Archive of Our Own

“It’s time we address the elephant in the room.”

See, that’s just a phrase he’s never quite understood—the elephant in the room. When has there ever been an actual elephant in the room, huh? This isn’t a circus, right?  Besides metaphorical elephants aren’t flesh and blood right in front of you, which automatically disqualifies this situation because ‘the elephant’ Mark is referring to is quite clearly seen, and it’s not an elephant. It’s a dead body.

It’s right there on the carpet where the coffee table used to be. He’s not 100% sure whether it simply disappeared or whether it was moved by one of his housemates in anticipation of the body being there—either way it’ll probably turn up sooner or later–but he digresses: the body is a body, not an elephant. He’s a little worried about Mark. 

“That’s a body, Mark.” He says. 

Mark, standing directly behind the body in the center of the living room to address his roommate, wearing a hand knit baby blue sweater and a long suffering expression, sighs deeply. 

“Yes Jisung. I know it’s a body.” 

Okay, well that’s good at least , Jisung thinks. 

“But the body isn’t the problem, it’s a symptom of a problem.” He says, one finger in the air, pacing back and forth, like he really thinks he’s detective Conan.

Yesterday he’d sent formal invitations to this meeting, via post, despite the fact that they all live together in the same house. He’d waited by the mailbox, had a thirty minute argument with the mail person when they tried to hand the letters back that ultimately culminated in them grudgingly walking around the block before coming back and doing it anyway. It was pretty stupid, but Mark looked perfectly happy with himself afterwards so Jisung supposed he counted it as a win. 

He came back inside after and handed them out individually, receiving no small amount of teasing from everyone, but none more so that Renjun (from whom Mark accepted it readily, with blushing, stuttering thanks); but here they all were at 5:30pm exactly , piled into the living room of their ancient house and gathered around the body. Which was, frankly, starting to smell. 

“What problem would that be, exactly?” Jeno asked. 

The rest of them looked to Mark expectantly and he once again sighed. 

“Obviously, someone is leaving these bodies outside our house for a reason: right?”

Renjun nodded. “Right…”

“So they’re a message directed at someone!” He says, volume escalating, making Jisung wince in sensitivity. 

“Inside voices, Mark.” Donghyuck says, not bothering to look up from his game on his phone. 

Mark rolls his eyes, but lowers his voice nonetheless.

“I think the bodies are a threat. Someone is trying to threaten one of us…. I think we could all be in danger.” He speaks with a reverence, a seriousness; he truly fears for not only his life, but everyone else’s too.

The room grows quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, quiet enough that Jisung can actually hear their neighbor singing bad opera in the shower all the way from next door. And then—“Oh, come on Mark!” Donghyuck says, everyone bursting into laughter. 

This goes on for several minutes, all the while Mark is trying to regain control—trying to impress upon them the danger of the situation. 

“Guys, seriously!”

His cries go unanswered. Donghyuck and Jeno are already gone; Chenle rolls around in his seat until he falls, lands next to the body, and screams, before he carries on laughing. Mark frowns at him—at all of them, disappointment clear on his face.

“I’m serious!” He says again.

Renjun stands to go, patting Mark’s cheek. “We know baby, it’s very sweet.”

He says it with a condescending smile and a chuckle and Mark immediately turns bright red before he dissolves into a coughing fit, then excuses himself to go ‘check emails’ even though he’s literally 90 years old and has never been able to figure out the ‘world wide web’, as he calls it, leaving just Jisung, Chenle, and Jaemin left in the living room. Jisung watches Chenle writhe for a moment before he turns to Jaemin, who’s sitting across the room, pouting. “Are you okay hyung?”

He turns his big, wet doe eyes on Jisung and blinks. 

“Mark just cares about us! We shouldn’t laugh at him.”

He directs the latter at Chenle, killing his laughter instantly.

“Are you scared hyung?” He gestures toward the body, worried maybe Jaemin is genuinely frightened and they’ve made light of it. But Jaemin just smiles softly and shakes his head. 

“No, of course not.” He says, as if it should be obvious. “Hey, will you help me make dinner? Mark hyung was supposed to but he’s probably going to be busy with his emails for a while.”

Busy jerking off to Renjun, more like. He thinks, but he doesn’t say, smiling and nodding instead. “Absolutely.”

“What about you, Jisungie? I know you’re a big bad vampire now,” He teases, and if Jisung could still blush he would’ve. “But it’s okay if you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared, hyung.”

They step over the body, walking toward the kitchen where Jisung takes a pouch out of the blood fridge and watches Jaemin pull his apron off the hook and put it on. It’s pink and white stripes with little apples embroidered all over it. 

“You promise?”

“I promise hyung.” He stabs a straw into the pouch and takes a deep sip. 

Jisung has a secret.

When he told Jaemin he isn’t scared of the bodies, he really meant it. It may be hard for some to understand: Notorious scaredy cat Park Jisung, not scared? He gets it! But he isn’t scared of the bodies that keep turning up on the doorstep because he’s the one leaving them there!

Is he supposed to be scared of himself? Of the monster he’s become? Maybe he should be, but he isn’t… so it seems pointless to worry about it too much. No, what he’s worried about is people finding out his secret.

It’s funny because actually Mark had been right, in a way. The bodies are a message and a symptom, but not of a problem or a threat, but of Jisung’s secret. Which, of course, is that he’s got a massive crush on Jaemin. 

He’d thought his crush was pretty bad before he became a vampire. When he started at university, a quivering bean pole of a freshmen, scared of his own shadow and literally everything else too, especially in this town, filled with all manner of monsters and more, he’d met Jaemin, paired together under the buddy program for human students: Don’t End Up Dead, or DEUD for short.  

He used to follow Jaemin around like a love sick puppy, spending hours in his dorm room watching music videos or around town letting Jaemin give him tours around all the old buildings. They studied together in the library even though they were never taking any similar classes. It didn’t matter to Jisung, he just enjoyed being around his hyung. 

But since he was turned it had gotten worse… exponentially worse. The long and the short of it was that he straight up wanted to eat Jaemin. Not in a cute, ‘eat you up’ way, or a sexy ‘eat you out’ way, but in a literal, ‘drink your blood’ way. 

Completely un-casual, serial killer levels of obsession were developing. His hyung had always been attractive to him, increasingly so now that they were older, Jaemin about to graduate and Jisung just a year behind, but his vampire sense had intensified it  ten fold. He could hear Jaemin speaking or breathing, and it sounded like a song; his eyes sparkled like stars would have been a metaphor before, but now was quite literal. The light glinting off his big brown eyes potentially blinding at times. 

His skin, warm and flushed pink, smelled like fucking heaven. If he’d been asked to describe it he would have compared it to a chocolate covered cherry, but something else too, just under the surface. Logically Jisung knew it was Jaemin’s blood. It was what made him flush so perfectly pink and made him hot to the touch, so of course it was contributing to the intoxicating smell, but it was hard to explain that to someone who couldn’t smell it too.

He, and many other humans, have attested that blood smells and tastes metallic and as a vampire he wouldn’t say it’s wrong, but rather that the coppery note is just the tip of the iceberg. The edge of something darker and richer than normal human senses could ever imagine. Sometimes the stink of it, the overwhelming saturation of Jaemin’s scent, of his blood, is too much—more than even a blood bag can soothe—and he’s forced to take drastic measures.

Drastic measures, of course, being stalking and killing someone to take the edge off. He doesn’t feel bad about it, and he knows no one is going to catch him because there are no bodies to find… because they’re at his house.

Even though he took Intro to Vampirism freshman year, which covered mating instincts, the whole murder thing had taken him by surprise. Again, not because it was unheard of, but because when he’d read that passage in his textbook he would have never guessed he’d become a walking, talking example.  

The whole presentation of the bodies wasn’t exactly standard. Bloodlust and desire are bound to conflate for a young vampire such as himself, but trophies were more of a werewolf thing. But it wasn’t totally unprecedented. When it first started happening and he couldn’t control it he spent his waking nights doing some research and found that, basically, when he was uh… murdering… his victim…which was already heavily focused on Jaemin, it triggered a sort of fugue state, and he couldn’t rest until he gave Jaemin the body. 

So because his body was finally acclimating to being a vampire and all his emotions and senses were subsequently intensifying, he had been leaving dead bodies on the front step. 

You might be wondering to yourself at this point: How has no one seen him dropping a goddamn dead body in front of the house? Why drop the body there and not in front of Jaemin’s room or by his bed or something?

Well to answer your first question, vampire powers were no fucking joke! Between his speed, strength, and the whole hypnotism thing, he can drain, kill, and transport someone to the house within a few minutes if he needs to. The house itself, a well loved, slightly dilapidated, slightly alive, civil war era mansion, with a long history before it became home to their motley crew of creatures and Jaemin, was on a hill, at the top of a winding drive. Which meant from the street the porch, and therefore the body, wasn’t visible. 

Plus his roommates were thankfully all too wrapped in their own crushes and day to day lives that they have yet to realize he’s slipping away to go commit a relatively heinous crime. They’re so oblivious he sometimes wonders if they’ll ever know, really. Unless he tells them of course.

(“Actually we all know… well, except Mark, obviously. He’s super hot, in a nerdy sort of way, and I just know in my heart of hearts he’s hung like a goddamn horse, but he can be stupid. He was turned in the 30’s, at 17, and they just straight up did not know drugs were bad for you back then.

Renjun gets a faraway look in his eyes, biting his lips distractedly, then seems to snap out of it. 

“But yeah, literally everyone except Mark knows about the crush and the killing, and sometimes I even think Jaemin knows. Jisung’s not exactly slick–Jeno can smell blood from a mile away and Donghyuck can literally see the future. He knew Jisung was going to do it before Jisung did, which is how I know… Seriously, you should ask around.”)

The answer to your second question is simple as well: it’s because every morning Jaemin gets up, starts a pot of ungodly strong coffee that could probably kill a small animal (which turns Jisung on in ways he is unwilling to examine at this time), then goes outside to get the paper. Leaving it there is a guarantee Jaemin will find it. 

The only downside to the whole plan is that because he has to make sure Jaemin finds them, Jisung never actually gets to see Jaemin find them; instead he relies completely on second hand accounts. Today’s meeting was stupid, but it was also the first time he’d been in the same room with both Jaemin and one of the bodies, so maybe Jisung should be grateful. 

Reportedly, with the first body, Jaemin only noticed it because it was on top of the paper, leaving it rumpled in a way that made it difficult to read, so from then on the bodies were strategically placed with the paper, already delivered by the time the body is, on their lifeless chests. 

