Work Text:
Yuri supposes he should be grateful.
It’d been raining for the past three days with no end in sight, so why would it decide to quit now, when Yuri was out and about? Yes, he’d been wearing his favorite shawl and was armed with an umbrella, but the weather had lulled him into thinking that maybe the sun had disappeared-- if it had, then there was nothing keeping him from the more sightly hours of the day, according to humans. And if he’s being honest, he was a little bored of watching the moon wax and wane from his bedroom window.
Still, it was a bit jarring for the sun to peek out from between the clouds and douse Yuri’s umbrella in warmth and light, making him jump from the sudden temperature. His hands, which he’d neglected to glove (out of safety in case the sun dripped down again), had only barely begin to burn, so slight that Yuri barely noticed, under the gentle rays when a foreign, gloved hand shoots out from his left and grabs him by his own, dragging Yuri into an alleyway so quickly that he doesn’t have time to react, much less resist.
He yanks his hand free as soon as he realizes what’s happening, spinning around to face his wannabe kidnapper and hissing more akin to a badly behaved cat than a vampire. The other hisses back, and right off the bat Yuri notices that the sound he’s uttering is similar if not the same as the one he just made. A sound impossible for humans to make. He closes his mouth from where he’d bared his fangs, cocking his head slightly to the side in confusion and pulling his shawl a bit tighter around him. He was never one for vampire on vampire fights, but when it was necessary, Yuri was quick to kill.
His kidnapper-to-be recognizes the change in Yuri’s aura from venomous to confused, and his own softens to a much more welcoming presence, the same muted one Yuri had felt from him when he’d pulled him in here to begin with. “Did you,” Yuri begins, unsure of what to do in this situation, “did you need something from me.”
The other blinks and tugs the hood of his sweatshirt off his head, revealing a mop of brown hair that’s lighter towards the roots, giving the impression of having dunked only the top of his head in weak bleach. He seems to search for words for a moment while he messes with his cuticles on both hands, probably not realizing he’s doing so. “No.” He says, sheepishly. “I mean, yes, but-- vice versa.” He points to Yuri’s hands. Yuri looks down and finally comes to the realization that he’d begun to burn earlier from the wash of red over the backs of his hands, and he flexes his fingers for a moment as if to make sure they still work-- they do, and they will for the rest of his life, as long as he doesn’t let them turn to ash in the daytime sun.
“Oh.” Yuri murmurs, examining the skin there to assess the damage. With how short a period he’d been in the sun for, it’d probably heal within a day or two. He looks up at his… savior, then, but before he can thank him politely his mouth goes dry.
The vampire standing opposite him is, for lack of better word and for purposes of a pun, captivating. His eyes are a honeyed brown that reminds Yuri of sunflowers, and his features look to be perfectly proportioned, as if he was chiseled from marble by a master sculptor. Yuri has to force himself to regain his composure, then, and finally brings himself to speak. “Thank you.” He forces out between gaping at the other.
Said vampire doesn’t look bothered by Yuri’s lack of dialogue, and in fact, he looks rather pleased by it if Yuri’s to assume. “Bat got your tongue?” He jokes. Yuri snorts, and just like that, the spell sealing his lips is broken. “Thank you.” He repeats, with resolve this time. “May I ask your name?”
The other smiles brightly, but Yuri feels his aura take the slightest, tiniest turn towards sinister. “Judai.” He, Judai, says, still grinning. Yuri takes a step back involuntarily. “Yuri.” He says, as if testing the waters of their introductions.
Judai doesn’t seem annoyed by Yuri’s wariness if he notices it at all, going as far as taking a step forward to close the distance between the two. He grabs Yuri’s hands in his own, turning the latter a light shade of pink (one similar to his burns) at the contact. Judai’s hands clasped around his begin to glow then, begin to glow the faintest shade of fuschia. A second passes and Judai releases the other from his grasp, and when Yuri looks down at his hands the reddish hints of irritation and injury are completely gone. He can’t even remember the stinging sensation of the burns from a moment earlier. A healer type, huh.
He stares down at his hands for a beat as if expecting them to sting again. “Pretty cool, right?” Judai exclaims, looking proud of himself and smiling with a mouth full of fangs and blunt, human looking teeth in between. Yuri hopes his amazement doesn’t show on his face, and replies, “Yeah, thanks.”
A gust of wind whistles through the alleyway then, and Yuri’s shawl billows in the gale. He holds tight to the hem to keep it from flying away, and fleetingly, he realizes it’s getting dark. The last sliver of sun disappears below the horizon as soon as he does, as if in response.
“To show my thanks, then,” Yuri blurts out before he can consider what he’s about to offer. “Would you like to join me on the hunt tonight?” He hopes he doesn’t come off like he’s asking Judai out or something equally ridiculous what with the tiny period of time they’ve known each other for. Judai smiles again, but this time, though just as toothy as before, Yuri feels a chill run down his spine. He decides it’s a nice feeling, though, when he feels himself begin to grin, too.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Somewhere, a bat wakes to a pitch black sky. It spreads its wings.