Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Did you get lost?” Seokjin asked as soon as Taehyung made his way to the living room he’d first woken up in, after having quickly sorted his downstairs issue out in the safety of his bedroom. Taehyung forced out a laugh, scratching the back of his neck.

“Ah- y-yeah, kind of. This… this place is huge.” Taehyung stuttered unconvincingly, but Seokjin seemed to buy it, nodding and standing from the couch.

“Well, it's around two in the afternoon right now. I'm guessing you're hungry, right? Come, there's some stuff left over from lunch.” Seokjin smiled and led Taehyung to the kitchen, who tried his very best not to think about a very different kind of hunger. He sat down at the white granite counter, accepting the offered sandwiches with a grateful smile. He really was hungry, now that he thought about it. As he dug into the meal, Seokjin stood opposite him, leaning casually against the countertop, and Taehyung swallowed quickly, not liking and not used to silence when he could be making conversation.

“Do you know where Jimin is?”

“Jimin? He left straight after lunch, and he's at school, probably. I think he has one or two classes today.” Seokjin replied after a moment of thought, and Taehyung raised an eyebrow, taking another bite.

“It's Saturday though? …It is, right? It's kinda hard keeping track of time here.” Taehyung remarked with a light smile and Seokjin returned it, nodding in agreement.

“Yes it's Saturday, Jimin has catch up classes, I'm pretty sure. And yeah, when you never see the sun down here, you lose your sense of time pretty easily. You just have to get used to it, I'm afraid.” Seokjin spoke, shrugging slightly. Taehyung nodded, chewing thoughtfully, about to ask if there were any clocks in the house when Seokjin stared a little intently at his lip, brows furrowing in slightly concern. “Your lip’s still bleeding?”

Taehyung choked on his mouthful of sandwich, swallowing hastily, frantically, ignoring the burn all the way down his throat, heartbeat increasing almost on cue. He did his best not to think about the reason for that. “Uh- uh, yeah. Yeah. It is.”

Seokjin’s posture shifted a little, and he smiled a little bemusedly, a little confusedly. “You… you uh, smell like Jungkook. Like… very distinctly.”

“You can… tell? It’s- it’s that strong?” Taehyung’s entire face heated up in mortification as he whispered, and he could feel a migraine developing at the base of his skull when Seokjin coughed into his fist, seeming to be stifling a laugh.

“My sense of smell is a bit sharper than the average human’s because well… when you fuck a vampire, after a while it affects you physically. Especially if you end up drinking any of their blood. It was on accident, before you ask. My sight’s different, as well. Pretty handy when these candles go out every now and then.” Seokjin informed him matter of factly, and Taehyung fought the urge to curse.

“I… I see… Um, I thought… I thought vampires couldn’t wake up during the day?” Taehyung asked meekly, and Seokjin raised a sharp eyebrow, nodding slowly.

“They can’t. Well, they can, but they won’t stay awake, no. If you bother them long enough, they would eventually wake up, like waking up a human, but they can’t stay awake for long. Why? Did Jungkook…?” Seokjin trailed off, eyes wide at the possibility. Taehyung fidgeted in his seat, not even needing to reply verbally, his expression enough of a confirmation. Seokjin continued a little cautiously, something like worry flashing across his features as his eyes flicked to the cut on his lip. “What happened? Did he do anything?”

“He… might’ve… he might've- kissed me.” Taehyung mumbled almost incomprehensibly, blushing even harder to what must be a terribly unflattering shade of red. He didn't know why he was telling Seokjin. He probably shouldn't. Jungkook didn't look like he knew what he was doing. Not in terms of the kiss, no, Taehyung could tell that oh yes, he sure knew how to use that soft tongue, but he seemed like he himself didn't realise he was awake till Taehyung’s tongue caught on his fang. And Taehyung didn't know what he was doing, either. Seokjin’s mouth dropped open in a perfect ‘o’, and Taehyung coughed uncomfortably, telling himself it was normal to tell a guy he'd met a couple days ago that his housemate kissed him while he'd been in his room to use the shower. …Yeah.

“…Oh. Is that… is that why…” Seokjin gestured vaguely at his mouth and Taehyung couldn't help the shiver rushing down his body when he thought back to the hot, numbing feeling of Jungkook sucking the blood out from his cut. Taehyung carefully touched the cut with his tongue.

“It was just… well, he- he woke up really, really suddenly, when I accidentally bit my lip and it started bleeding, and he was just… suddenly there… and…” Taehyung fumbled around his words, not entirely sure how much would be classified as TMI. How comfortable was Seokjin with Jungkook, anyway?

“Did he scare you? I mean… they move pretty fast. And they're… not usually nice about it, when they drink blood. You're not hurt anywhere, are you?” Seokjin asked worriedly, voice slightly hushed, as though he didn’t really want to ask, but felt like he had to.

“No, no he didn’t- I’m not hurt, no. But holy shit, he scared me, that’s for sure.” Taehyung murmured, brows furrowing just a little bit, unable to shake off the unsettled, wary and uneasy feeling that had been clinging to him, oppressive and demanding to be realised. Jungkook’s undeniably dangerous aura pressed down on him even now when he was rooms and rooms away. The look in Jungkook’s blazing red eyes… Taehyung was definitely considered as “prey”, at least in that moment, and to be staring into the hungry gaze of a hunter… Taehyung was pretty certain if he hadn’t been distracted by the kiss, he would have fainted from pure terror. But that couldn’t be helped. Jungkook was a vampire, after all.

Unfortunately, Jungkook was also very attractive.

“I… he's not usually- well, like that, I'm sorry you got such a scare. He actually refuses blood most of the time, even though I try and get him to drink because he's starving himself. He doesn't usually lose control.” Seokjin spoke apologetically, tone sincere with concern and slight confusion, and Taehyung shook his head quickly. He wasn't saying that to bemoan, he was just a bit… fascinated, a bit interested, if he was honest.

“Jimin… Jimin said something like that too. He said he hasn't seen any sign of Jungkook drinking blood for a year.” Taehyung replied thoughtfully and Seokjin gave a helpless sort of smile.

“He's… well, he's a special case, as far as vampires go. He’s young, and vampires less than a century old can't last more than a week without blood, generally speaking.” Seokjin explained a little distantly, and Taehyung raised an eyebrow, feeling distinctly like the reason of Jungkook being a special case had just been omitted. He didn't press it.

“How old is he?” Taehyung asked instead, trying to wrap his head around the fact that it was very possible that Jungkook was decades older than him and still looked his age. Weird. He wondered how old Yoongi and Namjoon were.

“Two. His vampire age, I mean. He came to us when he was freshly turned two years ago. Very young. In human years… Oh, I've never asked, but I’m guessing he's around your age? Maybe a little younger?” Seokjin pondered, gazing at Taehyung in thought, and Taehyung nodded his head slowly. Two years was a long time for a human, but he guessed that made Jungkook a very new, baby vampire, compared to his centuries-old kind. Fuck, he'd been human a mere two years ago. It was an extremely strange, chilling thought. Seokjin spoke again with a light smile. “In case you were wondering, Yoongi’s five hundred years old, and Namjoon’s four hundred.”

“Holy shit.” Taehyung couldn't stop himself from exclaiming, hand flying to his mouth. Five… hundred years? The notion could barely sink in properly. How many ages had they seen pass before their very eyes? How many lifetimes worth had they lived? Shit, he'd joked around with some pretty much ancient beings just the other night. It was severely intimidating and humbling, but also wildly fascinating. He had to go pester one of them with questions about- well, everything, one day. He bit the inside of his cheek, another thought popping into his head. “What about the eyes? I saw that Namjoon and Yoongi have amber, sort of golden eyes, but Jungkook has red? Is that also because he's a special case?”

“Yes… It's a side effect I guess. I'm not sure if it's because of the lack of blood in his system, or because… well. I'm not sure, and I don't think he knows, either.” Seokjin replied thoughtfully and Taehyung nodded slowly, quickly suppressing the crazy urge to smile. Jungkook’s red eyes were terrifying, predatory, supernatural and filled with promises of dark, sweet temptation and echoing the cries of death itself. They were exactly what Taehyung would have expected to see if he'd never seen a vampire before. But at the same time they were hauntingly beautiful, and Taehyung was drawn to that irresistible whisper of death like nothing he'd ever experienced before, and he was glad it was exclusive to Jungkook, and not just a thing he may or may not have for vampires in general. But wait, didn't that just mean he had more questions for himself? Why was he so attracted? Was this normal? The answer was probably absolutely fucking not, but… God, those red eyes were so beautiful.

Taehyung felt a sudden sharp spear of pain shoot through his skull, and he gasped, gripping his head tightly in both shock and pain. Blurry, jumpy, bright flashes of deep red exploded in his mind, and he gritted his teeth as he saw pained, resentful, murderous eyes snap open with a flare of the deepest crimson, damning the moonlit sky reproachfully before sliding down to lock with Taehyung’s own passively blank stare.

The image vanished the next second, leaving Taehyung breathing heavily, heart racing as he slowly opened his eyes, feeling the pain recede. Holy shit. What… the fuck was that? Had he seen those hateful red eyes that seemed to slice Taehyung’s body with curses of eternal suffering somewhere before?

“Taehyung? Taehyung, are you okay?” Seokjin was asking anxiously and Taehyung jolted back to the present, blinking quickly to rid his vision of the remnant stains of rich red.

“I… Uh, yeah, my head just… suddenly hurt a lot. I… I think I've been pretty stressed and not getting enough sleep recently.” Taehyung tried for a smile, attempting to reassure both Seokjin and himself. Seokjin nodded slowly, seeming to accept the mention of a mere headache, and while that wasn't a lie, Taehyung felt like he couldn't really tell Seokjin exactly what he'd just seen. A memory? A vision? He usually had no filter over his mouth whatsoever, eager to share just about everything with people he was friendly with, but this… the raw danger of that image felt too… intimate, in a way, to talk about.

“Seokjin, I'm starving, please pretty please make me something?” Hoseok greeted loudly as he walked wearily into the room, taking the seat beside Taehyung and slumping down against the counter. He smiled at Taehyung, who returned it and nodded in greeting.

“Oh wow, your shift ended really early today. Not much happening?” Seokjin asked as he walked over to the cupboards. Hoseok groaned, rubbing the back of his neck.

“The opposite. We’ve got a lot of surgeries lined up in the evening, and I'm pretty much dead on my feet right now so I got sent home to recuperate for a bit, then it's back out again.” Hoseok sighed and Taehyung tried not to look severely in awe and intimidated by the… much more adult adult beside him. Wow. Work. Taehyung had no idea what he was going to do after college.

“Sucks. Well, you've always been going out late at night for shifts and whatnot, but recently vampires everywhere are getting a little restless, and I heard there's a lot more activity and attacks that've been hushed up. Be careful when you leave.” Seokjin cautioned worriedly and Hoseok just stared at him blankly for a second, before his lips stretched into a dry, amused smile.