Overall the courting, instinct or not, felt like it was going well—but where human Jisung had been too scared to make a move on his hyung—vampire Jisung was getting antsy, and he was thinking it might be time to take the next step. 

The morning paper had always been one of Jaemin’s favorite rituals. When he was a kid, and his deadbeat dad left him and his mom, she’d gone out of her way to make sure Jaemin knew he was special. 

It’s natural, if sad, that many children in single parent homes tend to grow up fast. Speed racing into adulthood before they’re ready. His mother didn’t want that for him; she wanted her perfect, darling son (Her words! Not his!) to just be a kid. So in order to squash out his desire to grow up and be just like her, they had designated ‘adult time’. 

Every weekend they spent their mornings drinking their hot cocoa out of boring coffee mugs, and reading the paper together, before going about their day. At first, he would get bored and fidget, which was no doubt her intention–to show just how boring ‘adult stuff’ was–but over time he grew to like it.

As he grew up he switched from cocoa to coffee and comics to the crossword, but he never grew out of his designated ‘adult time’. By the time he actually was an adult, or at least legally one, reading the paper with his morning coffee (or swill, as Jeno liked to call it) was his one daily non-negotiable. 

Logically, he knows that the whole corpse thing should put a damper on it, but they really don’t.

“They don’t freak you out? Even a little?”

It’s the day following the first official meeting about the corpses and Jaemin is in Donghyuck’s room with him. Mark informed them of a second meeting today via hand delivered note, after  Mark lost another intense argument with their mailman, and it was scheduled to start as soon as the sun went down. Everyone was going to be there, which of course meant Jaemin needed to look his best— so he came to Donghyuck, glamour magic expert. 

Even though Donghyuck wouldn’t do any magic on him because of ‘the witches code’ blah, ‘you’re already perfect’ blah, he did agree to brush Jaemin’s hair for him: one hundred times exactly, just like his mom taught him. Donghyuck is on stroke 56 and his hair already looks shinier! He’s so happy he went blonde… he’s hoping they really do have more fun.

“Why would they freak me out?” He asks, looking up at Donghyuck through the mirror. 

“Uh… no reason.” Jaemin shrugs and goes back to counting brush strokes and reading all the potion labels on Donghyuck’s vanity in front of him, completely missing the way Donghyuck’s tentative smile turns into a bewildered expression.  “I’m glad you can stomach it.”

Jaemin looks back up.  “I don’t stomach them—I like them.” He declares, breaking into a dreamy smile with a sigh. 

“You…like them.”

Jaemin nods. 

“The bodies.”

He nods again. 

“The human corpses of people Jisung has murdered, for you.”

He doesn’t bother with a third nod for fear of messing up the brushing process, instead he just blinks placidly and hopes that Donghyuck can imagine him doing it. He bites his lip, lowering his voice even though it’s not strictly necessary since Donghyuck magically soundproofed the rooms a long time ago for Jeno and Mark’s enhanced creature hearing: “I actually really like it.”

Donghyuck stops brushing. “What?”

“I like the bodies. I think they’re sweet.”

“What!?”

He turns a giddy smile up at Donghyuck, who is staring at him through the dusty glass. 

“It’s just sweet that he’s thinking of me. He can’t help that he’s a vampire and his instincts are to get me dead people instead of like…flowers.”

“Oh my god.” Donghyuck mutters to himself and starts up brushing again.

“Plus…” he purses his lips and averts his eyes, a dark blush on his cheeks. “It’s kind of… I don’t know.. The fact that he can just kill someone like that… it’s kind of hot.”

“Ninety-nine, one hundred!” Donghyuck tosses the brush over his shoulder and runs a hand through his own hair, stepping back and smiling with a wild look in his eyes. “Alright, you’re all ready, let’s go to this meeting!”

“Oh, is it time already!?”

He looks around for a watch or his phone, realizing he doesn’t wear one and it’s in the kitchen respectively, but Donghyuck is already herding him out of his room and down the stairs. 

“Yep, it’s time just trust me on this.”

He means to guide Jaemin with gentle hands out of the room and down the stairs, but in his haste it’s more of a solid push that sends him flying off the steps and toward the landing. It knocks the breath out of him and Jaemin yelps, indelicately, waiting for impact. Only it doesn’t come, at least not the impact of him against the landing; instead he’s pressed firmly against what feels like cool marble. 

“Are you okay hyung?”

He peels one eye open and then another, and finds himself wrapped up in Jisung’s arms, bridal style, and he blushes.  “You saved me.” He whispers. 

Jisung smiles and Jaemin’s heart skips a beat, which only makes him blush harder, because he knows Jisung can hear it. 

“Holy fuck, Jaemin! Are you okay?”

Right, Donghyuck. He looks over Jisung’s shoulder and nods. “Yes! Jisung saved me.”

“Imagine that!” Jeno says, walking past unbothered by the commotion, and dragging Donghyuck with him. 

They leave and it’s just him and Jisung again. “You can put me down now. We’re probably late to the meeting.”

Whenever Jisung was still human, he’d get flustered and blush the prettiest color of pink; and while Jaemin does miss that, he likes the new Jisung just as much if not better than the past version, and he takes solace in the fact that the blush might be gone but he still makes the same exact face. He’s making it now, as he stammers and puts Jaemin down safely onto two feet. 

“Right the meeting. Probably the bodies again.” He leads the way into the living room and Jaemin tries to keep his heartbeat even. 

The bodies again!

“Attention everyone! I will now call this meeting to order!” Mark’s voice booms out across the living room. 

“Hyung— no one was even talking.” Chenle whispers. 

Donghyuck and Jeno snicker from  where they’re huddled on the couch, and Renjun does too but pretends he isn’t, pinching Chenle’s side with magic from his spot in the wing back chair. “Shh! Listen to Mark hyung!”

Jisung is sitting in the other arm chair, deep and fluffy, to one side of the room, slouched down so his torso and chest are parallel to the ground and his long legs are manspread, bent at an almost 90 degree angle. His arms are folded and one hand is covering his mouth and chin which may look contemplative from the outsider perspective, but really it’s probably that Jaemin, who is perched on the edge of his seat and practically vibrating with excitement at the sight of a fresh body on the rug. 

“I was! That’s my point.”

“Well, you’re talking now aren’t you?”

“You started it, you tinkerbell wannabe!”

“I said: Attention!” Mark says again, cutting their squabbling short. He’s doing a bad,eastern European Dracula accent for effect, and it’s honestly a little distracting. “This meeting is less formal, but it is of the utmost importance.”

Everyone sits and stays silent, waiting for Mark to say why.

“You’re supposed to ask why!” He says, breaking character, and there is a chorus of groans.

“Marcus— you just told everyone not to—“

“THE KILLER HAS LEFT A NOTE!”

Now this is interesting! Jaemin glances briefly at Jisung, but he’s looking at Mark attentively. The others' interests seem similarly piqued for once, and they lean collectively closer. 

“Really?” Renjun asks. “What does it say?”

“We are going to read it now, together.”

Jisung slinks lower in his chair, closing his eyes briefly. Jaemin obviously knows the note was meant for him, as does everyone (except Mark)—and he finds himself suddenly protective of it, which is presumably in the antique yellowed envelope Mark has just produced from his pocket.

Jaemin clears his throat. “Mark hyung?” He says, in his sugariest, sweetest voice. 

Mark looks back at him and blinks stupidly a few times before the haze clears. 

“Uh, yeah Jaem?”

“As the only oral historian, maybe I should be the one to read it?”

Mark, still hung up on the way Jaemin said oral like that, hands the envelope to him before he even speaks, accent gone. “Yeah, okay. That’s fine.”

He takes it and is surprised to find that it’s parchment, the real kind made of animal skin—he can tell from the smell. He turns it over and the front of the envelope has a little smudge of blood, presumably from the dead guy, and it makes him wonder, briefly, if the letter inside will be written in the same dark red. 

The letter inside isn’t written in blood, but it’s written in Jisung’s messy scrawl; how he thinks they still don’t know is the only real mystery left. He reads it, once, twice—it’s quick because it’s less of a letter, more of a poem—and he starts tearing up. 

“What, Jaemin, what does it say? Does he tell his dastardly plan?”

“No, it’s a poem.”

“A poem?” The others say, confused. 

He clears his throat again. 

“Blood is red, this body is blue; Jaemin, I give you these corpses, out of my love for you.”

Reactions to the prose are varied: Chenle finds it just as funny as he’d found Mark’s proclamation yesterday, even using the corpses’ hand to wipe away his tears. Donghyuck continues to appear bewildered, while Jeno, whose wolf instinct led him into a similar pattern, albeit with animals rather than people, nods in understanding. Renjun’s reaction is polite indifference, as he attempts to calm Mark, who is completely losing it.

“What the fuck?”

“Mark, relax.” Renjun whispers, eyes darting between Jaemin and Jisung as subtly as he can, which Mark does not see. Jaemin is dabbing at his eyes delicately, too moved to speak. Mark opens his mouth to say something that probably will be unintentionally hurtful due to his obliviousness, but luckily Renjun knows just how to shut him up. “Markie? Why don’t we go up to your room, and you can tell me all about your new theories.”

Mark is too dazed to take in the request at first, so Renjun grabs his face and turns his head. “Markie?”

“Hmm?”

“I said,” Renjun uses his other hand to grasp one of Mark’s, stroking over the back of it before he feels up his arm and back. “Why don’t you take me up to your room? Two heads are better than one, right?”

He tilts his head and blinks at Mark who gazes back open mouthed.

(“There’s actually a few bets about it right now. You know, is Renjun using his magic to confuse Mark, is Mark actually this oblivious, are they already fucking and none of us have noticed?” 

Behind Chenle, Donghyuck pours a vial of purple liquid into a bubbling cauldron–which explodes.

“My money is on no, yes, and no, but it’s seriously anyone’s game!”)

From there Mark is dazed enough that he can be dragged away, up the stairs, leaving Jisung and Jaemin alone once more. Jisung’ as eyes are trained on him, shining black in the artificial light. His gaze is less like a concerned friend and more like a lion watching a wounded antelope. 

“Jaemin hyung, are you okay?”

Jaemin, having finally collected himself, smiles. “I’m amazing, Sungie!”

“Even though a killer is leaving bodies for you?”

“Didn’t you hear? They’re doing it to show how much they care.”

“A-and that’s okay?” 

