Work Text:
“Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease occurs when immunocompetent allogeneic lymphocytes in transfused blood engraft in the recipient, proliferate, and mount an attack against the host tissues.”
Yuuichirou Amane yawned, his pen following along with the chicken scratch on one of the six blackboards. Without any understanding, he might add. It wasn’t long before he deviated to the outermost corners of his notebook, doodling the pictures of galaxies and nebulae mounted on the upper walls. By day, room 107 of the Kadokawa building was a classroom dedicated to astronomy.
By evening, it was his personal hematology hell.
As he drew yet another overlapping squiggle to represent the ionized gases of the Milky Way, he wondered what devil possessed him to take a Wednesday seminar from 5:00-7:30—and after a long day of classes, no less. He had convinced Yoichi and Shinoa to accompany him as well, even though none of them majored in the life sciences, due to an utter refusal to endure this torment alone.
This suffering contributed nothing to their education, was the embodiment of a waste of credits, but he had no right to pity himself.
Nor would his friends ever listen when he complained.
For they knew exactly what ‘devil’ had overcome him.
There was but one motivation for him enlisting in this mess of non-hemolytic transfusions and cytokines, and it had everything to do with the person sitting far across the room, down the aisles of elongated tables, and in the outermost seat:
Mikaela Hyakuya.
During his first and second year, he’d been with Mikaela in a couple of general education courses. To meet that cherubic being for the first time was an experience unforgettable. Uncanny, how he resembled a sunlit day, fair and golden, his locks feathery like an angel’s wings. That smile of his, a shade provocative, distracted Yuuichirou from the question of whether he was in the right classroom. From the bridge of his adorable nose to his oceanic eyes, luminous and warm, if not a bit withdrawn, not a single feature on Mikaela’s ethereal face failed to arrest Yuuichirou in entirety.
The moment he saw him, he knew he needed to see more of him.
He almost felt stupid, allowing someone to burrow into his heart so relentlessly when it appeared he had the same effect on many other people.
A cursory glance about the room revealed several of his classmates laid their eyes on him, whispered about him before and after the seminar. And they were far from timid when it came to expressing their interest. One classmate of his, Fumie Morinaga, had brought him cookies as a supplementary offering to her notes, even though Mikaela hadn’t been absent a day since the term began. Another, Taichi Kobori, offered to carry his books all the way from the Kadokawa science building to the residential college near the tennis courts, only to spend some time with him.
He’d grown just as weak for him as they did, but it couldn’t be helped.
His appearance alone tormented Yuuichirou enough, but Mikaela also had to be one of the kindest, most pleasant people he’d ever met.
From spending hours in the libraries tutoring his classmates, to gracing them with his culinary skills long after the dining halls closed, to raising their spirits when he shared his heartwarming insights on the importance of found family…
Granted, Yuuichirou hadn’t been present for some of these events.
But considering the warmth that emanated from his entire being, how could any testimony deviate from the truth?
When he heard from one of Mikaela’s devoted followers that he would be joining Professor Saito’s seminar, an instructor known for grueling amounts of reading assignments and unfair exams to match, he opened his laptop the moment open enrollment began and spent weeks on the waiting list. He emailed the most groveling, ass-kissing pleads he could to the instructor, justifying three literature majors’ intentions with such a hyper-specific, not to mention advanced, biology course.
He had jumped out of his seat for joy, cheering in the middle of the library, when he discovered he’d been accepted.
And so, to admire Mikaela was the whole point of sitting through a lesson he barely followed, getting grades that ranged from mediocre to horrific, and spending all-nighters in Shinoa’s dorm.
It would take hours to break down a single paragraph from a textbook Professor Saito wrote himself.
They may have reached the final section of this evening’s lecture, but Yuuichirou didn’t know how much tolerance he had left in him.
This evening, he’d need to stare at his consolation especially longer.
He loved the way Mikaela was considerate enough to give the professor a nod of approval whenever he looked in his direction, to flash him a polite smile with the power to encourage soldiers in the middle of a war to keep going. When a particular section interested him, he’d bat those lengthy, charming lashes of his, or he’d tilt his head to the side in a manner Yuuichirou found especially precious. His pen would linger in the same place on his notebook until he wrote a single sentence, comprising all he needed to recall and the entire discussion.
An elongated sigh parted Yuuichirou’s lips.
He would prolong this dose of Mikaela just a bit further, then he promised both himself and his professor he would return to—
“Should evolving pathogen reduction technologies that disrupt nucleic acid be applied to most cellular blood components in the future, TA-GVHD may become little more than a historical footnote.”
“Huh!?”
In the minute—Yuuichirou sworn it hadn’t been a second longer—he stopped to indulge in his crush, he had filled three of the six blackboards to their edges.
When had he mentioned anything about immunosuppressive therapies in the upper corner? He must’ve been digressing whenever he wrote the phrase ‘molecular diagnosis’ because not once did Yuuichirou see that in their reading.
The first paragraph of it, anyway.
“Next week, we’ll discuss a more specific, severe transfusion reaction pertaining to acute lung injury. And don’t worry if you haven’t gotten your grades back on your papers. I only have a few more to read.”
If Yuuichirou didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed Professor Saito directed that last statement at him. To save face, he attempted the same validating smile Mikaela would always give their teacher, but he lacked the same sincerity.
“Have a good night.”
“Wait… H-Hold on—”
His raised hand was all for naught, for his more involved classmates had already begun making their way to the front to discuss their questions. The usual few, an international student named Chess Belle, along with her friends, held a monopoly on meeting him at the podium while everyone else gathered their belongings and left.
Of course, Professor Saito would humor them, but he only had so much time at the end of his class, and he was already collecting his coffee mug and briefcase bag.
Neglect was inevitable.
Yuuichirou scrambled to copy whatever he could from the boards, starting from the upper right corner and working his way through. But try as he might, he failed to connect the dots between the varying subject matter.
It may have helped if he did the reading on Tuesday, but his evening was much too occupied by trying a new dinner recipe with Yoichi.
And then they had to eat it.
And then take a nap.
By the time they awakened, Yoichi went back home to study, but the entire night was shot for him, so he might as well have retired to bed.
The pen poking his back could belong to no other than the young woman who regularly sat behind him in hematology: his friend, Shinoa Hiiragi.
A glance over his shoulder revealed the wide, self-satisfied grin on her face. And having followed her gaze, Yuuichirou slammed his hands over his pathetic notes at once.
“Spaced out again, huh?”
“N-No way! I always pay attention!”
“Not to the professor!”
“Approaching them from the higher-tiered seats was Yoichi Saotome, who rubbed the drowsiness out of his eyes with one hand and dragged his bookbag across the steps with the other.
“Yuu-kun, can I borrow your notes? I dozed off again!”
Yoichi, forever desperate to keep his grades up even in the face of such a daunting class, spent many Tuesday nights doped up on caffeine to prepare. Unfortunately, Professor Saito’s voice surpassed any white noise machine money could buy, and he would lull any sleep-deprived student.
Shinoa giggled. “My, my, Yoichi-san. You’re no good when the sun has fallen, are you?”
“Ahaha…”
She fingered through her accordion folder and fished out her notes from the reading, sliding them in front of her drowsy friend.
“Here, have mine. Yuu-san’s aren’t worth anything, either. He’s too in love—”
“Am not!”
Caring little for contradicting himself, Yuuichirou checked whether Mikaela had gotten up to leave yet, so he stole a glance across the room.
He hadn’t.
Even from afar, Mikaela’s expression, peculiar and mellowing, captivated Yuuichirou’s gaze. In truth, Mikaela did nothing to justify such intense scrutiny from him, not for something as menial as adding a couple of keywords at the bottom of his lecture notes. But he couldn’t help it. At some point, one of Professor Saito’s many bullet points must’ve confused him, called for further deliberation, for Mikaela furrowed his brow and bit the end cap of his pen, as was his habit when—
“See!? You’re staring again!”
“Wha…?”
Had he lost track of time so swiftly?