“Yeah. Thanks, but I don't think I would have a problem against vampires, would I?” Hoseok grinned, flexing his fingers a little and Seokjin laughed a little, shaking his head.

“Ah, right, of course. Sorry, I keep forgetting. Old nagging mother habit.” Seokjin smiled and Taehyung’s eyebrows raised, confusion settling over him. What? Did he just miss something in that conversation? Why would Hoseok not have a problem against vampires? Taehyung would’ve thought that every human was likely to have… well, a problem, against the overwhelmingly strong, supernatural creatures that literally thirsted for human blood.

“Nah, thanks for worrying and looking out for us all the time, man.” Hoseok replied cheerfully and Taehyung decided he should ask about this sometime. Along with his endless other questions.

~

Jungkook woke suddenly, like something had shocked him out of sleep, and he sat up, blinking in the dark. He smelt a human. It was faint, so some time would’ve passed, but the scent of a human remained in his room. It wasn't anyone he knew, not Seokjin, not Jimin, not Hoseok, but it smelt slightly familiar to his drowsy, sleepy mind. He waited for his head to clear a little, feeling the tug of the sun in his veins diminish until it had disappeared completely, beginning the night, before he breathed in again.

Oh shit, that deliciously sweet, refreshing scent belonged to that Taehyung, didn't it?

Jungkook breathed in slowly for a few more moments, savouring the fading smell. The ridiculously attractive boy’s scent was wildly addicting, reminding Jungkook of the daytime he'd been separated from for two years now. Was it possible to smell like sunshine? Wait, shit, no, bad. Jungkook groaned, quickly forcing his senses to dull down, suppressing his sense of smell the most. Fuck, he had to stop being a fucking creep around this guy, goddamnit. In every one of the few moments they'd interacted since Taehyung had first entered their house, it'd been a mess of shock, mindblowing hunger and undeniable thirst on Jungkook’s end. He probably freaked the poor human out. He'd been half a second away from biting open Taehyung’s throat the first time they’d met and he smelt that first drop of Taehyung’s blood, which terrified him to no end. His self control was always better than that. He'd made it better than that. But Taehyung’s blood smelt different, somehow. It lured Jungkook in with intoxicating whispers of more. He hadn't exactly meant to go and destroy that wall, but he had to snap out of it, or he might've killed Taehyung that night.

And there was that moment when he'd thrown up… what a great, inviting welcome. He hadn't wanted anyone other than Seokjin and Hoseok to know anything about his issue. Taehyung’s soft, worried eyes flashed through his mind.

Ah fuck, it was way too early for this.

Come to think of it, why had Taehyung been inside his room?

Nothing looked different, and Jungkook was assuming Seokjin had let him in. Oh but… Jungkook got up from the bed and moved over to his desk. The books had been moved around a little. Had Taehyung been curious about why Jungkook, a vampire, had books on vampires? Jungkook found that he didn't really mind the idea of Taehyung looking around. He'd be curious, too. He wondered what Taehyung had been thinking.

Jungkook walked into the kitchen to see Seokjin leaning against the counter, reading a book. He smiled in greeting and sat himself down at the counter. It felt strange to see Seokjin first, rather than having to rush out and get all that shit he had to do out of the way before coming back to say hello. Seokjin raised his eyebrows, putting his book down.

“You don't have to go out tonight?” Seokjin asked curiously as he leant his elbows on the counter. Jungkook swivelled around aimlessly on the barstool, images of blackened red and silver and ripped up bodies flashing through his mind, disappearing as quickly as they came.

“Nah. I went on a bit of a killing spree last night and the night before so it should be fine for them for now.” Jungkook replied absently and Seokjin didn't look fazed at all anymore when he said things like that. Instead, an amused gleam lit up his eyes as he leant forward.

“Oh? And whatever triggered that?” Seokjin spoke in a lilting, teasing tone and Jungkook’s gaze snapped over to him in surprise. What the… What did he know?

“Fuck, what- Don't look at me like that.” Jungkook groaned as he realised what Seokjin’s knowing look meant. Fuck…

“Ah, come on, you thought I wouldn't know? Calm down, I don't have an issue with it or anything. Just… be nice to him. You already scared him twice.” Seokjin reminded him sternly and Jungkook buried his head in his hands, grunting in assent. Fuck… he hadn't wanted Seokjin to know about his interest in Taehyung. He hadn't even figured that out himself yet. It'd only been two days since he met the guy, he didn't exactly want to admit that he'd already been thinking about what the alluring, gorgeous boy would look like lying on Jungkook’s bed. Yeah… no. He'd rather Seokjin and the others not know about this quite so soon, but it was futile to try and escape Seokjin’s all-knowing radar.

“I can't… I couldn't help it. He… his blood… there's something different about it. I've been training myself for a whole year, you know that, I should be able to resist the smell of blood unless it's right under my face but… he bled one drop and I almost fucking lost it. It was like I was newly turned again.” Jungkook muttered quietly, clenching his fist as he remembered the terrifying numbing feeling of overwhelming hunger that eroded his mind and senses like he'd never felt before, the first time he'd seen Taehyung, and smelt his blood when he bit his full, soft-looking lip. He could feel a burning itch race through his veins just at the thought.

“Seokjin? Namjoon asked me to get you, he said he…” Jungkook’s head snapped up towards the doorway of the kitchen as he heard Taehyung’s lovely sweet voice. Taehyung froze as he saw Jungkook sitting there, eyes widening a little. Even if Jungkook could ignore the pretty pink flush creeping over Taehyung’s cheeks, he couldn't ignore the considerable, distracting increase in his heart rate. Taehyung blinked, quickly dropping his gaze shyly. Jungkook smiled and felt like swearing and punching himself in the face. Taehyung glanced up at Seokjin, a cute, resolute sort of expression on his lovely face as he continued. “He said he needed some help with something.”

“Hm? I'll go now then. Jungkook?” Seokjin got up but paused to smile at Jungkook, who narrowed his eyes at the way too amused look dancing in Seokjin’s eyes.

“What?”

“You're drooling. Try not to eat him while I'm gone.” Seokjin spoke pleasantly, innocently, before promptly walking out of the room, leaving both Jungkook and Taehyung gaping after him. Fucking hell, Seokjin. Jungkook swore, running a hand through his hair as he turned away sharply, squeezing his eyes shut and trying his hardest not to focus on Taehyung’s racing heartbeat. He stopped his breathing and dulled his senses down, gritting his teeth as he could still hear Taehyung swallowing.

Taehyung moved over to the fridge, very obviously avoiding looking in Jungkook’s direction, and Jungkook glanced up at him - which was a mistake, he realised, as he took in the mesmerising sight. Taehyung wasn't even wearing anything special, but Jungkook found he had to swallow with a ridiculous amount of difficulty. His tight long sleeve shirt hugged his slim figure just right, clinging to his tiny waist in a way that had to be illegal. Or at the very least, publicly inappropriate. The obscenely wide neck of the shirt stretched shoulder to shoulder and showed off a dizzying expanse of smooth, flawless skin, and Jungkook felt his canines throb tauntingly as his stare locked in on Taehyung’s long neck. He glued his eyes to the small shadow dipping over the prominent ridge of Taehyung’s spine at the base of his neck, to keep them from wandering down to those mouth-wateringly long, slender legs clad in the tightest jeans he'd ever seen.

Holy shit, Jungkook could barely even look at him if he didn't want to lose control. Jungkook wasn't sure if Taehyung was oblivious or was just very good at pretending to not notice Jungkook’s stare burning holes through his clothes. Taehyung retrieved a carton of milk from the fridge and reached up to the cupboards above to grab a glass, which, of course, made his shirt ride up his waist and reveal a wide, tantalising strip of skin above his jeans that rode low on sharp, narrow hips. Jungkook heard a crack and felt granite crumble beneath his fingers as he accidentally crushed the counter top in his grip. Taehyung jumped and whipped around to stare at the sound, eyes widening in shock and fear as they zeroed in on the hand-sized bit of the counter Jungkook had just demolished. Jungkook uncurled his fingers as he felt the shattered bits of it rain down over his thigh, forcing a smile onto his face as if nothing had happened. Ah… oops. Vampire strength. Fuck, Seokjin was going to be so mad at him. Taehyung seemed frozen to the spot even as Jungkook waved at him dismissively to carry on with what he was doing.

“Sorry. Ignore that.” Jungkook forced himself to say in a nice tone that didn't suggest he was thinking about murder to distract himself from the unspeakable things he wanted to do to Taehyung’s body. Taehyung looked well and truly freaked out, but Jungkook couldn't blame him. Taehyung nodded slowly, eyes darting away as he poured himself a glass of milk, seeming scared to disobey. Fuck, Jungkook felt bad. Seokjin had just told him not to scare him, as well.

Jungkook tried his best, but just could not keep his traitorous eyes from drifting back to Taehyung every second, watching Taehyung’s cheeks darken as he evidently noticed Jungkook’s stare. Jungkook felt an uncontrollable, pulsing, itching heat roll through his body in waves as he watched Taehyung’s full, soft pink lips close around the rim of the glass and the bob in his neck as he tipped the glass back and swallowed. Taehyung glanced over at Jungkook as he looked back down, and as their eyes met and a drop of milk glistened at the corner of Taehyung’s lips, Jungkook felt his self control snap. He rose and appeared directly behind Taehyung in a flash, spinning him around and pressing his back into the counter. Taehyung jumped in shock and let a whimper of fear slip out as he stared up at Jungkook with wide, unblinking eyes. Fuck, he was so irresistible.

“J-Jungkook…” Taehyung spoke meekly, gripping the counter with both hands as he edged away slightly, pressing his back harder against the edge of the counter. Jungkook let his senses tune back up and almost choked on the thick, almost suffocating smell of arousal oozing from Taehyung’s body at such a close distance. Holy shit. Unbearable want seized Jungkook’s mind and set his body on fire, and the only thing that was keeping him from bending Taehyung over the counter that very second was the equally thick, tangible smell of fear battling with the tense storm of arousal. Jungkook closed his eyes and forced himself to stop breathing again to stop inhaling Taehyung’s enticing scent and dulled his senses back down again for his own sanity. When he could finally hear himself think again over the sound of Taehyung’s thudding heartbeat, he opened his eyes. Taehyung just stared at him silently, expression frozen stiff with fear even as hunger swam in his wide eyes, and he seemed unable to stop himself from breathing in deeply and greedily. Jungkook drew on the self control, concentration and willpower he'd built up over a year and forced himself to stay in control of his hunger, clearing space in his mind for rational thought.

“You're scared.” Jungkook murmured quietly and Taehyung swallowed, incredulity flashing over his face.