Jaemin bites his lip, kneeling down next to the corpse. He has no idea how Jisung can be both a sexy vampire serial killer and a stuttering virgin, but it's really working for him. 

“Of course it is. There’s a big, strong, vampire out there courting me! How lucky am I?” He looks down at the dead body, it’s lifeless eyes, then briefly then back down at the note, reading it out loud again. “Hear that corpsey? You’re all mine!”

He turns his gaze back to Jisung, but all that's left is his empty chair, the slowly disappearing indention the only sign he was ever there at all. Jaemin’s mouth drops open in shock and he huffs, flopping down beside the body in exasperation. 

“Guess it’s just you and me, big guy!”

For several days after the incident, as Jisung has come to call the moment in which he nearly lost control, fucked and killed Jaemin, not necessarily in that order, he can’t quite meet Jaemin’s eyes. They’d been sitting there and for a second he’d wondered: Did Jaemin know? But then he had called his mystery vampire big and strong, shattering the illusion. 

Regardless, the whole thing had been traumatizing and erotic enough that he’d killed two people, which he later heard made Jaemin go quiet and wide eyed in awe, and that night he ran into Jaemin as he was leaving his room, right as Jaemin left his, pink cheeked and breathless, apparently from moving furniture around, and Jisung had made him promise to wait for him next time, which seemed to really delight Jaemin.

“I promise not to do it without you next time.” And ran one of silky smooth hands down Jisung’s arm causing him to flee.

Now that a new week has dawned and Jisung can finally look Jaemin in the eyes without his fangs popping down, they’re in the kitchen together: Jaemin to actually cook and Jisung to ‘help’ which is code for reaching the tall shelves and chopping vegetables on command.

Jaemin is practicing an oration that details how the vampires settled here originally for his local history class and Jisung has stopped chopping the onion for the tagine Jaemin’s preparing just to listen to him.

With Jaemin’s chosen field some might expect him to have a velvety smooth voice, like a radio presenter, but it’s kind of gravelly, rich and rough. Jisung never gets tired of listening to it.

Their town isn’t exactly normal and some of the more unusual jobs within the government and public council are old school. There’s a town exorcist, a town oracle, and a town historian— which has been Jaemin’s dream since he moved here shortly after his mother died.

There have been times, especially when they were younger, before they moved in here and Jisung was still a scrawny little human, that they would lay down on the floor of his dingy dorm and they would talk about it. 

Jaemin told Jisung about his fear that he wouldn’t be able to hack it and Jisung hadn’t known what exactly to say, because he hadn’t known what being a town historian of any kind might take. He couldn’t reassure Jaemin with confidence, so he stayed silent and held his hand while he cried silent tears.

But then, one day, Jisung had been bored in his own class so he’d ditched to attend one of Jaemin’s. They were presenting their assignments: to take a story of their own lives and make it into an oral history. Jisung had sat in the back and waited in anticipation as people talked about the passing of childhood pets and breaking their arms in sports games. 

When it was finally Jaemin’s turn he stood at the front of the class and started speaking like he would if he was just talking to Jisung, like they weren’t in a lecture hall but still laying on the bad carpet in student housing. He didn’t try to sound important or different than he normally did, but somehow he commanded more attention than anyone else. 

For the five minutes Jaemin told the story of trying to get to and from the convenience store before the campus curfew, Jisung felt completely mesmerized. Jisung had been there, he knew Jaemin was telling the truth about the guy who was trying to sell knock off blood on the corner and nearly losing his wallet down the drain but catching it at the last second. He had watched the cashier pull a coin from behind Jaemin’s ear so he could pay with exact change with his own eyes. It had been thirty minutes, a few miles–he hadn’t even remembered it until this moment, but the way Jaemin wove the tale it played out like an odyssey. A quest so epic that he’d thought: one day when I’m old and gray, I want to tell my kids about this. 

He knew then that Jaemin was destined to be the historian of this town, keeper of all the stories past and present. No one was ever going to be better than him.

Afterward, when he told Jaemin this, finding him in the crowded exodus from one class to the next, Jaemin paused and looked at Jisung like he hadn’t realized he was talking at all until he was finished. He snapped out of it when Jisung said his name softly and the day carried on as normal. Normal except that Jisung, through no magical capability, saw Jaemin’s future with clarity. 

Things had changed since then, of course, Jaemin grew in confidence and Jisung was never going to be old and gray, but still he wanted to hear that story, every story Jaemin would tell, forever. 

In the here and now Jaemin finishes his last line just as Jisung finishes the onions with a flourish, doing a quick zoom around the kitchen, just to see Jaemin laugh. They’re still laughing when Donghyuck waltzes in. “Jaemin can you get me one too?”

“Get you one, what?” Jaemin asks, but Donghyuck doesn’t answer, leaning over instead to rip a small tuft of hair out of Jisung’s head.

“What the fuck hyung?” He reaches up to touch the spot expecting it to be tender but there’s only a dull pressure that dissipates as quickly as it began, and he can feel the hair growing back already. 

Donghyuck does not apologize, rather fixes Jisung with a scathing look as if he was the one who’d had his hair ripped out. “Was that a complaint I sensed just then Park Jisung?”

“Well, you did—“

“Silence!” He says, and the room around starts to darken, little by little. “I have agreed, out of the goodness of my heart, to do the magic required to let you walk in the light, night demon.”

Donghyuck takes a step forward, advancing on Jisung. Jaemin, who is almost certain that the council is paying Donghyuck a commission for Jisung’s daylight magic, rolls his eyes, walking toward the fridge for a soda, realizing as he reaches inside what Donghyuck had been asking of him.

Suddenly, there’s a voice in his head: “Pamplemousse, si vous plait.” It says, in a very bad French accent. “Hey! My French accent is perfect! I’ve seen Ratatouille 30 times!”

Jaemin rolls his eyes, but doesn’t bother replying. Meanwhile, in the corporeal world, Donghyuck has not stopped railing at Jisung.

“You will see the sun again because I allow you too.” From the ceiling and the doorways a greenish, grayish fog rolls in, making it difficult to breathe and see. “I will not allow you to disrupt my work with your childish complaints due to ignorance.”

Jisung makes a mental note: Keep childish complaints (due to ignorance) to myself in the future . Because, by the goddess, Donghyuck is dramatic.

“Are we understood?” He asks, voice twisted by magic into a snake-y hissing, eyes glowing like burning coals, black and orange. 

“Yes, Donghyuck. My deepest apologies.”

Jisung’s response is nothing short of blatantly sarcastic but it’s enough for Donghyuck who snaps, sending everything back to normal; mist, darkness, and weird creature version of Donghyuck all disappearing in a blink of an eye. 

“Great! I’m glad we understand each other.” he smiles, and dusts his hands, sending the hair he’d taken through the air to the floor.

“Didn’t you need that?” Jisung asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“A witch’s prerogative.” 

He hoists himself onto the counter and holds out a hand to catch the La Croix that Jaemin tosses at him. At the entrance to the kitchen Renjun pokes his head around the door frame.

“Did you get the hair? Was he scared?”

Donghyuck makes a cut-it-out motion across his throat, eyes pointing at an unimpressed Jisung and Jaemin. Quickly, realization dawns on Renjun’s face. 

“I mean—did you get the totally necessary hair…for the magic spell. So Jisung can walk in the light?” 

“Nice save.” Jaemin murmurs as he coats the lamb in sauce they’d made earlier.

“Speaking of which, are you still going to the mixer tomorrow, Jaemin?”

Jisung looks over at Jaemin. He hadn’t mentioned anything about going anywhere tomorrow, let alone a vampire mixer that could potentially end in him getting sucked off (in a negative way–vampires remember?) by a stranger. 

“Mixer? What mixer is that? You didn’t mention a mixer to me, hahaha!” He says, with a casual, unbothered air. 

Jaemin smiles prettily and shrugs.  “I didn’t want to worry you, but yeah. I’m going to the VHR mixer on campus tomorrow. It’s mostly a networking thing.”

Yeah, Jisung was familiar with the networking that took place at these mixers. Network your fangs into someone’s neck. Network them into your bed. Most of these stupid parties had turned into little more than a gathering of vamp-curious humans (fang bangers was a nice, cheap colloquial), who wanted to advertise that they were interested, and blood thirsty vampires, who wanted… well to drink their blood. Not much mystery there. 

Glorified blood orgies: that is what the Vampire & Human Relations mixers were. That was where Jaemin, his Jaemin, was planning to go tomorrow. If Jisung weren’t dead the blood would be draining from his face. As he processes this new information an overwhelming sense of panic and white hot anger overcomes him. Possessiveness.

Like a scene in a movie he sees Jaemin entering a room full of Bela Lugosi style vampires with balding heads, bruise like circles under their eyes. The moment they scent Jaemin’s blood in the air they descend on him, fangs first. 

He blinks and rapidly that scene fades away and another plays out; him using his vampire speed to whisk Jaemin away right now to his own room. Locking him away so no one can even look at him ever again, and feeding on him between rounds of fucking him until he cries. Cutting his  name in a heart on Jaemin’s perky ass cheek. Somehow the chances of him being able to write that off as friendship feel slim, so he dismisses the thought. 

“What prompted that decision?” he asks. There we go! Very normal contribution to the conversation.

“Well, the contacts you get at these things are usually pretty solid. But also, if my mystery suitor won’t show himself, I figured I would just go find him. Surely if I ask who’s been leaving me courting gifts they’d be more than willing to step forward.”

Jisung looks at Jaemin, his bright pink cheeks and full lips, his golden, almost white hair, his skin, flush and warm and exposed at the arms and neck. He looks at him, a vision in his apron with a sugar sweet expression on his face, and realizes in abject horror that of course someone will come forward—they all will. Those monsters will claw over one another, tooth and nail, to make Jaemin believe they’re the ones leaving him gifts.

He nods like a bobble head, fast enough that to those without magically enhanced vision it’s not even visible, inhaling deeply only to choke on it. 

“Right. Well they’d be stupid not to.” he says when he finally recovers and Jaemin nods back. 

“An absolute idiot.”

They eat dinner and afterward Jaemin excuses himself to get ready for bed, his day ending just as Jisung’s began. He uses the first few hours of it to pace and worry about this new challenge before it occurs to him he needs assistance.

It’s been nearly a millennia since the last of the beasts and magic folk were liberated from the dark, evolution granting many the ability long ago and then vampires and witches began working in harmony and the magic of day walking was conceptualized; so as of right now Jisung is the only nocturnal one among them. 