He’d only meant to look for a moment.
The subtle flush across his face deepened the curve of Shinoa’s smirk.
“I mean, if you want him over so badly, I can get him for you.”
Yuuichirou regarded her through narrowed eyes.
“What’re you talking about—”
Mortified, her cry of “Hyakuya-san!” forced even more blood into Yuuichirou’s cheeks.
“Shinoa, no! I—”
Without a place to hide, he slumped in his seat when Shinoa followed up with, “Would you please assist us with these notes? My poor, poor friend doesn’t have a clue what’s going on! Think you can help him!?”
It nearly angered him, the sway Mikaela had over his heart rate when their eyes met. With each step he took, closing in on Yuuichirou, the warmth in his face rose alongside them. He needed to calm himself, swallow the knot trying so hard to clog up his throat.
But then Mikaela attacked him with yet another weapon in his arsenal.
“Yes?”
His voice.
That verbal caress rang in his ears long after he spoke.
So enamored was he that he didn’t even notice Shinoa stealing his pathetic excuse for lecture notes.
“See how bad this is?”
As Mikaela scanned his notebook, the plethora of excuses Yuuichirou usually had at the ready whenever someone read his work lay flat on the roof of his mouth.
“You’re missing quite a bit,” Mikaela chuckled.
Yuuichirou remembered the first time he ever heard him laugh, melodic and silvery. Even now, it was a spell transfixing, keeping him still as though he were the lost descendant of sirens.
“I… um…”
To speak shouldn’t have been this difficult. Being nervous around other people was never in his nature, so why did Mikaela reduce him to such a bashful child with their every interaction?
He made another attempt.
“I—”
“H-Hyakuya-san! I don’t get what leukoagu-martinis are!”
In the time it took Yuuichirou to gather his thoughts, Yoichi, his face equally crimson, blurted out his own opportunity to speak to Mikaela.
Shinoa flashed Yuuichirou a self-satisfied grin, mouthing the words ‘better make your move,’ while a tragedy transpired before him.
The tragedy of losing his crush’s attention.
Mikaela giggled at Yoichi’s verbal mishap. “Leukoagglutinins.”
When he leaned over the table, a scent subtle and pleasant wafted past Yuuichirou’s nose.
“May I?” he asked, offering his hand to Yoichi.
“Y-Yes!”
Yoichi searched all over his person for a pen until he settled for Yuuichirou’s, which stuck out from beneath his notebook.
Not that he minded.
In that moment, he would’ve given Mikaela anything.
Anything at all.
“It’s an antibody that sticks together with white blood cells to form a mass. Doctors found them in the serum of patients who developed fevers after transfusions.”
In one of the many blank spaces of Yuuichirou’s notes, Mikaela squeezed in his definition. His handwriting was prim and fancy, akin to the default font Shinoa always used on her favorite word processor.
More importantly, his skin appeared eerily smooth and soft up close.
Lost in his observations, Yuuichirou nearly jolted when Mikaela turned to him and whispered, “They taste terrible, too.”
He hadn’t a clue what he meant by that, but did it matter?
Mikaela had shared a joke with him.
“Haha…”
For a moment, Mikaela’s pupils narrowed to a slit.
Perhaps he only imagined it.
Slinging his bag onto the table, Mikaela handed Yuuichirou his notes from their reading assignment, equipped with color-coded highlights, an impressive use of the Cornell method, and sidebar definitions for everything Professor Saito wrote on the third board.
“Here. You can keep these.”
Yuuichirou lifted one page out of seven.
“Chemophoto…” he read, running his finger along the margins. “Blood mononuclear—”
He froze, for Mikaela’s palm, as supple as he expected, now rested on his forehead.
“Are you all right?” he asked gently, drawing nearer to Yuuichirou. “Your face seems warm…”
“I’m fine!” Yuuichirou exclaimed when Mikaela’s touch no longer made his brain short-circuit.
“Thank you for everything!”
A bit much, but he appreciated him for more than a potential rise in his grades.
Another devastating blow to Yuuichirou’s heart came in the form of Mikaela’s “Glad to hear it~”
Combined with an exquisite grin.
How embarrassing, the extent of his infatuation.
When Mikaela removed his hand from his forehead, a strange tingle persisted on Yuuichirou’s skin. The lingering sensation was enough to dizzy him, that was, until Shinoa almost squeezed the life out of him in a side embrace.
“If only there was a way Yuu-san could repay you for your kindness! Oh! I know!”
“Shinoa!” Yuuichirou cried, fighting out of her grasp.
Part of him had a bit of gratitude for her, however. It seemed her touch had the power to pull him out of his trance. With her, or anyone else other than Mikaela, he found his voice once more.
“His birthday is Sunday, and the three of us are going out to celebrate! Would you like to join in!?”
Mikaela inspected Yuuichirou without a word, a fondness lurking in his lowered eyes.
“Is that so?”
If Yuuichirou glanced down, he could escape the tongue-tying effect merely staring at Mikaela had on him.
“T-There’s this place called Lemongrass. Has really great curry…”
A lull, brief but heavy as lead, passed for only a moment, during which he made the mistake of returning Mikaela’s gaze.
And there it went once more, the mild heart palpitations, the startling euphoria of beholding his subtle, ironical smirk.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Happy studying, Yuu-chan.”
With that, he departed from their table.
A nickname.
Mikaela gave him a term of endearment.
Since when did he remember his name at all?
On second thought, of course he did. They’d been in more than enough classes together, exchanged a sufficient amount of words. But he was certain the name ‘Yuuichirou’ didn’t echo in his head the way ‘Mikaela’ echoed in his.
The moment he left, a slight rosiness graced even Shinoa’s cheeks, and she released a deep breath as though she’d been holding one for a while.
“Phew! That was… really something!”
Yoichi nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s so… stunning.”
Yuuichirou swallowed, surprised to find his throat free of knots as he placed Mikaela’s notes into his bag with care.
Having sobered up from the experience that was Mikaela Hyakuya, all three returned to their usual selves.
“In any case, you’re welcome!” Shinoa said, after which she let out a playful gasp. “Uh-oh, Yuu-san! There he is again!”
“Where!?”
He knew exactly what ‘he’ she was referring to. In the back of the classroom, leaning against the door frame, stood the same person who always waited for Mikaela at the end of class. Smugness and self-importance comprised his entire demeanor, and both qualities shone through his lackadaisical smile. But the moment Mikaela approached him, his cadence mellowed out at once, as if his attitude became crushed under the weight of Mikaela’s presence.
With him, he appeared more subservient. He may have risen above everyone else in status, but Mikaela lived as his only exception to the rule.
“Isn’t that Lacus Welt?” Yoichi asked.
He would ask again next Wednesday, so often did he neglect to put a name to his face.
Perhaps because he didn’t like him much, he had never gone out of his way to remember it.
“Ye~es,” Shinoa affirmed, “and he’s escorting him out!”
Despite his inability to take his eyes off of them, Yuuichirou said, “Who cares? Hyakuya has tons of friends.”
They traversed up the aisle, following Mikaela yet keeping an adequate distance—to avoid the bluntness of their activity.
Yuuichirou added, a tad sullen, “He’s popular.”
He’d seen Mikaela followed by many, adored by many. Chihiro Uyama had been by his side just the other day, exploring the botanical gardens and greenhouses. Kouta Shimizu left the aquatic and fitness center with him late into the night.
That didn’t have to mean he had been in a relationship with either of them.
Still, if he were honest with himself—
“Don’t play dumb!” Shinoa chided, pulling the conclusion of his thoughts out of his mind and into the forefront of their conversation.
“This guy feels different! Yoichi-san, did you get a similar vibe?”
A tinge of disappointment colored Yoichi’s words.
“He doesn’t feel like another follower… there’s more to him than that.”
It appeared to be two-against-one in Yuuichirou’s game of denial.
He didn’t mean to be trailing after the object of his affection for this long, but only a single path existed out of Kadokawa. At this point, Shinoa and Yoichi probably fell into the same trappings as him, spiraling into astute observation.
