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Living is exhausting. Jaemin sits in his castle day in and day out, letting things slowly become more overgrown and ruinous. It’s not entirely his fault that this castle seems to want to fall apart on it’s own. It doesn’t care much for the difficulties of existing, and neither does Jaemin. But unfortunately for him, he will live on for the rest of time no matter what. Nothing will ever change and he will just rinse and repeat the same old routine until the sun explodes.
Good god that’s depressing. Jaemin doesn’t even drink blood anymore. He was born a vampire instead of turned, so he doesn’t need to artificially keep himself alive. The last human or vampire Jaemin had seen was Sicheng a while back, so long ago that the memory is a bit fuzzy, though not too much because what else has Jaemin got to keep his mind on?
There’s a knock at the door which Jaemin is sure he created in his mind to provide some form of entertainment. But then comes another knock and another to follow that. So Jaemin stands up and walks to the door, swinging it open, unsure of what he was going to find.
“Hi there, I’m your new gardener,” the stranger introduces. They’re wearing far too many layers for the weather outside, but Jaemin is also thrown off by the large sun hat and clipboard in their hand.
“I’m sorry, I think you must be mistaken. I didn’t hire a gardener,” Jaemin says. He doesn’t even have internet access out here, so there’s no way he could have called someone up only to have forgotten.
“Your address is on the form. Which means I am your gardener. My name’s Renjun.” Renjun sticks out his hand, which Jaemin looks at, but doesn’t shake. Shaking hands is how humans spread diseases amongst themselves, so Jaemin won’t engage in such a practice. “May I come in?”
“No,” Jaemin replies quickly, “I didn’t hire a gardener.” and with that he tries to close the door, but Renjun sticks his foot in the door just in time and forces it open.
“Nice try. I’m your gardener now. Deal with it.” Renjun looks around the interior which is coated in dust and sheets with the wall paper peeling in some parts. “I might also have to become your interior designer. How on Earth do you live like this?”
“I hardly spend time in this wing of the house,” Jaemin defends. Who does this Renjun think he is? Coming in here and acting as though he owns the place. But... Renjun might be right about the East Wing of the castle.
“I would hardly call this a house,” Renjun says. “How many floors is it?”
“Three, plus two spire rooms; one in each wing.” Jaemin’s castle makes a large U-shape with doors to enter on both ends and the center. The East Wing is mostly abandoned due to Jaemin not knowing how to walk around a house this big. And there’s issues in the West Wing as well. Most of the time, Jaemin stays towards the center of the castle and sometimes ventures out to particular rooms on either wing.
“You have only proved my point,” Renjun mumbles. “But anyway, I’m actually here to look at gardens for now, so if you could take me to them, that would be wonderful.” Jaemin sighs, even if Renjun is some very confused and lost stranger, he’s different from what Jaemin would expect on an average day, and a form of entertainment which Jaemin can appreciate.
Jaemin leads Renjun through the hallway of the East Wing’s first floor and while Renjun clearly wants to idle and look at things, Jaemin doesn’t let him as he just keeps walking. He knows everything that’s on the walls or displayed in some form by heart and none of it is worth his time at all. Least not, a stranger’s.
They reach the center of the castle which is in the best condition due to Jaemin spending all his time there. Jaemin goes over to the double doors that look out over the gardens. What once were beautiful flowers and trees, are now only abandoned green houses covered in moss and overgrown weeds. Jaemin sighs, setting aside any remorse for the past and tries to force the doors open, but they won’t budge.
“They won’t budge?” Renjun asks, and if he looked at what Jaemin was doing he would see that that’s exactly the issue.
“I haven’t opened these doors in cent— years,” Jaemin replies. He can’t expose the fact that he’s a vampire. Losing sight of keeping the existence of vampires a secret is much more important than accuracy in the case of how long these doors have been left shut.
“Can I try?”
“Go for it.” Jaemin says with a shrug as he steps away from the doors, brushing his hands off on his pants. He’s probably also dressed quite strangely in Renjun’s eyes. It’s not like Jaemin dresses in tails anymore, but he still dresses like a proper gentleman with a vest, dress shirt and overcoat. He can’t break away from everything that he was raised on.