He knows, however, he’s not the only one still awake.

Chenle’s room isn’t terrifying per se, but anyone who's ever been inside knows, while the whole house is a little bit alive, Chenle’s room is openly hostile under the right conditions, so he approaches slowly. If Chenle is in a bad mood his door knob was known to amputate hands of those who touch it without knocking first. If he’s in a good mood, as he apparently is right now (always a safe bet after dinner), it will teleport you inside to a seat of its choosing. 

Today, Room chooses Chenle’s lap as Jisung’s seat, startling them both, which causes surprised screaming and makes Chenle lose corporeal form and fall through the bed down into the laundry room downstairs, if the commotion downstairs is anything to go by. 

He hears a muttered ‘For fuck’s sake!’ as Chenle floats back up through the floor, arms crossed. Jisung can’t help but laugh at the annoyed expression and the way only parts of his body are solid again, his view of the wall behind Chenle nearly perfect through his left thigh and right shoulder. 

“Oh you think it’s soooo funny don’t you!”

“No, I’m sorry! Don’t be mad!”

Chenle huffs, rolling his eyes and planting himself in his desk chair. “Hardy har! Laugh it up fang boy!”

Jisung’s giggles subside gradually, only marginally impeded by the adorably grumpy look on Chenle’s face, and when he has gathered himself enough he sighs. Time for business.

“I need your help.”

“Mhmm… with what, exactly?”

“Getting Jaemin to fall in love with me.”

“Getting Jaemin to fall in love with you.”

They speak at the same time and Jisung’s eyes widen. “Wait, what did you say?”

“You need my help getting Jaemin to fall in love with you, right?”

Jisung blushes.  “What? No! Why do you ask?”

Chenle dematerializes and Jisung immediately backtracks. 

“Okay, okay! Yes! Fine!”

He waits for a moment, unsure if Chenle will come back only for him to re-materialize right beside him, scaring the shit out of him again.

“That’s what I fucking thought!” He says poking Jisung in the chest, and it feels like mist hitting his skin. “You need love advice and you turn to me, the master of romance,“

“You died in a tragic boating accident trying to confess to your best friend who you later found out was only talking to you so they could cheat off your math homework, but go off I guess. ”

“...to lead you down the path to happily mated bliss.” Chenle continues on as if Jisung hasn’t spoken and Jisung doesn’t bother repeating himself in case Chenle actually refuses to help him.  When Chenle turns to him, hands clasped and pressed to his chipmunk cheek like a princess, Jisung nods emphatically.

“Yes, oh great and knowledgeable spirit!”

Chenle drops the act. “Don’t suck up. Now why don’t you give me the long and the short of it so I can decide if there’s even anything to salvage?”

He breaks down the highlights, and Chenle remains mostly silent, bar the occasional commentary when he thinks Jisung is wrong or something.

Jisung tells him about secretly being the one leaving the bodies. “Everyone knows that.” His crush. “Ditto the crush.” The poem being his first effort to step it up. “Elementary but sweet.” Almost losing control and consuming Jaemin…in every way possible. “Big yikes.” Before finally getting to the mixer.

“Oof!”

Jisung widens his eyes, incredulous at the non-word and its distinct lack of helpfulness. “Oof?”

“Okay: way oof!” He giggles to himself. “W-oof, if you will.”

Jisung takes a steadying breath as he rambles.

“I guess we better be careful or Jeno will hear and come running!”

(“It’s actually offensive when people compare wolves to dogs. Don’t get me wrong I love dogs as much as the next person, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges!”

“Aren’t apples and oranges both fruits though?”

“Uhm… yeah but…. The vibes are completely different. If you’ll excuse me.”)

“Chenle!”

Chenle groans. “You’re no fun Park Jisung! Maybe that’s why Jaemin doesn’t want you.”

“CHENLE!”

“Fine, fine.” He rolls his eyes and stands. “You know what the answer is, right?”

Jisung furrows his brow. “No, please enlighten me.

“Well, isn’t it obvious? You have to kidnap him.” 

The duh is implied.

( “So Jaemin, you heard that Chenle and Jisung were arrested?”

“Yeah…though I don’t think Chenle can be technically arrested because he’s a ghost. I mean Jisung is dead too but he’s tied to this spiritual plane in a physical way that Chenle isn’t.” Jaemin blinks. “That’s the distinction in the bi-laws at least.”

“Right but you know why?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I think the arrest was for ‘disturbing the peace’, but they were trying to kidnap me.”

“ Does that scare you?”

Jaemin frowns and crosses his legs in his chair. “No? Why would it?”)

“You’re in such deep shit, you know that?” 

Jisung holds up his hands, attached via a pair of shiny silver handcuffs to the table. Real silver too, none of that stainless or plated shit. Everytime he moves the metal digs in deeper, making a sick sizzling noise. 

“Yeah I kind of got that, thanks.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes, then reaches over to the speaker attached to the table, pressing the big red button on top. “Can we get these cuffs off my client–this is hardly humane.” 

He lets go of the button and they wait for a moment before the speaker crackles on in response.  

“Humane! That’s funny!” a voice says before it clicks off again. 

Jaehyun rolls his eyes, but before he can push the button and retort the door of the room is being opened and a tall, buff guy is strolling in, whistling and whirling another set of cuffs around his finger. 

With the door open, Jisung can suddenly hear what feels like 50,000 noises at once; the buzz of a coffee machine, the dull crack of a gun being fired and the swift tear of whatever paper target it’s directed at, staplers, a football game broadcast over an old radio, the clicking of a keyboard. It happens sometimes, mostly when he’s stressed or otherwise overstimulated. He winces. If his hands were free he’d cover his ears, no matter how ineffectual it may be, but in the meantime he focuses on his breathing like Mark has tried to teach him.

The detective sidles up to the table, no longer whistling, and puts on a pair of gloves before he removes the silver cuffs. 

“We could sue, you know?” Either Jaehyun doesn’t sound convincing or the detective doesn’t care. 

“I’m sorry. Some of the human officers still don’t always handle things… professionally.”As soon as the silver cuffs are off the wounds on Jisung’s wrists start to heal and he sighs in relief. The new cuffs tingle but don’t burn and when the cop smiles at his Jisung smiles back. “These are department issue creature cuffs. Enchanted copper, courtesy of the spellwork department. You might feel weak and sometimes people break into song but they don’t burn like those.”

“Thank you.” Jisung murmurs, and Jaehyun nods. “Yes, thank you officer….?”

“It’s detective, actually. But I think you already knew that.” He smiles smugly at Jaehyun’s blush. “Detective Johnny Suh.”

“Right. Well, I need some time to speak with my client.”

“You got it.”

Detective Johnny leaves with a wink so Jaehyun can continue to scold Jisung. It turned out Jaemin wasn’t actually going to the vampire mixer, because the VHR wasn’t having one. So when Jisung and Chenle showed up with a bag full of kidnapping tools and broke down the door to disrupt what they were sure was a vampire/Jaemin blood orgy they were really just disrupting a regular vampire blood orgy. 

“Surely they can’t do that on school grounds!” Chenle said, head propped on his palm, legs kicking back and forth in the air behind him. Jisung shot him a look from where he was laying beside him, handcuffed and facedown on the ground. “Apparently they technically aren’t. The rec building falls outside the boundary. Plus they had all the necessary permits.”

“Huh,” Chenle said. “The more you know.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. 

“You could at least try to act like you’re uncomfortable or something. This was technically your idea.”At that point the silver cuffs were searing into his skin, with no relief in sight, and the pavement was digging into his cheek but Chenle was only in a Devil’s trap. 

Ghosts could choose whether or not to be solid but Chenle double pinky swore to the officer he was trying to let them cuff him but that it just wasn’t working. So they’d settled on tethering him to the spot with the trap–or so they thought. But at Jisung’s (very correct) suggestion that Chenle was to blame for his current predicament, Chenle rolled onto his side in a huff. 

“I’ll have you know this wasn’t my fault. I wanted to kidnap Jaemin on his way to campus! I was only trying to help you!” With that he stands up and disappears. At first Jisung thinks he’s gone home but then he reappears behind the cop who drew the trap he was in, tapping her on the shoulder. 

“You need to revisit your Latin because it sucks.” he sniped before disappearing again, leaving Jisung to his own devices. Jaehyun explained that they couldn’t have charged Chenle anyways because of some stupid ghost rule, but that he would receive an official warning. 

“As for you, they’ve agreed to bump your charge down to a fine as long as you complete a hundred hours of community service and write a letter of apology to the vampires you disturbed.”

Jisung perks up at that. He had been contemplating what kind of blood they serve in prison and his mind was conjuring some pretty dark shit. “That’s it?”

“Sort of. In cases like this the policy generally defer to the appropriate creature governing body.”

Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuck.  “You mean…”

“Yes. But relax. You were turned less than fifty years ago so you’re technically a minor. I went there first.” Jaehyun shrugs off the chill running down his spine. “The council agreed that since this is your first offense of any kind they would allow you to go on with only the punishment from the police squad.”

“Oh my–” he chokes, unable to say the word. It was an unfortunate side effect of the turning, nearly impossible to get used to. “Fuck. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.” Jaehyun laughs, pulling out a note from his briefcase. “They did want me to tell you that ‘while we understand the desire to follow traditional rules of courting, human law does not smile upon it. Move in shadow.’”

Jisung gulps. 

“Do you know what that means? Are you courting someone?”

“No. Nope. No clue.”

Johnny is the one who does the paperwork, typing away at his desk, while Jisung and Jaehyun sit in the rickety seats on the other side. The room they’re in seems to be the source of all the noise Jisung was hearing earlier. It’s not quite as bad, but the closer to nightfall they’ve gotten the busier the room gets. 

The cuffs are finally off, but he doesn’t want to do anything that might make him a target so he isn’t covering his ears like he wants to, deciding to suffer instead. When somewhere beneath the building a siren goes off he sucks in a shaky breath. 

“You’re new right?”

“Pardon?” Johnny looks at Jaehyun, shaking his head and pointing instead at Jisung. “You’re new. Newly turned right?”

“Is it that obvious?”

Johnny shrugs, but his face tells Jisung that: yes he is that obvious. “The noise was the worst part for me too.”

Jisung can feel Jaehyun tense up beside him, then relax again, his heart beating double time. 

“How did you get used to it?”

“I listened for the ocean.” Which, okay…. You can definitely get to the ocean from here, maybe in an hour or two. But even their hearing isn’t that good. Right? When he sees Jisung’s confusion, Johnny laughs. “I know it sounds silly, but even though I won’t actually be able to hear it, trying takes all my focus–it pushes everything else away.”