Nevertheless, he could’ve spent his entire life without witnessing Lacus drape an arm over Mikaela’s shoulder, upon which he leaned into his touch.
“See!?” said Shinoa, wagging her finger at the alleged ‘couple.’ “People come and go with Hyakuya-san all the time, I’ll give you that! But this one has lasted how long!?”
Since October 4th, a day after the A1 term began.
Not that Yuuichirou had been counting.
“K-Keep your voice down! He’ll hear you!”
Holding her chin and ignoring Yoichi’s admonition, she mused, “Nope, it’s not looking good… people are starting to talk, too.”
“Like who!?” Yuuichirou asked, failing to be cognizant of his own volume.
“Like Akane Iida.”
Shit.
She wasn’t just any gossip in the coalition of Mikaela’s admirers. Having majored in biology herself, she’d taken almost all his other classes and spoiled herself with way more Mikaela than anyone else.
If a student needed a Hyakuya informant, she stood as the best woman to approach.
Equally aware of her status, Yoichi clutched his bag to his chest and said, “Y-You don’t mean!?”
“Mm-hm. This one could be official.”
Yuuichirou’s heart sank, but his hope sprung eternal.
“You don’t know that!”
“Give it up, Yuu-san! You lost your chance! You’ll have to gaze at him from afar like everyone else in our class!”
Mikaela had been kind to anybody, blessed any student who had the privilege to lay eyes on him with that alluring smile. If that had been the case, didn’t that mean no one in particular was special? Hadn’t he been safe from someone coming in and rounding up Mikaela right under his nose?
Whatever Lacus whispered in Mikaela’s ear, it was enough to earn him the sweet trills of his laughter.
True, Yuuichirou only possessed an abundant amount of time with him on Wednesdays (his now favorite day of the week). And because that, there were many days without his presence.
Perhaps a love could’ve blossomed between them, impossible to witness from a distance.
Out of the science building at last and into the darkness of night, even the moonlight appeared to bathe Mikaela differently than all the other students—shone brighter, akin to a spotlight. Regardless of the streetlights paving the sturdy brick sidewalk, it remained visible.
With his every step, it seemed Mikaela manipulated his source of light, illuminating a path for Yuuichirou to walk straight toward him—
“Woah there, Yuu-san! The library isn’t near the amphitheater! Where are you going!?”
Irritation streaked through Yuuichirou like a comet. Whether he attributed it to letting his mind wander, or the interruption of his daydreaming, he didn’t know.
How effortlessly did Mikaela have him dancing in the palm of his hand, with the idea of freedom being laughable?
“M-Maybe I was heading somewhere else tonight!” Yuuichirou lied, saving face.
Yoichi dropped his bag and grasped Yuuichirou’s upper arms at once. “You’re not about to study with us!? But our hematology paper was due two days ago! I can’t write it without my failure buddy!”
“He’d rather stalk his love interest, it seems,” Shinoa scoffed, patting Yoichi’s back.
“Hey! I wouldn’t—”
A glance over Yuuichirou’s shoulder revealed the newfound distance between himself and Mikaela, the illumination of their path having returned to normal.
“Ah…” He shook his head, returning his attention to Yoichi. “Don’t worry, we’ll knock that paper out! Together!”
His ‘failure buddy’ deflated with a sigh of relief, as did Shinoa, though less sincerity lived in hers.
“There we go. Yuu-san freed himself from the clutches of Hyakuya-san.”
Yuuichirou furrowed his brow.
She’d chosen the correct word. That was genuinely his experience being near Mikaela—that a dangerous collapsar had sucked him in and pulled his attention apart from anything else.
When he turned around (for the last time, he promised himself), not only had the moonlit path returned, it grew exceptionally brighter. Despite Mikaela’s distance, he identified him at once.
Standing alone. Staring right at him.
As though they were the only ones on the sidewalk.
The gap between them mattered little. Yuuichirou could sense the intensity of his gaze, the deep curvature of his smile. His blue eyes aglow in the dark.
A chill climbed the ladder of his spine, and Yuuichirou pivoted away at once.
“What…?” Shinoa asked, peering over him. “What were you staring at?”
“Yuu-kun?”
Yuuichirou brushed it off.
“N-Nothing! Let’s go…!”
His imagination always played with him at night.
Another Saturday, another morning of sleeping in when he should’ve met his friends at the Machida Student Center. The goal had been to awaken at eight, be there at nine, and study until the late afternoon.
The clock on his bedside read ten.
With buttered toast in his mouth and one arm in his jacket, he entered through the side of the Newcomb building and descended the steps to the basement, where its extensive renovations included a new area for students and faculty alike to congregate.
“Yuu-san!” He heard upon reaching the bottom floor.
With Yoichi by her side, Shinoa motioned for him to come forward.
Yuuichirou obliged, and a glance inside the student center revealed why they had yet to enter.
Through the glass panels that made up the front walls, he found Mikaela, sitting on one of the abundant hard sofas and surrounded by his peers. They’d gifted him flowers, sweets by the nearby Nagumo café, and most of all, their undivided attention. Next to him sat Akane herself, holding his hand. Though her words didn’t reach Yuuichirou, he could tell she appeared forlorn, as did many of Mikaela’s companions.
Even students he knew to be more timid, such as Taichi, tucked himself in the room's corner after offering a word to him.
Despite their somber faces, Mikaela himself looked like he’d just stepped out of a spa. An ethereal glow, even more than usual, adorned his face. His cheeks had a healthy rosiness to them, and his eyes gleamed with contentment.
“Excuse me!”
With a bouquet of lilies, Kouta rushed past them, barging through the student center to give Mikaela one of the biggest embraces Yuuichirou had ever witnessed.
“What’s going on…?”
Shinoa, having pulled Yuuichirou away from the glass, stood on her toes and leaned in closer to his ear.
She whispered, “Hyakuya-san’s boyfriend—”
“We don’t know if they were dating!”
“Yuu-san, focus! He’s been lost since Wednesday night!”
Yuuichirou blinked.
“W-What…? Lost?”
His eyes slowly trailed toward Yoichi, who added to Shinoa’s grave announcement with, “He hasn’t been answering his phone for over 48 hours, and nobody’s seen him around campus. His friend, René Simm? The one from Bathory’s class? He filed a missing person’s report.”
Yuuichirou’s gaze flickered to Mikaela, who received a box of cake with a bow on top. The young woman’s eyes shone with tears that had yet to fall, that was, until Mikaela gave her a soft smile and she threw herself around his neck at once.
“And Hyakuya…?”
“Hasn’t seen him since he walked him home…” said Yoichi.
Shinoa folded her arms over her chest. “But Welt-san’s friend doesn’t really believe that. Apparently, he wants him questioned.”
Such an insinuation tore Yuuichirou’s stare off of Mikaela.
“Hold on… he can’t seriously blame Hyakuya for this!”
“Yuu-san, think about it from his perspective.” Shinoa placed a hand on his forearm. “He’s the last person who saw him that night—”
Jerking away from her touch, Yuuichirou snapped, “That doesn’t matter! Hyakuya would never do anything to anyone!”
“Yuu-kun…” Yoichi broke in. “I don’t want to believe it, either. But we barely know him—”
“We know him enough! He wouldn’t hurt anybody! He’s… he’s Mikaela Hyakuya! Right!?”
A slight grimace, then Yoichi joined Yuuichirou in observing René Simm’s suspect through the glass.
“W-Well… for someone whose supposed boyfriend is missing… he sure doesn’t look sad.”
Appalled, Yuuichirou went into full defense mode. “That’s because he’s strong! You have no idea what he could be going through!”
“Hey! What are you thinking!? Come back here!” Shinoa whisper-yelled when Yuuichirou strode toward the entrance.
“No! I’m gonna go inside and tell him I’m sorry, too!”
“Wait! Yuu-san—!”
The moment Yuuichirou opened the door, all eyes except Mikaela’s (who was busy being embraced) fell on him.
