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It’d been a while now of Tomo living with Kazuha, and really that’s what he would call it. At first it was simply “staying with”, but the vampire’s small minka hidden behind a wall of colorful maple trees had become a sort of home to him. Something he had been on the search for since the uproar of the apocalypse had sent him on a cycle of non-stop wandering, fighting, doing anything to make sure he and Tama would survive. Though an attack in an already weakened state had caused them to meet, Tomo was becoming more grateful for the wounds he had endured with each day that passed.
If not for them, he never would have met this vampire that loved life, this former prince that carried more compassion for people than most other humans themselves did. He felt he was living a bit of a fairytale; while not a damsel, he was certainly in distress, and he was swept right up into the life of this hidden away prince—an enchanting maiden, really—that tended to his wounds, mind, and heart with such care. Kazuha finding him as he was sick and bleeding was the best thing to ever happen to him. It was best for Tama as well, who was healed from her own injuries by Kazuha’s blood, and who was now best friends with the other’s cat, Kumo.
Tomo himself had not been healed by Kazuha’s blood. The vampire had insisted that he heal as naturally as possible— not for the sake of any safety concerns, but because a vampire sharing their blood with a human was a very special, intimate gesture. Tomo had learned that in royal vampiric bloodlines especially, of which Kazuha had come from, it was a sacred act that a vampire should only do with a human they intended to bond with. Not just friendly, get-to-know-you bonding, but a sort of soul bonding that Tomo had not known existed prior to meeting Kazuha.
He held nothing against Kazuha for this. Though it meant he healed slowly, he could only ever respect the other. Kazuha was merely upholding the traditions he was raised under, which showed in more ways than just his refusal to share his blood; Tomo saw it in the way he carried himself as well. The first time he woke up in Kazuha’s home after being rescued, the vampire had bowed in greeting, a formality he hadn’t witnessed in a long time once the harshness of survival in the wild had turned most people cold. It was in the way he sat and spoke, too, always so polite and proper. Tomo saw it for what it was: Kazuha’s attempt to keep the memory of his family alive.
They had never spoken in detail of what happened to them, but he could tell Kazuha was not alone by choice. From his earliest days with him, he could see he was yearning for something he would never be able to reach for again. It was a look he had become familiar with as he encountered people suffering from loss after their world changed. Tomo would never push for more information, though; Kazuha would share when he felt the time was right, this much he was confident in. Until then he could only be as much of a rock as possible, just as Kazuha had been for him.
And that is how he wound up with the situation he was in now. The situation being him, on the ground, cornered by not one but two thunderhelm lawachurls, separated from his sword. He had grossly miscalculated the amount of enemies in the area; he thought he was in a secluded enough location that no packs nearby would notice or hear him. Though his wounds were much better, he still wasn’t at his best— he was taking a risk by coming out this far alone but he felt a responsibility to go hunting; not for himself, but for Kazuha. The vampire was adamant about not attacking any human or animal without justification in order to feed himself, but had refused to drink from Tomo as well until he was fully recovered, and Tomo could not just sit back and let the other starve. They had gotten the other some blood once from a previous hunting trip, but Kazuha hasn’t fed since then. Tomo insisted many times that he was hardly in any sort of pain anymore, nor was his life in danger, and that he was merely just still a little under the weather due to the harsh conditions he had been pushing himself in for so long. Still, Kazuha was firm in his stance.
So, really, Tomo had no choice but to come out and hunt for blood himself. He was nearly successful— if the boars just hadn’t made such a loud fuss when he took one of them down, then the nearby hilichurls wouldn’t have gotten curious. They wouldn’t have led over the largest of their group and, really, why were there two lawachurls to begin with? Though he supposed pack dynamics could have been thrown off by the apocalypse as well, he normally only ever saw two of them if they had different elements, but these two both used electro. The one element Tomo himself had control of.
His magic was essentially useless until he could get them in a much weaker state, which he needed his sword for, but a large element-powered slam of fists on the ground from one of them had sent Tomo stumbling back and in his state of instability his sword had dropped, quickly picked up and examined by a hilichurl who scurried off right after to make room for the lawachurls. That was the second time now that he had lost his sword.
He supposed that didn’t matter though, if he were to die here— which became more likely each second as he was yanked up and pummeled with oversized fists charged with electro. At least the last time he thought he was going to die he had actually won the fight, but there wasn’t much he could do against two lawachurls with the same element as him and no weapon, not as a mere human. It’d be smart to run away but he couldn’t do that, either. While being smacked back and forth between the two, there was no chance to get away, especially with the throbbing in his middle from the hits.
It felt like they were playing with him, testing out how long it’d take him to lash out and fight back, so he did. Though he couldn’t do much, he could hit and shove enough to get them farther away from his body. At least enough to give him room to stagger back and make an exit, precious sword be damned.