“No shit.” Taehyung’s voice was small even as he replied defiantly, and Jungkook couldn't help but laugh shortly, leaning forward and placing his hands on the counter, on either side of Taehyung’s hips. Taehyung swallowed again, entire body trembling as Jungkook moved in a little closer, caging him in.

“Of what?”

“You.” Taehyung replied a little above a whisper, and Jungkook raised an eyebrow, pleased and proud he could still think and act normally even when Taehyung stared so intently up at him with those big doe eyes, lovely face inches away.

“I can see that. I meant… of me doing what? Biting you? Drinking your blood?” Jungkook gave a slow, amused smile and Taehyung frowned, pouting a little. Jungkook dug his fingers into the counter in an effort to keep his expression from changing at the sudden unexpectedly damaging cute expression.

“Don't say that like I'm being ridiculous or scared for no reason. You've already done that, remember? How do I know you won't again?” Taehyung spoke indignantly and Jungkook blanked out for a second, taken off guard. He'd already done… what? Drunken his blood…? Oh God, is that what happened when Taehyung was in his room, while he was half asleep and barely able to see or remember anything? He fucking tasted Taehyung’s blood and forgot? Jungkook wanted to scream. What a fucking waste. Fuck, he must've scared the shit out of Taehyung, but he couldn't remember.

“I did…? What- I… I'm sorry? But… I don't see any bite mar-…” Jungkook scanned his eyes over the unblemished skin of Taehyung’s neck and shoulders, but trailed off as he realised. He fixed his gaze on the fresh, healing cut on Taehyung’s lower lip, slowly lifting his hand up and brushing over it lightly with his thumb. Taehyung flinched and shivered a little, but didn't move away.

“Ah… that must be where. Oh fuck no, why can't I remember this? I must be missing out on a lot. I kissed you, didn't I?” Jungkook breathed, dragging his thumb across Taehyung’s soft lip and watching his mouth drop open a little. Fear and interest spiked simultaneously in Taehyung’s stare as his eyes darted between Jungkook’s eyes and his mouth. Ah, his fangs and red irises must be showing. From what Jungkook had seen so far, Taehyung seemed quite abnormally interested whenever his fangs made an appearance, so he didn't bother reining in the vampire, leaning in ever closer.

“You made out with me, actually. You kissed me till I thought I was gonna cry, and you don't even remember it?” Taehyung muttered distractedly and Jungkook’s nostrils flared at that, frustration sharpening. He was missing out on a lot.

“I cannot believe this. I feel cheated by myself.” Jungkook murmured, hearing his voice harden with a breathy rasp. Taehyung twitched and he looked a little dazed as Jungkook lightly grabbed his chin, shivering at his touch. Jungkook tilted Taehyung’s head up slightly and paused to gaze at Taehyung’s eyes slipping shut as he waited patiently, pretty lips parted in invitation. Jungkook almost forgot to move, entranced by Taehyung’s unbelievably captivating face. Fuck, he was beautiful. That's it, Jungkook decided. No more fucking around, he wanted Taehyung. He wanted him so bad he could barely think straight. And he was going to try his damndest to get him. He was sure he could work around the whole Taehyung being scared shitless because he was a vampire thing. Yeah.

Just as Jungkook leant down to taste Taehyung’s lips, hunger bursting in his chest and rushing through his body, there was a distressed caterwauling sound from the doorway.

“Guys, please no, don't fuck here, not on the kitchen counter.” Jimin cried in horror, slapping a hand over his eyes as he greeted them with his unwanted presence. Taehyung jumped as if he’d just been given an electric shock and made a tiny mortified squeaking sound before slipping out from between Jungkook and the counter. Jungkook was seething, to put it mildly. Taehyung was bright red, backing away from him all the way over to Jimin, clutching at Jimin’s arm as if he needed support or protection. Jungkook drew in a deep, sharp breath, closing his eyes and dropping his head down, bracing himself against the counter with his fingers digging into the surface, arms shaking as he tried his best not to break this side of it too.

“He- he broke the table.” Taehyung whispered shakily, half hiding behind Jimin as he pointed at where Jungkook had sat before. Jimin choked on air, dropping his hand, eyes popping as he stared at the missing chunk of the counter and the cracks streaking up the rest of the surface.

“I'm gonna break more than just the table soon. Jimin? Get out of here before I do something stupid.” Jungkook breathed, the unbearable burn of frustration eating away at his body as his lips itched to meet Taehyung’s, and they would've just half a second after Jimin just had to appear and open his fucking mouth. Jungkook presented Jimin with a nice, bland smile, to which Jimin’s face twitched, and he looked rather awfully like he was trying not to laugh. Jimin smirked and turned, wrapping an arm around Taehyung’s waist unnecessarily intimately, winking suggestively before tugging him away with him. Jungkook’s fingers drove right through the granite and that entire half of the counter cracked and crumbled, pieces falling to the floor with loud crashes as Jimin cackled obnoxiously.

Seokjin was going to be so mad at him.

Jimin burst out laughing as they heard the rather alarming cracks and crashes from the kitchen as they left the room. Taehyung, on the other hand did not see the humorous side of it and almost jumped out of his skin at the destruction behind them. His heart threatened to burst out his chest and his face was so red it hurt, radiating a ridiculous amount of heat as he pressed his palms against his cheeks. He’d never felt this scared or turned on in his life. And both at the same fucking time as well.

“You're pathetic, Jungkook!” Jimin called behind them cheerfully and Taehyung squeaked in horror and gripped Jimin’s arm.

“Jimin! What are you saying, don't- don't make him even angrier!” Taehyung whisper-shouted urgently and Jimin just laughed louder, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“Taehyung, relax, why are you so scared, man? This is hilarious. He wants you so bad he broke the fucking granite table with his bare hands, oh my God I can't wait to tell Yoongi. Talk about thirsty.” Jimin practically crowed with vindictive glee and Taehyung sort of wanted to cry.

“Exactly, Jimin, he crushed the fucking counter and I don't know what's got him so mad but of course I'm fucking scared. I don't feel like having my skull broken, surprisingly enough.” Taehyung muttered distraughtly, hating how carefree Jimin was being about the extremely pissed off, extremely dangerous vampire they'd left to fume in the kitchen. That happened to be drop-dead, lethally hot and just decided to trap Taehyung against the counter and leant so close and stared at him with such hunger Taehyung could barely remember how to speak or breathe. He wasn't sure how he was still alive.

“Are you fucking with me…” Jimin groaned exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of his nose with the air of complete disbelief and defeat. Taehyung frowned at him as Jimin sent him a withering look. “Why do you think he was mad, I literally just cock blocked the fuck out of you two. Sorry about that, by the way, but my eyes, so.”

“Yeah but… I mean, before, I just turned around to get a fucking glass of milk and he just broke off whole pieces of fucking granite, he was gripping the counter so hard. I don't think I'm being overreactive in sort of being scared for my life?” Taehyung sniffed indignantly, recalling the sheer terror that seized him as he turned back around to stare at Jungkook’s stormy, stony expression and the goddamn missing chunk of the table. Jimin snorted, pressing his fist against his mouth in an effort to stifle laughter, it appeared.

“He was probably staring at your ass.” Jimin sniggered and Taehyung whined in disbelief, shoving him away and feeling a jolt in his stomach and heat creep from his cheeks all the way down to his neck.

“Jimin.” Taehyung whispered, mortification washing over him in slow burning waves. Oh God. He hoped it wasn't true. Or did he? He didn't even fucking know anymore. He could still feel Jungkook’s thumb brushing over his cut and his breath fanning over his lips.

“Ah, I'm regretting interrupting. Maybe I should've let the poor guy get a kiss in at least.” Jimin mused thoughtfully and Taehyung replied a little dazedly.

“He has already.” Taehyung mumbled and Jimin’s eyebrows shot up as he slid Taehyung a look.

“When was this?”

Taehyung fidgeted a little. “Uh… this afternoon. Seokjin showed me to his room so I could shower and-”

“And he joined you in the shower?” Jimin grinned obnoxiously, suggestive gleam lighting his eyes and Taehyung pushed him, trying to act like he didn't almost choke on his spit at the thought.

“No, he didn't- I mean, he was asleep anyway, for God’s sake. Well, he woke up though, after I was done and…” Taehyung trailed off, squirming a little against the heat curling up his limbs. Jimin clicked his tongue impatiently, gesturing carelessly for Taehyung to keep going.

“And?”

“He pushed me against the wall and sucked some of my blood out of this cut and kissed me really hard, what else do you need to know?” Taehyung muttered quickly and Jimin flicked his eyebrows as if impressed and nodded approvingly.

“So did you end up getting dick?” Jimin asked casually, innocently, and Taehyung really wanted to bury his head in the floor.

“No- Jimin for fuck’s sake, I'm not fucking a vampire.” Taehyung cried exasperatedly and Jimin raised his eyebrow.

“Getting fucked, you mean.” Jimin corrected and Taehyung threw his hands up agitatedly.

“Does that matter?”

“Of course. You're not planning on topping that beast, are you?” Jimin replied matter of factly and Taehyung almost tripped. No, of course not. He lived to be dominated - this particular “beast” was no exception especially. Anyway.

“No, well, I mean, okay, I'm not getting fucked by a vampire.” Taehyung spoke firmly, resolutely, and Jimin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms behind his head.

“Ah… Poor Jungkook. Has to deal with this bullshit. Well, I wish you luck with that statement. Just so you know, vampires can smell arousal. Quite strongly. Just keep that in mind if you wanna act like you don't want his dick.” Jimin spoke lazily, flippantly, and Taehyung did a double take, almost choking on nothing.

“They can what?”

~

That following two weeks had been absolute torture. Every night, Jungkook would rake his intense, hungry and appreciative stare up and down Taehyung’s body, blatantly, unabashedly undressing Taehyung with his eyes, no matter if there was someone else in the room or not. Passing by him was complete agony, as Jungkook did absolutely nothing to tone down his predatory want, practically letting it ooze off his body as he didn't take his eyes off Taehyung for a second.

Taehyung had been cornered and trapped between Jungkook’s deliciously imposing, broad, muscled body, and some hard surface or another more times than he could count. Usually Jungkook wouldn't say anything, his intentions being perfectly clear as he stroked a cold hand up along Taehyung’s waist and trailed his fingers up to cup his jaw. He wouldn't go any further than that though, as if purposefully making Taehyung want more, more than just his light touch and proximity. He'd exhale with shadowed, glowing red eyes and let his lips fall open to show his fangs slipping out, taunting and teasing. But once, on a day Taehyung had been wearing another shirt with a wide neck that dipped low (Taehyung had discovered that those shirts drove Jungkook wild and riled him up the most, and he wasn't going to lie, he'd worn them a lot more often than he usually would've), he'd shoved Taehyung against the wall and pressed his nose against the side of Taehyung’s neck, breathing in deeply and whispering into his skin.

