Chapter Text
The air smelt stale, but not in a particularly bad way, just… cold. Lacking the natural essences of life. Taehyung opened his eyes groggily, wincing at the immediate throb of pain at the base of his skull blaring at his conscious incessantly. A small dim, unassuming chandelier swam lazily into focus, little specks of light just enough to see by. Taehyung pushed himself up, fingers pressing against soft velvet, taking in his surroundings. He was in… a living room, of sorts. Yes, there were the couches, the armchairs, the coffee table with books spilled over it, even a fireplace crackling with tiny flame, except… It was like he'd been transported back a century or so. The couch he was sitting down on was a regal deep purple, material soft and springy but stiff to the touch once he added pressure, and lined with a gold metal border, the feet gold orbs. The rugs were intricately designed, stretching across the polished dark wood of the floor, dark, heavy looking curtains hung artistically, the coffee table looking more like a carved display. The books were bound in coarse felt, the pages yellowing and edges wavering, dust and time having settled in between the cracks of the spine and the faded covers, decorated with tiny scripts of gold whispering the titles. The room was dimly lit, light scattered strategically here and there so that vision wasn’t a problem, but there sure wasn't any sign of fluorescent lights up on the ceiling or anything similar. Hell, there were even torch like candle brackets lining the walls, soft flame adding to the overall mysterious, aged and romantic atmosphere of the room, that for all the fire, was pretty cold, unnaturally so. Taehyung took in a breath slowly, eyes wide, unblinking as he stared at everything, trying to take in the fancy, luxurious furnishings and strangely alluring feel to the place, everything notably old fashioned, but not overbearingly so.
Taehyung slowly got up from the couch, automatically moving cautiously, soundlessly to blend in with the dead silence of the unfamiliar house. He thought about calling out to see if anyone was around, but his voice was loathe to make even the tiniest noise to disrupt the scarily quiet veil that seemed to have been draped over the four walls. Where was he? What time was it? How long had he been out for? There was no sign of life whatsoever, at least, not currently.
He wandered through the house, finding it to be more of a mansion, countless winding corridors spiralling off into utter darkness, the same theme of old fashioned wealthy interior design continuing throughout the halls and empty rooms. Walking through the house was like traipsing in an entirely different world, and as all the heavy curtains were drawn, the only light cast from chandeliers and candles, it was as if time ran a different rhythm and pace, aimless and directionless, trapped within the dark washed walls. He passed a kitchen that didn't seem to have any utensils or food. But it was far more modern, looking like a photo taken straight out of a home furnishings magazine with its pristine counters, bar stools, cupboards with metal handles and metal stoves and sinks. In the second dining room with pillars and mantelpieces scattered about and a business conference style polished wooden table sitting smartly in the centre though, Taehyung first caught a real glimpse of modern day civilisation in the form of a half eaten cup of instant noodles sitting like an obnoxious eyesore, a jagged piece clumsily thrust into the preserved artwork of everything else of the house.
He decided to leave it alone. He was hungry, yes, and still somewhat woozy from the loss of blood at the hospital earlier, but who knew whether that cup of instant noodles was even safe to touch.
That meant no he hadn't been miraculously transported to a different world or era of time like he sometimes daydreamed about during lectures beside the window of classrooms, bathing in the vivid beams of the afternoon sun. Taehyung felt like he hadn't seen the sun in a while, like the concept was starting to seem distant, but logic and his own instinct told him he'd only been unconscious for around an hour tops.
Taehyung tried a few of the arching doors lining the corridors, finding all of the ones he felt safe enough to poke at, the ones that didn't give off vibes that screamed danger, locked. Maybe he'd find someone who lived here soon? He seemed to be entering the bedroom… district, anyway. He was happy to see that the lights anchored along the walls remained consistent and strong, perhaps more so than back in that living room. Perhaps if he was feeling more awake, more settled inside his own body, he'd feel scared, or something, wandering these dark empty halls by himself in a place that looked like it existed last century. But then he'd probably also feel excited at exploring this incredible, fantastical place. At this point he just wandered along, wondering when, or if, he'd ever see anyone.
Then he rounded a corner and quite literally, bumped into someone.
It was like crashing into a brick wall, sending him staggering backwards a few steps from the force of it and the total absence of give, the evident packed muscle hard as stone.
“Sorry-” Taehyung hastily lifted his head to apologise to the person before all words died on his tongue.
“Jimin? I thought you were out with…” The guy spoke in this incredibly sensual, sleepy, husky voice, words slurring together just slightly in a way that had Taehyung struggling to breathe. He glanced up, making eye contact with Taehyung, who felt it like a gunshot. The guy standing before him was ridiculously, impossibly hot. He'd paused as he gazed with half lidded eyes at Taehyung, arm raised, hand rubbing the back of his neck. Taehyung had never felt more torn before in his life, as to whether he should stare at the guy’s indescribably attractive face or the bulging bicep that looked too good to be true. There was a subtle prettiness of his blank, sleepy features, half closed eyes and unbelievably red lips somehow complementing the handsome, undeniably manly sharp cut of his jaw. He’d obviously just woken up, dark hair tousled in an incredibly attractive way, gaze blank as it was brooding, oversized white tee not quite hiding the hint of a well toned, broad chest and firm torso.
