Archive of Our Own ^beta

It’s a nice, warm Friday night, and the sun has set two hours ago, leaving Jimin in the pale moonlight. He can feel summer slowly approaching, sees the heavy coats now hanging in the back of his closet being replaced by light sweaters that fit loosely on his frame.

Typically, on nights like this, Jimin likes to hang out with either his family or his best friend - but tonight feels a little out of the ordinary. With his parents away on vacation to celebrate their 359th anniversary and Taehyung clinging to his new boyfriend, Jimin is alone in the castle. It’s not a common occurrence since there’s always distant relatives spending a few days with them or Jimin’s friends are being loud and pulling pranks on everybody. 

Staring out the window, into the darkness that conceals shapes well Jimin decides that he should take a walk in the garden. He’s always been into plants and flowers, but lately he feels like he’s neglected them a lot- the gardener existed for a reason. He walks down the illuminated path, attentive eyes waiting for any sign of movement, like his ears that catch everything. 

He greets the flowers with a sweet voice, touching them lightly and noticing their details, from petals to stems, they seem healthy thanks to the castle’s gardener.. Among lilies, peonies, daffodils and so many others, the frangipanis are definitely his favourites. He loves the sweet fragrance and their beautiful colors. Some people associate them with bad luck, but Jimin prefers to believe in the many cultures where frangipanis are associated with love.

Jimin loses track of time, getting lost in the flowers’ scents and being swept up in admiration of their beauty, bright colors contrasting with the darkness that envelopes them. He doesn’t notice a shadow following his every move until a light breeze blows and he catches a scent in the air, one that is definitely not from the flowers.

Human , he thinks and turns around just in time to catch a stake flying in his direction. Granted, it wasn’t a good throw and if Jimin hadn’t caught it would have fallen by his feet. He immediately lets go because it reeks of garlic - at that, Jimin has to roll his eyes, because of course they would put garlic. He hears steps close by, this time getting farther away and groans before going after whoever attempted to kill him in his own garden..

It takes no more than 3 seconds for him to stand in front of a guy who seems to be around his age - well, his human age anyway. He’s a bit taller and there’s a nice nest of hair on top of his head, dark and messy and almost covering his round eyes that are very much wide while staring at Jimin, fear clear in them. 

Those are definitely not the eyes of a hunter. Jimin doesn’t need his vampire hearing to notice he’s out of breath and his heart is beating out of control. In any other situation Jimin would actually say he’s very cute, of course he would have to disregard the fact that bambi eyes has made a bad attempt to put a stake bathed in garlic right through him, which is kind of hard right now, no matter how poor of a job he did.

“Why so fast, human?” Jimin uses his best honey voice and grins, eyeing the human who stands still, hands in fists hanging by his sides. “I mean, you tried to kill me, the least you can do is give me a chance to do the same.”

He’s kidding, of course. He’s not that kind of vampire, he hasn’t even thrown a punch in all of his 187 years of death. Sure, he did once, when he was still human, but it was self defense and it did hurt his hand much more than it damaged the other dude’s face. Jimin comes from a peaceful clan, they don’t hurt humans. They might feed from their blood, but they just use the hospital’s bank and sometimes even a few bigger animals if they’re really thirsty. 

Taking a step closer, Jimin controls the urge to laugh when the human turns around and starts running again. Jeez , for a supposed vampire hunter he sure doesn’t seem to know a lot about vampires. He sighs and follows the young man who’s actually fast, for a human of course.

“You do know you can’t outrun me, right?” He asks, feeling kind of dumb for even asking such question. This time bambi eyes just scoffs, annoyance clear in his face. In the blink of an eye Jimin is standing just a few inches away from him, smiling to show off his fangs.

“I-I have more garlic,” the human stutters, although he keeps a steady voice. In an act of pure courage, the young man grabs three heads of garlic.

Jimin rolls his eyes again.

“Oh, please. You’re gonna need a lot more than that for them to even start hurting me.”

Seriously, who trained him? Is this Taehyung trying to prank him? Or has this human just watched some Twilight movies and suddenly decided to go all vampire slayer on him? 

Jimin doesn’t mind all the stupid stories humans make up about his kind nor does he care about the many myths of how to kill a vampire since very few of them would actually work but how dare this petty human transpass the castle’s fence and pathetically try to kill him?

“Let me go,” bambi eyes demands.

Oh.