While it worked for a moment, he couldn’t get away like he’d hoped. Almost as soon as he had created an opening by forcing a lawachurl to step back a bit, a hilichurl that’d been watching shot an arrow straight into his leg, and directly after that the lawachurl he had pushed got back at him by slicing through his kimono and into the skin of his stomach with an electro-infused, clawed hand— in the same spot as his previous injury, in the same exact way. He wanted to mourn the scar there, knowing it’d become an even worse one now, but quickly realized he may not even get to see the scarring. He really could just die right here.
He was not one to give up, but his odds were low. He had been as reckless as ever and it could cost him everything.
Which is why when he felt a rush of wind, carrying the familiar scent of maple and yumemiru wood, and he saw the leaves swirling through the air around him— he thought he could cry from relief. He wouldn’t have to leave Kazuha or Tama, or even Kumo, because the vampire found him. Once again, he was the string that kept Tomo tied to life itself.
Kazuha’s defense against the hilichurls was a blur to Tomo after that. Between all of the anemo circling around them and the shakiness of his own vision as he sat propped up against a thin tree, barely managing to hold his weight, he just couldn’t keep track of all the movement. He was only able to focus on something again once silence had settled over them, once Kazuha had rushed over and knelt before him, carefully prying his clothes out of the way to check for wounds.
Wounds that Tomo almost couldn’t handle seeing the effect of once Kazuha had found them. He hated the look on the other’s face; his frown had always been his least favorite sight since they met. Brows knitted together and pale lashes began to wet— oh, how Tomo’s heart broke at the sight. He reached a hand out with the energy he had left to cradle the other’s face with one hand, his thumb wiping away a fallen tear.
“Angels shouldn’t cry.”
Kazuha did not look comforted by the nickname, but it was not inaccurate. Tomo held no great deal of respect for any supposed god, nor did he care for the company of those who followed them and pledged loyalty, but Kazuha had always played the role of an angel for him. He saved him, he gave him hope, he was something to wake up and look forward to each day. Within Kazuha, he found his own sense of heaven. For him, heaven was an assortment of maple leaves, it was an old minka with battered doors, it was a small pond and a rock garden, filled with carvings they had done together in remembrance of the bonsai garden Kazuha once had to leave behind, it was in their comfortable silences and the vampire’s small laughs, it was in the poems he would wake up and find tucked near him in the mornings and after naps. Heaven was home, and home was Kazuha.
“I am no angel.” Kazuha’s voice was so sad, Tomo wished he could hold it and be its pillar so that it may build itself back up. “Do you have any sense of self-preservation?” The question could have been seen as an attempt to lighten the mood, but Tomo saw the genuine exasperated nature of it.
Breathing the words out with a sigh, Tomo asked, “Do you?” And he smiled sadly at the confused look given to him, shifting his hand to gently trace along the other’s temple comfortingly. “I couldn’t sit back and watch you go so many days without blood anymore. I’m sorry.”
Kazuha’s hands shook as they hovered over his wounds, his gaze turning frustrated. “I told you to stop worrying about me, Tomo. I can last much longer without food, you know that. You shouldn’t have put yourself in danger for me— do you know how scared I was when I couldn’t find you?”
“I would put myself in danger for you over and over again, if I could.” Tomo’s voice was as steady as he could make it, but he lost more energy with every moment and it was becoming too apparent to ignore. The lawachurls claws had caused a deeper wound than he’d had before and he was losing blood much faster. They both knew that even with Kazuha’s speed, too much time would be wasted getting back home, and even then he doubted they had enough time to stop the bleeding and stabilize him, let alone the materials.
Kazuha was silent for a moment, more tears gathered in his eyes. When he finally spoke, there was more determination there than Tomo had ever heard from him before.
“If you insist on me being your angel, then I must play the part.” He pulled the sleeve of his kimono up, moving in closer between Tomo’s outstretched legs. “I must save you.”
He was confused at first, but when he saw Kazuha cut into his own skin with his sharp nail he was alarmed, finding enough strength to sit up faster and reach out to hold Kazuha’s hands to make him stop. “Kazuha. You can’t do that. Your family’s traditions— I’m not… you’re supposed to do this for someone worthy enough to stay by you.” He shook his head, voice firm. “I won’t let your kindheartedness take this away from you too. I know how long you’ve been waiting to find someone to share that part of yourself with.”
Kazuha gripped his hands back, his hold an anchor for Tomo. “I have found someone, Tomo. I found you, and you can’t possibly know just how desperate I am to keep you.” He let go of him to make the cut on his arm a little deeper, moving even closer to Tomo so he could offer it to him, nearly in his lap now. “Besides, my father once told me to not let tradition stop me from following what I believed in my heart to be truly right. I still stuck by it before because I knew I could keep you steady, but I can’t be sure of that now. Please drink, Tomo. Please don’t let your kindheartedness take you away from me.”
Tomo felt too many emotions at once at the words, far too many for him to process with the little time he had in the face of the other’s pleading, teary gaze. Kazuha’s arm was held up close to his face and he curled a hand around the other’s wrist almost on instinct, just to hold him close however he could. He was frustrated, he felt undeserving of such warmth and love, but he could not help how he yearned to return it and to stay by Kazuha for as long as he could. The other may regret going against his traditions one day, but for now Tomo hoped he could forgive him for his selfishness in accepting the offering.