“Why the ocean?”

Johnny smiles wistfully.

“It was my first love.” This time Jaehyun’s heart skips a beat. 

Jisung knows the feeling.

(“You know now that you mention it I did recognize him from that case, I didn’t work it but the guys who did had a hell of a time trying to catch the son of a bitch.”

Johnny leans against his police car, hands in his pockets, then in the next frame he’s lit and started smoking a cigarette. 

“I can’t really say much else, because as you mentioned the investigation is ongoing but yea it’s a miracle he was turned and not buried…. Say that human lawyer, you can tell me: he’s single right?”

Production is unable to provide this information.

“That’s okay, I like a little mystery.”)

Jaemin has never really spent much time in Jeno’s room–no one has–but breaking in is easy enough. He’s snooping through Jeno’s shelves, stocked with classic romance, bodice rippers, and books about writing, when Jeno gets back from class, entering only to stop cold when he sees Jaemin fingering the spine of a leather bound diary tucked in among the books. 

“Don’t touch that! What are you doing in my room?”

It comes out grumpy and growly, but Jeno’s nothing more than a big puppy so it doesn’t really have the desired effect. “Oh hey, I need your advice!”

“On how to be a more polite person?” he smiles, saccharine and sarcastic, and Jaemin rolls his eyes. 

“No! I am perfectly polite. You invited me to come by, remember?”

When Jisung was still under quarantine in the hospital after he was bit, Jeno had stayed with Jaemin and given him a free pass to ‘stop by’ whenever he wanted. It was hard to say whether jimmying his lock with a bobby pin and throwing down some Spell-Negate counted as ‘stopping by’ but this was kind of important. Werewolves may be beyond territorial but Jaemin knew Jeno, like most everyone in the house, has a soft spot for their only human roommate. 

Jeno rolls his eyes. “I think you might be interpreting that in bad faith, but sure Jaem. What do you want?”

He sat down at his fancy desk, covered in a mess of papers and other research, and Jaemin sat across from him on the little ottoman at the foot of his bed. Jeno’s whole room looked like it was lifted from a Victorian romance or something; juxtaposed next to Jeno himself, his arm crossed and feet firmly planted, wearing a worn down flannel and frayed denim with his combat boots, it was almost funny. He looked like he belonged in a lumber yard… or like Timber was about to play and his pants would tear away to a thong. 

“I need your help seducing someone.”

Jeno’s eyebrows shoot up. “Like, you want me to be your third?”

“What? No! I want you to teach me how to seduce someone–another creature.”

“You mean you want me to help you seduce Jisung.” It isn’t a question, so Jaemin doesn’t bother confirming that: yes, of course he’s talking about Jisung. “Why me? Wouldn’t Hyuckie be better at that?”

He blushes just saying Donghyuck’s name out loud and Jaemin fights the warring laughter and joy he feels seeing that reaction. 

(“Donghyuck and Jeno hooked up during Beltane last year.” 

Jisung explains, washing blood off his hands, while Mark pours over the finances at the table beside him, none the wiser.

“Which one is Beltane again?” he asks, sniffing the air and looking around then shaking his head. 

“Beltane is like fire, sex, maypoles.” Jisung explains, then turns back to the camera. “Last year it was on a full moon so the wolves were out and no one really knows how but he ended up running into Donghyuck in the woods where his coven was celebrating. One thing led to the other but they never talked about it.”

Chenle walks through the wall, scaring Mark. “We think Jeno was in wolf form or something? And that maybe that’s why.”

Mark, recovered from his fright, nods with a wry chuckle, pushing his glasses up his nose. 

“The moon will get you everytime.”

Jisung turns to Chenle. “Wolf dick, can you imagine?”

Camera cut. )

“While I’m sure he has his strengths, you’re a creature, just like Jisung.” Jeno shoots him a look. “Not exactly the same, I know I know, but you know what creatures want… like sexually.”

“Jaem, I don’t know…”

“C’mon! Jisung is so sweet and he’s shy and if we keep going at this rate I’ll have a whole cemetery in my name but nothing to show for it!”

Jeno seems to consider this, dropping his imposing posture and leaning  forward. Jaemin knows he’s right. Jisung’s killed like nine people at the point (a thought that sends a wave of heat over every inch of Jaemin’s body, and he has to repress a shiver) but he still hasn’t fessed up. He wrote the loveliest note, but didn’t sign it. 

His plan to kidnap Jaemin had been cute, but misguided–he’d totally misinterpreted the hints that Jaemin was dropping! Sure, getting tied up and held captive by Jisung would probably be fun and kind of sexy, but that wasn’t what he was asking for.

“I need to know what makes a creature tick. I need to know how I can make Jisung lose control.”

“So he confesses?”

Oh. “Yeah, that too.”

Jeno’s eyebrows knit and he raises a finger like he’s going to ask something then stops. “You know what, I don’t want to know. But Jaemin, what if you just talk to Jisung? I mean you literally just saw what happens when people come up with silly schemes instead of being honest.”

Jaemin looks at Jeno, eyes wide with emotion. He stands, coming in close, then grabs Jeno by the collar. “If you don’t help me with this, I will tell Donghyuck what you wrote in your diary on page 163.”

“I–I thought you were just looking at the spines–”

“Please. I started with the diary then moved on to that little box of tricks under the bed, not a very original hiding place. I didn’t want to have to fight dirty but I’m desperate–if Jisung doesn’t fuck me or drink my blood soon, I’ll be the one killing people and I’m going to start with you.”

Jeno gulps.

“But not before I tell Donghyuck you want him to invent magic that lets him knock you up and exactly how many babies you want… Do you understand me?”

“You’re a monster.” 

His wide eyed look, a mixture of fear and awe, almost makes Jaemin regret turning to such drastic measures. But if Jisung can kill people for him, he figures a little blackmail is the least he can do–for them . 

“No. I’m horny, and you’re going to help me fix it.”

In the end Jeno doesn’t come up with the plan, but he does help so his mpreg fantasies are safe for the time being. He’d been pitching something about wearing something of Mark’s to make Jisung jealous, because smell and territory was such a big thing with creatures. But Jaemin figured they all live together, so as far as territory… it might be justifiable to Jisung. It does make Jaemin think though: What about another vampire? One that doesn’t live with them? A stranger? That would be a whole other story. 

He already knew the lengths Jisung would go to if he thought Jaemin was in trouble, so if he knew Jaemin was–if he saw it with his own eyes? Who knows what he might do!

The plan is easier conceptualized than executed, however. He has to start by staying up later than usual without Jisung noticing, which is hard when you’re just a human up against supernaturally enhanced senses. 

First, he has to go about the regular evening routine, then once he’s ready for bed he has to lay down and pretend to sleep so Jisung can see that he’s safe in bed. He knows that most nights Jisung checks in on him, maybe watches him sleep for a bit. Renjun called it ‘psycho’ and Donghyuck said ‘the twilight fantasy is wasted on you’ but Jaemin thought it was adorable!

(“In my day, people were more wary about creatures, as you can imagine. I was seventeen when I turned and I had to move out of my family home, that’s just how things were done. I’m glad things are different now, but sometimes I think it made sense in certain situations.”

Mark’s hand goes to his throat as though he’s clutching his proverbial pearls. 

“I mean look at Jisung–freshly turned and living under the same roof as a human. There’s a lot of temptation there. I know it’s affected their friendship, sometimes I worry maybe Jaemin said something to him because he’ll go full days without a blood bag and I’ve caught him sneaking into Jaemin’s room at night. At first I thought he was trying to drink from him but I followed him and realized he’s just staring–like he misses him. I hope one day they can get past whatever issues they’re having.”

He laughs. “You know I think Jisung used to have a little crush on Jaemin before he turned… It’s heartbreaking really.”

The camera zooms out, bringing Renjun into focus behind Mark, staring and shaking his head. )

Now that he’s stalking and killing he doesn’t stay as long so Jaemin focuses on his breathing, keeping it slow and steady, until Jisung leaves. With the soundproofing between them he gets back up, waiting by the window to watch Jisung head out, making notes of the routes he takes on which days. 

The next step is finding out where Jisung is finding these people, how it lines up with the different directions and the schedule. He goes to an internet cafe, hood pulled up to hide his identity, and searches for stories about missing local men but there are far too many to sift through. He thinks about going to bars around town but then the people might remember him if the police were to ask questions. Leaving him with only one other alternative: magic. 

“Did you threaten my boyfriend?”

He finds Donghyuck behind the register at the cafe he works at off campus, in a strip of small businesses owned by the high council of witches. They serve coffee, tea, and pastries spelled to give you energy, make you confident, or to calm the nerves, so it’s popular among students. 

When Jaemin approaches the counter Donghyuck stops what he’s doing, snapping his fingers so the drinks start making themselves and he can focus his full attention on glowering at Jaemin. 

“I didn’t know you’d made it official.” he says, and Donghyuck rolls his eyes. 

“We haven’t yet, that doesn’t mean I want you threatening him.”

“It wasn’t a threat, I needed his help, just like I need yours now.”

He musters up his most charming smile and Donghyuck folds. “Fine I have a break in five minutes, I’ll meet you out back.”

Five minutes later he comes and finds Jaemin settled in one of the patio seats, bringing a map and a crystal pendulum with him. 

“So you need me to find someone? Who?”

“Not someone, some place.” he explains. “I need to know where Jisung found the men he killed, like where he picked them up.”

Donghyuck frowns. “Why?”

“Don’t you already know?”

“I get premonitions sometimes, I'm not omniscient. So tell me.”

“Well,” he pauses. He doesn’t want to rouse suspicion. “I just want to know he’s safe. That’s all.”

He nods slowly at Jaemin. 

“Okay–you don’t have to tell me–but in order to track them back to where they’ve been I’d need something of theirs or something tied to them somehow.”

“I have polaroids of them, will that work?”

There’s a long, tense silence. 

“You have polaroids….”

“Yes.”

“Of the bodies.”

“Mhmm.”

“The bodies of human people Jisung killed for you.”

“Yep.” he pops the ‘p’ for emphasis. 

“Okay…. Should we wait until you can–” Jaemin pulls the polaroids out of his pocket. “Jaemin. I want you to be honest with me: why are you carrying those around?”

Jaemin blinks.  “Are you sure?”

“Am I sure what?”

“That you want me to be honest with you?”