But as far as he was concerned, he and Mikaela were the only two in the room.
He could already feel his eloquence waning, the blood rising in his cheeks, when he uttered Mikaela’s name.
“Hyakuya…?”
Mikaela unraveled himself from the student’s hug.
“Ah, Yuu-chan.”
His nickname raised the brows of the people surrounding him, but its closeness made Yuuichirou’s heart race.
“I said you could have my notes.”
Joking, at a time like this.
Mikaela really was trying his best to keep it together, and who had any right to doubt him, to question how he processed his grief?
Dating or not, Mikaela had a close companion missing.
“I’m—” Yuuichirou gathered himself. “I’m sorry your friend disappeared.”
And what a sweet, innocent smile Mikaela graced him with.
“Thank you.”
Such a simple utterance of gratitude forced out of Yuuichirou, “If you need anything at all, I’m here—!”
“Anything?” Mikaela drew closer. “Like you’ll spend time with me?”
Yuuichirou’s heart almost stopped.
Only in his dreams did he believe Mikaela would accept, not offer, an invitation for them to hang out, not when he had lines of people waiting for him to do the same. Such a question made his mind race in a cacophony of delight and surprise.
A few members of the ensemble with which Mikaela surrounded himself, Akane and Kouta especially, glared daggers at him. They had laid out a specific procedure to receive the privilege of Mikaela’s company, it seemed, and Yuuichirou had bull-dozed right through it.
“Y-Yeah!” he blurted out.
Mikaela clasped his hands.
“Then it’s settled. Have dinner with me tomorrow evening.”
“Really!?”
“What!?” Akane cried, returning Mikaela’s fingers to the shelter of her own .
“Hyakuya-san, we’ll take care of you too!”
“I’ve always wanted to get lunch with you!” Kouta said.
The rest of the students proceeded to make him offers as well.
“We can go shopping! If you want it, it’s yours!”
“My brother is in a super popular culinary school! He could cook you takoyaki! Tempura! Unagi! Whatever you prefer!”
“Hyakuya-san! Accept my offer to give you—”
“Everyone, please,” Mikaela said, raising his hand.
As if his words were an act of sorcery, his admirers grew silent.
All eyes were on him as he rose, offering Yuuichirou his palm with a saccharine smile.
“Your phone?”
Mikaela might as well have stolen it from him, so quickly did Yuuichirou hand it over. Having opened his contacts, he stood in awe as Mikaela typed in his name, number, and put his address in the notes section.
“I make an amazing curry,” he said, giving Yuuichirou his phone.
He rendered it sacred by virtue of it carrying his information.
“Better than any restaurant.”
The glares at Yuuichirou were ruthless, but he cared little. Mikaela saved himself in his phone as his first name, on par with that charming over-familiarity he had with him.
“Only you and me…” Mikaela said, and his voice held an appealing, nearly seductive note.
A mischievous glimmer lived in his eyes.
“Come anytime at sunset.”
Well aware of the implication of that time—the time Shinoa and Yoichi wanted to celebrate his birthday—Yuuichirou nodded.
“O-Okay…”
He took a meager step backward, the remnants of Mikaela’s voice buzzing in his ear. It would take considerable mental strength, he thought, to turn away.
“See you then…”
Mikaela waved and, in a daze about what had just transpired, as though he’d been underwater and at last came up for air, Yuuichirou stepped out of the student center. The condolences and pleas proceeded again once he exited, louder and more desperate than before, but Mikaela took them all with grace.
“What happened!?” Shinoa asked upon him closing the door.
Yoichi followed up with, “Why did you give him your phone!?”
His phone.
He stared down at the object in question, at the name ‘Mikaela’ on the top of his screen.
“He…” Yuuichirou stammered. “He invited me to dinner…”
“Just so we’re clear, this is not a date.”
Through the power of video chatting, Shinoa admonished Yuuichirou from the comfort of her dorm room. A three-way call was their tradition the evening before Monday, during which they would discuss the upcoming week. This time, however, they had included a change in Yuuichirou’s birthday plans, for he would be too full, and the night too late, to proceed with their Lemongrass outing.
Yuuichirou shuffled through the small wardrobe his dorm provided, settling for a red hoodie to venture out into the chill, October air.
Somewhere along the way, he’d heard from Chihiro, who found out from Akane, that this was the color Mikaela liked. And if something as simple as a shade could lift his spirits, even a tad, that would be a good enough reason for him to wear it.
“I know that!” he cried, pouting at his monitor. “I’m gonna console a friend!”
“Since when are you two ‘friends?’”
A mutter incomprehensible was his answer, and he maneuvered himself through the sleeves of his hoodie.
“Sorry, Yuu-kun,” Yoichi said, taking up the right part of the screen. Rather than settling into his dorm like Shinoa and Yuuichirou, he sat alone in one of the Newcomb building’s ballrooms for conferences and university events. He snuggled into a corner of a sofa, his laptop resting on a glass coffee table before him.
“Doesn’t it feel…” He searched for the proper word. “Bad? Going out with Hyakuya when his friend is still gone?”
“Potential boyfriend, at that?” Shinoa added.
“Nothing’s wrong!” Yuuichirou argued back, “Because I don’t think it’s a date! I’m just as upset as you are about—er—Welt being missing!”
Rolling her eyes, Shinoa said, “Yeah, right! If Hyakuya-san is rebounding that fast with you, it doesn’t look good on his end, either!”
“Shinoa! No one is ‘rebounding!’ You’re being too hard on both of us!”
“Frankly, I’m not being mean to you enough! You’re bailing on your own birthday dinner to go out with him!”
In truth, Yuuichirou did feel guilty about that part.
But he had a justification—an assurance, that even though their plans with Lemongrass fell through, he would not bail on his friends in entirety.
Besides, wasn’t it his birthday? Couldn’t he spend it however he pleased?
“He said sunset! The gives me plenty of time to still hang out with you! The entire night!”
“You promise…?” Yoichi asked meekly, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them.
“I do! Totally!”
To glance out his window revealed the colors of the descending sun, streaming down on the neighboring dorms. A cascade of oranges haloed the trees’ leaves of a similar, October hue, which scattered across the benches and roads.
It was time.
“But I gotta go now! So we’ll talk later!”
Yoichi affirmed his assurance with a soft, “Okay…”
But not a trace of confidence in Yuuichirou lived in it.
So he followed up with, “I mean it!”
“Be careful, Yuu-san,” Shinoa advised. Her wave goodbye was curt, for she had already opened a folder containing a collection of menus and brochures, ready to find a replacement for Lemongrass.
“And you better think of somewhere for us to go while you’re gone!”
“Sure, sure!” was the last of Yuuichirou’s affirmations before closing his laptop.
With that, he rushed out of his dorm, grabbed his bike, and allowed both the GPS on his phone and his general knowledge of the campus take him to Mikaela’s house.
As the golden light blanketed his path, the way it soothed him and brought a sense of awe and comfort reminded him of his elusive crush.
What a fitting time he made for them to meet.
It didn’t have to be a date. Far from it.
For the first time since they’d become acquaintances, he was going to be alone with Mikaela.
That was more than enough.
Shinoa may have questioned their status as friends, but not a doubt lived in his mind that he and Mikaela would become closer after this.
He was the one Mikaela asked to have dinner with, not a single other person who desperately flocked to him that Saturday, and that had to count for something.
It had to be a feat to be proud of.
He would become his friend, repay him for his notes (which allowed him to bullshit quite the impressive hematology paper, of which he was certain he’d get a C), and become a comforting, solid presence in his life.
When he finally arrived at Mikaela’s home, the extent to which his phone’s GPS had taken him out surprised him.
Indeed, he lived on the very outskirts of campus, in an area Yuuichirou had only explored once or twice.