“I want you beneath me. I want to taste you on my lips. You’re driving me crazy. I can't focus when you're in the room.”

Needless to say, Taehyung was left hot and flustered pretty much every single night for two weeks straight. Jungkook seemed to be doing his best to drive Taehyung insane. And it was working. He told himself every night when the sun set that tonight, he was definitely going to tell Jungkook no, or push him away or something else to get the message across, but the moment he saw Jungkook looking at him his knees would feel weak and his tongue would become heavy and uncooperative. So, Jungkook wasn't exactly in the wrong here. Taehyung hadn't done anything to discourage him in the slightest, nope, the opposite, in fact. He just couldn't help himself, he couldn't not gasp and whimper whenever Jungkook touched him, and he certainly couldn't help the arousal he knew Jungkook could smell.

Everyone in the house knew about… whatever it was that was going on, they'd have be a certain level of dense if they couldn't tell at this point. Especially seeing as unfortunately, Namjoon and Yoongi could also smell Taehyung’s arousal every time Jungkook so much as looked at him. Yoongi found it tedious, apparently. Taehyung heard him talking to Jungkook one night.

“Can you just fuck him already?”

“Ugh, you think I don't want to? But you can smell his fear too, can't you?”

“Are you shitting me. That hasn't exactly stopped you from everything else.”

“Yeah, you're right, I'm not nice or patient enough to keep my hands off him. We’ll see.”

Namjoon found it funny. Taehyung was curious, and more than a little apologetic, and so asked about the whole vampires able to smell arousal thing while chatting to him one night. Apparently they could smell other things like fear, anger and excitement as well.

“Honestly, I've just started dulling my senses around you two. Vampires can do that. We have enhanced sight, hearing and smell, up to about five times better than humans, so we’re able to sense a lot of things humans don't even realise are there. But we can consciously bring those senses down to a human level. So right now, I can hear your heartbeat and the sound of your blood pulsing. If I was feeling hungry I’d turn my senses down till I can't hear it anymore. I think Yoongi’s also started to dull his senses when you two are in the same room. That way we only have to look at you two making each other’s lives hell.”

It was… an interesting conversation. But other than that matter, Taehyung had also learnt a lot of other things about the house and about vampires. The front door was draped in some sort of invisible magic barrier, that only recognised the touch of the three vampires’ claws and the forefingers of the four humans, Taehyung being a recent addition. Taehyung kept forgetting to ask about magic, and the supposed existence of sorcerers. According to Namjoon, most bedrooms and smaller rooms had some sort of magical silencers set up, that cancelled all noise from inside the room, and stopped outside noise from reaching it. That way the vampires with their enhanced hearing wouldn't have to listen to the heartbeats of the humans all night long, or conversations happening on the other side of the house. Or sex. The two couples were very busy very regularly, apparently.

Taehyung had, to his own great chagrin, jacked off thinking about Jungkook every single goddamn night. He stopped bothering to check the time to make sure it was after six in the morning. It was always after the vampires retreated into their bedrooms anyway, and those silencers should do the job of cancelling the sounds of Taehyung’s moans he couldn't suppress no matter how hard he tried. He'd started to come while gasping Jungkook’s name, and he always felt a little filthy afterwards, but. He was sure Jungkook wouldn't mind, from what he'd seen and experienced. For the first few days, looking everyone in the eye normally had been a bit of a challenge. But he got over it pretty quickly, because he had too much to say and ask everyone.

Taehyung had learnt that Jungkook usually left the house the moment he woke up and disappeared sometimes for an hour, sometimes practically for the whole night. According to Jimin he actually stayed at home a lot more ever since Taehyung had arrived and Taehyung was doing everything he could to not dwell on that fact. Apparently nobody knew where Jungkook usually went, and what he did, and nobody asked.

Taehyung was admittedly curious, and so one time when Jungkook had come back exhausted and smelling distinctly of blood, though Taehyung was pretty sure the certain smoky quality to the smell meant it was vampire blood, he'd asked him. It was one of the few times Taehyung had worked up the courage to have an actual conversation with Jungkook, who for once was not eyefucking him. Jungkook wouldn't answer Taehyung’s questions about where he went and what he’d been doing, but he confirmed that the blood was vampire blood, and not his own. Taehyung asked him a few more random questions he had about vampires, and about covens and the savage, bloodthirsty vampires he'd heard about from Namjoon and Jimin that almost seemed to be an entirely different species to these three benign, human-like vampires he lived with.

Taehyung found that it was… nice, talking with Jungkook. It was refreshing, certainly different from the usual tension, and Taehyung discovered he loved the sound of Jungkook’s voice. There was something else too, something he couldn't quite place, even though they barely knew the first thing about each other, which was a drastically awkward feeling as Taehyung was already on very close, comfortable terms with everyone else in the house. There was a sense of… comfort and ease, while he spoke to Jungkook. He had no clue where it’d come from and for whatever reason, especially considering Jungkook was the reason he was living in a constant state of scared arousal.

The longer he talked with Jungkook that night, the greater the odd, inexplicable sense of camaraderie became. It was almost like Taehyung had met Jungkook somewhere before, and they'd been friends once.

Jungkook had thrown up blood again once during the two weeks, and Taehyung knew he said last time not to help him but he couldn't just stand back and watch him suffer. Taehyung stayed beside him in silence during, helping out with anything that he could, and stroking his back in what he hoped to be a soothing manner after Jungkook had spat out the last mouthful of blood. Jungkook seemed to calm down alarmingly fast and draw comfort and relief from Taehyung’s touch, and so Taehyung kept rubbing light circles over his back as he recovered. Taehyung didn't ask about any of it, and Jungkook didn't say anything about any of it. Just as Taehyung had moved to leave, Jungkook had caught ahold of his wrist for a brief, silent, tense and unexplained moment. Taehyung had met Jungkook’s unreadable gaze evenly, waiting wordlessly, but Jungkook didn't end up saying anything, slowly letting Taehyung’s hand drop.

Taehyung thought about that moment a lot.

~

Jungkook counted to three and ripped his mouth away from the bite marks still oozing blood, quickly shoving the human to the side and averting his eyes from all that tantalising blood just there, feeling his heart hammer against his chest painfully. Shit, had he taken too much at once today? He swallowed and greedily licked his lips, catching every last drop, savouring the sweetness trickling down his throat despite the gradually sickening feeling emerging in his lower stomach. Great, he was due in for another world of pain in a few hours or so. His throat burned at the base, ever so slightly, as if to taunt him. He shouldn't have.

“I know.” Jungkook muttered mutinously to himself, familiar black tendrils of rage and hatred curling up his arms and spreading over his back, threatening to envelop him whole. He shoved the red haze aside and took in a sharp, cool breath of air, snapping his eyes open and letting the blazing glow die out. He was still hungry. It took every shred of his concentration to cast aside the unconscious human and flit away, slipping through the dimly humming concrete jungle, gliding beneath the scattered clouds blotting out stars.

By the time he'd reached home the hunger had been forced to retreat into the crevices of the back of his mind, purely due to his own mental strength. It was only around three in the morning, judging by the pitch of the wind’s sigh and the point where ink black merged seamlessly with blue in the sky.

Jungkook licked the blood from his fingers absently as he tapped the oak doors with one claw, pushing it open as the invisible seal lifted, a tiny fluctuation in the barrier that allowed him to slip through. He entered the house silently, sensing neither Namjoon nor Yoongi, and one… two humans. One was… Jimin…? And the other was definitely Taehyung. Jungkook wanted to kick himself. Or maybe smash his head into the wall, or maybe just turn right back around and leave to collect himself. He could already identify the even, slow breathing about ten rooms away as Taehyung. Of course he could, the moment when those breaths would quicken, sharpen in that desperate, gasping way, elevating into choked moans and whimpers was quite firmly ingrained in Jungkook’s mind and seemed to have no intention of deserting him anytime soon. Jungkook really wished Taehyung would stop jerking off every morning just before six, before Jungkook fell asleep. Jungkook’s room didn't have the noise silencers, and it was absolute hell. He couldn't hear everything clearly, but it was clear enough to make him dizzy with painfully sharp want and hunger. Thankfully he was usually forced to fall asleep by the sun’s pull at those times, or he wouldn't be able to control himself from going over to Taehyung’s room.

A low, rich, delicious moan sounded, the noise seeping into the walls, rushing through the otherwise dead, silent air and practically knocking Jungkook flat in one beat. He immediately froze, feet anchored down against the polished floorboards, one hand lifted to flick strands of hair out of his eyes frozen in the air, half raised. Someone’s heartbeat had increased just a tiny bit, the vibration like a blip in the air, before resuming normal pace, and Jungkook was able to tell by the millisecond as his own had all but stopped at the one sound. Taehyung…?

Another low, blissful sounding moan assaulted Jungkook’s ears though it was quiet (Jungkook sometimes cursed the vampiric ability of enhanced hearing, he really did), sounding like it'd been produced from closed lips this time, the sound not quite so unabashedly open, but still enough to drive Jungkook’s feet forward, propelling him towards the noise as if it was a magnetic attraction. What the fuck was going on?

“Oh my God, stop, what's wrong with you?” Jimin’s voice rung out, ricocheting off the walls and Jungkook frowned, still ghosting through the house towards the two humans.

“Stop what…?” Taehyung murmured in an almost obscenely sexual, low and melting voice, smooth as honey and doing absolutely everything to obliterate Jungkook’s aforementioned mental strength. His head was buzzing, filled to the brim with the echo of the musical sound, raw want surging through his veins, rendering him practically incapable of thought. But he could think one thing… What the fuck were Jimin and Taehyung doing that was producing… those sounds? He suddenly entertained the thought of punching Jimin in the balls.

“Stop making those noises. I'm giving you a massage, not a handjob, get it together.” Jimin replied tartly and Jungkook nodded slowly to himself in understanding, letting the tiny, irrational flare of possessiveness subside, ridiculous as it was. Wasn't as if he was in any position at all to feel anything close to possessiveness, hell, he wasn't even sure he could call Taehyung a friend yet. Perhaps he would be already, except for the fact that Jungkook wanted to fuck Taehyung’s brains out, and almost every second around him was spent in pure agony.

“Shut up… It feels… so good… Fuck, why don't you just give me a handjob while you're at it.” Jungkook’s mind completely shut down the moment Taehyung breathed ‘so good…’, tuning out everything else in the world, arousal surging up to engulf his body in flames of want, giving him a very non-vampire slight stagger to his step. He was sure of it now, Taehyung was doing his very best to murder Jungkook through every godawful hot, sinful movement he made or sound he uttered. Jungkook paused, placing a palm against the cool wall of the corridor leading up to the voices, taking in a steadying breath. Goddamnit, this was why he’d had to sit through Seokjin’s lecture about not breaking things in the house.

