Chapter Text
Screams filled the surrounding while she silently stood in the middle of the room, the hem of her skirts fluttering around her legs. She took a deep breath and stepped back. Nobody noticed her actions. Someone bumped into her, screams turning into panic. Other children started running around, going as far as to move towards the front door. Her heart went into overdrive, eyes going all over the room, not quite focusing on anything.
The man with deep brown eyes stared at her, his thick eyebrows slowly inching towards the bridge of his nose. She stumbled back, ignoring the pushes from other children. Her hands banged hard on the door, making them hurt from the hit. The halls kept fusing onto one, her footsteps echoing over the walls, her breath getting more and more sporadic.
It calmed down instantly at the side of the cell. Rusty bars squeaked when she opened them. She crouched to enter it, instantly laying down with the only hope that her quick thinking would be rewarded. Her arms went to the hem of her skirt, clenching the fabric in her fists. She breathed in and out, and closed her eyes.
Marinette opened her eyes, rapidly blinking to adjust to the darkness of her room. Her heart sped up, allowing her to hear the heartbeat in her ears. She turned her head to look at the clock on the nightstand. Red numbers settled her down, the dream slowly moving away from the consciousness. If only it was so easy to remove it from her memory. She closed her eyes back and settled back to sleep, trying to grasp the remnants of it.
To no avail, the attempts were futile, and, with a groan, Marinette got out of bed. Her bare feet touched the floor, the cold tiles grounding her back to reality. She went to the window, slowly moving the curtains. The sun was already setting down; the sky was painted into orange and rose hues. She couldn’t see much, just the fence of the mansion and the trees in the distance.
“Will you close it already?” Marinette flinched, turning from the window, the curtains falling away from her fingers.
“Shit, Chloé, could you be less stealthy? I don’t have your super hearing.” Chloé smiled, showing her teeth, and stuttered forward, flopping onto the couch. Marinette sighed. “What do you want?”
“What? Can’t I see you?”
“It’s Alya’s time today,” Chloé darted her lower lip out and fluttered her eyelashes. Marinette snorted. “What do you want? Blood? Didn’t you, like, feed a week ago?”
Chloé shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, can we watch Project Runway together?”
Marinette felt anxiety building up in her stomach, spreading all over her body. She shivered at the cold air in the room, scratching her calf with her foot. Chloé’s eyebrows lifted expectantly, still waiting for an answer. Marinette turned away, dashing to the closet. She rummaged through the clothes, taking out a pair of leggings and a sweater. Tugging at the sleeves to hide her knuckles, she turned back.
“Okay,” she coughed, going to the couch.
Chloé opened her mouth and closed it after a while. She pursed her lips, turning on the TV. Marinette let out a sigh of relief. She put her sweater over her knees, successfully creating a cocoon. Chloé quickly went over the channels, finding the show. She didn’t say anything but still moved closer to Marinette, bumping their shoulders together.
Marinette kept her unfocused gaze on the screen, feeling her anxiety slowly settling down. “Dreamed about the time before you took me away.”
Chloé sighed, “Is that what you’re talking about with Alya all the time?” Marinette weakly smiled. “You know I’m bad with this stuff.”
They watched people running around trying to gather the fabrics on the show for another minute or two. Chloé’s hand then went to Marinette’s shoulder, giving her a pat, “There, there.” Marinette laughed, biting her lower lip. “I’ll talk to Nino and Alya to keep our fangs from you this week.”
Marinette’s eyes grew wide; she turned to Chloé, who deliberately kept watching the screen. She still gave Chloé a thankful smile, being sure that she would notice it.
Alya was sitting in Marinette’s room, holding the controller in her hand. Her bot, on the TV screen, struggled to throw punches with no system, always turning back and front. Marinette laughed, pushing buttons, her tongue peaking out of her mouth. Alya’s bot failed to protect itself and staggered back. The screen flashed with the congratulatory text, and Marinette whooped bouncing on the couch.
She turned to Alya, who made an exasperated pout. Marinette smiled so wide that her eyes closed, “I don’t understand how you still struggle with the game. Aren’t you supposed to have quick reflexes?”
Alya shook the controller at Marinette, “Girl, all these buttons are too complicated for me. Can we play the other one? Where I can kill off people by driving the car.”
“Don’t you have enough murders in your life?” Anyway, Marinette still turned on GTA.