If he hadn’t matched the number on one of the house’s beams to the address Mikaela typed, he never would’ve assumed he lived there. Unlike Mikaela, it was unassuming in every respect, a place he wouldn’t have given a single thought if he had passed by it before. His home sported a simple two stories, a worn out paint job, and was nestled between shrubbery without any neighboring buildings. It gave the impression it’d been mounted on the little hill for a while, maybe before the university was even built. Untouched by time.
He parked his bike against the mailbox and approached the cobblestone path to his front door.
A doorbell nestled beside the entrance, but he settled for knocking instead, for it appeared too old to even ring.
Yuuichirou rested his hands behind his head as he waited, gathering up some nerve for the same spell Mikaela’s smile would cast on him.
This time, he refused to be overwhelmed by him. He would sit there and listen, offer a kind word, whatever he had to do to help Mikaela—
“Happy birthday, Yuu-chan!”
As soon as the door swung open, Yuuichirou found himself in an embrace that froze him where he stood. That subtle, extravagant fragrance, one he couldn’t attribute to food or cologne of any sort, just a strong sense of nostalgia, enveloped him at once. His hug was warm, as all were, but he could’ve melted from how much comfort he received, as though he reunited with a long-time, very dear friend. Yuuichirou’s heart almost hurt when Mikaela released him, but this disappointment vanished the second he could gaze upon those angelic features again.
A playful smile lit up his lovely face, and his eyes shimmered with an emotion Yuuichirou wasn’t able to place but put him slightly on edge, regardless.
Perhaps nervousness had taken hold of him already.
He tossed this unease to the side at once, however.
“T-Thanks, Hyakuya—”
“Come in!”
Mikaela held his wrist in his soft, warm hand and led him through his house, whose dim lights created an ambiance Yuuichirou found peculiar. It matched the golden tones outside. All the furniture in the rooms could easily be classified as antique, something Yuuichirou expected someone with a much older, refined taste to find appealing. Strange, he thought, but in no way did it take away the happiness of being welcomed into Mikaela’s home.
The scents of chicken, sweetened carrots, and potatoes melded together and wafted past his nose, accented by unique, aromatic spices.
“You came at a good time!” Mikaela said, still holding onto Yuuichirou. “I just finished cooking!”
Perhaps Mikaela was a bit cheerier than he would’ve predicted, but that didn’t matter.
Wasn’t it great he could keep a smile on his face through it all?
The further they delved into the house, the stronger the mouthwatering scent became until, at last, they reached the joint kitchen and dining room.
The lone, steamy plate on the table exuded an elegance he expected from a meal made by Mikaela. Each ingredient was sliced into a uniform shape, including the open, juicy chunks of chicken, the rotated cut of the carrots, the potatoes of Yukon gold, and expertly caramelized onions. The border between them and the rice was a decadent union, assuring the grain had absorbed all the flavors of the sweet and savory sauce.
Not a box of the curry roux Yuuichirou usually used to make curry could be found.
Upon a second glance, he didn’t seem to own a microwave at all.
He sat in the chair Mikaela pulled out for him, fingered the napkin at his side.
“Wow… It’s so…”
Mikaela giggled, joining him across the table.
“Dig in.”
Yuuichirou nodded, said his usual thanks, and took a spoonful of rice and curry. The combination of the grated apple and lemon created a perfect blend of sour and sweet, while the butter and sautéed ginger added a particular depth to the dish. The sauce was rich and creamy, enveloped each vegetable and bite-sized chunk of chicken, and his rice had the ideal fluffiness to it. Never before had he consumed such an exemplary morsel of curry, one that exuded how homey the dish was supposed to be.
His eyes widened, and a little whimper reverberated in his mouth.
Had another bite not been promised to him below, he never would’ve wanted to swallow.
Seconds passed where he sat in silence. Relishing.
“That was…”
“How is it?” Mikaela asked, resting his cheek on his fist.
For a moment, Yuuichirou noticed a sliver of red had besmirched his baby-blue eyes.
Perhaps he only imagined it.
“You’re right!” he cried, eager to take another spoonful, humming in delight. “It’s way better than Lemongrass!”
“I’m thrilled to hear it!”
Halfway through his third bite, he nearly choked when Mikaela rested his hand on his.
“I’ve been really lonely these past few days, so I’m glad you decided to visit.”
‘See!?’ Yuuichirou thought towards Yoichi and Shinoa, a subtle flush rising in his cheeks.
He undoubtedly was trying to be strong for everyone.
He wasn’t happy.
And he needed a friend as soon as possible.
Upon hurrying to swallow and give him all the reassurances, Yuuichirou said, “Wouldn’t miss it! I wanted to be here! For you! If you need me, just say so! Anytime!”
It surprised him, the ease with which he spoke. Usually Mikaela would have him tongue-tied by now, but something about their environment, and the delicious food, lulled him into a sense of security.
“I will…” answered Mikaela, giving his hand an affectionate little squeeze.
As Yuuichirou delved his spoon into another helping of curry, a pang of guilt seized his chest.
Something wasn’t right.
There he sat with a meal that bested his own mother, but Mikaela had made none for himself. Before him was an empty space at the table, simply witnessing Yuuichirou consume the best comfort dish he’d ever had.
Birthday dinner or not, he shouldn’t have gone without.
“Aren’t you having any?” he asked, bashful of his own gluttony.
Under Mikaela’s smile, a bit of Yuuichirou’s relief had returned.
“I’m full.”
“Oh…”
“Besides, I like watching people eat.”
Validated, Yuuichirou grinned, scooping another spoonful of his heavenly meal.
“Okay! Then I’ll make you really…”
‘Hold on.’
“… happy.”
His culpability lay elsewhere.
He hadn’t mentioned Lacus Welt yet—his supposed boyfriend—all the while he accepted his invitation to be a listening ear.
But would he even want to discuss it?
Would he rather not vent?
Perhaps he shouldn’t bring it up at all—
“You look like you want to ask me something,” Mikaela said, divining his thoughts with eerie accuracy.
If anyone else did it, Yuuichirou would’ve been disturbed.
Or maybe his face was just that easy to read.
He looked up from the curry on his plate and came home to Mikaela’s radiant smile. It appeared he didn’t move a muscle since he last rested his gaze upon him. He was capable, it seemed, of a stillness, a peacefulness of the body, Yuuichirou hadn’t witnessed in anyone else.
“I… sorry—”
“Please, be comfortable around me,” Mikaela said, his command soothing and palpable to Yuuichirou’s ear—a spell of absolute obedience.
“Aren’t we friends?”
What a pleasant opportunity, Yuuichirou thought, to really play the role he was supposed to when he arrived at the Hyakuya residence. He didn’t have to meet Yoichi and Shinoa until later. Until then, he had plenty of time to console him.
Yuuichirou smiled. “Right… so tell me, what was Lacus Welt like?”
“He made me laugh,” Mikaela answered. “Very careless. A little aggressive. But…”
When his gaze trailed to the wall, his expression became wistful, if not regretful. A weary sigh left his lips, and it was then Yuuichirou knew he was supposed to have come.
“Hey…” he said, reaching out to indulge in the warmth of Mikaela’s hand.
He jolted when Mikaela caught his palm without even looking, entwining their fingers.
The silence he found himself in was uncomfortable, but he would wait as long as Mikaela required to gather his thoughts.
Whatever he needed to say, Yuuichirou wouldn’t judge him.
He would be there—
“If he had been as adorable as you, or his blood smelled as nice, I probably would have devoured him sooner.”
Yuuichirou’s brain scrambled to process his…
What did he say?
Did he tell a joke? A compliment?
‘Devour?’
What did he mean by any of that?
How in the world would he begin to reply?
Mikaela thought he was cute?
“… Huh?”
When Mikaela stood, the sensation that Yuuichirou was about to be consumed came back—that a black hole was pulling him in. Worse than any trance he’d fallen into before, the back of his mind screamed a single, incessant name: Mikaela Hyakuya.
He couldn’t move, his mind slowly becoming blank as the sliver of rationality he did have told him to panic.
To run.
But why would he?
It was just Mikaela.
Mikaela wouldn’t do anything, so why was his stomach twisting up with dread?