“Uh, I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh yeah. Yoongi would kill me if he heard that.”

“Why don't you get Jungkook to give you a handjob instead?” Jungkook almost tripped over his own feet at the abrupt suggestion, heart almost leaping out of his throat, stomach twisting, skin burning. It did not help that the response from Taehyung was immediate, though soundless to the human ear.

Taehyung’s heartbeat skyrocketed, the pulse of his blood crashing down so vividly over Jungkook’s ears he had to dull down his hearing, as his own heart was giving him a hard enough time already. Jungkook clamped a hand in a viciously tight hold over his face, eyes snapping wide open as the first traces of the mouthwatering smell of arousal diffused through the air, reaching his hyper sensitive nostrils. Taehyung was this turned on just at the… the mention of-? Fuck. He needed to get out of there, before he shoved Taehyung down on the ground and took him like an animal, onlookers like Jimin be damned.

“I- I don’t… know about that.” Taehyung laughed breathlessly, tone lifting to an unnatural pitch, seeming to have a hard time getting the words out. Jungkook turned around immediately, flitting all the way across the house, almost back to the front door, distancing himself as far as possible from the temptation that was Taehyung’s impossibly low, almost entrancing voice, and his scent and just- everything.

For the sake of his own sanity and wellbeing, Jungkook purposefully tried not to hear too much when Taehyung would jerk off. It was damn near impossible, of course, but he’d never actively tried to identify exactly what Taehyung would gasp out and moan softly to himself, but with this… He wondered.

Jungkook sat himself stiffly down on the settee by the entrance hall, using all his physical focus and concentration to turn the receptivity of his ears as far down as possible, blocking out all sounds and letting his keen nose fall down to an approximate human level, so he couldn’t smell Taehyung anymore. But what did it matter, roughly half an hour later and Taehyung’s moans were still reverberating in his mind, echoing through his skull, and the spike of arousal had never really died down.

He opened his eyes as he sensed a presence near him, letting his hearing tune right back up again.

“Jungkook? How long have you been home for?” Jimin asked with naked curiosity, obviously trying to see if Jungkook had heard any of that tiny conversation earlier, evidently not mortified in the slightest at the prospect of being overheard.

“Long enough.” Jungkook replied wryly, surprising himself with the rasp of his tone, and Jimin just grinned knowingly, pushing his hair back and jerking his head towards the inside of the house.

“Taehyung’s asleep in the drawing room. I’m not strong enough to carry his ass back to his room, plus I gotta go out now. Go tuck him in for me.” Jimin winked and Jungkook tightened his fingers in fists, almost having a mental breakdown right then and there at the thought of having to touch a sleeping Taehyung and somehow manage to control himself at the same time. Was Jimin serious? He forced a bland smile, to which Jimin tsked. “Just go do it. If Seokjin comes back and sees his new favourite child sleeping out in the cold because someone wasn’t man enough to resist Sleeping Beauty’s charms and instead opted to avoid the potential crisis altogether-”

“You’re an asshole.” Jungkook stated pleasantly, hopping to his feet and slitting Jimin a glare, feeling the red flash beneath his lashes. Jimin looked wholly unfazed and waved him on, smiling as he exited the house. Jungkook heard his footsteps fade into the distance, clicking and echoing along the stone walls. He let his fingers straighten, taking in a deep, long breath, longer than would’ve been possible if he was human, and exhaled slowly, doing his very best to disperse every single wandering thought out of his system before heading towards the drawing room, ignoring the burn in his veins.

True to Jimin’s word, Taehyung was fast asleep, lying on his front on the couch. His cheek rested against the crook of one arm, fingers curled gently. Jungkook stood over him in silence for a few seconds, listening to the slow, steady heartbeat, watching how his soft hair fell over his closed eyes, the tiny, subtle pout of his full lips, and the rise and fall of his upper back as he breathed. It was strangely mesmerising, captivating to look at, and Jungkook found he could not look away, remaining in that motionless position as if spellbound. Shit.

Jungkook shook himself and bent down, turning him over lightly, picking him up as if he weighed nothing and shifting a little so that he had a better grip. Taehyung’s head lolled a little, lips parting as it tipped back, entire body loose and relaxed. Jungkook quickly averted his eyes from Taehyung’s gorgeous sleeping face, trying to ignore the soft, warm body in his arms as he walked towards Taehyung’s room. Fuck, he wanted to taste those soft, smooth lips. They’d moved barely three metres before Jungkook felt Taehyung shift and squirm a little, turning so that his head rested way too comfortably against the crook of Jungkook’s neck, warm and heavy. He sighed quietly as he reached up blindly and his fingers curled loosely into the material of Jungkook’s shirt. Jungkook actually stumbled a little, glancing down in surprise, eyes widening as he saw the tiny, contented smile curving Taehyung’s lips as he leant into Jungkook without a trace of inhibition, evidently still fast asleep. It was… Looking down at him curled in intimately towards Jungkook’s body, smiling slightly, sleeping quietly… it was a strange feeling. Jungkook tried not to dwell on it. Or the fact that he raised his body temperature a little and smiled himself, as Taehyung exhaled with a pleased, soft noise and pushed his face into Jungkook’s skin, nosing at him adorably.

Adorable?

Did he really just think that? Well, if he thought about it, Taehyung was an undeniably cute person, he guessed. He'd managed to worm his way into Yoongi’s stone cold heart in under an hour, that said something if nothing else. And there was a reason he was, as Jimin said, Seokjin’s new favourite child. But Jungkook had, up till this point, not noticed too much about him that wasn't sinful, as his every move and gaze seemed to fill Jungkook with an inexplicable, animalistic urge to possess, to drink, and of course, to fuck. He hardly ever noticed anything else around Taehyung, really.

Except in those few surreal, wonderful moments when Taehyung would seem to muster up the courage to strike up conversation, that Jungkook thought about a lot more often than he'd ever admit to.

Jungkook pushed open the door with his foot, making his way over to the bed in a few long strides, feeling his eyes glow in the darkness to adjust from candlelight to pitch black. He paused before letting Taehyung down, biting his lip as he stared at the fingers lightly grabbing onto his shirt. He set him down on the bed carefully, hesitating for a second as Taehyung just lay there peacefully, heartbeat strong and steady. “Go tuck him in for me”, Jimin had said. Jungkook chewed his cheek and dithering for a second more before gently manoeuvring Taehyung’s body around, trying his best to make all movements soft and minimal as to not disturb him, rearranging so he was covered snugly, perhaps taking a little too much care in pulling the thick blanket right up past his shoulders. He wondered what it would be like again, to have to worry about burrowing under blankets each night before going to sleep.

He was just about to straighten and leave when Taehyung stirred, his heartbeat accelerating just a tiny bit as he blinked open his drowsy, soft eyes only halfway, disorientated, blank gaze resting on Jungkook looming over him without any hint of the fear or lust Jungkook had gotten accustomed to. Taehyung reached out, lifting his hand up towards Jungkook who instinctively leant down, almost obligingly, blinking in surprise as Taehyung’s warm fingers curled behind his neck lightly and pulled his head down, then those soft lips were pressed against his.

The touch was fleeting, the contact brief, and Taehyung kissed him sweetly but shortly, fingers falling away from his neck the next instant. Jungkook straightened but stared down at Taehyung, completely thrown off at the sudden gesture, feeling something unnameable and warm nudge at his chest. Taehyung smiled up at Jungkook’s glowing eyes, lips lifted, gaze gentle, lovely.

“You're so pretty.” Taehyung whispered, almost like he was making a soft remark to himself, and his eyes slipped shut again, his breathing evening out just like that. Jungkook blinked, lips parting a little as if to form words, but none came even if there was someone there to hear them. He left the room with a strange, airy feeling encircling his chest, and a tiny, tiny shadow of a smile dancing on his lips.

Taehyung woke suddenly, abruptly, as if something had alerted him. The room was pitch black, no surprises there, but… he felt like everything was lit up in a warm, golden glow despite it. He lifted his fingers to his mouth, smiling slightly, involuntarily as the dim memory of a soft pressure against his lips and pretty, glowing red eyes shining in the darkness drifted unhurriedly through his mind. Had Jungkook been here? Had he carried Taehyung here from the drawing room?

Jungkook?

Taehyung sat up, pushing back the covers. He couldn't hear anything, but… He sensed something… something was a little wrong. He hopped off the bed and left the room as if his feet were magnetically drawn towards something. He'd explored the entire house from top to bottom so many times since his arrival (instead of completing assignments and passing classes) he could find his way around in the dark to Jungkook’s room with embarrassing ease. He hesitated just for a second, before pushing the door open.

Sure enough, Jungkook wasn't okay at that moment.

“Jungkook? Shit,” Taehyung whispered as he heard the telltale cracked, breathless, pained wheezing sounds. Taehyung fumbled around blindly until his fingers found the base of a candle and he tapped it, the awakened flame appearing causing the others in the room to light up in succession, though still leaving the room dim and wrought with lengthened shadows. Jungkook had his hands fisted in the sheets, yanking them up and down as he writhed in pain, heels digging into the mattress. Taehyung paused for a dangerous, long moment, swallowing hard, at the sight of Jungkook’s beautiful body caressed by dim golden candlelight and wrapped in shadow, twisting, writhing and arching in a way that made it really, really hard to concentrate, his head thrown back, lips open wide, back curved perfectly. Jungkook cracked an eye open, the sudden flare of bright red snapping Taehyung out of his enraptured trance and he hastily made his way over.

“T-Taehyung?” Jungkook breathed, the single word sounding like it'd taken an unspeakable amount of effort to produce. Taehyung hesitated before touching him, rubbing his chest soothingly, trying to keep his touch as impersonal as impossible, trying not to look like he was enjoying the feel of it beneath his fingertips. Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut again and gritted his teeth, slightly, fractionally less tense as Taehyung added a little more pressure and continued to stroke from the base of his neck to down between his pecs, level with his heart. What happened last time? Oh… right.

Taehyung reached forward and wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s chest, trying not to think about how close Jungkook’s lips were to his neck, trying to ignore the quick, desperate breathing fanning over his shoulder. He pulled him upright, grabbing a hand and tugging it free of the sheets and hooked a random metal bowl off the bedside table with his foot, positioning it awkwardly right beside the bed on the floor. Had Jungkook put it there in preparation? How did he know, anyway, when he was going to have these episodes?

Taehyung didn't think more about it as Jungkook whimpered in pain and he held the back of his head, angling his face down towards the bowl and shoved his fingers past his lips and down his throat. Jungkook’s eyes bulged open, red and terrifying, hands gripping Taehyung’s wrist with a strength that threatened to crush every single bone in his arm. Taehyung tried not to let it bother him and forced his fingers down further, wincing a little at the convulsing muscles, disturbingly wet and cold, squeezing his fingers and protesting the intrusion violently. His fingernail grazed against something, something solid.