He looked like pure sex. Taehyung felt his entire body explode in flame and he swallowed with a great deal of difficulty, forgetting how to even form words. Was it even necessary? He could just go on staring at this person forever. He didn't miss the way the person’s eyes lit up with interest as he stared at Taehyung, gaze a little sharper, more focused as it roamed over Taehyung’s face, lingering on his lips before wandering downwards, taking in Taehyung’s body in a shameless, appreciative and almost inquisitive way. Taehyung felt every inch of skin the person’s eyes drifted to itch and throb in the best way, and he felt a fluttering sensation in his lower stomach intensify into burning heat. He bit his lip and flinched as his teeth dug into his recent wound, drawing a few beads of blood, a drop of it sliding off his lip and dripping onto his shirt.
The guy, who'd pretty much been a JPEG image up till then, save for his sweeping once over, suddenly acted very differently. His eyes flew wide open, pinning Taehyung with a horrifyingly wild, crazed stare, his entire body visibly tensing, muscles coiled like he was ready to spring. His painfully wide, unblinking eyes flicked from Taehyung’s to the stain of blood on his lip, back up to his eyes, back to the blood, back to the blood, back to the blood, and his nostrils flared. Taehyung was still coming to terms with the dumbstruck, shell shocked paralysis that had robbed his body of movement and his tongue of speech, but the sharp claws of fear quickly clambered back up his body as he realised the guy was… was not acting very normal. He held himself too still, seeming to not even be breathing, chest utterly, utterly flat and motionless despite the way he drank in the air in an almost desperate way through his flared nostrils and parted lips. How was he… how was he doing that? How was that possible?
“Shit.” The guy hissed, the sound low, dangerously so, and all but deadly, screaming at Taehyung to run. Taehyung couldn't even if he wanted to, his feet seeming rooted to the spot, staring back like some sort of unshakable compulsion, realising with a numbing wave of fear that, the guy’s eyes had begun to glow a bright, deep red. The irises drowned in liquid ruby, swirling within the cage of his pretty eyes like flames bursting to shatter the glass and surge out. Taehyung couldn't breathe, vision slipping and sliding, in and out of blurry focus, chest almost compressed to nothingness from the insurmountable, raw fear. He was unable to take his eyes off of the red lips parting further and allowing a glimpse of thin, sharp silvery fangs. Was he seeing things? He realised that the person was staring at him with… with quite literal hunger.
The guy shut his mouth with a snap, screwing his eyes shut and raising a fist, slamming it against the wall with a terrifying, inhuman amount of force. The paint and plaster ripped away like paper from the contact, the impact sending cracks shooting all the way up to the ceiling, the entire section of wall resembling one big starburst. Bits of plaster rained down from the massive indent in the wall and Taehyung could barely feel a single nerve in his body, heart threatening to burst into a million pieces from sheer overworking. He was completely unable to say or do anything, unable to even twitch a finger as the guy wrenched his stare away like it physically pained him to do so. He disappeared in the next instant, leaving behind nothing but a few extra bits of plaster flaking off from the scar in the wall. Taehyung fainted for the second time that day.
~
“How is he still asleep?”
“You of all people can't say that. And I’d have passed out again too if I saw well, that. What do you think happened? Jungkook was the only one home, right? Where did he go?”
“Did they get into a fight? Even I’m pretty shocked at that… crater in the wall.”
“Is this guy that much of an asshole? I mean, Jungkook’s pretty tolerant, you know?”
“Yoongi! He's my best friend, don't say that! He's a great guy that tries to get along with absolutely everyone! Like, everyone… it's kinda annoying sometimes actually. He can go into a fucking police station and come out on first name basis with Officers Kim, Lee, Jang and a whole shit ton of others, and would probably have scored a date with at least one of them as well.”
“The poor thing, though. He must have been scared out of his mind when you found him, Jimin. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to hold out until Yoongi stepped in, I’d probably black out the moment I saw claws.”
“Like when you first met me?”
“I… Namjoon.”
“It was pretty funny.”
“Stop flirting. He’s waking up.”
Taehyung opened heavy, reluctant lids, gazing blankly, sightlessly up at that chandelier again for a second, before really registering that, different to the last time he woke up on this purple couch, there were four people surrounding him.
“Fuck.” Taehyung greeted as soon as he woke up, scrambling up gracelessly and staring at the four pairs of eyes trained on him, heart pounding, fingers scrabbling at the purple velvet.