The hand placed on his shoulder was still gentle.
For what purpose did he need to be scared?
“H-Hyakuya—?”
“I’ve wanted your blood for so long…” Mikaela whined, close to a moan.
There he went again, saying things that made little sense.
His blood?
Did he mean their shared hematology class?
What about his blood?
Why was the echo of his name getting louder in Yuuichirou’s head?
“That day…” Mikaela continued, his voice more enticing than it’d ever been. “When the human named Shinoa called me over, I expected my instincts to take over, and I’d attack you.”
Human?
Just as Yuuichirou wondered how he deviated, the blue eyes he’d come to adore transformed into a startling red, as though blood had burst forth from Mikaela’s pupils and flooded his irises.
“But I thought of my old prey and stopped myself—”
“W-Wait! I don’t get this at all!” Yuuichirou cried, his mind racing.
A shiver plagued his entire frame, yet he couldn’t move a muscle. His hand, his legs, all had grown eerily still.
The corner of his brain being consumed by Mikaela warped his thoughts into something darker, more eloquent.
Simply put, that he wanted to stay in this chair forever.
But he also didn’t.
He was scared. Confused.
So why did his mind bend and break over two separate desires?
“Why’re you talking like this!?”
Ignoring his question, Mikaela continued, stroking Yuuichirou’s face.
“Being near you for so long… I reached a breaking point.”
“Hya—”
Mikaela leaned into Yuuichirou’s ear, the closeness of his mouth making him shudder in both terror and an odd, uncanny delight.
“When I drank that Lacus human dry… When he screamed out in pleasure as I drained every last drop of his blood… I realized something, Yuu-chan…”
A whimper fell from Yuuichirou’s lips. Mikaela’s voice transformed into an enchanting song he wanted more of, his scent growing from nostalgic to titillating. Stronger than his fear lived the desire to nuzzle against him, to hold him close if he were able.
But he anchored himself to reality with a single thought:
He had found Lacus.
Furthermore, he had never disappeared.
He had been killed, his blood in the depths of Mikaela’s stomach.
And now—
“I was fantasizing about you the whole time. I want your blood, and my body… can’t take it anymore.”
Mikaela pulled away, his stare cold, icy even, yet more magnetizing than before.
He wasn’t human, his instincts screamed.
Wasn’t human at all.
“You understand, yes?” he asked, caressing the side of Yuuichirou’s head. “Why I’m telling you my secret?”
As though he had puppet strings attached to his touch, Yuuichirou felt himself nodding. Whether or not he moved voluntarily, he couldn’t say.
Mikaela giggled, his thumb descending to run along Yuuichirou’s bottom lip.
“Good boy. Hold still, okay?”
He could see them now when Mikaela spoke: elongated fangs, the tips of which looked as sharp as knives. He sat speechless as Mikaela delved into his neck, his tempting lips running along his flesh as he took in a gratifying inhale.
When the needlepoints of his teeth graced his skin, Yuuichirou summoned the strength to scream, “Wait!”
Never in his life did he think that would work.
Perhaps Mikaela, knowing he was going to kill him anyway, didn’t mind the additional interruption.
It’s not like Yuuichirou would be in any position to fight him or escape.
And so, out of whatever good will Mikaela had, he pulled back.
The stupidest part of Yuuichirou, he accessed, wondered if everything about Mikaela’s kindness wasn’t a facade.
A wild conclusion to make when the contents of Lacus’s entire bloodstream lurked inside his stomach.
But somehow, this little act of mercy warmed his heart.
He could’ve said anything: a plea to be spared, a shout that he was a monster for killing Lacus, or a demand he let him go.
But none of that left his mouth.
Instead, he shouted his truth.
“I… I like you!”
Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, and he couldn’t have felt more foolish if he tried.
But before he joined Lacus, all he desired was to reveal the feelings that had tormented him for three years.
Selfish? He guessed. But it was out of his control.
Mikaela’s smile was far from appreciative, nor did it appear flattered.
Instead, he stared at him as though he were a dumb, pitiful creature.
“Yuu-chan,” he said in a playful, fake-scolding tone. “Don’t be silly. I’m a vampire. Everyone thinks they like me—”
“You’re wrong!”
With his life on the line, the last emotion Yuuichirou thought he would experience was pity for his future murderer.
He couldn’t attribute it to the part of his brain telling him that Mikaela’s bite had been all he desired, all he ever needed.
He truly thought Mikaela’s existence had to be unequivocally miserable.
A horrible, crushing solitude.
The number of his admirers mattered little. If he believed they liked him through the effects of being a dark and mesmerizing monster…
He could only assume Mikaela was all alone at this university.
Any relationship he formed could never be genuine.
Perhaps Yuuichirou suffered from delusions of grandeur, but this had to be the reason he accepted Mikaela’s invitation—why Mikaela exposed his true self to him.
He refused to be another lovesick puppet of his.
He had to be Mikaela’s first real bond.
“I’ve liked you for a long time! Ever since we met! Y-You were really kind, and your voice is soothing, and—and you’re so pretty! And you take care of so many people! I’ve felt this way forever about you! A-And not because of some stupid bloodsucker spell! I’d like you, anyway! I actually would! Y-You can’t tell me my feelings are fake! You can’t! S-So!”
The whole time he shouted his confession, Yuuichirou had shut his eyes to concentrate, so to find Mikaela even mildly stunned provided a glimmer of hope.
“My hypnosis… It’s a wonder you can still think for yourself,” Mikaela whispered, the iciness in his stare reduced by a paltry fraction.
It was true, half of Yuuichirou’s brain shouted for Mikaela to bite him, that if he died being with him, that would be fine.
But it didn’t tell him that he liked him.
All those thoughts, Yuuichirou knew, belonged to him .
He knew he differed from Akane, Kouta, or anyone else.
Mikaela studied Yuuichirou intently.
“… No human’s ever told me that before—”
“I just did!” Yuuichirou cried.
“Y-You’re not powerful enough to withstand a vampire’s—”
“Yes the hell I am!”
A pause lingered between them, the length of which raised Yuuichirou’s hopes a little higher.
“What a pity…”
Right before Mikaela’s response crashed them to the ground.
“If I were still human, I think I would’ve fallen for you.”
With that, he returned to the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
And Yuuichirou was going to die.
He’d die as Lacus Welt did.
Yuuichirou shut his eyes, ignoring the part of his mind screaming out in ecstasy for the death he was about to receive.
Despite the frantic anticipation making a mess of his head, his heart was far from accepting of his fate.
Had he listened to Shinoa and Yoichi, if he followed through with their plans, he could’ve been at Lemongrass this evening, celebrating his birthday.
He could’ve continued admiring Mikaela. Remained ignorant.
Now this would be the final night they ever interacted.
‘Sorry, guys…’
“…”
Too much time passed.
If he had been bitten, he would’ve experienced the pain of his skin bursting open, his veins being pierced.
Mikaela still nestled into his neck.
So where was the resulting sensation?
“H-Hyakuya…?”
“Strange…” Mikaela muttered.
He removed himself from Yuuichirou and took a step backward, holding his hand close to his chest.
“There’s that feeling again…”
Yuuichirou supposed no one looked more beautiful when contemplative.
“I’ve been wanting to drink you so badly,” Mikaela mused, biting his lip. “So why…?”
The corroded section of Yuuichirou’s thoughts grew quieter, much to his relief. No longer did his brain beg to be consumed, and he resumed control over his arms and legs .
So why wasn’t he running?
Mikaela had full intention of killing him, yet there Yuuichirou remained.
“What feeling…?”
Furthermore, he spoke to him.
“M-Maybe we can talk about it…?”
He was an idiot, through and through. And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had made the right choice, staying by Mikaela’s side. The pity he felt for him hadn’t diminished; however, and his affection and interest were just as strong.
What was wrong with him?
Mikaela frowned—the first time Yuuichirou had witnessed such an expression from him. In its own way, he found it utterly adorable.