The muscles contracted, Jungkook’s chest rolling forward, eyes widening even further, and Taehyung withdrew his fingers just in time before Jungkook let go of his wrist to grip the bed, throwing up a thick stream of blood, the dark liquid pouring past his lips, splashing into the bowl in ugly flares of red. Taehyung bit his lip and winced, but took his clean hand and rubbed Jungkook’s back soothingly, gently, coaxing every last vile looking drop out of him. Jungkook spat out the last mouthful weakly, blood dribbling and dripping in thin lines, clinging to his lips and hovering in the air before breaking off and joined the mess below. Taehyung felt his heart clench as Jungkook just breathed for a while, head still hanging over the bed, shuddering and shaking against Taehyung’s fingers, breaths ragged and hollow. Taehyung glanced down at the bowl, noting the little specks of silver scattered in amongst the river of blood like someone had sprinkled glitter were fewer in concentration today. Jungkook slowly pushed himself up, eyes swirling back to brown, skin darkening just a tiny bit to the usual, healthier but still beautifully pale shade. Taehyung reached out to clean the mess of blood and spit around his mouth, mourning the loss of yet another one of his shirts. Jungkook’s eyes flickered over to Taehyung, wordless as Taehyung wiped at the blood carefully, not leaving a single hint of it behind. When he was done, Jungkook just gazed at him for a moment longer, gaze unfathomable, flame dancing in the reflection of his glassy but steady eyes. Taehyung blinked, suddenly a little flustered, realising that he'd marched into Jungkook’s room without invitation, at around six in the morning, and stuck his fingers down his throat to make him throw up. The way Jungkook just gazed at him so fixedly, saying nothing, made Taehyung’s cheeks warm a little.

“Thank you. Again.” Jungkook finally spoke, voice ringing with simple sincerity, abnormally loud in the silence of the house, though it was barely above a whisper. Taehyung shook his head, smiling.

“You don't have to thank me. I can't stand seeing people in pain. Especially certain vampire housemates of mine that tuck me in bed at night.” Taehyung replied softly and Jungkook blinked, thinning his lips just a little in a way that made Taehyung entertain the thought that perhaps if he was human, he'd be blushing a little at that moment.

“I… that was- Jimin said-” Jungkook started, wetting his lips a little and glancing away for a split second, evidently not knowing what to say. Taehyung found this oddly, wonderfully adorable of the hot, dangerous vampire.

“No matter what the reason, it's still nice. Maybe I should go thank Jimin. You alright now?” Taehyung grinned and Jungkook returned the smile with a small one of his own, nodding.

“Yeah. I'm alright. Sorry to wake you up at this hou-” Jungkook suddenly keeled back without any warning, falling silent and causing alarm to flare inside Taehyung, who leaned over to see what was happening now, before he saw Jungkook’s expression having relaxed and smoothened out completely, face neutral, perfect, sculpted out of marble beneath the flickering candle flames. His chest stopped rising and falling, entire body falling still, and if Taehyung didn't know better, he'd have thought Jungkook just died on the spot. But Taehyung sensed it was roughly six, nearing seven in the morning now. The sun would be rising, and vampires would be dragged under the force of it.

Vampires had a better sleeping schedule that he did, it appeared. Taehyung didn't even know when he himself slept, nowadays. Sometimes in the early hours, when the vampires were starting to get drowsy, sometimes in the mornings of days he didn't have classes till afternoon, sometimes snatching snippets of it between classes, or after he came home, right before the vampire's would start to wake up. He and Jimin were practically nocturnal at this point. He didn't know when Seokjin and Hoseok slept, or if they ever did.

His grades were history by now. But Taehyung couldn't really bring himself to care, like he'd started to detach himself from the secular world, the classes and cafés and supermarkets of the daytime, instead his mind and soul were starting to bind themselves to the world of darkness lit by candlelight.

Taehyung couldn't help but watch Jungkook a little longer as he slept, the strange child-like innocence to his blank expression absolutely breathtaking. Shit, how did Jungkook even live, being so goddamn hot, cute and beautiful all at once all the fucking time? It wasn't fair on the rest of the world.

Taehyung picked up the metal bowl, expression twisting a little at the slosh of blood against the sides and tiptoed out of Jungkook’s room, shutting the door with his foot and heading to the kitchen to dump the blood down the sink.

~

The sun was setting earlier nowadays. It was only a bit after five, but the blue of the sky merged with gold that strengthened and grew steadily as the sun hovered near the edge of the horizon. Taehyung wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to block out the cold air seeping through the lining of his clothes and caressing his bones. He watched his breath mist in the air before him, watching the wind curl through the leaves of treetops that began to be dipped in the indigo of the darkening sky.

He was quite a fair bit away from the house, not yet within its range of Namjoon, Yoongi and Jungkook’s marked territory, and he suddenly sensed something behind him. He only got a split second of warning, before he threw himself to the side to avoid the lashing claws that raked through the air where Taehyung had just been. He crashed down against the leafy undergrowth of the forest he was passing and took no time to think, rolling over and jumping to his feet, adrenaline ruling his movements. His heart threatened to explode out of his ears and the rush of his pulsing blood made his head spin as he crouched down a little, mind numb with fear. The vampire straightened slowly, a metre or so away, and he turned to stare at Taehyung with pale amber eyes that glowed in the rapidly strengthening darkness. Taehyung couldn't breathe. The vampire’s murderous intent was like a physical force, the morbidly dangerous aura crushing Taehyung’s body down so his heels felt like they were digging into the ground, knees threatening to give way. Terror pierced his entire body from head to toe with unforgiving claws as the vampire spoke.

“It is you. You look a little different without all that silver. What's wrong, left them at home? Bad choice.” The vampire spoke softly, silkily in way that made Taehyung’s skin crawl, and Taehyung had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

“I… Who are you?” Taehyung forced out and the vampire’s eyes flashing a blazing golden for a split second before he appeared right in front of Taehyung, grabbing his neck and slamming him against the trunk of the nearest tree. Taehyung choked, all air punched out of his lungs as pain exploded in his neck and streaked down his back.

“Don't give me that shit. They say you never forget any of your victims. I haven't forgotten your face either, when you spared my life because I was newly turned. Bad, bad choice.” The vampire snarled, lip curling as he spat the words, shockingly intense hatred and bloodlust battling in his blazing eyes. The vampire leaned in closer, baring his fangs in Taehyung’s face as wild, crazed vengeance and what looked like… grief, flashed in his eyes. His hand began to slowly crush Taehyung’s neck as he whispered. “Give me my coven back.”

“I- I don't know what you're- talking about- you… you have the wrong person-” Taehyung cried desperately, cracked voice barely audible from the lack of air as he struggled against the vampire’s terrifying grip, ripping and tearing at the vampire’s hand to no avail. Sheer terror made it even harder to breathe, and black was starting to tease the edge of his vision as pain shot holes through his skull and burned at his chest.

“Helpless as a baby without your silver, aren't you?” The vampire hissed and Taehyung struggled to keep his eyes open, and his mind from submerging. Silver…? That's right, silver hurt vampires. He quickly dropped his hand to his pocket as the vampire’s grip tightened, and he fumbled around desperately before his fingers closed around the silver disc he kept on him at all times. He rested it in his palm, the weight cold and reassuring and quickly slammed his hand against the vampire’s neck, pressing the silver hard into his skin. The vampire let out a bloodcurdling scream as the silver literally burned into his flesh, generating smoke from where it ate away at his skin. Taehyung was nothing short of completely horrified but kept his grip strong, holding on tighter, and the vampire ripped himself away, jumping back several metres and falling to the ground, clutching his neck in agony.

Taehyung drew in a desperately needed deep breath, choking and coughing and he slid down to the floor, the sudden rush of oxygen making him dizzy. He could barely see, white and red spots flashing hazily over his vision as he gripped his bruised neck and struggled to breathe, heart racing so fast the beats practically merged together into one continuous pulse. His silver disc had fallen a couple metres away, glinting from amongst the leaves, and Taehyung barely had time to draw in gulps of air to make sure he was still alive before the vampire staggered upright. His neck had burned horribly, the entire expanse of skin reaching up to his jaw and shoulder a terrifying swatch of dark brown-red, a huge, intricate network of deep purple veins threatening to burst out from his skin. The vampire looked like his sanity had been shunted askew, eyes terrifyingly wide and unseeing, head tilted to the side not unlike a zombie.

Taehyung struggled to get up, not knowing where he could run but he had to get away, or if the vampire caught ahold of him again he would not have a second chance, he was dead. But his legs were too weak to support him, and the vampire recovered too quickly, appearing over him, gripping his head in one clawed hand and slamming it down onto the ground, pinning his body down in less than a second. Taehyung cried out as pain burst in his skull, feeling the tips of claws threatening to dig into his scalp. He struggled to keep his eyes open, vision swimming with tears that had gathered from the mind numbing fear and pain. The vampire ripped the collar of his shirt straight off, exposing his neck. Taehyung squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears race down his cheeks as he felt the vampire swoop down to bite his neck.

Right before the vampire’s fangs would've pierced through his throat, just as Taehyung felt his breath hit his skin, the vampire was suddenly ripped off Taehyung’s body with an ear splitting scream. Taehyung could barely move, shaking and crying uncontrollably as he let himself breathe again, prying his eyes open to see the pallid moon high in the sky, an indicator that he was still alive. He pushed himself up a little with weak, trembling arms just in time to see the vampire’s head smashed against a tree and literally crushed before his very eyes, exploding in a fountain of dark, dark blood. Taehyung couldn't suppress his gasp of fear, slapping his hand over his mouth and pressing himself back against the tree, tears streaming down his face. It took him a few moments to recognise the vampire that had just arrived and killed that other one, and he let out a broken sob, of relief, utter disbelief and fright. Of course it was Jungkook.

Jungkook stood there facing slightly away for a few moments more, the only movement being his chest heaving as he stared unblinkingly down at the crumpled corpse and the horrifically huge splash of blood that drenched the bark and undergrowth. His right hand and entire arm was dyed with the demonic shade of the vampire’s blackened blood. Taehyung’s vision shook as he stared at Jungkook’s claws slowly retreated back into his nail beds, watching Jungkook’s terrifyingly blank, emotionless eyes fade back to brown a bit slower. Taehyung was too scared to breathe, and the entire forest seemed to hold its breath with him, utter silence carpeting the tense air asides from Taehyung’s thudding heartbeat. Jungkook finally turned towards him, meeting his stare.

Taehyung flinched despite himself, unable to stop trembling as Jungkook walked over to him, edging away as much as he could, pressing himself into the trunk of the tree and slotting his body between the large roots as if they could swallow him whole. Jungkook stopped right in front of him, towering over his cowering, shaking form, blocking out the moonlight as Taehyung stared up at him in silence from where he sat, hand still glued over his mouth.