She leaned on the back of the couch and looked at the way Alya tried and failed to successfully drive the car. It bumped into the trees, buildings, and occasionally some unsuspecting NPC characters.
“If you’re gonna murder people, I will sketch for a bit; Chloé keeps demanding a new skirt,” Marinette huffed and stood up, lifting her hands up and stretching out.
She went over to the table and sat down, opening the sketchbook and going back to the design she must’ve drawn a thousand times with Chloé always finding something wrong with it.
“Maybe you could just buy designer ones. It’s not like you don’t have enough money,” Marinette whined the last time Chloé shredded the paper.
“Bitch, how are you going to learn if not for me?” Chloé flipped her hair over her shoulder, making a dismissive gesture with her hand.
Marinette sighed at the memory and stared at the blank page. There was a sound of crushing from the TV and Alya occasionally sniggered at the actions she did with her car. Marinette brought a pencil to the page and made a tentative stroke.
“What did you do with Chloé the other day?”
Marinette outlined the skirt and slightly turned back to Alya, “Are you asking just to be polite or what?”
Alya’s car crashed into the woman walking on the sidewalk. She wiggled on the couch, at the side of blood splattering all over the sidewalk and disappearing almost instantly. “Well, no. But she did ask not to bite you for some time?” Alya looked at Marinette over her shoulder, “Is it the nightmares again?”
Marinette ruefully smiled, “How can it be nightmares if I actually lived it?”
“But you’re not there anymore. We won’t hurt you.”
Alya’s eyes were full of genuine concern; Marinette had to avert her gaze. She blinked away the mistiness in her eyes and focused back on the drawing. “I know that. I haven’t been afraid of you since I was thirteen.”
She heard the sound of the game starting again and went back to designing. Her hand moved effortlessly over the page until she stopped hovering the pencil over the sketch. Marinette put it down on the table and spun on her chair, setting her eyes on the back of Alya’s head.
“Isn’t it strange, though, that I live like that? With my own room and stuff.” Marinette’s eyes darted over her room, going over the best sewing machine, the several consoles, the TV screen, the enormous closet with the clothes every other girl would beg from her parents.
Alya paused the game once more, turning to Marinette with a fond smile on her face, “It is. But you have the ability to make people love you. Even Chloé likes you.” They both giggled.
When her phone pinged with a chat notification, the TV’s screen was muted and Alya sprawled across the couch, sleeping. Marinette didn’t notice the lessening of the noise. She looked at the time and didn’t bother to check the notification.
Marinette’s home life was filled with living with three vampires in exchange for her blood. She wasn’t allowed to leave the mansion, which was ridiculously huge for only four people. And the only people or, better said, vampires that ever texted her were Nino, Alya, and Chloé.
Marinette stood up after finishing the last changes. The sketch looked better than the last one, but she still regarded it with pursed lips, trying to imagine what Chloé could find unsatisfactory. And then she went to Alya, making as much noise as possible.
She once made the mistake of scaring Chloé while waking her up; it didn't end well for Marinette. So she usually stayed away from sleeping vampires as much as possible. Nobody could say that Marinette didn’t learn from her mistakes.
Alya opened her eyes, instantly looking at Marinette. It creeped her out, the way they always knew where Marinette was standing in the room.
“The dinner is ready,” she muttered and Alya excitedly stood up. “Please, tell me Nino has grown out of his healthy stage. I think my blood will turn green soon.”
Alya laughed, putting a hand on Marinette’s shoulder in a side-hug, “If he is not, then we can burn down every ingredient and stage an intervention.”
They went down by the back stairwell and entered the dining hall through the kitchen. Alya and Marinette squealed at the sight of meat on the table. Nino, who already sat at the head of the table, looked at them with an exasperated expression.
“Maybe I should make you cook if you don’t like what I make,” he grumbled.
Alya giggled and went to him, hugging Nino from behind and cooed, nuzzling his neck with her face. Marinette turned from the sight of affection and sat at the table. It wasn’t long before Chloé strode through the hall and sat on the opposite side of her.
She happily hummed at the food. It was unusual to see Chloé without the scowl on her face. Marinette liked to think she got along with everyone at the mansion. She was alive after eight years in close quarters with vampires, after all. But Chloé always was not necessarily mean but almost condescending.
It was strange seeing her this happy and carefree, like she finally dropped all her pretences. And apparently, Marinette wasn’t the only one thinking like that. Nino didn’t attempt to put food on the table and looked at Chloé, expecting her to share the news. Alya wasn’t the patient one.