“You’re a human,” Mikaela answered. “I doubt you’d understand—”
“Try me!”
Mikaela held his chin and, to Yuuichirou’s surprise, a faint rosiness had settled on his cheeks. How grateful Yuuichirou was that he didn’t perish, that he could admire such bashful irritation.
It glued him to his seat.
“If I could articulate it…” Mikaela began, “I want to consume blood that smells as good as yours. I crave hearing your cries as I drink from you. But if I devour you like my instincts are yelling at me to, you’ll be dead… and I won’t be able to enjoy you anymore.”
In other words, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
A simple enough problem for a human, but it must’ve been a terrible conundrum for a bloodthirsty vampire.
With a sigh, Mikaela continued, “My heart stopped beating years ago… so what is this odd sensation?”
“What if you—erm, like me back?”
In a vampire fashion?
As presumptuous as such as suggestion was, Yuuichirou couldn’t think of any other way Mikaela wanted to ‘enjoy’ him.
Affection might’ve been outside a bloodsucker’s understanding, but Yuuichirou’s love for Mikaela had tortured him for years.
He knew it when he saw it.
“I do like your blood,” Mikaela answered at once, with scant consideration for what Yuuichirou actually meant.
“N-No.” Yuuichirou didn’t expect to laugh. “What if you like me, as a person!”
Mikaela slowly tilted his head, his eyes widened as though he stood before an indecipherable equation. Yuuichirou watched in real time as the proposal sunk in, how it knitted his brows and brought a small, precious pout to his lips.
“ You’re cute… but I don’t think that’s it…” Mikaela wondered aloud.
“ Why not!?”
“All the vestiges of my humanity perished… I never consider issues such as ‘how I feel.’ I only want to drink.”
And so, his suggestion surpassed vampire comprehension.
Even if he carried something like love in his heart, he wouldn’t be able to make sense of it.
Whatever genuine desire he held for a human ultimately depended on the appeal of their blood .
Still, Yuuichirou felt special.
Even as a vampire, he was certain he liked Mikaela. Wanted more of him.
“Hyakuya.”
Yuuichirou lowered the collar of his hoodie. “Just take some. You don’t have to drink it all.”
He finally identified the look in Mikaela’s eyes that had unnerved him prior.
It was unadulterated bloodlust.
It glittered in them, rendered them alluring, sympathetic.
“Are you sure…?” Mikaela asked, though he took a hesitant step forward. “I’m not the type who can hold back.”
“Of course you are! I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
With the genuine offering of his blood, Yuuichirou would experience the true Mikaela.
And for that, he would risk his life.
After all, his attraction surpassed the spell of a vampire, and nothing Mikaela said could ever convince him otherwise.
“Come on, a few swallows. Then you’ll save me for later.”
“Save you…?”
Mikaela, only partway convinced, took another step towards Yuuichirou.
“And… you’re not afraid?”
“Nope.”
“… Yuu-chan?”
“Hm?”
“I really want to drink it…”
“What’re you waiting for, then? Have at it—”
Emboldened by his encouragement, Mikaela straddled Yuuichirou’s lap, his lips tracing the area above his carotid artery.
“You can still change your mind,” he whispered into his flesh.
Once more, the proximity of his voice was enough to make Yuuichirou shudder.
“Please, devour me,” he encouraged, wrapping his arms around Mikaela’s waist.
At last, Mikaela’s fangs pierced into Yuuichirou’s neck and into the depths of his bloodstream, whereupon a strange liquid penetrated his arteries.
Ignited them like fire.
Whatever entered him went straight to his head, inundating his brain with a horrendous amount of ecstasy—the bliss the hypnotized part of his mind was waiting for. A fever raged within his limbs, in his hips, down to his curling toes. His back arched as every last cell in his worked up body cried out for more, the heat in his lower half blistering.
‘How does it feel…?’ He heard Mikaela’s voice echo directly into his head. ‘I’m making your blood extra delicious for me~’
Yuuichirou’s response spilled from his lips in a drunken slurry.
“Y-You’re… reforming my blood…?”
‘Yes. You can sense it, can’t you? You’re not quite human anymore.’
Indeed, his plasma, platelets, red and white blood cells—all had transformed into an ambrosia made only for a vampire’s consumption.
As tears of overstimulation streamed down his face, the demise of Lacus Welt crossed his mind.
What an unbridled joy he must’ve received, desiring nothing more than to have Mikaela indulge in his blood.
His death must’ve been rapturous, empty of any regrets.
Only he could’ve understood how Lacus felt.
Once the foreboding venom had reworked his bloodstream, and Mikaela took his first sip, Yuuichirou failed to control his voice. As Mikaela alluded, he cried out not in terror, but in surprise, for endorphins engulfed the depths of his brain. He could feel his heart throb through his entire body as broken sobs burst through his throat. He held onto Mikaela’s waist even tighter, his breaths uncontrollable.
Concurrently, Mikaela’s blissful whines, ravenous and desperate, muffled into his skin. The moment those precious sounds were gifted to him, they became addictive. They lived as desire in its purest form, the same kind that raged through Yuuichirou’s veins at every point they touched.
Upon his third swallow, Mikaela retracted his fangs. His cheeks were rosy, and his mouth glistened with the blood dripping down to his chin.
“Yuu-chan, I did it! It tastes so good!” he cried.
To admire Mikaela’s features only worsened the head-splitting high of getting his blood sucked, drawing him in with a force so powerful he joined their lips. As he held Mikaela’s face, his fingers threaded through his luscious locks, Mikaela deepened their kiss at once. It dizzied him, rendered his body into a shivering, aching mess.
His tongue traced over Mikaela’s lips, tasting the coppery elixir that was his own blood, and Mikaela welcomed him into his mouth at once. Full of flavors honeyed and rich, the moans they spilled between their kiss were an electrifying creed to pull the other closer, to mystify each other with the ghoulish friction of their tongues.
Yuuichirou was the one to break it, loathsome of his need to breathe.
“H-Hyakuya, I—!”
“Call me Mikaela!”
“Mi—”
With that, Mikaela suppressed whatever response Yuuichirou was going to give with the sweetness of his mouth. Reunited, the titillating heat they shared between their lips as their kiss renewed and prolonged sent sparks to Yuuichirou’s head, overwhelming his nerves as he moved with Mikaela, against him.
“I want more…! Please!” Mikaela cried once Yuuichirou came back for more air.
The nightmarish desperation with which Mikaela gazed into his eyes almost scared him, his desire to delve into his flesh and take his blood radiating off his face.
But of course it did.
All his pleasure lived in the draining of his bloodstream.
Yuuichirou answered his pleas with a tighter embrace, ready for the horrific thrill that was getting his life force sucked out of him.
To let Mikaela drink more than what they agreed upon was to play a game, to test how close his fingers could get to the fire without being burned.
And he adored it.
After a confirmatory peck on the lips, Mikaela’s fangs returned to the depths of his neck.
A fear of death and mind-numbing elation swirled and numbed his brain. What entered his head as ‘I’m not leaving you alone’ fell from his mouth as elated groans.
The dulcet, melodic sounds of Mikaela’s swallows pierced through his skull, his muffled gasps bits and pieces of an alluring song.
It burned where they were joined, that addictive flame spreading from his core to his limbs, rippling through his flesh.
It pillaged his throat and burned everything but Mikaela’s name.
To detach Mikaela from his neck would be to abandon a sanctuary, where nothing else in the world would afford him this complete and utter rapture.
What lived in his sacrifice other than beauty? His blood would become one with Mikaela’s, replenish him, and sustain his precious, all-consuming life.
As his consciousness faded, he’d thank him for a final time.
“Tha…”
Wait.
‘No!’
Mikaela didn’t want to kill him. He struggled with drinking his blood in the first place because he wanted to keep him around.
He wasn’t Lacus—he was Mikaela’s fantasy.
Mikaela would be disappointed if he drank him dry.
Fighting his frenzied, joyous state, the way his lips and tongue only wished to shape Mikaela’s name, he cried, “R-Remember!”