Donghyuck opens his mouth, closes it. “You’re right let’s get this fucking overwith.”

In the end, because the polaroids are such an impersonal connection Donghyuck can only find the location Jisung found of one the bodies, but it’s more than enough for Jaemin. He now has everything he needs to put his plan in motion. 

Jisung mopes about getting arrested for all of five minutes before he realizes that it all could have been so much worse. Apparently that same night, a freshman released an energy monster from one of the books in the library that maimed like six people and killed the librarian (again). That kid might be facing expulsion for not reading the signs and Jisung got off easy with community service and no punishment from the vampires! They’d even kind of approved of his extracurriculars so he came back to the house feeling lighter, more free. 

(“ What do the signs in the library say?”

“Basic warnings: If the books talk to you, don’t talk back. If you hear singing in the library, plug your ears. Librarians will never ask you for a blood sacrifice. Stuff like that.” Donghyuck shrugs. “You know, standard library stuff.”)

After he apologized to Chenle, promising to do all his laundry for a month and change the channel for him whenever he went non-corporeal, everything was pretty much perfect… except for the whole no closer progress with Jaemin whatsoever thing. That fucking sucked. 

A part of him wondered if maybe Jaemin would ask about it, most importantly why he (and Chenle) did what they did, but he didn't. If he had, Jisung planned to tell him the truth: that he was worried about his safety and wanted to protect him. Which maybe could’ve led to a confession: Jaemin, I like you. I love you. I want to drink your blood. I want to open your ribcage and eat your heart….maybe even hold hands.

Logically, he knew he could just confess anyway. He was a vampire now, strong and capable in a way he never was before; but wasn’t that also exactly the problem? He died and came back as more than just Jisung but the awkward shy Jisung he’d been before was still in here. Underneath his brand new muscles and his few extra inches and the enhanced abilities was the kid who loved Jaemin and believed he’d never have a chance–something else the bite changed. But if he went for it–went for Jaemin–how would he know if Jaemin wanted him for him, or because of what he was?

Jaemin doesn’t say anything at all about the 10 hours hard time he did, carrying on as if he wasn’t aware at all, though Jisung knows he is because Renjun had brought it up the second he walked in the door in front of everyone. 

“What were you thinking? What were you even planning to do? And you dragged Chenle into your silly schemes!” Chenle, ever the kiss ass, pouted up at Renjun, then stuck his tongue out the second he turned away. 

So he knew but maybe just didn’t care. Which probably made what he was doing now a bit pointless: why hunt and kill someone to prove your worth if the person you want to impress isn't interested? But the first thing Jisung learned about having the instincts of a creature honed over millennia is that ‘making sense’ was kind of the last item on the agenda. His desire to hunt in general was natural, but the desire to hunt for Jaemin was nearly primal. 

That’s why he was here, up on an abandoned fire escape, sitting still as he could to observe the alley below. It connects two streets, each with bars and shops, where much of the unsavory business in this town goes down. 

More often than not when he hunted here he was able to find some low life stumbling on his way, saying or doing something that told Jisung everything he needed to know about them; but tonight it was quiet except for the usual buzz of background noise that had become permanent since he became a vampire.

So far he’d seen a group of frat bros counting how much cash they had between them and a man making a delivery, wheeling a palette through the alley after parking on the wrong street. It rained earlier and the pavement is still shining, echoing the bright neon lights and shedding a little more light into the dank alley than usual, just enough that he can see clearly when a figure steps into the alley. 

Generally people using this route either walk with purpose or are too drunk to stay upright, but this person seems hesitant. They’re wearing an oversized sweatshirt with the university crest, hood pulled up so it’s impossible to see their face from this angle, and their hands are stuck deep in their pockets. Jisung watches as they look all around then step further and further into the alley, making it about halfway before they stop. 

Maybe they’re looking to buy drugs or are just lost, looking for someplace to regroup, standing there in the middle of the alley bouncing on one foot to the other. He wonders if they think they’re safe here, something he knows will quickly prove untrue–sooner rather than later it turns out–when a man on the far end of the alley walks past, only to stop when he glances over and sees the hooded figure in the distance. 

Jisung knows that whatever that man is, creature or human, he is seeing the hooded figure as easy prey. Sure enough as the man walks toward them, they do nothing to protect themselves. He breathes in to see if he can smell fear or anger coming from their bodies but there’s a dumpster almost directly below him and the rot is too much to get past. He listens closely but the thumping bass of nearby clubs, the grind of traffic, rain falling somewhere else in the city, it’s all too much and whatever conversation is being had below him is lost in the swell. 

What had Johnny told him? ‘ I listen for the ocean’ He needs something to focus on, pushes everything else away. So he closes his eyes, breathing deeply in and out, and listens. The rain on the pavement and the water moving through the pipes in the nearby buildings; the sounds of engines and brakes grinding; people talking, laughing, eating. A cacophony of noise too strong for him to fight against. Johnny told him he listens for the ocean because ‘ … It was my first love’. 

Jisung had never really been fussed much over the ocean, always preferring the stars, the wide expanse of space. But even vampire hearing couldn’t hear the music of the stars from so far away. His first love though… 

The house, where he knows Jaemin is long asleep, is nearly five miles from here but Jisung knows the sound like the back of his hand. Even before he was a vampire he remembers resting his head on Jaemin’s chest and hearing that comforting rhythm. He recalls the countless times he’s heard it since–slow and sleepy, excited and skipping over itself–and as he imagines hearing it the other sounds fade away, becoming the background noise it was meant to be. He inhales deeply, letting that imaginary beat calm him. Ta-dum…ta-dum… ta-dum…. Jisung opens his eyes, allowing the illusion to fall away–except it doesn’t. It’s faster than he’d imagined, like he’s really listening to Jaemin’s heartbeat, but scared–terrified even–beating in a frenzied double time. 

Below him there’s a commotion, the man who’d followed the mysterious hooded figure into the alley is now advancing on him and the hooded figure falls to the ground. 

“What’s the matter sweetheart? You don’t have to be shy with me.”

On the ground the person is scrambling back, using their hands and heels to put any distance they can between themselves and this creep. As they do the hood falls back, revealing a shock of white gold hair. 

It’s Jaemin.

Miscalculations happen to everyone. Sometimes you miscalculate and end up with too few pizzas at the party. Sometimes you miscalculate and instead of tricking your vampire crush into being jealous and confessing to you, you end up on the ground, trying to flee an actually life threatening situation. Shit happens!

At this exact moment, it would appear that Jaemin made the latter miscalculation. He’d come to the alley with a very specific plan for how things would go: linger in the alley, disguised as best as he could so Jisung didn’t notice him wherever he was watching from, then the second he saw a vampire he’d be prepared to flirt, waiting for Jisung to intervene. Simple but impactful. 

Of course this plan hinged on several things, waiting until today, when he knew based on his observations Jisung came to this area to hunt; wearing a hood and a cheap perfume he picked up last minute to disguise his scent; and of course not getting noticed by a regular human with bad intentions. That was where things had started to fall apart. He’d wanted to make Jisung jealous, not actually be in harm’s way. But as he does his best to get away from the balding, smelly jerk, he realizes he doesn’t even know for sure if Jisung is here, or nearby!

The distinct possibility that he is alone and actually in very real danger washes over him and he feels himself go cold. 

Above him the man advances and Jaemin moves further back, hitting the wall abruptly and knocking his head. He winces, but doesn’t waste time, using the wall as leverage to push himself up. Back pressed into the rough, wet brick he’s nearly eye level with the creep who hasn’t stopped moving forward, and in a last ditch effort Jaemin puts his arms up in the defensive position they teach in DEUD. 

He’s no match for a creature, but just some guy? Surely he can fight him off, at least enough that he can make a run for it. 

“You’re awfully pretty, boy.” His voice is like nails on a chalkboard and his creepy smile shows off yellowing teeth.  Jaemin uses all his courage and spits as hard as he can in the guy’s face. 

“Fuck you.”

He wipes his face, taking the smile with it, leaving only rage behind and Jaemin feels his fear wash over him anew.  

“You’re going to regret that you stupid bitch.”

Snap.

It’s a quiet night but even still the noise is jarring, reverberating off the walls around them. Jaemin can’t help but gasp and look around for the source of the noise, before realizing he has to focus–the danger is still present. 

But looking back at the man, he realizes it isn’t. He watches as the light drains from his would-be attacker's eyes and understands suddenly the snap had been his neck breaking. His senses start to catch up and he sees Jisung standing behind the man, hands braced on his chin and the side of his head and keeping him upright against himself. Jaemin’s breath hitches in his throat.

“Jisung…” he says, voice watery because he’s just so grateful he is here; that Jisung saved him.  Because in less time than it had taken for Jaemin to exhale, that’s what he’d done. Killed the man and saved him. 

It isn’t clear if Jisung heard him speak, not responding and unmoving for a moment before he bares his teeth, fangs descending. He adjusts his hold on the body of the man, the tenth body, its head flopping lifelessly to one side, then sinks his teeth into the soft skin of its neck. 

There's a wet squelch as he starts to drink, Jaemin watching in awe as Jisung’s eyes slip closed with the first taste. The blood wells up, overflowing so it spills out of the sides of Jisung’s mouth, what doesn’t make it in smearing on his nose and upper lip, and down his chin before dripping down the long column of his throat. Halfway through Jisung’s eyes open, like maybe he just remembered that Jaemin is there, and they make steady eye contact as Jisung drains the corpse. 

Maybe it’s sick but he has a sudden vision of himself in the corpse's position, held tight in Jisung’s arms as he drinks from him. He inhales a shaky breath, licking his lips while Jisung’s eyes track the movement. Jaemin has never seen him look so… hungry. Feral. It’s all been happening so fast he realizes that he’s still in that same fighting stance and suddenly he relaxes, leaning back into the wall, hands dropping down to his sides, but eyes never leaving Jisungs. Once all the tension drains from him he realizes with a violent clarity he’s hard in his jeans, erection straining the denim as he watches Jisung feed. 

Suddenly he’s finished, drawing reddened fangs out from skin and releasing the body to fall between them on the wet pavement. Jisung stands there with face, hands and collar blood slick and stained, watching Jaemin watching him. There’s a moment of tense silence before it snaps and they’re launching forward to kiss each other. 

Jisung’s kiss is sweet and metallic, the blood in and on his mouth transferring to Jaemin. Maybe it should be gross but it only makes it better, hotter for Jaemin. You’d think he was the vampire, the way he presses his tongue into Jisung’s mouth chasing the taste. 