Jungkook’s expression was frightfully, awfully calm and composed as he loomed over Taehyung, careless even, despite the horror of the vampire’s corpse he left slumped against that tree metres behind him, and Taehyung couldn't read his blank brown eyes. He couldn't tell if Jungkook was going to hurt him, too. He felt like he staring into the eyes of death itself, and he couldn't bring himself to blink or look away.

Jungkook crouched down, reaching out to Taehyung’s face with his blood-soaked arm and Taehyung flinched, turning his head away sharply and screwing his eyes shut. Jungkook paused, letting his arm drop.

“Don't go anywhere.” Jungkook murmured softly and stood, disappearing into thin air the next moment. Taehyung wasn't going anywhere, for sure. His legs were too weak to even let him stand up. Jungkook reappeared above him in a few seconds, arm washed clean of blood, dripping water from what must be a nearby river or stream.

“Jungkook…” Taehyung whispered, not sure what he was meaning to say. He was still shaking and shuddering but tiredness was slowly washing over his body, and the stress and shock was pushing his mind down into the retreats of sleep, to just rest for a while and recover. He let his eyes slide shut, suddenly feeling a ridiculous, irrational sense of safety take over and calm and sedate his nerves and numb his limbs as Jungkook crouched down before him again. He knew Jungkook, though a seasoned, ruthless killer from what he'd now seen, wasn't going to hurt him. He'd just saved him, after all. He felt Jungkook wipe away his tears with his dry hand, and felt his body being gathered into cold arms that slowly warmed as he was lifted off the ground. Maybe he was delirious, but Jungkook’s body was suddenly so invitingly, wonderfully warm, and he pressed his face into Jungkook’s neck, letting Jungkook carry him away as his consciousness faded.

~

Taehyung woke up with a shiver, registering that it was fucking freezing and he was very, very cold. He opened his eyes and jumped, seeing nothing but pale skin before him. His nose was pressed into someone’s neck, and cold, cold arms were wrapped around his body. He breathed in, and, yep, that was definitely Jungkook. Taehyung wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and press himself closer against Jungkook’s body and savour the feeling of being held so protectively but he was really fucking cold. He gently pushed Jungkook’s heavy arms off of himself and extracted himself away, sitting up slowly and gazing down at Jungkook, who stirred and shifted a little, opening his eyes sleepily. It must be close to sunrise.

“Taehyung…” Jungkook mumbled, voice low and raspy from sleep, and Taehyung bit his lip, trying for a weak smile as a dark, dark spray of blood flashed in his mind’s eye and the image of Jungkook’s perfectly emotionless, blank face that looked like it'd been carved out of marble, blocking out the moon lingered in his memory. He couldn't believe all that had actually happened. He'd almost died. His head and neck still throbbed, and he could almost feel fangs buried in his neck. And he'd just seen Jungkook crush a vampire’s head in one hand. He still didn't know why the vampire had spoken to him as if they'd met before, and had been harbouring a deep-rooted grudge against him.

“Why… why am I here?” Taehyung asked quietly, glancing around Jungkook’s room, letting his eyes sweep over the comforting golden hue of candlelight and curling his fingers into the sheets of the huge bed.

“Oh, um- sorry. I carried you to your room, but you didn't let go of my shirt when I tried to put you down, and… I just… couldn't…” Jungkook muttered drowsily, seeming a little embarrassed and somewhat guilty, and Taehyung couldn't decide whether to blush from the warmth spreading in his chest, or in mortification from his own apparently clingy actions while asleep. He gazed down at Jungkook’s tired, soft eyes and open, relaxed posture, and could hardly believe this was the same person that had killed someone in a terrifying, incredible split second show of raw strength a couple hours ago with no hesitation whatsoever.

“No it's… it's okay. I… Thank you for saving my life.” Taehyung murmured softly, and Jungkook shook his head slowly, a slight smile crossing his relaxed, pretty features.

“Don't mention it. Sorry for scaring you.” Jungkook spoke quietly, eyes slipping shut and Taehyung bit his lip, trying to rid himself of the image of Jungkook standing over the corpse, dark blood dripping from his fingertips.

“I… I know it's almost six, and you're going to sleep soon, but… can I… stay here? For a bit longer? I'm… still a bit scared.” Taehyung whispered hesitantly, uncertainly, gripping the sheets in his hand a little tighter, a shiver racking his body once more as he remembered how the vampire’s fangs had flashed in his face. Jungkook opened his eyes, looking a little surprised, and he smiled softly, almost gently, taking Taehyung’s breath away for a moment.

“Sure.” Jungkook replied simply and Taehyung couldn't help a small, unbidden smile of his own. He hesitated before lying back down again, pushing his luck and pressing himself up against Jungkook’s hard, wonderfully muscled body again, burying his face in Jungkook’s chest and feeling anchored by his solidity. The absence of a heartbeat was staggering, but Taehyung managed to forget about that as Jungkook wrapped an arm around him again, pulling him in just a bit closer, cold fingers resting against his waist. Yeah, no matter how hard Taehyung tried to ignore it, he was freezing. But Taehyung found that he didn't really mind as Jungkook’s fingers stroked the tiny bit of skin of his waist exposed by his shirt hitching up a little. He didn't know what he felt in that surreal, drowsy moment of peacefulness, surrounded by silence and a soft, golden glow as he lay beside Jungkook, but he didn't bother to think too hard about it and give the feeling a name. Despite the cold, he fell asleep easily as he felt Jungkook’s body fall completely still.

~

Taehyung had been teased about it to no end by Jimin after he finally emerged from Jungkook’s room halfway through the day, and it'd taken Taehyung’s recounting of being attacked to get Jimin to sober up and believe him that nothing had happened, and no, they hadn't fucked. Jimin had stopped to ask Taehyung whether he was okay, turning completely seriously as Taehyung assured him he was fine, before that shit-eating grin appeared again and he gushed over Jungkook being Taehyung’s knight in shining armour, saving him in the nick of time.

Taehyung didn't know how he felt about it. He didn't feel like Jungkook’s saving him had suddenly captured his heart or anything, but he felt… more comfortable around Jungkook now. Safer. It'd been just over a month since Taehyung had first moved in, and he was finally feeling at ease with everyone now. Even in saying that, he and Jungkook still barely ever talked. They went back to the eyefucking, blushing, cornering and overwhelming sexual frustration business from before. Because no matter what happened, Jungkook was still fucking hot. Taehyung wasn't about to stop drooling over his body just because of that one night. And Jungkook hadn't stopped either. Taehyung hadn't suddenly magically become not scared anymore, because Jungkook did nothing to tone down the sudden, forceful advances and dominating, predatory demeanour, but he could feel his self control waning and he knew he was going to cave soon.

It finally came to a head one night when Hoseok suggested for everyone to watch a horror movie together. It was one of his rare nights off, and everyone happened to be gathered in the living room anyway, so it was a perfect suggestion. Taehyung had gotten a little overly excited, he'd admit, and had cleared the space in front of the TV and piled blankets and pillows and cushions in a huge, snuggly heap on the carpet. Jimin had laughed and joined in and the rest just watched them, smiling, well used to Taehyung’s antics by now. They'd gotten comfortable in the swathe of blankets, and Yoongi put on a movie he chose.

Now, the problem with Taehyung and horror movies was that he loved watching them, but got scared at the slightest anything that happened. So it was always torture to watch. But he now lived with vampires, more supernatural and scary than anything horror movies could throw at him so he resolutely told himself he would be fine as they settled down in a rough circle, getting ready to watch the movie.

But of course he should have expected that a horror movie chosen by a centuries old vampire would be way more terrifying than anything he'd ever watched before. All four of the humans, including himself, had already screamed more times than he could count and they were only halfway through the movie, and they broke into fits of nervous but resigned laughter after particularly synced shouts of fear at jumpscares. The vampires just looked amused whenever they got scared, and Taehyung sort of hated them for it. During the movie, they'd shifted positions a little, subconsciously, and separated into little groups. Jimin and Hoseok were huddled together towards the front, right beside the TV (the masochists, Taehyung thought in disbelief), Seokjin was peeking through his fingers as Namjoon wrapped his arm around him and Yoongi sat beside Namjoon with a calm, mildly entertained expression on his face as he watched the screen. Taehyung had somehow shifted all the way across the blanket heap over to Jungkook, who was several metres away from the others, and was now probably giving him a headache by continuously screaming right beside him.

As the movie progressed Taehyung got more and more scared, clutching the blankets around himself and losing all sense of inhibition, pressing himself against Jungkook’s side and scrabbling at his arm and gripping his thigh whenever anything scary happened. As yet another fucking jumpscare appeared Taehyung squeaked and practically threw himself onto Jungkook, burying his face into Jungkook’s chest and gripping his shirt, somehow managing to fling his leg over Jungkook’s thigh and half straddle him.

At first Jungkook seemed amused at how jumpy and nervous Taehyung was at absolutely everything that was happening on screen, but after some time he'd gone completely silent, completely motionless, and it was like Taehyung was gripping an icy statue. But now, as Taehyung whined helplessly at the stupid unnecessarily scary jumpscare and screwed his eyes shut and pressed his face further into Jungkook’s chest to try and block out what he knew was staged fake screaming (but it was still scary goddamnit), Jungkook hissed, entire body tensed. Taehyung loosened his grip a little in surprise, lifting his head a little to peek up at Jungkook whose eyes seemed unnaturally glued to the screen, unblinking and unwavering, but he didn't seem to be watching the movie. Taehyung gulped, suddenly realising how close he was, and how if Taehyung lifted his chin just a little bit he'd practically be kissing that sharp jaw.

“Cut it out.” Jungkook spoke through gritted teeth, quiet, low voice strained, though he made no move to touch Taehyung or push him off. Taehyung blinked in surprise, staring at his stormy, set expression. Was he really annoyed? Maybe Taehyung was being a bit too clingy or some-... Taehyung froze as he shifted to move his leg away, feeling his knee accidentally brush against Jungkook’s crotch. He glanced down despite himself to confirm, and… yeah. Jungkook had a boner.

Taehyung felt his cheeks warm and his blush spreading down from his face to his neck, heat washing over him slowly and jolting as a spike in his stomach. He'd been distracted and scared by the movie, but now he realised that for the past hour or so, he'd been gripping Jungkook’s thigh for support and probably unknowingly letting his fingers stray down a little, and squirming against Jungkook’s body and hiding his face into his chest or the crook of his neck every now and then. Jungkook had been giving him bedroom eyes for a month now, it was clear how much he wanted Taehyung, and so of course he was turned on by Taehyung’s unwittingly provoking actions. Taehyung couldn't move, knowing his subsequent arousal, at discovering Jungkook had been holding himself still probably to control himself from touching Taehyung’s body for the good part of an hour, could be smelt by the three vampires in the room.