Renjun also struggles with the door and Jaemin is about to tell Renjun to give it up, but Renjun manages to get the door to move just enough that the bolt isn’t in the door.
“Grab the door handle and keep it pulled down as far as you can,” Renjun directs and Jaemin sighs, but does as he asks and kneels down to pull the door handle down. Then Renjun kicks the door with all his strength. Jaemin is nearly sent out of the castle by the sheer force of the door swinging open. “Need a hand up?”
Renjun once again offers Jaemin his hand, who ignores it once again. This time is a much more appropriate time to be touching hands, but Jaemin still has no clue where said hands have been. Renjun isn’t even necessarily human. He’s not a vampire, Jaemin would be able to smell that, but he could be some sort of fairy that Jaemin hasn’t encountered before. It isn’t that far out of the realm of possibility.
Jaemin brushes himself off again, having a feeling that hanging around Renjun will lead to the dirtying of all of his clothes. Sparing one last look at the inside of the castle, Jaemin follows Renjun out into the gardens.
“These things are a disaster, truly,” Renjun says, standing in front of what once was a pond, but has now become something like a sewer. “I can fix it all in under six weeks time, I promise you.”
“Six weeks?” There’s no way that Renjun could fix even just one greenhouse in six weeks. There’s too many elements to everything, so there’s simply no way it’s even possible.
“Do you not believe me?” Renjun asks. “Because I’ve always been one to... Raise the stakes, so to speak. I’ll make you an offer. In six weeks if I’m done you’ll owe me one favor. Well, technically two, though one will likely be much easier for you to do than the other. But, I’m not quite sure which one that is...”
“Just spit it out already,” Jaemin grumbles. “I don’t even need my gardens dealt with, they are just fine as they are.” Jaemin is telling the truth, yet he can’t help but admit that he misses the way the flowers would bloom and how fun it would be to lay in the garden.
“Wait, I want to add something to my proposition,” Renjun says.
“Once you say it, you can’t change it and you have about twenty seconds before I walk right back inside my house,” Jaemin declares and Renjun nods.
“Fair.” Renjun ponders for a moment, looking Jaemin up and down. “I think I know what I want.”
“So what is it then?” Jaemin asks. Renjun is keeping him on the edge of his seat here, even though they are both standing and Jaemin kind of wants to slap Renjun’s smug face.
“The three things I want in order is for you to turn me, explain the history of this castle and go on a date with me.” Renjun holds up three fingers and smiles. “Deal?” Jaemin’s jaw drops, which accidentally exposes his fangs, which works to Renjun’s advantage as he takes his hands and places them on either side of Jaemin’s cheeks. “You have beautiful fangs that I want to pierce my neck.”
Now Jaemin has to ask himself if that was hot or weird? Honestly, the two terms aren’t mutually exclusive and that’s as much thought as Jaemin wants to put into the matter. It’s also useless to ask Renjun why he thought Jaemin was a vampire, seeing as Jaemin just gave Renjun some fairly solid confirmation.
“How did you know?” Jaemin asks.
“We have a mutual friend,” Renjun replies rather cryptically. “But do you agree to the deal or not?”
“Who? I only know two others that are still alive.” And there goes the whole game as Renjun’s eyes widen at the phrasing. “But yeah, I’ll take the deal.” The two of them lock hands and Jaemin swears he feels a bit of electricity shoot up his spine.
“Donghyuck and Jeno. They are happy best friends that are living out their days playing video games in a castle,” Renjun explains, hands still cupping Jaemin’s cheeks. “Donghyuck is a friend of mine and with his and Jeno’s help, I found you.”
“So you weren’t hired as a florist,” Jaemin mutters.
“How else was I supposed to get you to let me in?” Renjun asks playfully. “It’s not like you take in a lot of visitors or anything.”
“Isn’t it the vampire that has to be invited in?” Jaemin counters and Renjun laughs.
“I’m not human,” Renjun whispers before pulling away. “I’m a Fect. An alien essentially, but of the flower type.” Renjun shoves his hands into a rose bush that’s mostly dead and while his arms bleed from the thorns, the plant surges in size and height until all the flowers are blooming. Renjun pulls his arms back and the blood evaporates away. He plucks two of the crimson roses from the bush and walks back over to Jaemin who’s standing there in awe.