Jimin raises one eyebrow, at the tone of his voice. The human is actually braver than he seems. He can still hear his heart beating too fast for someone who seems so fearless. With a sneer, Jimin steps aside and bows, telling the human to go. Funnily enough, he doesn’t move.

Well, at least he’s got some sense of self preservation.

Counting to five in his head, Jimin huffs before wrapping his fingers around the human’s throat. It’s not even tight enough to hurt, he just wants to give him a little scare since he did enter the castle unauthorized with the intention of killing him.

“How did you get through the traps that surround the castle?” Jimin asks, genuinely curious.

There are hundreds of traps surrounding the property, all of them carefully hidden and ready to catch any intruders that transpass. Apparently not all of them, though.

The human’s eyes are so wide Jimin is sure at some point he’s going to look like one of those cartoons whose eyes just pop out of their faces. 

Those are pretty eyes, the human’s. They’re round and dark and ridiculously innocent for such a grown man. Jimin has always had a soft spot for pretty eyes and right now the human seems to be completely entranced by Jimin’s proximity.

“Well?” He pressures, waiting for bambi eyes to give him an answer.

“I’m very smart,” he mumbles, eyes never leaving Jimin’s.

Jimin chuckles. He likes people with a sense of humor, no one ever seems to get his, except for Taehyung.

“Are you smart enough to make it out of here alive, human?” 

There’s only a second of hesitance before the young man pushes Jimin off of him and runs again. Seriously, it’s getting boring at this point, Jimin thinks.

This time he lets the human have a little advantage. They’re far from the gates of the castle so it’ll take quite a few minutes for him to make it out of there. Before he even starts running, he hears a yelp and sighs. Of course he fell into one of the traps. 

“Not as smart as you thought, huh?” Jimin mocks, crouching down next to the hole bambi eyes fell into. 

“Fuck!” The human cries, holding his leg and Jimin smells the metallic scent of blood before he even sees it. 

Bambi eyes holds his leg close to his body, face scrunched in pain and little moans leaving his lips as if he’s trying to hold them in. Jimin can’t really see the injury, but the smell of blood is much stronger now so he guesses it’s not just a scratch. 

He jumps in the hole and the human winces, protecting his face for some reason. Jimin rolls his eyes.

“Oh, please,” he scoffs. “If I wanted to hurt you I would have done so already.” 

There’s no reaction from the human, he’s still holding his leg with one hand and protecting his face with another. Jimin crouches down and tries to look at the human’s leg, but he holds it even closer. 

He doesn’t force it, respecting bambi eyes’ space. A few minutes go by and none of them move, the human’s breathing is still arrhythmic although his heart is finally going back to its normal, calmer beating. Jimin takes it as a good sign. 

In one fast movement the human sits down and finally lets go of his leg, allowing both him and Jimin to look at the injury, uncovered because of the big rip in his black jeans. Judging by how bloody his hand is, Jimin guesses the leg is even worse than he initially thought. 

“Crap,” bambi eyes whispers, reaching to try to clean the cut and Jimin immediately slaps his hand away.

“Don’t touch it with your dirty hand, it’s already messy enough. We need to clean it and cover it to stop the bleeding,” he suggests, keeping his gaze trained on the bloody leg.

Jimin doesn’t go around helping vampire hunters who tried to kill him but this human is different. First there’s the way he threw that stake, like he wasn’t even trying to actually hit Jimin. Looking at him Jimin doesn’t feel threatened at all, there’s just this aura around him telling Jimin he doesn’t have to fear. 

He looks up and sees the tree trunks that covered the hole, the human probably tripped on them and that’s how he got such a nasty injury. He remembers putting the trunks there himself, now guilty settling in the pit of his stomach. 

“I can go to the hospital if you let me get out of here,” the human mumbles with a pleading tone.

Jimin shakes his head. He must be out of his mind. 

“You’re at least a mile from the gates and there’s the whole damn forest before you can even reach town again,” he points out. “How are you going to make it to the hospital?”

Jimin waits for an answer but it never comes. The human stares at him, the apprehensive gaze turning cold as he realizes Jimin is right. 

“I mean, did you drive here?” He suggests knowing very well he didn’t hear any car sounds since his parents left for the airport two days ago. “Does anybody know you’re here?”

The human shifts uncomfortably and winces in pain. There's still a lot of blood coming out of the wound and Jimin knows they need to put pressure on it and clean as soon as possible but until bambi eyes gives him the green light, he can’t do anything. 