“Good morning to you too. Well, good night, right now.” A familiar voice piped up and Taehyung stared, uncomprehending, at Jimin’s casual, smiling face, albeit a little sheepish looking. His eyes darted about to ascertain that yes, he was still in that house, candlelight and all, and yes, there were two pairs of distinctly rich amber, cat-like eyes gazing unblinkingly back at him.
“Jimin…?” Taehyung uttered uncertainly, eyes flicking from one pair of disconcerting glowing irises to the other, wariness keeping him quite literally, on the edge of his seat.
“Hey… how’re you feeling? I should’ve maybe… given you a heads up about all… this,” Jimin shoved his fingers in the mint-haired man’s mouth, prising open his jaw and letting Taehyung see the pointed, thin fangs lined up beside the other normal, straight, white human teeth, that hurt just to look at. “-earlier. But… I didn’t really know when it was a good time to break it to you that… well…”
“Vampires exist?” Taehyung finished hoarsely, speaking the words like they weren’t his own, dry lips numb. Jimin dropped his hand and the mint-haired… vampire, ran his tongue over the sharp teeth, displaying sudden normal, blunted canines as his tongue retreated. His amber eyes dulled to an inconspicuous dark brown as well. Taehyung wished he could say he felt safer and more at ease with the slightly more human-like appearance, but the instinctual sense that just screamed danger, predator, didn’t diminish in the slightest, blaring at him like a neon sign over the vampire’s head, at how still he sat, at how flawless his pale, marble skin was. His gaze flicked to the other, who didn’t seem to weigh any thoughts of toning down the whole in-your-face vampire look, but quickly did the same as the mint-haired vampire as the conventionally handsome, tall man beside him hit his arm. He had silvery-white hair coiffed up casually off his forehead. Was dyeing hair a vampire thing, or…
But that… that stupidly hot, sexy guy from earlier, he was… a vampire, too, wasn’t he. Fuck, that was a strange thought. But in any case, he didn’t seem to follow the hair trend at least. Nor were his eyes amber.
Vampires. It was a thrilling, fantastical thought, a hidden image, a breath of subconscious dissipating into the night air, yet to be realised or really found. But as Taehyung stared at the way the two… vampires sitting by him just did not move, no telltale signs of life such as the natural slight shifting of position, the twitch in muscles and the fluttering tiny jumps in the skin of cheeks when they blinked… It was like someone had finally put an incoherent, persistent and unyielding notion of Taehyung’s into words. He smiled.
“What do you mean you didn’t know when it was a good time to break it to me? We literally had a conversation about the realism of Vampire Diaries this morning. I asked you what you thought it was like to be a vampire.” Taehyung grinned, finding himself relaxing for no real reason, slightly amused at the unison of four pairs of raised eyebrows, presumably for different causes. Before any of the four, who Taehyung realised a little belatedly, were all startlingly good looking, could say anything, he continued with an even brighter grin. “Which reminds me, nice to meet you, thank you for providing shelter, and I have no idea what’s going on, but firstly, do you guys transform into bats?”
Ringing, hearty, incredulous laughter, a couple of ‘what the fuck’s, icy barriers erected in an instinctive self preservation melting away and roughly fifteen minutes later, Taehyung concluded that no, vampires did not transform into bats, yes, they really did drink blood, yes it was necessary and painful if ignored, sort of like jacking off - the solemn comparison given by the mint-haired vampire that got hit by Jimin for the comment - no, sunlight did not kill them, but it scalded their skin and they were pretty much unable to move during daylight hours, no, they could not eat human food without it resurfacing and waving hello at them again like a nosy neighbour that can't take a hint (description given by the other handsome human with a kind smile), and yes, they did have sex. A lot of it apparently. Taehyung could already feel himself beaming at them like old comrades, his soul latching on to them and clinging on to them like a small child. It was a characteristic of his, he guessed. Oh well, what did it matter how quickly he decided someone was going to be his friend, more friends for him.
Others things concluded were: these four lived together with two others (one of which was that one from earlier…) in this mansion, and Jimin had been dating a mint-haired vampire for roughly one and a half years now and Taehyung had no idea.
Min Yoongi, he was called, and the other, Kim Namjoon, apparently did not feel the torturous burn for blood and thirst to maim and kill as severely as many other standard vampires, as they were quite a bit older than average age of vampires in this country. Taehyung hadn't wanted to ask, but he assumed that number wasn't small.
But in any case, that meant that the arrangement of vampires and humans living under one roof worked, and everyone was happy and healthy. Nobody really mentioned the other vampire, and Taehyung wondered where he went.
Yoongi and Namjoon were about as non-vampire-like as Taehyung could imagine (not considering the whole darkly beautiful, undead aura). They were laidback and witty, super easily likeable in a human way, and as far as he could tell, adorably, beautifully, hopelessly in love with their human companions. Taehyung refrained multiple times from cooing and gushing over the way the other older looking human, Seokjin, seemed to subconsciously lean into Namjoon’s touch when his hand rested on his back, and how Jimin’s face would light up in a smile he himself didn't seem to realise appeared when Yoongi wrapped his arms loosely around Jimin’s waist.