Renjun slips one behind Jaemin’s ear, hand waving over it for a second and changing the color to a soft lavendar. He takes his own and sticks it into his mouth and before Jaemin can say anything, Renjun’s clothes are shifting into a cape of white rose petals and similar clothes to Jaemin’s, all made of white rose petals.
“Not all of us are this gifted. I only came here at all after Jongdae told me of another Fect named Jongin who’s living here on Earth with his boyfriend, Kyungsoo. I’m here to ‘keep an eye on him’ if you will, but I’m sure he’s fine,” Renjun elaborates.
“Wait a second, If you’re an alien, then why do you want me to turn you?” Jaemin asks.
“Simple; Fect don’t live forever.” Neither of them says anything else as they walk back inside Jaemin’s castle, the pristine white rose bush standing out among all the rot.
Jaemin watches day after day as Renjun improves the garden. His powers don’t translate well to interior, so the castle is still as decrepit as when Renjun first arrived. Jaemin watches Renjun through the back windows or from one of the recovered stone benches. Never talking, just watching.
Renjun must be one of the most talented of his kind as he shapes plants and grows them at an unimaginable pace. Each day moving further into the gardens. By the end of the fourth week Renjun is nearing the end of his task already.
Despite not talking during the day, at night the two of them read books together and chat about random things. Jaemin is beginning to grow fond of Renjun, but he doesn’t want to let him now. Renjun doesn’t want to die— he only wants to live forever, just like Jaemin. Jaemin has to admit that he’s quite lonely, but forever would give someone a gaping opportunity to rip his heart out again.
Renjun pulls his arms out of the ground, nearly caked head to toe in dirt from his activities today and since dirt isn’t hurting him, his powers don’t remove it naturally. He walks over to Jaemin who’s sitting legs crossed against the base of a huge tree. Jaemin has no clue what type as that isn’t the sort of thing that he values, but he’s certain that if he asked Renjun that he would know.
“Afternoon, Jaemin,” Renjun says, standing up and making no effort to even remove some of the dirt from himself. “I think I’m going to need a bath to remove all this dirt.” How Jaemin even has hot water is somewhat of a mystery even to him, but it was probably set up by the last person Jaemin let in. He came to Jaemin with promises of the future and that was true for a while. At least until he grew old and stopped wanting to love Jaemin the way he always had. Jaemin swallows harshly, shoving away the memory.
“Yes of course, I’ll help you with it,” Jaemin replies, standing up and making a point to brush off his pants while Renjun raises a brow and crosses his arms.
“I’ll do you one better,” Renjun suggests, starting their trek back to the castle. “We should bathe together. I know you need to bathe today anyway—”
“The fact that you even know that is weird,” Jaemin interrupts. “You don’t need to know everything about me, you know.”
“But what else is there for me to learn about that isn’t from you. I already know everything there is to know about plants, and I don’t particularly care for reading. Reading seems boring to me because I would rather go and experience things rather than hear about them. Though, I can see why you would like books. They’re your escape because you can’t bring yourself to leave these grounds. But that’s all in your head—”
“Are you done yet?” Jaemin snaps. He doesn’t particularly like being psychoanalyzed. Particularly by someone who doesn’t seem to understand where to draw the line.
“I could be,” Renjun replies coyly. “But that doesn’t answer my question?”
“Which is?”
“Will you bathe with me?”
“But you are covered in filth, which would mean I’d have to sit in that filth with you,” Jaemin counters. What does Renjun not get about how to take a bath? He had taken several before, always needing Jaemin’s help to start the water or do some other meaningless task. A smile plays on Renjun’s lips which means that Jaemin fucked up because of something he either said or didn’t say. “Alright, out with it.”
“I’m surprised you’re not opposed to being naked in a tub with me,” Renjun reveals and Jaemin nearly kicks himself right then and there. Why is the only thing he thinks about is cleanliness? But Jaemin can’t bring himself to deny that he really wouldn’t not want to bathe with Renjun. Or in other words, he isn’t opposed to it. “Not even going to try and defend yourself?”