He pulled Kazuha’s arm closer until it met his lips, noting the relief that clouded the other’s expression when he did. His other arm looped around the vampire’s frame, settling around his waist and pulling him even closer until he had to properly sit on him and get comfortable. He began drinking slowly at first; it was a very odd feeling to be sucking someone’s life source out of them, but the taste was not revolting like he was expecting. He thought it might have been thick, but the blood pouring into his mouth was thin and light, and it was so much sweeter than he would have thought. He remembered a conversation they’d had once, where Kazuha explained vampire blood could also act as a sort of aphrodisiac to humans and how the taste for them wouldn’t be any less enticing than the taste of human blood to a vampire.
Tomo could understand that better now. He could taste the undertones in the blood that were akin to nectar, how it made his head swim and his pulse increase. He felt ravenous for the blood in his mouth and sucked at the arm greedily, but his hold remained gentle. Kazuha, he noticed, shook while held against him. There was an impossibly fond look in the vampire’s eyes, which were still watery.
Thoughtlessly, Tomo let Kazuha’s arm go when he noticed that. His main objective immediately became making the tears go away. He held Kazuha’s face instead, hardly sparing a moment of hesitation before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his eyes. He peppered the white lashes in them, moving from eye to eye. “Angels shouldn’t cry.” He repeated, wiping away a smudge of blood he’d accidentally transferred to the other’s eyelid.
“How can I not?” Kazuha’s voice was shaky as he collapsed against Tomo’s chest, his hand softly moving over the now-healing gashes across the blonde’s stomach. “How can I not tremble before my beloved, when I nearly lost him? When I finally get to share my heart with him completely?”
Tomo could not stand it any longer— he lifted the other’s face enough to be able to lean down and meet his lips in a kiss so soft it made him feel like he was back at home, wrapped in thin sheets and listening to the gentle tune Kazuha would play outside in the earliest hours of the mornings. Through their lips they promised each other a safe haven, a rope to hang onto when the weight of the world tried to bring them down, a hand to hold through every dark night. In their kiss, Tomo found love and life anew, an Angel’s wings curled around his heart, shielding him from every thought he’d once had about how he may never find peace in Teyvat again. Peace was with Kazuha, forever and always.
Tomo wanted to indulge, to find more in the warmth of the other’s lips, but he put distance between them again and looked down to check the state of himself. Though not fully healed, the gashes were closing up at a rate that told him he’d be more than fine in no time. Knowing that, he leaned back against the tree fully once more and took the collar under his kimono off, moving it and his haori out of the way a bit as well. “You can’t argue this time. I’m going to be okay and we both know it. You need to eat.”
Kazuha did look like he wanted to oppose, likely out of habit, but he still carefully inched forward and pressed his nose to Tomo’s neck. He took the smell of him in, finding some sort of pleasure in whatever he picked up. “This will complete the bonding, you know. For good. Just you having my blood would have given us a weak link, but when it’s mutual…” He trailed off, pressing a kiss to the side of Tomo’s neck in the spot he’d chosen. “I want that with you.”
Tomo smiled down at him, cradling the back of Kazuha’s head to push him closer. “Drink, angel. We’ll be each other’s until the end.”
They held eye contact for a moment, the intensity of the care there making Tomo feel lightheaded, before Kazuha finally sank his fangs into his neck. Being fed from, surprisingly, was not as weird as feeding himself, and Tomo actually found himself relaxing into it. It could have been the other’s venom, but his body felt wholly relaxed and free from pain or exhaustion. If he had looked down, he probably would have found his wounds fully healed.
There was something undeniably sensual and deeply romantic about their exchange, something he could feel in his bones, something that made him ache to keep Kazuha bundled as close to him as possible. He brushed his fingers through the vampire’s long hair instead, listening to the soft sighs of contentedness the other let out in between sips.
Kazuha drank until he felt properly full for what was likely the first time in years. When he pulled away after licking his neck clean, there was such an abundance of thankfulness in his expression that Tomo felt emotional over that alone. He knew what it was like to go a long time feeling like you were only feeding yourself enough to keep going a little longer, not enough to truly live. What he could not imagine was going for as long as Kazuha had, caring so much more about everything in the world that you would not allow even a little selfishness for yourself— but that was his Kazuha, his Angel, always so eager to let someone use him as a steppingstone to finish their own journey, neglectful of how his own to restore a semblance of peace in the world was wearing him down over time.
Kazuha met him for another kiss, a firm promise as their new bond took hold. Tomo could feel it, how his heart beat as though it were shadowed by another, how the love coursing through his body thrummed to the tune of Kazuha’s own melodies.
The lonely vampire prince that had found him deep within the woods would never sit by his pond and stare sadly at his rock garden again. Tomo would be there, snaggletoothed grin and booming laugh and all, a wild lion now domesticated and happy to curl around Kazuha and keep him safe from every frown that tried to take home on his face.
This was his Heaven, and not even the strength of every Archon the people of Teyvat prayed to could tear him away from it.