“You’re hard.” Jisung says, moaning in the back of his throat, almost a growl. Jaemin shivers, or maybe wobbles, and realizes he’s standing on the body so he wraps his arms around Jisung’s shoulders and hops, wrapping his legs around his waist. 

“I couldn’t help it.” He says between frantic kisses. “You killed him. You killed him for me.”

Jisung wraps Jaemin tighter in his arms and rolls his hips forward, hands on Jaemin’s ass to keep him in place. 

“They were all for me, right? All those bodies, just for me?”

Jisung’s eyes snap open, looking up to find Jaemin is already staring down at him, face bloody and slack with pleasure. 

“Yeah hyung, all for you. Only you.”

They stare into each other’s eyes until Jisung uses his grip to push their hips together, making Jaemin whine and close his eyes. 

“I loved them, baby.” he opens his eyes again. “I–I love you.”

Jisung looks shocked for a moment, mouth falling open and in his pitch black eyes Jaemin sees his own hopeful look reflected back at him. Then, tentatively, he says it back. 

“I love you too hyung. I’ve always loved you.”

Jaemin licks his lips and Jisung wonders if the look he’s seeing on his face is what vampires look like to other people right before they pounce, but he doesn’t really have time to ask before he’s being pulled back into another hungry kiss.

( Camera zooms in, shifting slightly to accommodate the downward angle and keep the couple in frame. 

“Sungie, baby, wait.”

“I’ve wanted this for so long…..”

A low moan can be heard from between the couple. 

“I know baby but–wait, wait– Sungie please I want our first time to be in the coffin.”

“Oh my,” a choking sound. “Hyung!”

This time there’s a giggle . “Hey, maybe we can bring the body and make it wa–”

“Shh…”

“What?”

“I hear something.”

On camera the couple can be seen glancing around. The camera pans out slightly. Suddenly the vampire subject whips his head and a pair of glowing eyes flash on screen. There’s a flurry of movement and a scream. Suddenly there's a crash. The camera is on the ground, its lense broken. Feet are seen in the frame approaching. 

“Fuck…wait… does this count as eleven?”)

It had been a joke–the coffin that is.

Jisung spent his first weeks as a vampire in a hospital. After he was attacked someone found him and he was taken to the hospital to be treated for his wounds. When one of the ER nurses noticed the IV needles ejecting themselves from his arms and the wounds all over him starting to close, he’d been tagged as a vampire in transition and moved to the stabilization ward. 

The days passed in a flurry of police interviews, specialist visits, supervised feedings until finally he was permitted visitors. Jaemin was the first one in the room. It had been weird because he’d been able to hear him and smell him approaching but he still felt surprised when he came into the room, putting up a brave face, all smiles and encouragement. They’d only recently moved off campus and a few of their new roommates, Jeno and Renjun, came along with him. When they all three left, he heard Jaemin talking to them in the hall. Freaking out about how scared he was and how he knew Jisung never wanted this–that it changed everything. 

“He probably has to sleep in a coffin now! He’s too tall and beautiful to sleep in a coffin! What if it makes him depressed!”

It made Jisung laugh, really laugh, for the first time since he’d been admitted, and it stuck with him. So when Mark, the only other vampire in their housemates, the only other vampire Jisung really knew personally, came by to visit he made a request. 

“Yeah man, of course. Whatever you need.”

“I need you to help me get a coffin.”

The day he was released Jaemin came to get him and when they got back to the house, he insisted on linking arms with Jisung like he was a little old lady, walking him up to the front door as if Jisung couldn’t be halfway across state lines carrying the car that drove them here on his back if Jaemin didn’t let go. Once they’re inside he turns to Jaemin. 

“I have a surprise for you.”

Jaemin frowned. “You just got out of the hospital, if anything I should have a surprise for you. A surprise party… why didn’t I think of that?”

Jisung rolls his eyes and pulls Jaemin along after him, up the stairs and into his room where the surprise is waiting. It's…

“A coffin.” Jaemin’s eyes widened. “You got a coffin?”

He can’t help but laugh as he nods, drawing Jaemin closer. The truth is it's not just a regular old pine box, it’s actually a bed shaped like the old school coffins in dracula movies, painted and decorated to look like the real thing, but with a comfy mattress inside. 

“Yeah, I heard you the other day, in the hospital and you sounded upset, but I’m gonna be okay, thanks to you and our friends. Even if I do sleep in a coffin.”

Jaemin looked at him, really looked at him, for a long while, teary eyes wide, before he’d made a sad little noise and thrown himself into Jisung’s arms. It was the first time they’d been so close since he became a vampire and Jisung had to count to ten in his head to try and relax.  

“I was so scared.” he says, voice shaking. 

“I know hyung.”

“I’m glad you’re okay Sungie. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

It was a sweet memory, the day he’d shown Jaemin the coffin, so it was kind of surreal to be approaching it now, dirty and covered in blood, getting ready to fuck Jaemin through the mattress…. Literally if he isn’t careful. 

Home and safe now, their kisses slow, wanting to take their time with each other. Jisung hadn’t grown, per se, when he turned, but it was like the magic of becoming a vampire straightened his spine, forcing him into constant good posture and creating a slight height difference between them that Jisung used now to his advantage. Tilting Jaemin’s head back and exploring his mouth with his tongue; relishing the way his heartbeat picked up and he went slack in Jisung’s arms. 

They swayed in place just in front of the coffin, their kiss growing messy and desperate, but before Jisung can pick Jaemin up or guide him back to the bed, Jaemin stops him. 

“Hold on just a sec, I have something.”  He pats his pockets until he finds a piece of gum, and he hotels it up like a trophy. Jisung blinks. “It’s enchanted, from Donghyuck. He said I would know when it was time to use it.”

“What does it do?”

“Uhm, I actually don’t know but he promised it was good, so.”

Jaemin shrugs, unwrapping the gum and popping it in his mouth. He chews and chews and then goes to blow a bubble, except it doesn’t look like a regular bubble though, perfectly pink and iridescent in places. He keeps blowing until suddenly: pop!

The room fills with a cloud of pink sparkling smoke that smells like Jaemin’s skin right after a shower, clean and warm. Jaemin has disappeared and for a second he freaks out thinking that Donghyuck sent his… boyfriend? Into outer space or something, but then he hears the bed creak. 

“Oh my god!” Jaemin says, and oh my god is right–If Jisung could say it he would. 

Jaemin is still here, perched in the coffin. He’s clean of blood and alley dirt, looking as freshly showered as he smells, and wearing lingerie, strappy and pink and frilly against his skin and Jisung has to stop breathing on purpose for a second to clear his mind. When Jaemin realizes what he’s wearing and what's happening he slaps his arms over his exposed body, looking down at the outfit and making his perfectly styled hair fall over his eyes. 

“What the fuck Donghyuck! I am so embarrassed, oh my god.” He looks over at Jisung. “If you help me out, I can just go change really fast and I–”

Jisung uses his speed to appear in front of Jaemin, making him squeak in surprise. 

“Oh, uh, it’s just… I mean I p-probably look silly, don’t I?” He gets up on his knees and runs his own hands over his chest and down to his stomach, and it becomes obvious that he’s wearing matching panties, his cock hard and pressing against the mesh, visible but still hidden. “Do you think I look silly, baby?”

 Like a man possessed he reaches out to run his hands over Jaemin’s exposed skin, over the sheer fabric wrapping him up like a present. “I don’t think you should change. You look beautiful, hyung.”

“Are you sure?” Jaemin asks, his voice pitching low and soft. 

“I’m sure hyung. But if you hate it that bad, maybe I should help you take it off.”

He slips off his shoes and his jacket, Jaemin watching him with wide eyes, and starts to climb onto the bed, crawling forward until his and Jaemin’s knees are pressed together, face to face so he can feel Jaemin’s breath, hot and sweet against his lips. 

“Yeah, you should probably help me.” Jaemin says, bobbing his head in a frenzied nod. “That’s a great idea.”

“Okay I will–I’ll help.” Their lips are so close that when he speaks they brush together. He’s so tempted to kiss Jaemin, to just give to the animal part of him that just wants to devour , but he doesn’t. Instead he runs shaky hands over the fabric covering his chest. He doesn’t have breasts but Jaemin is muscular enough that his pecs fill things out anyways. “You’re so beautiful, hyung.”

Their lips brush again and Jaemin whines, covering Jisung hands with his own and guiding them up to the clasp at the back of his neck. Before he can unhook it Jaemin crawls into his lap, bringing them even closer.

“Help me Jisung, please. Please, want to show you everything.” He’s begging but still neither of them make a move, the move. The tension between them is building and building and Jaemin speaking directly into his mouth is driving him crazy, just like his erection pressed up against Jisung’s own is. 

Jisung uses one arm to wrap around Jaemin’s waist, hiking him up and causing their cocks to shift together, while he uses the other hand to unclasp the babydoll top at the neck. Jaemin moans and licks over Jisung’s lips. “Jisung, please.”

“Yeah? You’ll let me see it all?”

He sees another clasp between Jaemin’s pecs and trails his fingers down to undo it as well. 

“I want you to see all of me.” 

Jisung wants it to, to see every inch of Jaemin. The outfit Donghyuck’s magic had put him in left very little to the imagination but it still left a layer between them, and Jisung was done waiting. 

He pulls at the fabric, breaking the clasp rather than unfastening  it and Jaemin pushes the now ruined garment off before, growing impatient with Jisung’s antics, he tugs at the underwear too. He isn’t quite strong enough to rip them apart, but Jisung is, so he does it with a flick of his wrist and Jaemin moans. 

“Can you do that to me?” he asks, cupping Jisung face and licking over his lips again. “I want you to tear me apart.”

“Anything, I’ll do anything you want Jaemin.”

Jaemin’s eyes are wide and alive with emotion, excitement; like he’s thinking of every single possibility that entails. Spoiled for choice. 

“Fuck me, Jisung. Just like this.”

Jisung is staring up at Jaemin with adoration, a little dazed, but Jaemin doesn’t have to ask him twice. Using speed and strength that Jaemin can only process as a rush of air and sound, he rips his own clothes off, literally tearing his shirt in half and discarding it and then ripping his jeans and underwear enough to expose himself without having to actually remove them or dislodge Jaemin from his spot.  

Suddenly he’s bare against Jaemin, his thick cock, hard and nudging against his belly. He can’t help but wrap his hand around Jisung, just to feel it,  cool to the touch, like all of him, and smooth. 