“There’s really no point,” Jaemin replies, not making direct eye contact with Renjun as they step inside.
“That’s what I assumed. But provided the dirt is off me, you’ll join?” Renjun asks.
“Yeah,” Jaemin says, both embarrassed and slightly enthralled by the possibility.
“Done.” Jaemin looks up to see all of the dirt vanished from Renjun’s person and choice of flower based clothing.
“Do you only save your abilities for when you can use them to your advantage?” Jaemin asks, but the question is more rhetorical than anything else. Renjun links arms with Jaemin and the two of them walk upstairs.
“What else would I use them for?” Renjun counters. Jaemin sighs, slouching over a bit. Then it hits him. Not every male on Earth looks the way he does. He hadn’t thought about his chest in so long that binding just became apart of him getting ready in the mornings. He never dressed or undressed in front of Renjun for modesty, but maybe it was his subconscious or something. Well, this is awkward. How is Jaemin supposed to come out to an alien?
Okay, but how does one come out in a decent way anyway? Everything seems to go wrong and blow up to some extent. The story of Jaemin’s coming out can wait for another time when Jaemin isn’t about to be naked with Renjun. When would that story even be appropriate though? Because part of Jaemin doesn’t want to tell Renjun ever since it seems like Renjun is kind of in this for at least the near future, though not necessarily the long run.
They reach the bathroom and Jaemin is sure his heart is going to beat out of his chest. That’s a figure of speech of course as Jaemin doesn’t have a beating heart. Technically there’s a heart in him, but at this point it's just a squishy blood chunk if Jaemin’s being honest.
“Why are you so quiet?” Renjun asks. “Like the wrong kind of quiet. You look like you’re thinking really hard about something.” Renjun brushes his hands over Jaemin’s cheeks and Jaemin sucks in a tiny breath of air.
“I have something I have to show you, but you can’t treat me any differently or our deal is off and you can get the fuck out of my house,” Jaemin says, trying to be as confident as he can manage.
“Sounds serious, but I’m sure it’s fine,” Renjun replies, pulling his hands away from Jaemin’s face and leaning against the sink. Jaemin sighs and removes his coat. Then he undoes all the buttons of his vest. And off comes his shirt, along with the rest of Jaemin’s bindings. Each object is set on the ground one after the next and Jaemin stands with his hands on his hips.
“Well?” Jaemin asks.
“What am I looking at? Are human nipples not supposed to look like that or something?” Jaemin glances down on instinct and confirms that his nipples are normal. Renjun also peaks down his dress of bluebells and daisies to double check. “I thought I had a perfect match for the human male body.”
“Things are more complex than that,” Jaemin mumbles, confidence wavering a bit. “I was assigned the gender of female at birth, but I’m a male.”
“I see?” Renjun cocks his head and Jaemin sighs. Yeah he doesn’t get it at all. “Okay, no I don’t really get it at all, but if you’re insecure about your form, I wouldn’t worry. You’re quite handsome anyway, so I don’t think I will be scared away or whatever you’re worried about from what your legs look like.”
“Thank you. Now you undress some, I feel weird being the only one standing half naked.” Renjun nods and then pulls his outfit off completely and produces a single disk thing with the images of the flowers on it. From head to toe, Renjun looks every bit the image of a cis man and Jaemin can’t help the profound jealousy he feels looking at him.
Tearing his eyes away, Jaemin undoes the buttons on his pants and yanks off his underwear as well. All they are left in are their socks and shoes. Renjun looks at Jaemin, but not like a piece of meat, more like he’s just curious.
“Is it rude to say I’m fascinated by the way you look?” Renjun asks and Jaemin shakes his head. In his eyes, as long as Renjun isn’t unkind or changes his behavior then it’s all okay. “You’re looking at me weird.” Jaemin ignores the comment and takes his shoes and socks off. “Jaemin, just tell me.”
“I’m jealous,” Jaemin replies, walking over to the tub and starting the water. He goes back and opens the cabinet and pulls out his fancy bath salts that are only for a rainy day, but somehow none of those had happened in a while. Days weren’t sad or happy without Renjun around. They were simply ‘days.’