He patted Mikaela’s back, praying that’d get his attention.
“You like me! You can have more of me, anytime! Whenever! So don’t… drink all my blood!”
He had summoned all of his strength to speak, for he teetered on the verge of collapse.
“I want you to rely on me!”
His head spinning, he felt Mikaela take one last swallow before he departed from his neck, appearing as dazed and aroused as Yuuichirou.
It was the promise of more blood, rather than an appeal to some ‘crush,’ that had softened Mikaela’s features.
For a while, all was still as they held each other, and Yuuichirou tried to calm his breath.
“What a meal…” Mikaela whispered, wrapping his arms around Yuuichirou before he nestled into his shoulder.
As Yuuichirou stroked the back of his head, he attempted his confession once more.
In a language he knew Mikaela would understand.
“Mika… you won’t do this with anyone else, right?”
Mikaela released Yuuichirou from his grasp, his smile as afflicting and ravishing as before.
“What are you saying?”
Gathering his nerves, Yuuichirou said, “I mean it. Whenever you need this, I want you to come to me. And only me.”
Through being selfish, in rounding up Mikaela like he’d always dreamed of, wasn’t he saving other people from the fate of being drank dry?
No one would have to die by Mikaela’s hand anymore, but most importantly—
“I can count on you for blood?”
All of Mikaela was his.
Yuuichirou raised a hand from Mikaela’s waist to caress his cheek .
“Always… never anyone else.”
He’d never forget the way Mikaela’s eyes lit up, how he rewarded Yuuichirou’s offer with his lips, pliant and soft, gracing his sensitive bite marks.
Therein came the theft of his ordinary personhood.
“Suppose there comes a day when I devour you, too?”
“I’ll take that risk.”
Snickering, Mikaela pulled back to meet Yuuichirou’s gaze. “You’re only saying that because I just fed from you—”
“No! Quit with that, Mika!”
Bewilderment adorning Mikaela’s features, Yuuichirou brought their faces closer than before.
“I want you. Bloodsucker or not.”
Mikaela laughed, but it wasn’t the malicious one he’d expect from a vampire. Rather, it was gentle, showed off the fangs Yuuichirou now found beautiful.
He really did accomplish his goal: to become a haven where Mikaela could be himself.
“If you say that enough, I might start believing you, Yuu-chan…”
Even if Mikaela didn’t kill him, Shinoa and Yoichi probably would.
Not only did he bail on them for the rest of the night, opting to stay at Mikaela’s house and chat, but he also refused to leave his home the following Monday and Tuesday. He fooled around with Mikaela, showered with him, got his blood drunk, and ate the best curry that graced his tastebuds. True, he made sure to answer Shinoa and Yoichi’s calls, lest they suspect Mikaela stole anyone else, but his replies were laconic. Often times, Mikaela would lay beneath him in bed, dirtying his lips with his blood-stained mouth whenever there was a lull in the conversation.
He slept with Lacus Welt’s murderer, swore to stay by his side.
How disgusting they’d think he would be.
It was Mikaela’s choice to go to their hematology seminar, both to keep up his appearances and also out of a genuine interest in blood—his favorite thing.
He could name any component of the bloodstream and explain how it affected its flavor.
He explained it until dawn one night.
Even so…
As they walked to class hand-in-hand, a cross of guilt and nervousness ate Yuuichirou alive. To put their relationship on display for everybody in Hematology, especially with how ‘Hyakuya-san’ observant they were, would only lead to trouble.
And when he and Mikaela stepped into Kadokawa room 107, just as Yuuichirou expected, he heard the wet smack of the entire classroom’s jaws dropping.
He couldn’t have been more thankful he brought his hoodie that weekend, lest anybody see the bite marks all over his neck and arms.
Or the fact he was in one of Mikaela’s shirts.
Yuuichirou had been careful not to bite him too hard during more intimate moments, even if it made a vampire laugh to have a human marking his neck.
The peals of that laughter unearthed a greater joy than he’d ever known.
He glanced at Mikaela who, in his usual fashion, didn’t appear the least bit bothered. He smiled at Yuuichirou with those fake, baby-blue eyes of his, with a smile devoid of the fangs that had indulged in him the past three days.
His beauty truly stunned him either way.
The ability Mikaela possessed to make his heart race hadn’t diminished, even when he made sure to reduce his ever-present hypnotic spell.
At first, he turned down his effect to test Yuuichirou, to prove he was no different from the rest of the infatuated students at Second Shibuya University.
But just as Yuuichirou thought, he was as lovesick as ever.
Desired him just as much.
Mikaela couldn’t wrap his mind around it, but that mattered little.
Nothing could take away the delight of being someone Mikaela found worthy of growing to love—in the most vampire way he understood such a thing.
And all he desired was to assure Mikaela he wasn’t alone.
As they walked down the aisle, Yoichi (who sat in the back of the classroom out of embarrassment for falling asleep) was the first person Yuuichirou locked eyes with.
“Yuu-kun…?”
Yuuichirou choked out a nervous laugh and waved with his free hand.
Sensing his massive unease, Mikaela leaned into his ear and said, “I want them to stare, Yuu-chan.”
That whisper led to a series of other whispers, agonizing over what he could’ve possibly said.
A playful instigator, he left Yuuichirou to fend for himself, abandoning him for his usual spot in the classroom: down the aisle and into the outermost chair.
Alone, Yuuichirou returned to the seat he designated for himself.
With Shinoa’s stare impossible to ignore, he had no choice but to confront her.
“H-Hey, Shinoa—”
“I knew it! You two were doing something!”
Yuuichirou covered the bite marks his hoodie concealed on its own.
“No way! Nothing happened!”
“You missed two days of school!”
“So I skipped a little bit of class! It won’t kill me!”
Shinoa narrowed her eyes.
“Yuu-san…”
“… What?”
“Why are you hiding your neck?”
With a nervous smile, Yuuichirou tried to conjure up whatever excuse he had in his arsenal.
“Uh—Well—”
To no avail.
“Hyakuya-san! What’s the meaning of this!?” Fumie cried, pointing to Yuuichirou as though he were a soiled, wretched thing.
Mikaela simply took out his notes, composed as if everyone wasn’t gawking at him in curiosity, wonder, and jealousy.
“Yeah! I’m confused!” Chess said, wagging her textbook in Yuuichirou’s direction as well.
“Why did you walk into class with him!?”
Even one of the more reserved, less interested students, Shiho Kimizuki, lifted his face out of his book long enough to question Mikaela.
“And what’s with you two holding hands?”
With a faint smile on Mikaela’s lips, and in his usual, delightful voice, he simply answered, “Isn’t it obvious? He’s my boyfriend now.”
“Huuuuh!?”
The chaos he unleashed in the classroom would persist until Professor Saito took his rightful place in front of the class, and for the first time, Yuuichirou couldn’t wait to be subjected to a torturous lecture once more.
“Since when were you dating Amane-san!?
“This can’t be true! He’s—He’s—“
“Why him!? What do you possibly have in common!?”
“Don’t let his cute face fool you! How dare he try to get with you so soon!”
Mikaela received all their questions in stride, as though he were unaware of the implicit cruelty of moving on from Lacus so fast.
Either that, or he didn’t care.
“And Welt-san!?”
“Lacus? Don’t be silly! We weren’t dating,” Mikaela said sweetly, missing the point in its entirety.
Yuuichirou sunk into his chair as he became public enemy number one in the hematology seminar. As Shinoa’s glare (and many others) rested squarely on the back of his head, conversations swarming like flies, he dared to take a second glance at Mikaela.
His (official to the public) boyfriend met his gaze and gave him a tender smile.
“Hyakuya-san, please reconsider! You’re in a vulnerable place!”
“Yes, you’re not thinking straight! You don’t have to be with anyone right now!”
“What does Amane-san have that I—we’ll always be here for you! There’s no need for this!”
But amidst the onslaught of pestering and gossip, Yuuichirou still smiled back.