Taehyung straightened, folding his arms primly over his chest and staring Jimin down. “So, let me get this straight. You've known vampires exist since over a year ago and never told me.”
“Well… I can't exactly- well yeah.” Jimin made a vague, helpless gesture and Taehyung narrowed his eyes a little.
“And you've been living with vampires and never told me. What about your dorm room?”
“I only moved in yesterday. That's why I had to crash at yours.” Jimin shrugged, watching Taehyung’s eyes carefully, like he was gauging his reaction, and Taehyung waved a hand dismissively, intensifying his fixed stare, moving on to the real question. Yoongi watched on with a slight, bemused smile.
“More importantly… You've had a hot boyfriend for one and a half years and you never told me?” Taehyung leaned forward and bore his most somber, critical stare into Jimin’s eyes, shaking his head in disapproval. Yoongi raised an eyebrow sharply at that and Seokjin burst out laughing at the unexpected statement.
“What- Taehyung, that's the part you're focusing on?” Jimin cried in disbelief, exasperatedly wringing his hands and staring at Taehyung like he was the abnormal one with friends with sharp teeth and different coloured eyes. “I'm actually surprised you're not even the slightest bit- I mean, you're so calm right now. You just found out like an hour ago that vampires exist and you're- you’re concentrating on the fact that I haven't told you about my vampire boyfriend?”
“It's important! What if he was an asshole? I’m your best friend, I have a duty, to make sure the only asshole in your life is me.” Taehyung replied seriously, sensibly, and Namjoon snorted into his fist, glancing away, amusement racking his otherwise eerily still form. Yoongi’s lips quirked up in a half smile, eyebrows raised and eyes flat, but not without the gleam of humour. Jimin buried his head in his hands as Seokjin nodded solemnly, seeming to greatly approve of Taehyung’s reasoning. Taehyung counted it a plus.
“He's- no, he's not an asshole, well, sometimes, but I mean, he saved your life, so.” Jimin mumbled and Taehyung blinked, drawing in a sharp breath as he remembered the flashing claws and crumpled body in flashes, delayed aftershocks of fear curdling in his stomach. Fuck, how had he forgotten about that? They- they’d been vampires, hadn’t they? Was… was that one dead? It- it, had a hole ripped clean out of its… chest… so… What about the other one? And he’d been rescued by… Yoongi, hadn’t he?
“Wait, so what happened?” Taehyung voiced aloud and Jimin wrapped an arm around Yoongi, grinning and squishing their cheeks together to the disgruntled glare of Yoongi.
“Well, the missus and I were out on a romantic stroll when we passed a couple of people fighting. I saw it was you and thought you were actually stupid enough to try and fight vampires on your own and screamed at you to get away but I don’t think you heard me. Lucky for you, Yoongi doesn't like many vampires at all. He had no problem killing those two to save you. Which he told me he did instinctively because after I shouted he sort of guessed you were my friend.” Jimin informed him matter of factly, smiling broadly, proudly at his boyfriend who snorted and flicked his mint hair out of his eyes with a wholly offhand, nonchalant air Taehyung really envied for a second. Imagine if he could be that chill about… anything.
He raised an eyebrow though, at the remark, cocking his head to the side. “Why don’t you like vampires?”
“Besides this?” Yoongi replied flatly, eyes suddenly a blazing, bright gold, and Taehyung likened the feeling to staring directly into headlights rushing towards him without any sign of stopping. “Besides the whole, ‘I see a paper cut and now I've flipped my shit and all I can think about is filling my stomach’? They're like animals.”
“That's a little harsh.” Namjoon cut in without any real rebuttal in his dry tone, smiling slightly. Yoongi rolled his eyes, blinking them closed and open to the normal shade of brown again.
“We’re superior creatures. Self centred shitty statement or whatever, it's true. We have the intelligence of humans but the claws and fangs of savage predators. We have enhanced hearing, sight, smell and can sense prey as far away as three hundred metres. We have super speed and don't even need to breathe. We can't even be killed unless our hearts are completely detached from our bodies, or silver’s been used. We live for centuries. But why does our population still die off a tiny bit, day by day? Because we’re fucking dumb. We act like single minded crazed animals, and only think about drinking blood, like we’re incapable of focusing on anything else, like we’re unable to even try to exercise a bit of control. What happens when the humans, the greater population, find people dying everywhere and suspicious bite marks left on throats? They figure things out, start fighting back, and they set out to exterminate our kind with technology, magic and sheer numbers. Oh, and, intelligence.” Yoongi spoke all this in a low, disdainful voice, curling his lip like a bitter taste rested on his tongue, eyes flashing amber more than a few times in his dry, mocking tirade. Taehyung blinked, speechless (a rare case for him), eyes wide as he stared at Yoongi’s expression set in stone. Wow. Jimin shifted a little uncomfortably.