“Of what?”
“The way your body looks. Because that’s what I want and I can’t have it.” Jaemin nearly shudders admitting it. It’s the first time he’s really opened up about a personal issue in a long time. He pours some of the salts into the tub while it fills. More will go in when it’s fuller.
“Should I change my form?” Renjun asks from behind Jaemin timidly. “It’s easiest for me to take a humanoid form, but I’ve mastered lots of other creatures over time.” Jaemin almost doesn’t believe Renjun so he turns around and Renjun is standing there with a body that looks a lot like Jaemin’s and Jaemin isn’t sure if it’s better or worse.
“I don’t know if this is better,” Jaemin admits. Renjun frowns and shifts to something like a Ken doll.
“I do not know how else I should make myself look. I have no particular attachment to any form over the rest, but I have grown fond of what my face looks like,” Renjun says and Jaemin laughs quietly.
“You can go back to your original form. I’ll be okay.” Jaemin climbs into the tub and the water is so hot he knows his skin will turn pink, but that’s the best feeling in Jaemin’s mind and besides he will adjust to the water. Renjun climbs in after him, back to his original body. Each of them sit on either side of the bathtub with their feet sticking out and touching the area above the knees of the other. Renjun’s toe pokes the inside of Jaemin’s thigh and Jaemin snaps to look at him.
“Thinking that much will only worry you and I promise that you are plenty just the way you are. That’s something that even took me a long time to realize, but it will happen in time.” Renjun reaches his hand forward and Jaemin takes it. “All will be okay.”
“I do believe I have finished the gardens,” Renjun says once Jaemin wakes. He’s sitting right next to Jaemin on his bed which would be scary, but Jaemin is used to it by now.
“There’s one spot you missed. I didn’t tell you about it until the end because it relates to the history of this place, so let’s get a blanket and go out there and I’ll help you with your end of the deal,” Jaemin replies. “Though I would like to get dressed first.”
“That’s valid,” Renjun mumbles, yawning. “I don’t know why I even woke up, but then I looked at you and couldn't stop looking, even if an extra hour of sleep would have been nice.” Jaemin mumbles something he himself doesn’t even quite understand, but then he stands up and goes to get dressed so he and Renjun can walk into the gardens. Though, technically they could go in their pajamas because there’s no one else around for miles. Jaemin gets dressed and Renjun grabs a flower disk from his nightstand and puts it on. Today his shirt and shorts are made of some pink flower Jaemin doesn’t know. “Don’t bother bringing a blanket, I’ll just make us one from the rose petals.”
“That’s quite romantic,” Jaemin comments, lacing up his boots, not realizing how the words sound until they are already out of his mouth.
“I suppose they are,” Renjun replies, also not engaging in the subtext Jaemin accidentally put forth. “Anyway, let’s go.” They walk out of Jaemin’s room in silence and out into the gardens. Without a word, Jaemin guides Renjun through the weaving plants until they reach a section of grass out of sight from everyone around. There’s a huge, near-death willow tree near them and bushes all around.
“What do you think?” Jaemin asks. “It’s quite the secret spot. Yu—” Jaemin stops himself short. He didn’t want to say that name. It just came out by accident.
“Who?” Renjun asks, arms already shoved into the grass, bringing it back to life beneath their feet. Brown turns green and flourishes. Seeing Renjun work truly is an unexplainable experience for Jaemin. He has so much power and he uses it to help what everyone –including Jaemin– forgets about: nature.
“I’ll tell you about him later,” Jaemin replies. He already promised Renjun that he would explain the history of the castle and Yukhei is a part of that, so Jaemin will share it, even though he won’t be going into as much detail as when the story was first told to him.
“Alright.” Once the grass is safe to sit on, Jaemin sits down and watches Renjun fix the last part of his gardens. There’s a small rose bush nearby so Renjun runs off to steal a flower to make their blanket. He’s back before Jaemin can think too much on the history here.
“Are you ready?” Jaemin asks. He still doesn’t know why Renjun would want to live forever.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Renjun lays the blanket flat on the grass and sits down on it. The petals don’t separate or tear, just adapt. Jaemin goes over and sits behind Renjun, legs on either side of him. Normally, Jaemin would bite from the front, but he doesn’t want to see Renjun in any pain.
