest.

When Changbin told him he felt the same all that time ago, he expected one of those stereotypical bite marks to permanently decorate his neck, and he'd have to awkwardly either find ways to explain it or cover it up for all eternity. Now he's covered from neck to ankle in small lovebites. He would be worried about any of them getting infected if Hyunjin wasn't taking extremely good care of him and practically forcing him to sit down in the bathroom every night to clean each wound.

It was strange.

Yet he loved it. It forced him to be conscious of his health and eating habits—Hyunjin could taste it when Changbin was going to be down with the flu very soon, his tastebuds now tuned to his body and sensing the slightest changes.

It connected them. Kind of.

Hyunjin was an incredibly emotional person. Maybe one of the most emotional people he'd ever met. And sometimes Hyunjin couldn't fit all those feelings inside his body without breaking—trembling with the sheer magnitude of them until it all broke out of him, for better or for worse.

It was almost as if Changbin was shaped to fit right beside him, holding the pieces together.

As much as Hyunjin took care of him and helped him with everyday tasks (he's quite… incompetent, admittedly), so has Changbin found his role in their relationship as an anchor and safe haven for Hyunjin to return to whenever he needed.

And even with the weight of centuries weighing down upon him, he's finally found someone to alleviate some of that burden.

He pressed a kiss to the arm slung around him and settled back into the pillows, sighing in contentment.

The ache of his thigh a pleasant reminder of someone he would let drink from his heart.