“You guys, for fuck’s sake, sort yourselves out. I can smell it from here.” Namjoon groaned in distaste from where he sat, metres away, and Taehyung’s blush only deepened, and he was still frozen in place, just staring at Jungkook closing his eyes, a vein ticking in his temple. Now was a really fucking bad time to be reminded of how fucking good Jungkook smelt, and at this distance… Taehyung could literally feel his mouth watering.

“How you guys get turned on from watching a horror movie is a fucking mystery.” Yoongi drawled, and Taehyung could see Jimin turning to stare at him incredulously out of the corner of his eye. Then Hoseok and Seokjin screamed again and Taehyung made the mistake of glancing back at the screen, jumping at the blood splatters and accidentally squeezing Jungkook’s thick, rock-hard thigh tight between his legs, digging his fingers into his chest. Jungkook’s eyes snapped open with a bright flare of red.

“That's it.” Jungkook breathed, standing and gripping Taehyung’s wrist painfully tightly, hauling him to his feet as well. Taehyung stared at him in confusion and was about to speak when Jungkook strode across the room with great purpose, tension rolling off his body in waves, pulling Taehyung away with him. Taehyung almost tripped over his feet, cheeks burning ever more, heart beating faster and faster as Jimin wolf whistled behind them. Fuck, what was-? Jungkook pulled Taehyung all the way down the corridor almost to the bedrooms, before turning around, grabbing his hips punishingly tight and slamming him against the wall. Taehyung gasped despite himself, wincing a little at Jungkook’s cold fingers digging into his hipbones. Jungkook stepped in close, caging him in against the wall and robbing Taehyung of both speech and breath in one second.

“You drive me crazy.” Jungkook growled, eyes flashing with wild, unleashed hunger and Taehyung saw a dash of deep red before Jungkook gripped his jaw and tilted his head up, kissing him harshly. Taehyung instinctively wound his arms around the back of Jungkook’s neck, moaning softly as he let his lips fall open beneath Jungkook’s soft, wet, unbearably hot tongue, letting Jungkook claim his mouth with ease. Jungkook licked his way around every inch of Taehyung’s mouth as if he couldn't get enough of his taste, making Taehyung’s head spin as a dizzying heat shot through his body. He couldn’t hold back a loud, embarrassing whimper as Jungkook pulled back ever so slightly to bite and tug at his lips. He almost wanted to cry at the feeling of Jungkook’s body pressing down on his so hard, all that unbelievably sculpted muscle flattening him against the wall. He could feel Jungkook’s stiff cock pressing into his thigh and it was not helping. Taehyung just couldn't stop moaning, shamelessly loudly even to his own ears as Jungkook’s relentless tongue and smooth, hungry lips gave him no time whatsoever to breathe or even think, filling his mouth with that rich, wildly addicting taste. Taehyung dug his fingers into Jungkook’s skin, glad he was pinned to the wall or he would've already collapsed, weak and breathless from Jungkook’s paralysing kiss and dizzying taste. Jungkook finally released Taehyung’s lips with a wet pop, pulling back a little to let Taehyung breathe, though that didn't help in the slightest, as his scent filled Taehyung’s senses and Taehyung felt his blood surge, burning through his veins, and he thought he might pass out.

“I swear you do all this shit on purpose. Is it fun driving me mad? You don't even know how bad I want you.” Jungkook leant in again to whisper against Taehyung’s lips, eyes a blazing ruby fire, and Taehyung closed his eyes, furrowing his brows and taking in slow, deep breaths to try and calm his racing heartbeat so he could hear his own thoughts. But how could he possibly concentrate when all he breathed in was Jungkook’s scent?

“I… I'm sorry, that was- I really was scared by the movie, I didn't- I didn't realise you were getting t- I…” Taehyung stammered breathlessly, no two words stringing together in his mind, choking on air as Jungkook just bore down on him harder.

“Oh, fuck that. I know you were just scared and holding on to me because of that damn movie, that's why I didn't do anything. But what about everything else?” Jungkook hissed, placing a finger beneath Taehyung’s chin and forcing him to lift his head. Taehyung kept his eyes closed, shaking his head mindlessly, unable to think about anything other than Jungkook’s hot breath hitting his lips as he brought his hands down to weakly push at Jungkook’s chest.

“No, I- you never give me a chance to- to think when you're always… like this. Touching me and shit. I can't help reacting, I do have hormones, you know.” Taehyung muttered a little stiffly, and Jungkook laughed briefly, the sound dangerous and low. Taehyung opened his eyes as Jungkook loosened his grip, trailing his cold fingers up to cup Taehyung’s cheek lightly. Jungkook shook his head slightly, looking amused, though his stare remained sharp, piercing and fiery.

“You’re blaming this on hormones? No. I know you want me too.” Jungkook spoke softly, silkily, leaning forward to press his lips against Taehyung’s earlobe, making Taehyung shiver at the heat blowing over his sensitive ear. Jungkook’s grip on his face and hip tightened painfully as he growled, voice maddeningly breathy and raspy. “Don't think I can't hear you moaning my name when you touch yourself at night, thinking I'm asleep.”

Taehyung let out a soft, shocked moan as Jungkook curled his tongue over the shell of his ear and tugged at his earlobe with careful teeth. Jungkook… Jungkook had heard him before? He'd been awake and listening? Holy fuck. He took in a shaky breath and let it out, deflating against Jungkook’s body. Jungkook’s cold fingers slipped beneath Taehyung’s shirt, wandering over the skin right above the waistband of his pants, drawing uncontrollable shivers and bursts of heat as he breathed, “Oh for fuck’s sake.”

“Don't tell me you were playing hard to get or some shit?” Jungkook growled dangerously low, and Taehyung shook his head weakly, letting himself breathe in as deep as he wanted, letting Jungkook push his shirt up higher and trail his fingers up along his waist, welcoming the dizziness.

“No, I… I genuinely didn’t want to say yes. I still don't. I'm scared, you know?” Taehyung murmured and gasped, squirming against Jungkook’s body as he felt Jungkook’s thumb dip into his navel, sending electric shocks shooting through his veins. Jungkook paused, drawing back a little with an arched eyebrow.

“Of what?” Jungkook asked as if he actually didn't know and Taehyung fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“You're a vampire. If I have sex with you and you want to bite me, I'll probably just let it happen and I don't really want to die just yet? Also you're really fucking strong and I like having intact limbs and… your skin is really, really cold.” Taehyung mumbled almost incoherently and Jungkook regarded him blankly for a few seconds, before suddenly, like a switch had been hit, heat poured from Jungkook’s body, his skin suddenly feverish to the touch. Taehyung jumped, feeling sudden burning fingertips sear against his stomach. Taehyung couldn't help another surprised moan slipping out at the sudden blanket of delicious heat surrounding his whole body.

“I keep forgetting about that, sorry. Vampires can turn their body temperatures up.” Jungkook explained simply, casually, as if Taehyung wasn't in the middle of a mental breakdown. Taehyung nodded weakly.

“I- I guess that's one of my misgivings gone.” Taehyung replied quietly, and Jungkook’s deep red lips quirked up in evident amusement.

“As for the other misgivings… I don't want to kill you. I don't want to hurt you either. I just really want to fuck you.” Jungkook murmured, smiling wryly as he pressed a soft, almost chaste kiss to Taehyung’s lips. Taehyung wasn't sure if he was currently just charming his way into his pants, but it was working, so he didn't care. He was about to reply when Hoseok rounded the corner, interrupting them.

“Jungkook, I don't think that's a good idea.” Hoseok’s voice was uncharacteristically serious, low and almost threatening. Taehyung jumped, mind clearing of the numbing haze, and Jungkook tensed, swearing under his breath. He burned his intent stare into Taehyung’s eyes as if Hoseok wasn't standing there and leant forward to whisper in Taehyung’s ear.

“I don't care if it takes hours or days or weeks. Whenever you get rid of those misgivings, come to my room. I'll be waiting. Go back and watch the movie with Hoseok for now.” Jungkook spoke softly, stroking his hair once, quickly, almost affectionately, before stepping aside to let Taehyung move away. Taehyung nodded obediently, more than a little dazed, more than a little shaken by how much he just discovered he loved being told what to do in such a lovely soft tone, as if he was something that needed to be guided, babied and protected. Fucking hell.

Taehyung walked over to Hoseok, pausing to glance at his drawn, tight expression uncertainly, wholly taken aback by his unfamiliar, strange, almost dangerous demeanour. Hoseok flashed him a smile, and gestured for him to go on ahead.

“Sorry for interrupting you guys. Go watch the movie, I'll come soon. Just gotta talk to Jungkook for a bit.” Hoseok spoke brightly and Taehyung nodded slowly, not oblivious to the sudden palpable, stormy tension brewing in the air between the two. He decided to listen to both of them and snuck a look back at Jungkook, cheeks warming for the nth time, before walking away, back to the living room. Too much just happened, and his lips still tingled.

“So, what the fuck did you mean by that?” Jungkook spoke flatly as soon as he heard Taehyung’s footsteps reach the living room doorway. Hoseok was acting strange. Hoseok hadn't ever been one to interrupt these things, and he certainly hadn't ever looked at Jungkook with a certain degree of warning before. It did wonders to sober Jungkook right up from the intoxication of Taehyung’s smell and the feel of his skin.

“I meant what I said. I don't think that's a good idea. You know if you fuck him you're going to bite him. From what we’ve seen and heard, you're going to lose control the moment you drink a sip of his blood. If you end up killing him…” Hoseok trailed off dangerously, definitely threatening him now, and Jungkook could feel his expression hardening into stone. What the fuck? Hoseok’s posture was way too tense, coiled and tensed as if he was ready to spring and attack. What the fuck was this?

“It's not like I want to kill him. And I won't. He's our friend, isn't he? I won't bite him unless he tells me yes.” Jungkook growled and narrowed his eyes, wondering what just flashed in Hoseok’s stare. “Besides, you of all people know that I physically can't drink that much blood.”

“Yes… I know. But you only throw up hours later, don't you? Not straight away anymore. Because of my mistake.” Hoseok replied slowly, tonelessly, and Jungkook bit his lip.

“You still feel bad over that? It's okay, really. I wasn't really expecting to be freed of it. It's not like you made it worse, it still happens, just later.” Jungkook offered a placating, peacemaking smile to soothe whatever bristles and barbs had pricked into Hoseok’s skin, and Hoseok stared in silence for a tense second more, before he broke into that usual sunny smile, and the atmosphere brightened.

“Wish I could do more. Well, I know you're probably going to go ahead and fuck him anyway, but… be careful.” Hoseok cautioned him and Jungkook nodded, smiling slightly wider. He had no idea Hoseok cared for Taehyung this much.

“I will be.”

~