Jimin stands up and waits patiently - well, he sighs a lot and rolls his eyes whenever the human tries to touch the injury - so maybe not that patiently. When he crouches down again, it’s to give bambi eyes an ultimatum.

“Well?” He raises an eyebrow. 

The human doesn’t seem to know what to answer, his eyes reading Jimin’s expression like he’s going to find the answer to the question there. It amazes Jimin how bambi eyes can be so courageous one moment and then look like a lost puppy right after.

“You’re not going to kill me, right?” The human looks up at him with trembling lips. 

Jimin doesn’t try to hide his surprise at the question. He had his hand wrapped around this human’s throat just a few moments ago, if he wanted to kill him, wouldn’t he have done it by now? And does he even look like someone who kills humans? He’s pretty sure he’s the least scary vampire out there. Sure, he can be intimidating if he wants to, consequence of people constantly telling him how petite and cute he looks so he had to find a way to assert his dominance somehow, but with bambi eyes the most he did was use his silky honey voice. 

Humans really think vampires are these heartless killers and yet here Jimin is, ready to help a guy who’s just tried to throw a stake at him.

“Unlike you, human, I don’t try to kill people for fun,” he offers, making sure his tone expresses how offended he is at the insinuation. “Now you can either accept my help or get the hell out of my castle.”

There’s still fear in the human’s eyes when he nods, only once, accepting Jimin’s offer. He seems uncertain of what to do, so Jimin takes the lead.

“Do you think you can walk?” His voice is calmer now as he watches bambi eyes try to find a way to get up, struggling to find his balance.

Jimin decides that he should wait for the human to ask for help which he doesn’t seem too keen on, too proud to let the creature he apparently hates help him in any way. He puts his hands in his pockets and grins, eyeing the young man and noticing how much he tries to hide the fact that he’s in pain and having a really hard time standing up.

Bambi eyes looks at him and growls, probably thinking he’s going to look and sound intimidating but Jimin needs to fake a cough to hide his laughter. Humans can be so pathetic sometimes.

When the human finally stands up, injured leg bent and foot not touching the ground, balancing himself clumsy, he looks around just now seeming to notice they’re in a hole. It’s not too deep but with his injured leg he definitely can’t get out without a little help.

“How are we gonna get out of here?” He scoffs.

Jimin offers his best smile.

“Oh, I can get out just fine,” he teases. “You might need a little help though.”

The human groans and rolls his eyes much to Jimin’s entertainment.

“Are you going to help me or not?” Bambi eyes barks.

Jimin takes a few steps closer, only enough to make the human jump back, almost losing his balance and falling on his butt.

“Of course I will, human,” he uses the silky voice again. Bambi eyes nods. “As soon as you ask me.” 

Tension surrounds them and it’s all because of the way the human is now stiff, frozen in place staring at Jimin like he just revealed some dark secret that’ll change the course of their lives. Jimin does his best to keep a straight face, as much as humans annoy him, they also never fail to make him laugh. 

What interesting beings they are. Jimin has spent much longer being a vampire so he didn’t have as much time to know humans better when he was still one.

All Jimin does is stare back, patiently waiting for bambi eyes to muster enough courage to ask him for help.

“Can y-” the human clears his throat. “Can you help me, please?” he tries again, with a much firmer voice this time.

“A polite human,” Jimin cheers. “I like those.”

There’s a moment of awkwardness where neither of them knows exactly how they’re going to do this. Jimin studies his options, eyeing bambi eyes’ body - which he didn’t realize before how buff it us - and the human just waits for him to do something.

“So, how are we going to do this, bambi eyes?” 

The human narrows his eyes at Jimin.

“Bambi eyes?”

Jimin nods. “Yeah, it’s my nickname for you.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I don’t care, bambi eyes,” he shrugs. “So, do you want me to give you a hand so you can get yourself out of here or should I just pick you up and get this over with?” 

Bambi eyes looks at Jimin up and down and offers a mocking smile.

“I don’t think you can carry me. You’re very small,” it’s clearly meant to be a provocation so Jimin decides to play his game.

“I’m a vampire, I can break your neck if I want to and right now you’re making that scenario sound very tempting, human.”

Bambi eyes either knows Jimin is harmless by now or just likes to test his luck because all he does is laugh before pointing up and jumping to get closer to the shorter side of the hole.

“You can just give me a hand,” he answers, looking back at Jimin. “I’ll jump and you help me.”