“Yeah. We’re going extinct because of ourselves. It's happened throughout history. Time and time again, vampires as a species basically die out because of losing the fight with humans. The enemy’s just far too many. And united, in protecting themselves, if nothing else. Whereas you could hardly meet a vampire that would care about any other vampires except its own coven members. Altruism is a trait pretty unique to humans. The concept’s foreign to us, and any other species.” Namjoon explained quietly, smoothly, and Taehyung slid his stare over to the silver-haired vampire, wordless as he was helpless, at this… this information? The words resonated in his head, staining the walls of his mind. Seokjin drummed his fingers against his leg, eyes flicking from Yoongi to Namjoon and back again, expression unreadable for a moment before he turned to Taehyung and smiled.
“So, why were you getting attacked?”
“I… I don't know. I just… I was just walking back to the dorm and I felt like something was there, and those two vampires just… appeared I guess. It happened so fast- I,” Taehyung started stammering a little, stomach turning as the image of the thick arc of dark blood bursting from the ripped, gaping hole flashed through his mind again, seemingly burned into his retina.
“I heard a coven is moving closer and closer to the dorms at our school. Yoongi wanted me to move here because he thinks it'll be too dangerous to walk back to the dorm in the dark alone from now on, or at least until something is done about that bunch.” Jimin shot a glance at Yoongi before turning wide, worried eyes to Taehyung, who felt a chill wash over him at the thought. A coven of vampires… Not ones like Yoongi and Namjoon. Ones like those two that had tried to kill him, lurking around dark streets and shadowed alleys, waiting to prey on unsuspecting college students.
“How about you move in with us, like Jimin?” Seokjin suggested brightly, abruptly, exchanging glances with the other three. Taehyung blinked in surprise, taken aback at the sudden invitation, taking quick, furtive glances at Yoongi and Namjoon’s reactions, and looking to Jimin instinctively for help. Move in? Here? Just… just out of nowhere? He'd met these people less than an hour ago.
“Yeah, you should! You've already been attacked today, and who knows what that coven’s up to. It's too dangerous there. Yoongi and Namjoon don't mind, right?” Jimin stared at the vampires in turn for affirmation, then nodding enthusiastically back at Taehyung. Taehyung stared back wordlessly, suddenly put on the spot by four pairs of eyes staring owlishly at him. Move into a house that looked like it belonged in a historical TV series that he didn't even know the location of, with three vampires and two strangers as housemates… And without even thinking it through properly.
In other words, Taehyung was pretty keen.
“Yeah, sounds great.” Taehyung grinned after a few beats of silence and that was that.
~
Taehyung somehow made his way back into the living room close to the front door he'd discovered during his travels throughout the maze of a house. He sat on that stiff purple couch with a cup of instant noodles bestowed upon him by Jimin, idly stirring the powder into the hot water. He'd passed the gigantic web of cracks etched into the wall while exploring, and it gave him a fright before he remembered he'd been there when it happened. That vampire from before…
Maybe Taehyung had given him the wrong impression. Bumping into someone while intruding in their house and then staring at them while drooling like they were a slab of meat… Yeah, no, not the best introduction. Taehyung liked making friends, he liked people and he liked people to like him too. Even people that looked very much like they wanted to tear open his throat and drink every last drop of his blood. The description was probably literal, considering it was a vampire. No matter why there was now the damage of an explosion spread across a wall in the house, Taehyung was determined to start again properly and make sure the vampire didn't think he was just some creep that snuck into their house. He'd set himself the mission to ignore the fact that this vampire was incredibly, ridiculously, unbearably attractive, and just focus on making friends, which was what he was good at. If he was going to live here, he was going to try his damn hardest to get along with everyone.
He tried not to think about the veins lacing down the vampire’s pale, muscled arm.
He'd gotten about two thirds of the way through the cup of noodles when the front door opened with an eerie soft, sighing noise, that definitely did not sound like a door opening, and Taehyung would have to ask about that later, along with his two thousand or so questions about vampires. He glanced up and saw that vampire from before glide into view, face shadowed, turned away. Taehyung barely had time to gawk and gape at his toned chest heaving with evident exertion through the horribly thin, clinging material of his shirt before the vampire clutched his throat, muscles clenched visibly tightly. He choked out a pained, airless cry and collapsed against the wooden floor with a painful sounding thud.
Taehyung jumped in surprise, setting his cup down on the coffee table and getting to his feet, tripping his way around the couches over to the fallen vampire, confusion and concern repelling all other thoughts from his mind. The vampire was curled in on himself, fingers digging so hard into his own neck the skin was twisted in a horrible way, beads of dark, viscous blood dribbling out from under his translucent nails, even though they were only blunt and human looking. Taehyung dropped down to crouch beside him immediately, eyes widening in alarm, hands automatically flying to grip the vampire’s wrist, using all his strength to try and tug his hand away from its choke hold to no avail. God, he knew vampires were strong, but the hand didn't even budge, didn't even twitch away a millimetre despite Taehyung’s best efforts, using every muscle in his arms and back to pull at the arm that could just as well have been a stone wall.