“Okay girl, it's enough. Spill. What are you buzzing about?”
Chloé took out the card from her lap and shook it. It looked like a postcard with some tourist attractions. Marinette questionably looked at Nino and Alya. Nino smiled, showing his teeth, his eyes were basically glowing with excitement. Alya, on the other hand, barely scowled, focusing her eyes on the card. Apparently, Marinette was the only one who didn’t get the memo.
“From Adrien?” His voice was hopeful.
Chloé happily nodded and brought the card out to read, “He happily informs us that he will return in two weeks.”
“Adrien?” Everyone ignored Marinette.
Alya made an exasperated face, “Yeah, twenty years ago he also said he would be back. I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”
Chloé scowled and Nino put a hand on Alya’s. Alya pursed her lips and continued, “It would be a disaster if he came back. He was awful enough when he was here and nobody knows what kind of company he kept all these years.”
Chloé abruptly stood up and bared her fangs in a hiss, “You never liked him with your righteousness,” she turned to Nino, who looked conflicted. “C’mon, Ni. It would be fun having him back, right?”
Marinette swallowed, suddenly feeling anxious. The fights between vampires never ended well for humans. She started standing up, “Sit, Marinette.” Nino’s voice was firm, and she sat back down.
“I just don’t want you both to mope around when he never comes,” Alya eventually said, wincing.
“He will come this time,” Chloé said with finality in her voice. “I feel it.”
She didn’t sit down, though, turning from the table and storming out of the room. Marinette swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at the empty plate, not really feeling hungry anymore. She then turned her gaze toward Alya, who just purposefully darted her eyes to the food at the table. The message was clear.
Marinette was watering the plants in the living room. They looked almost dead from the lack of sunlight, but she stubbornly declined any suggestion on either removing them or buying the artificial lights to keep them alive. She didn’t want to be the only living thing in the mansion. But she also was stubborn enough to want to keep them afloat by her own means.
The front door opened with a loud bang, and Marinette flinched, dropping the watering can on the floor, water spilling out on the floor. She blinked at the puddle and then looked at the man in the doorway. Her heart jumped straight to her throat.
Glowing green eyes stared back at her with a smirk. So, it was Adrien. Marinette’s mind went back to the conversation that took place roughly a week ago. With the whole Chloé fiasco, Marinette completely forgot to feed her curiosity.
She held her breath, not daring to make a move. It was human safety 101; if met with an unknown vampire, better take their lead and not act out. Marinette was never fooled by the kindness that others showed her. Years of experience had buried deep down all the right feelings every other human should have towards vampires. Fear and apprehension. Alya’s words weren’t that helpful either.
She didn’t know Adrien, and he didn't know her as well, judging by the intrigued look he gave her. Marinette blinked and when she opened her eyes, he was already in front of her. Her breath got caught in her throat, her eyes opening wider at the closeness of him.
“Oh, what a beautiful little toy they have here. I never expected that actually,” his voice was soft, dripping like the sweetest honey. He smiled, showing his teeth and tilted his head, “Are you even allowed to talk, doll?”
Marinette slowly breathed out, when he started walking around her, “Y-yes.”
He let out a chuckle, stopping right behind her. His hands gently took her hair, moving them on her shoulder. Marinette kept looking forward to what his next move would be. She heard Adrien taking a deep breath, seemingly burying his nose in her neck and smelling her hair. He leaned in closer, brushing his nose along her sensitive skin. She felt herself blush at the way his lips lightly ghosted over her flesh.
“Divine.”
Marinette closed her eyes, her heart beating fast, almost bursting out of her chest. His hand pushed her hair to the other shoulder and caressed her neck. She felt a sting as his nail pierced her skin. Blood trickled down, seeping into her sweater. Adrien darted his tongue out, gingerly lapping at the blood dripping out from the wound. Heat crawled all over her body at the sensation, goosebumps breaking all along her arms, deep down her spine. Marinette felt disgusted with herself.
“Ah,” he chuckled, “I’m sorry, love. But —”
He never finished. There was a crushing sound behind her. Marinette tentatively turned around, not understanding what she actually was allowed to do. Chloé slammed Adrien into the wall, shattering all the plants on the way. Her hand grabbed his neck, and she hit his head on the wall several times.