Jimin isn’t sure how exactly he’s going to jump with only one good leg but to his surprise, the human does and supports his weight on the grass above. He clumsily reaches out to help him, only noticing a few seconds later that his hands landed in a very unfortunate place.

“Can you get your hands off my ass, vampire?” Bambi eyes looks down at him.

It’s not possible for Jimin to blush but that’s definitely what he would be doing right now if he could. He’s mortified and yet a few seconds go by and his hands are still on the human’s butt. Damn, why does it feel nice? He quickly shakes his head and pushes the human up, getting him to sit on the grass as Jimin quickly gets out of the hole.

“You know, I liked it better when you were scared of me,” he mutters, wiping his hands.

The human is regaining his balance again, standing on just one foot again and looking at Jimin with an amused expression. Gosh, Jimin regrets not scaring him more, this annoying version of him is really getting on his nerves.

“I don’t know why I was so scared of you,” Bambi eyes waves him off. “You’re like… too cute for a vampire. So tiny and not at all scary.”

That’s all Jimin needs to hear. 

In a split second he has the human against a tall tree, Jimin’s hand now firm around his neck, fangs out and red eyes looking deeply into his fearful ones. He hisses and licks his sharp fangs, tightening the hold on the human’s neck that is keeping him inches from the ground. The air is suddenly cooler than before and tears are forming on the corner of the human’s eyes as he tries to scream but only whines come out.

“Do not test me, human,” Jimin’s voice is low and commanding. If this is the game bambi eyes wants to play, then he comes to win. “Do not call me tiny, I told you before, I can break your neck in the blink of an eye and hide your body so that no one ever finds you.”

He might come from a peaceful clan but that does not mean he takes shit from humans. Most of the time they’re too afraid to even get close to him but he’s had his fair share of humans acting all high and mighty, which he’s always happy to put them in check. That’s probably why seeing bambi eyes all wide eyed again gives him so much satisfaction.

Jimin puts the human down again and when he lets go of his throat, bambi eyes immediately starts coughing and bends over, gasping for air. He doesn’t like being violent, it was never in his nature, not as a vampire, nor as a human. Jimin runs his hand through his silver hair and waits for the human to recompose himself.

Bambi eyes finally looks at him.

“You either want to help me or kill me,” he mumbles, annoyance clear in his tone. “You can’t do both, you know?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I can,” Jimin teases. “We’ll see how you behave, bambi eyes.”

It’s funny to watch the human roll his eyes, but also keep his distance, unconsciously letting Jimin know he is scared. And well, he should be, Jimin thinks, content that although he may not seem scary, he can still act like the vampire humans want him to be.

They walk back to the castle, Jimin leading the way while the human bounces on one leg behind him, the injured leg a mess of dirt and blood. Jimin doesn’t offer to help and he doesn’t ask for it, either for pride or fear, Jimin doesn’t care. He slows his pace though and that is the most sympathy bambi eyes will get from him.

When they finally reach the door, Jimin looks back and realizes the human is frozen in place, eyes staring at the castle, mouth agape and heart starting to race again. Jimin gives him a few seconds to take it all in since it is a sight. 

The castle is the perfect mixture of medieval and modern with its limestone facade and cylindrical towers with conical roof, it was built in the 15th century but the interior was renovated not too long ago, when Jimin’s parents got tired of all the antiques laying around. Of course the exterior still has that creepy aura that helps keep the curious people from town away.

Bambi eyes looks from the castle to Jimin, there’s fear behind his expression, as if seeing the castle has made things more real, like Jimin almost choking him with red eyes shining and fangs on full display moments ago wasn’t the reality shock he needed. Jimin doesn’t say anything, he opens the front door - that despite horror movies, does not squeak - in a silent invitation but it does nothing to make the human move.

“I thought you said I was too cute and tiny and you weren’t afraid,” he jokes.

It’s hard to control the urge to laugh when the human puffs his chest and, probably unconsciously, pouts. He keeps looking at the castle as if trying to find something or maybe someone and Jimin knows what he’s about to say before he even opens his mouth.

“I’m the only vampire here, bambi eyes. No need to fear any more of my kind choking you to death,” Jimin smiles.

The human doesn’t seem at all convinced but the pain in his leg is probably getting worse because he winces and starts bouncing on one leg again until he reaches the door. He doesn’t enter the castle though, eyes analyzing the entryway and hesitantly touching the stone wall surrounding the door frame. 