The vampire wasn't breathing (although Taehyung guessed he didn't need to), his mouth stretched wide open in a silent scream of pain, eyes screwed shut. Spidery veins beneath his skin darkened to deep purple and became visible, giving the illusion of stretching, growing and racing up from his neck where his fingers clutched and across his face, stark against the startling white of his complexion, entire body radiating agony. It was terrifying to look at, and Taehyung himself was starting to feel pain just watching him.
“Holy shit.” Taehyung breathed, heartbeat accelerating in worry and fear, doubling his efforts to try and yank the vampire’s hand away from his neck. Was he dying? What the fuck was going on? Why was he in pain? Asides from the wounds inflicted by his nails, he didn't appear to be hurt anywhere. Taehyung had no clue what to do and where to begin to help, other than stopping the vampire from clawing his own throat open. Superhuman otherworldly magical vampire healing abilities or not, he was going to assume a ripped open throat wasn't a good thing for anyone.
“Fuck, I- Jesus, stop- I don't know if you can hear me but listen to me, let go of your neck.” Taehyung hissed urgently into the vampire’s ear, heart thudding somewhere up in his throat. Fear crept in red at the edge of his vision as he watched the blood trickling down from his nails start to thicken and flow in a stronger stream. Taehyung swore again, blood pounding in his ears and he let go of the vampire’s wrist to grab ahold of his hand instead, forcing his fingers between the vampire's palm and his neck to try and prise it away. He knew his own scrabbling fingers scratching at the wounds probably wasn't going to help, but he had to wrench the vampire’s hand away somehow. When he managed to force one finger away though, his own finger tip dragging against the cut there, the vampire’s eyes flew open, and he drew in a huge, sharp breath, hand falling away immediately. His chest was suddenly heaving up and down, gulping in air like a drowning human, eyes bloodshot and glowing red. Taehyung immediately snatched his hand away, fearful to have aggravated the wound and he stared with trembling fingers, at the long, thin fangs protruding from the vampire’s blood red lips. Blood red… was probably, again, a literal description seeing as it was a vampire.
“Shit, are you- are you okay?” Taehyung exclaimed, hurriedly looping an arm around the trembling, shuddering vampire’s back, helping him sit up with a fair deal of difficulty, grunting at the effort of pushing the wall of muscle upright. Taehyung flinched despite himself as those piercing, glowing drops of ruby red fire fixed their immobilising stare on him, the point of a sharp fang peeking out from lips still parted, to draw air he probably didn't need. The vampire, with his red eyes, purple veins, white skin and sharp teeth looked like the very picture of moonless nightmares. Taehyung swallowed but didn't look away, losing himself in that unwavering, unblinking red stare, the shine and glow of it resembling a jewel, drawing Taehyung in like a hapless moth to a blazing flame.
The vampire reached out and lightly grabbed Taehyung’s hand, guiding his bloodied fingers back up to the five weeping crescents carved into his skin, his cold touch weightless, almost unreal. Shit, Taehyung hadn't even noticed the icy temperature of his body until that point. Taehyung didn't resist, letting the vampire press his shaky fingers against the cuts still leaking deep red, almost black trails of blood. The blood was warm.
The vampire winced, just a tiny twitch of his lips, and exhaled quietly, tension seeming to unravel within the locked form of his body. Taehyung watched carefully, not missing a second, as the sharp red glow of his eyes gradually dulled down to a pretty dark brown, and the fangs and veins retreated, leaving behind a tired, pretty, human-like visage. After a few more seconds, the vampire let the ghosting touch across the back of Taehyung’s hand drop, and Taehyung lifted his fingers off the wounds slowly, the bleeding having stopped already. He just stared at his hand for a moment without really breathing, at his fingers coated in the blackish substance, blurring in bright red at the edges as drops of it trickled down his palm and paused at the curve of his wrist. He looked back up at the vampire, who just sat there, back hunched, still breathing a little quicker than average, gazing blankly off somewhere towards the fireplace, seeming completely, utterly out of it.
Taehyung bit the inside of his cheek, frowning before wiping the mess off his hand onto his shirt, weeping for the loss of one of the few shirts he owned as a college student. He used the clean sleeve to lightly dab at the thick collar of drying blood around the vampire’s neck. It completely soaked through the fabric and no way was he ever needing this shirt for anything again, but he silently wiped all the blood away, trying to be as careful and gentle as possible. Although, was it really possible to hurt a vampire without trying to?
Also, what the fuck just happened?