Jaemin tugs Renjun closer so they are chest to back and looking forward at the willow tree. He presses his finger against Renjun’s neck and finds a regular pulse like he would on a human and moves his mouth so it’s right above it.
“When I bite you, it will hurt, but you can’t move because I need to take a certain amount to actually change you,” Jaemin warns.
“Don’t worry about me,” Renjun says, brushing all of Jaemin’s concerns off. “I promise everything will be fine.” Jaemin sighs and sends off a prayer to any deities that might condone this before biting down.
Oh good god blood is delicious. Jaemin drinks Renjun’s blood like he’s a man who didn’t realise he was dehydrated. It’s so sweet and savory and it’s definitely spilling over Jaemin’s lips and onto the pink flowers that Renjun is wearing, along with the cream shirt Jaemin is wearing. But he can’t lose control completely. He won’t kill Renjun, no matter what . Jaemin counts to three, then pulls his mouth away and literally cries. No more blood for who knows how long, so now he has to start suppressing his urges to suck things dry again.
“Jaemin, are you okay?” Renjun asks, trying to turn around, but Jaemin keeps him facing forward.
“Don’t worry about me. We are just going to lay flat and wait for your transformation to finish,” Jaemin directs. “If I look at you, I will be too tempted to take more blood from you, but I also know I can’t leave your side.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Jaemin lays flat on the blanket and brings Renjun with him. “Just watch the clouds, they will make the whole process easier. Trust me.” Jaemin leaves his hands on Renjun’s shoulders as Renjun’s head ends up on top of his stomach. There’s blood on his shirt and the edge of his pants, so he can’t look right now. Just watch the clouds. “I’ll tell you the history of the castle now.”
“Okay,” Renjun whispers.
“This was the castle of two kings long ago. They were a match made by one of the king’s advisers. Once their kingdoms unified they became stronger together because the king who lived here’s kingdom was failing and falling apart at the seams. The two of them patched things as best they could and things were really looking up for them.”
“Then what happened?” Renjun asks when Jaemin pauses.
“There was a vampire attack when the kings were young. The vampires were fought off despite no one having ever seen a vampire before. Everyone was scared, but the fear blew over a bit too soon. After the two kings got a kid of their own and their kid grew up a bit there was another vampire attack. But this one killed both kings,” Jaemin explains, voice shaking as he speaks.
“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.”
“I’m okay,” Jaemin reassures. “It wasn’t until the third vampire attack when the child was around twenty years old, about to be married off to a prince from a faraway land that the child was turned. When that happened, the child went to the adviser who kept them safe and helped them escape into the woods. Eventually the adviser, who the child had grown closer to then their own parents, died. Taking away all hope of the child ever loving again, no matter the form.”
“How do you know this?” Jaemin knows why Renjun is asking this, but he wishes he wasn’t so transparent.
“I’m the child. And this patch of grass is where the two kings and the adviser finally confessed their feelings for each other. They must have loved each other so much, and even though I didn’t get to see it, I know it was there. I saw it in his eyes.” Jaemin’s eyes glaze over a bit and he blinks to bring himself back into focus, but a tear slips out as he does.
“That’s why you’re so closed off,” Renjun mumbles to himself. “It all makes sense now.”
“Yeah, that’s not everything there is to know about me, but it’s a lot more than I’ve told anyone in a long time. Wait, scratch that. It’s the first time I’ve willingly told anyone this part of my past,” Jaemin corrects.
“Thank you for telling me,” Renjun says. “Would you like to shift the topic a bit?”
“After I ask one more thing,” Jaemin begins. “Are you going to leave me after the one date I promised you because a deal is a deal, but I don’t know if you even would want to court me at this point.” Jaemin doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s grown rather attached to Renjun’s constant presence over the past month. Even if Renjun is a lot different than anyone Jaemin has ever interacted with in all of his days.
“I’m not going to leave, I assure you.” Renjun fumbles with his hand to find Jaemin’s hand and grip onto it. “You are something quite special to me, and Jaemin, why would I leave when our story is just beginning”