Jimin puts his own arms behind his back and sighs. How come humans get to judge his kind when they’re literally the worst people out there?

“Do you need an invitation?” He jokes. “Because I thought we were the ones who did.”

The human looks up at him with his big round eyes.

“Do you really need it?” Bambi eyes questions and Jimin tilts his head, so he adds: “an invitation.”

Jimin smiles and gestures for him to enter, when the human finally steps inside, curious eyes taking the house's beautiful interior in, Jimin lets the door slam just for fun and bambi eyes’ reaction does not disappoint. The human jumps and yelps, looking back at Jimin with alert eyes.

Maybe Jimin has just discovered a new hobby. Scaring humans is much more fun than he imagined, or maybe it’s just this one human in particular. There’s just something about those chocolate round eyes widening because of him, that’s so alluring.

“You really don’t know much about vampires, huh?” He muses.

Jimin leads the human to the kitchen and motions for him to sit on one of the stools as he grabs the first aid kit from the cabinet.

“I know enough,” Bambi eyes whispers, clearly upset with Jimin’s conclusion.

“I really don’t think you do, human,” he lays the kit on the marble counter and puts aside the material he will need. Bambi eyes watches everything closely. “Were you actually trying to kill me with that stake?”

Jimin focuses his attention on the human’s injured leg, first cleaning the cut to make sure it doesn’t get infected. He can feel the boy watching his every move and hear his heart beating out of control. Does that mean he’s still afraid?

“Were you?” he repeats, looking up at the human and realizing that once again he seems entranced as he stares at Jimin.

Jimin raises an eyebrow and smiles which seems to finally get a reaction out of bambi eyes.

“I-” he blinks a few times. “Maybe on some level.”

The uncertainty in his tone and confused expression on his face makes Jimin laugh. He nods but because he can sense there’s more the human wants to say, he just waits, giving him time. 

“There was this article,” he starts, watching Jimin take care of his leg. “About this little girl, who was attacked not too far from here, and the authorities suspected it was a vampire attack.”

Jimin hums. “So, you concluded that all of us are killers and decided to hunt us,” Jimin finishes his thoughts.

Jungkook shakes his head biting down his lower lip.

“I have a little sister, her name is Soo-ah,” he explains. “I just kept thinking ‘what if it was her?’, so I did some research and found this guy that sells stakes, and you know the rest,” the human’s face is pink colored, along with the tips of his ear. His eyes are lost, not meeting Jimin’s, too ashamed of the confession.

“You bought a stake, doused it in garlic and attacked the first vampire you could find,” Jimin’s voice is calm, after so many years being both feared and hated by humans, he’s used to these stories.

Of course there are a lot of vampires out there who do kill humans just to feed themselves and he knows he shouldn’t expect humans to know there are vampires like him, who won’t hurt a fly, especially with how movies portray his kind. It still hurts though, he’s just trying to live his immortal life in peace.

“Well since you were on some level trying to kill me, then you should know that that was not going to work,” he answers.

It’s pretty clear by now that bambi eyes is anything but a vampire hunter and if he is trying to be one, whatever research he did on Naver or Google he definitely didn’t find any trustful results but decided to go with it anyway.

“So stakes don’t kill vampires?” The human deduces.

Jimin shakes his head.“Oh, they do kill us,” he says, although his focus is still on the human’s leg, Jimin looks up at bambi eyes from time to time. “Just not like that.”

“Then how?” His eagerness makes Jimin chuckles.

“I’m not teaching you how to kill me, human.”

To Jimin’s surprise, bambi eyes’ answer comes in a soft voice that he hadn’t heard before.

“Jungkook,” he says. “I’m Jungkook.”

Taken aback, Jimin looks up at him and immediately hears the human’s heart starting to race again. Oh, that can’t be fear, right?

Jimin clears his throat and nods.

“Well, Jungkook, I don’t trust you not to kill me just yet,” he offers and then adds; “and I’m Jimin.”

He finishes taking care of Jungkook’s injured leg in silence. It feels strange to know his name and even stranger that the human now knows his name. Didn’t he try to kill Jimin a few minutes ago? He can’t put his finger on what exactly has changed but it just feels like when they entered the castle, the animosity between them has dissipated and they’re able to talk without the thick tension present from before.