“And you said I was beautiful baby, but look at you.” Jisung makes that face, his shy blushing face, or at least a version of it. Mixed with pleasure and desire. It’s odd to see it when his face is still covered in blood, naked underneath Jisung, but it still feels right. “You’re perfect.”

Finally, Jisung kisses him. A filthy wet kiss, with no finesse. They’re both just tasting each other, trying to get as close as possible. 

“Fuck me baby. C’mon.” he murmurs between kisses, begging for it, unashamedly. “Fuck hyung.”

Jisung reaches between them, lifting Jaemin up again with one arm and holding  out his hand in front of Jaemin’s mouth. Jaemin, knowing exactly what he wants, feels his heart rate pick up and blushes knowing Jisung can hear it, but he spits obediently into his hand anyways. Jisung works it over his cock up before lining up against Jaemin’s hole. Under other circumstances it would probably mean that Jisung really was about to tear him in half, but whatever magic was in that stupid gum hadn’t just dolled him up it had also… prepared him for everything. He made a mental note to buy Donghyuck a really big birthday present next year. 

The thrill of his own spit  wet against his hole, the blunt head of Jisung’s cock breaching his hole has him practically hyperventilating but he wants it so bad that even if he did pass out he would want Jisung to keep going. 

“That’s it baby, don’t stop. Please.”

Jisung groans as he presses in deeper, keeps going with Jaemin’s muttered praises until he’s buried all the way inside. He can feel it in his throat, that familiar pain shooting up his spine, his dick leaking between them; so good his hole flutters a little and he watches in awe as Jisung’s fangs pop out.

He slaps a hand over his mouth. 

“Oh my…hyung sorry. Give me just a minute. They’ll go back in.”

Go back in? But Jaemin doesn’t want them to go anywhere, unless it's in his neck… or his wrist…or his thigh, maybe? He pushes Jisung’s hand out of the way. 

“Baby, I like them. I don’t want you to hide from me. I want to see all of you too.”

How Jisung hasn’t picked up on Jaemin being down bad for him as both a person and a creature killer of the night, Jaemin has no idea, but clearly he has some convincing to do. So he leans in and presses a single gentle kiss to Jisung’s lips. 

“I love you. Fangs and all.” 

He kisses Jisung again but this time Jisung responds in kind, deepening the kiss. He rolls his hips, not quite bouncing on Jisung’s cock but moving enough that it still feels good, shifting inside him. It must surprise Jisung because his mouth drops open and Jaemin’s bottom lip makes contact with the sharp tip of one of Jisung’s fangs, a drop of blood forming there. Jaemin’s tongue darts out to wipe it away, Jisung’s eyes tracking the movement, darkening with hunger again, like they had in the alley. 

“You wanna taste me, baby?” He rises up on his knees before falling back, then repeats the process, going up a little further and down a little harder the second time, working his hips. “It’s okay if you want to taste hyung.”

“I could hurt you.” he whispers, but he thrusts up to meet Jaemin anyways, taking the lead and bouncing Jaemin on his cock. The force of it knocks breathy noises out of Jaemin and he starts getting lost in the pleasure, brain to mouth filter growing weaker by the second as Jisung starts fucking him in earnest.

“It’s okay baby, hyung wants it…. Wanna be your victim.”

“Oh my–” Jisung chokes, unable to say the word. “Fuck, Jaemin hyung.”

He thrusts harder, grip on Jaemin tightening, tips of his fingernails digging into his skin. 

“Please baby.” he kisses Jisung again, trying to draw him in with any lingering taste of blood from his lips. “Can you taste me? My blood? I bet it would be so good straight from the vein. Don’t you want to try?”

“Yes, hyung, yes. Fuck.”

He licks over Jisung’s chin, lapping up the dried blood of the man Jisung had killed for him, to protect him, before sliding his tongue into Jisung’s mouth. Jisung bares his fangs, hissing, hips canting up, fucking into Jaemin’s hole again and again. Jaemin isn’t sure if that means yes or no or if he’s trying to hold himself back so he does the only thing he can think of to make up his mind. 

“Bite me, baby. C’mon.” he says, then bares his neck to Jisung. “C’mon!”

Unable to stand it any longer, Jisung sinks his teeth into Jaemin’s neck and starts to drink. It doesn’t hurt like he’d expected. The sharp pain of being bitten fades immediately into a kind of heat, almost like a sunburn–so hot it makes you shiver–and he wonders briefly if the skin will glow red afterward in the same way. It makes him feel light, the heat, and as it grows he finds so does his pleasure. Jisung is moaning against his neck, and he’s still thrusting though it's slower, more forceful. It only takes a few moments, of Jisung claiming him like this, of being consumed, before he comes. 

He spills, untouched onto his and Jisung’s stomachs, moaning dazedly. Inside he feels Jisung follow him over the cliff, his come no warmer than the rest of him, but Jaemin doesn’t mind. In fact the shock of cold feels like the only thing grounding him to the earth at this point.

“Jaemin hyung?”

Huh? Oh, Jisung stopped drinking from him. He reaches up to feel the wound in his neck, growing smaller even as he runs his fingers over it clumsily. 

“Why’d you stop Sungie?” he frowns, speech slurred. 

“I think you need a break hyung.”

He shakes his head with a whine but stops when his vision starts spinning. “I’m fine… you don’t have to stop.”

Jaemins isn’t sure if the room is still spinning or if his head is still moving or what, but he puts his forehead to Jisung’s in an attempt to center himself. 

“Just rest hyung, I’ll take care of you okay?”

He hums, eyes slipping closed. “Okay. Love you, baby.”

Jisung’s whispered, “I love you too.” is the last thing he hears as the world fades to black. 

Jaemin sleeps all night and most of the next day and Jisung is worried. Everyone is. Even though Donghyuck saw Jaemin’s speedy recovery in visions and Mark as the most senior vampire told them it wasn’t unusual, Jisung still calls Jaehyun, who calls the local hospital to ask how long they should wait before they start to worry. 

The nurse on call tells them that if he doesn’t wake up in 48 hours they can feel free to bring him in but people who have never experienced consensual vampire bites can take up to 72 hours to wake up and up to a week to fully recover. Apparently the blood clinic where Jisung gets his pouches offers a transfusion service if they ever need it. 

Despite the reassurances Jisung spends every waking second after he cleans them up and moves Jaemin into his room pacing by his bedside, fretting. Even the camera guys seem on edge. 

(“ So none of you have seen Caleb?”

“Which one of you is Caleb again?”

“ Short, blonde? He was supposed to be on a break but he never came back.”

‘You know, I’m so sorry it’s not ringing a bell. But you all told us when this little project started to just… pretend you aren’t here. So,” Donghyuck shrugs. “That's what we do.”)

When Jaemin does finally wake up, Jisung has fully convinced himself that he’ll never want to see Jisung again. What actually happens is Jaemin groans, unearthing himself from the plush bedding and opens one eye, making contact with Jisung. 

“Why aren’t you in bed with me right now? It better be a good reason.”

Jisung makes a sheepish face. “I was kind of scared you’d be mad at me for drinking so much.”

Jaemin opens his other eyes and frowns. 

“Mad that you did exactly what I wanted you to?”

“I mean when you say it like that it does sound…”

“Stupid?”

Jisung hides his face in hands. “Hyung…”

Jaemin pulls the covers back and motions for Jisung to get in the bed with him, so he kicks off his slippers and does as he’s told. Once he’s safe under the comforter, Jaemin pulls him close, even though Jisung knows he must feel cold in comparison to the radiating warmth of Jaemin’s sleepy form. 

“Jisung, I have been trying to show you that all this vampire stuff really does it for me, but since you don’t seem to be picking up my hints, let me tell you: I love you. I love that you’re a vampire. I love that you can and have killed people. The moment I came with your fangs in my neck was the best, most sexy thing that has ever happened, not just to me either–probably ever.””

He laughs and Jisung just watches his face, beautiful and bright. 

“And before you get the wrong idea about that, I wanted to make sure you know that I’ve liked you for a long time. Even if you’d never been turned… well it may have taken us a bit longer to get here, but we would have, in the end.”

“Really?” 

For a moment he doesn’t feel like a big bad vampire, he feels exactly like the baby he used to be. Scared of his own shadow and insecure about his place in the world. But Jaemin runs a hand through his hair, pulls him in for a gentle kiss. 

“Yes, really. Baby, I’ve known we were gonna end up here ever since you cut class to listen to me present and told me you knew I could do it: achieve everything I ever wanted. From then on one of the things I knew I wanted was you.”

If Jisung’s heart was still beating that right there would have stopped it. So it’s a good thing he was already dead otherwise his and Jaemin’s love story would be over before it had even had a chance to begin. 

“I love you, hyung.”

Jaemin bites his lip.

 “I love you too baby. You know your eyes look so pretty in this light.” he stares for a moment longer then seems to have a horrible realization. “Oh my god the light! The sunlight, Jisung!”

He yells and pushes Jisung under the covers, pulling them up to create a protective darkness. Jisung just laughs and sticks his hand out from under the blankets. Showing off his new daylight ring. 

“Holy shit!” Jaemin says, taking Jisung’s hand and turning it all around like he’s examining it. Jisung scoots up a little, poking the top of his head out. “Donghyuck finished it while you were sleeping.”

“So you can walk in the daylight. You’re safe.”

He nods and Jaemin bites his lip stifling a laugh. “Sorry for freaking out and shoving you under there. I just didn’t even think.”

“That’s okay, I’m used to the dark by now anyways. But you know, maybe while I’m down here… I can show you how happy I am that you're okay?”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, your blood isn’t the only thing I want a taste of hyung.” He says, then winks and disappears back under the blanket, flipping Jaemin over as he goes. 

“Oh… Oh my god. Oh my god! Jisung!”

(Chenle leads down the hallway.

“Donghyuck’s vision’s are scary accurate, he said Jaemin would wake up right about now, so I’m sure we’re good to go. I feel like you’re going to want to get the big moment on camera.”

He reaches Jaemin’s door and puts his hand on the doorknob.

“ Shouldn’t we knock first?”

“No way! It’ll be more authentic this way.” Inside there’s a muffled cry of ‘Jisung!’. “See! He’s already awake, we're missing it!”

He opens the door swinging it wide and barging inside. “Well hey Jaemin, you’re– OH HOLY FUCKING SPIRITS!! ABORT!! ABORT MISSION!!”

Camera shows a flurry of movement as they flee the room. 

“My eyes! Oh, my eyes!”)