Once the blood had been wiped away as best he could, Taehyung sat back in awe, letting his bloodied, blackened sleeve drop to his side. He watched the open skin of the wounds slowly sew themselves back together again, merging seamlessly, before disappearing altogether, leaving behind no trace of there ever being any wound that existed before. The skin that was heavily bruised in rings and flower buds of green and deep purple were also fading away like they were being erased by magic. He reached out to touch the once again pale, perfect skin to confirm the miracle with his own fingers, and caught himself just as they hovered directly over the vampire’s neck, whose gaze snapped over to him. He immediately let his hand drop, staring back nervously. The vampire didn't say anything for a long few moments, just staring at him.
“Thanks.” The vampire murmured quietly at last, steady, pretty eyes giving nothing away. Taehyung took two seconds to consider a multitude of things, including whether this was a “this never happened” situation, what he was meant to say or act like now, and what sort of approach should he take to the drops of blood staining the floor. He chose to pretend the last couple of minutes didn't happen, or at least didn't matter. The vampire didn't look too… welcoming, or inviting, to discuss this topic, the shadow looming over his eyes informed Taehyung.
“No worries. Can you get up?” Taehyung asked cheerily, standing and smiling as if his shirt wasn't half covered in dark blood that looked more like poison. The vampire stared at him like he couldn't quite process the words, before taking Taehyung’s offered hand and rising, the movement suddenly regaining the smooth, beyond graceful manner Taehyung had seen before, like rippling water.
“I'm Kim Taehyung, by the way. I'm friends with Jimin. I’m… going to be living here from now on, I do hope that's okay. It’s a bit of a spur of the moment thing, I know, I haven’t even got anything with me.” Taehyung greeted brightly, trying not to stare too obviously like he was assessing the vampire's reaction. What if he was annoyed that this stranger was just randomly announcing his intention to stay, without consulting him, a member of the house? But… the others had said it was fine. Jimin assured him that the other two wouldn't mind in the slightest. Maybe the vampire didn't like him. God, Taehyung had never been this half assed, second guessing and uncertain about anything before, let alone his own impression on others. Maybe the cracked wall was a little off putting, maybe.
But if Taehyung thought about it, that had only happened after… He glanced down quickly, surreptitiously, at the tiny dried bloodstain on his shirt, his own blood. That had only happened after the vampire seemed to be holding himself back from going berserk at the sight of blood. Did he belong in the category of vampires Yoongi spoke of so scornfully? Taehyung casually covered the red spot with a hand, still smiling. He hoped the vampire didn't still have an appetite. The vampire stroked his own neck with light fingers, almost contemplatively, staring at Taehyung like he was trying to figure something out.
“I'm Jeon Jungkook. I… well. I don't mind you living with us, of course, but…” The vampire spoke quietly, eyes drifting down to rest on Taehyung’s lips for a fraction of a second. Taehyung blinked, feeling his heart skip a beat. The vampire glanced back up at his eyes, something flashing in his eyes as his lips curved in a half smile. “I mean, obviously you wouldn't go out of your way to, and this goes without saying, but please… try not to bleed around me.”
“Ah,” Taehyung uttered, instinctively covering his cut lip with his hand, a tiny swirl of fear circling his chest at the simple words, but he shoved it aside, grinning instead at the somewhat dry tone. “Right. I'll try my best.”
Jungkook actually smiled fully at that, initially somber, drawn and calculating face brightening beautifully with the upturn of deep red lips. And, Taehyung thought to himself, he was fucked.
“Nice meeting you, but I need to go throw up for a bit, so sit tight for now.” Jungkook smiled faintly, and Taehyung did a double take at that, not sure if he was serious or not, before Jungkook vanished into thin air and seconds later, heaving, retching sounds could be heard distantly from rooms away. Taehyung closed his surprised mouth, blinking at the space where Jungkook had been. What? Actually? He didn't even know vampires needed to vomit. Surely their singular diet of blood didn't cause them nausea. What did they even vomit out? Blood? Taehyung found himself walking towards Jungkook for whatever reason, towards what sounded like the second kitchen.
Jungkook was hunched over the metal sink, hands gripping the granite counter on either side, back muscles bunched, tensed and flexed in an awfully obvious, visible way that had Taehyung turning around and fanning his face. He collected himself and entered the room, footsteps lagging in slight trepidation. The strong, almost acrid smell of a large amount of blood filled the room, the metallic tang of it sharpened somehow, by some other substance Taehyung couldn't identify. Taehyung slowly, cautiously approached Jungkook, peeking over his shoulder to see that yes, indeed he'd just spat out a terrifyingly dark, terrifyingly large pool of blood. But it didn't look quite the same as the blood that had been spilt from his neck. It was redder, brighter, more like human blood than something that looked almost demonic. It probably was human blood that Jungkook had drunk. The thought caught Taehyung in a shiver.