Adrien let out a hiss and grabbed her wrist, turning it around and throwing her to the other side of the room. The next second, Nino got a hold of Chloé, keeping her steady and unable to move. Adrien dusted himself off to remove the dirt from his clothes. He still got stains from the dirt all over his elbows.
Alya went to Marinette, while Adrien stalked towards Nino and Chloé, who kept hissing at Adrien. Alya nudged Marinette’s arm, “C’mon, I’ll take you to your room.” Marinette swallowed, her hand going to the collar of her sweater, lightly touching the damp spot of blood there.
Alya took Marinette bridal style and went to her room. Marinette hadn’t been travelling over the mansion like that since she was fourteen. It gave her whiplash of the time when everything was a bit less stable.
Alya looked sickened. Marinette blinked several times, still trying to understand what happened. Alya frowned, “That's what I was afraid of.” She sat Marinette on the bed and lifted her head up, examining her neck. “Does it hurt a lot?”
Marinette still blinked at her, not having the strength to talk. She was afraid to even open her mouth, so she kept it closed, so as not to cry, and just shook her head. Alya darted to the bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth, gently removing the blood on her neck.
Alya nodded. “He closed the wound, so there’s at least that.”
It seemed surreal. Marinette was shaken from the encounter. And Alya was adamant for Adrien to return. But now she was as calm as ever, like the fact that the first thing Adrien did was feed on her, without more than a question, was a normal thing. Not something to be upset about.
Marinette still sometimes forgot who she was living with.
Alya sat down beside her, and silence spread over the room. When Marinette’s heartbeat slowed down and she wasn’t on the verge of tears anymore, she eventually took a deep breath. She turned to Alya, who was already looking at her.
“C’mon, girl, hit me with your best questions.”
Marinette was thankful that Alya gave her time to gather the sense of herself, “Why did Chloé attack him? I’m pretty sure she doesn’t care that much that he bit me.”
Alya flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling, “That was Chloé actually expressing her happiness at his return.”
“So, is he a part of your clan?” Marinette fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “You never mentioned him before.”
“Our clan. He went travelling right after we moved here. Nobody thought he would be back before—” she trailed off. But the message was clear for Marinette. Her life was comparably small to the vampire’s many lifetimes. So nobody really expected them to meet. She could live with that.
“Why did he attack me?” It was the last question that danced in her head.
She didn’t have a rose-tinted image of vampires in her mind. Especially with all her stories involving them. But nobody in the mansion harmed her intentionally. And she couldn’t figure out why Adrien was so different from the rest of them.
Alya didn’t answer. She sat back and patted her shoulder, “That’s a conversation for another time. I can’t have you hate all of us.” Alya stood up. “Don’t worry, Nino will talk to him.” She looked at Marinette, focusing on the sweater with dried blood patches. “You should take a shower and change.”
Then Alya was gone. Marinette stood up, feeling lost. Her heartbeat returned to normal. She could live with a new vampire. Nobody would let him hurt her. And, after all, even Chloé grew to like her, which means that Adrien may still change his opinion.
Marinette left the bathroom with a towel around her body and hair. Her mood perked up after the hot shower. She gently closed the bathroom door and turned around. Adrien stood in the middle of her room with his back turned to her, looking over the things cluttering her room. He changed his shirt, but blonde strands still stuck out in all directions after the fight.
He slightly turned to her with a smirk on his lips. Marinette stumbled back, hitting the door with her back. Her arms clutched the towel over her chest tighter. She frowned, “That’s my room.”
He chuckled, and the sound made goosebumps crawl over her neck. Adrien fully turned to her and stepped closer. Marinette plastered herself to the door, fear crawling over her spine. His eyes darted all over her body, slightly humming. He looked pleased, seeing her so scared.
“It was supposed to be my room. But apparently, the pet is more important for them now than the members of the clan.” Marinette scowled. He came even closer, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. Marinette had to look up to keep eye contact. Adrien cooed, “Are you feeling insulted, doll?”
Marinette pursed her lips and stubbornly kept her mouth closed. She was angry and afraid of what could come out of her mouth. Adrien stood there for several minutes studying her, then tilted his head to the side, as if was trying to listen to something.
“Alya is threatening me, so I’m going to keep our meeting short,” he took her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles, bowing. His eyes sparkled dangerously. “I'm not finished with you, though.”
When the door closed after him, Marinette finally breathed out, her shoulders slumping.