Jungkook had his eyes shut, still as a marble statue save for the single vein sticking out in his neck, ticking with his slightly accelerated pulse. Taehyung felt his mind go blank as he stared at the vein for a few horridly distracted moments, stomach twisting a little, his own heartbeat speeding up just slightly. Jungkook’s snapped up at that, shooting Taehyung a quick, surprised look as if he’d heard the increase of Taehyung’s heart rate. Wait, shit, he was a vampire, he probably did hear it. Taehyung sort of wanted to dive into the floor and never resurface as his heart only beat faster, as Jungkook pinned him down with an incredulous stare, lips red as fuck.
“Uh, I didn’t… didn’t think you were being serious. Do vampires need to vomit…?” Taehyung asked uncertainly, rather pointlessly, and Jungkook stared at him for a second longer, before glancing down at the blood slowly trickling down the drain.
“Well. This one does.” Jungkook replied flatly and Taehyung figured it’d be unwise to ask why. He drew in a breath as he stared at the blood. It wasn’t really dark, it was washed through with gleaming, shining bits of silver. If the red was replaced with blue perhaps it’d look like a night sky. What the fuck? According to internet stories and myths about vampires, as well as the media’s portrayal of them, silver was fatal to vampires. Their weakness, other than the sun. If that was true, what was this much silver doing inside this vampire’s body?
“Taehyung.” Taehyung jumped at the sound of his name spoken by that lovely voice and glanced back up at Jungkook, who stared at the river of silver draining away with a dark, chilling stormy look on his face. “Don't tell anyone about this. And you don't need to help me next time, it goes away by itself after a while.”
“Does that… does that mean this happens often? And nobody else knows?” Taehyung whispered, eyes wide, and Jungkook snorted, lips twitching up humorlessly, eyes flat.
“I don't go around broadcasting it, no. Only Seokjin knows. And now you.” Jungkook muttered and Taehyung felt a twinge of guilt at that, even though it hadn't exactly been his fault. Jungkook straightened, taking in a deep breath, linking his fingers behind his neck and tipping his head back, bringing his elbows together to unintentionally fuck Taehyung over as an eyeful of flexed bicep was suddenly shoved in his face. Taehyung coughed, taking a few steps back, averting his eyes hurriedly. Fuck vampire hearing, even Taehyung could hear how embarrassing loud his heartbeat was. He looked anywhere but Jungkook, looking for an escape route.
“Uh, yeah, no I won’t- won’t tell the others.” Taehyung stammered, going to scratch his temple before realising his hand was still sticky with half wet, half flaking blood, trying to ignore the horror movie-like image of half his sleeve drenched in morbid, dark red. Jungkook looked like he was trying to decide whether or not to mention Taehyung’s quickened heartbeat, before scratching the back of his neck and coughing a few times, blinking a little agitatedly.
“Do you need a shirt? For tonight? You haven’t got any stuff with you, right?” Jungkook gestured at the ruined sleeve, his eyes sparking with a little something that Taehyung was afraid to focus on. He instead concentrated on the hint of anxiousness lurking around Jungkook’s eyes as he stared at the blood, and it took Taehyung a moment to realise that Jungkook was feeling… guilty maybe, and perhaps a little indebted. It… was an awfully strange feeling, to have a vampire stare at him like he felt… bad. At least he wasn’t getting stared at in that heated, darkly promising way when he’d first bumped into him. And oh shit, his mind was gone again.
“Uh, yeah… yeah. A shirt would be nice.” Taehyung replied slowly, trying his best not to stare too openly at the neck of Jungkook’s tee hanging low, showing too much pale, alluring, smooth, perfect skin for Taehyung’s mental stability. Jungkook disappeared, although he was moving at a marginally slower pace than the two times before, allowing Taehyung to actually catch a glimpse of blurred movement across the tiles and out the doorway. He returned within seconds, handing Taehyung a neat bundle of clothes, from which he could make out an almost identical large white tee, and plain black shorts. How kind of him. Perhaps Taehyung would be able to appreciate the gesture properly if Jungkook just didn’t… look like that. How was Taehyung expected to concentrate on anything other than Jungkook’s ludicrously thick, firm looking thighs he’d just regretfully discovered? The longer he stared, the less he believed his shaking eyes. Holy shit. Those thighs could crush his skull into powder, and to be honest, he wouldn’t mind if they did. God, he wanted a bite. As raw want surged in Taehyung’s stomach incessantly, Jungkook clamped a hand over the lower half of his face, fire flashing in sudden glowing eyes. Before Taehyung could ask what was wrong, Jungkook strode away from him briskly, pausing just slightly to speak, not looking at him.
“You don’t have to give it back, I have too many of the same shirts anyway.” Jungkook breathed, voice distractingly airy, tone thin, strangled, like he was doing his best to control it. Taehyung revoked his previous resolve to try and become friends with this vampire. It was proving hopelessly impossible to not think about sex just standing near him. Taehyung really hoped this was just a strange day for his libido. Or else the days to come were going to be painfully long. Jungkook disappeared again and Taehyung glanced down at the clothes in his hand. Too much had happened today.
~