The cut in Jungkook’s leg was not as deep as he first thought so he’s able to clean and put bandages on it without worrying about stitches. The human is very good at hiding his pain since all he did was wince a few times when Jimin had to put alcohol to make sure everything was properly cleaned.

When he finishes, he notices the gloves he had put on are filled with the human’s blood and scrunches his nose, removing them swiftly and putting them away. A pair of eyes follow his movements and he can sense that bambi eyes wants to say something so he just stares back and waits.

Jungkook sighs. “Does it bother you?” 

For a second Jimin is confused about the question but then Jungkook looks at the gloves resting on the counter and it makes things clearer.

“Does it bother you when your favourite food sits right in front of you, and you can’t eat it?” 

Did he just call the human’s blood his favourite food? I have got to shut up , he thinks. He hopes it doesn’t sound as weird as he feels right now. It takes a few seconds for Jungkook to answer but judging by how hard he seems to be thinking about an answer, he took it better than Jimin’s own conscience. 

“I mean, I don’t have to kill anyone to eat jjajangmyeon,” his tone is light and he raises his shoulders a little as if excusing himself for what he just said.

Jimin smiles as he clears up the counter. Disposing the material he used and putting back the ones he didn’t need. Then he cleans up the marble and the floor, only now realizing the mess he made but he was so focused on just getting rid of all the blood in the human’s leg that he didn’t realize how he turned the kitchen into a battlefield.

The human doesn’t offer to help but even if he did, his mother always told him that guests are not allowed to do any kind of housework. The hosts are in charge of that and maybe that’s why the castle is always filled with his relatives, there are no hosts like the Parks.

“Luck for me I also don’t have to kill anyone to eat,” he responds. 

Jungkook opens his mouth but then closes it. He looks around for a few seconds and then back at Jimin. 

“Oh, so vegetarian vampires really exist?” 

It takes Jimin a few heartbeats to realize it’s a genuine question. He bites down his lower lip but the urge to laugh is much stronger and he just ends up almost falling face first on the floor, his laughter echoing through the castle.

“So I was right,” he says between chuckles. “You did watch Twilight and decided you were ready to go around hunting vampires.”

The way Jungkook blushes from his neck to the tip of his ear is endearingly annoying. His face, though, reveals he’s very offended by Jimin’s insinuation. 

He shakes his head frantically and waves his hands in front of him, denying Jimin’s affirmation. 

“I did not!” He defends, crossing his arms and avoiding Jimin’s eyes. “And a simple no would have sufficed.” 

Jimin nods, still smiling but with his laughter under control now. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, bambi eyes.”

Jungkook groans. “You already know my name. What even is bambi eyes anyway?”

Jimin is surprised by the question. He’s not sure if Jungkook doesn’t know who Bambi is or, even worse, if he’s not aware of the eyes he has. That can’t be it. 

“You know, those eyes,” he answers, awkwardly pointing at Jungkook’s eyes like the human can actually see them. 

There is no answer from Jungkook. He really doesn’t know. Wow. 

“It’s just,” Jimin struggles to find the words, especially when the bambi eyes in question are staring at him like that. “They’re all round and innocent.”

God, that was awkward. And it only gets worse when Jungkook’s only response is an eyebrow raise. Why did I open my mouth? 

Jimin waves a hand as if asking to get past this moment and then points at Jungkook’s jeans.

“You should take off these pants,” he says.

Jungkook’s eyes go even wider than when Jimin talked about killing him. Fuck.

“No! Not like that. That’s not what I mean,” Jimin quickly adds, his voice a few octaves louder. “I just meant change them, it’s all dirty and ripped.”

He sighs. This night is not going the way he thought. All he wanted was to spend some time in his garden and enjoy the warmer weather. 

He blames Jungkook and his stupid bambi eyes. 

It’s one hour later when Jimin finally feels comfortable again. He’s in the study room with a book, the castle is silent and Jungkook is sleeping in the guest bedroom. Took a lot of convincing and a promise that no other vampire would come in the middle of the night for him to accept the offer but in the end he really didn’t have a choice since he can’t even walk properly. 

Jimin is focused on his reading, it’s a psychological thriller about an attorney who frees a prisoner that had been on death row but then starts questioning if that was a good decision. It’s the kind of book he loves and that can keep his attention for hours but he feels a little restless tonight, finding it difficult to concentrate only on the words on the paper.

His ears are more attentive than ever and with every bed creak he looks up. He doesn’t think Jungkook is going to try to kill him again, that’s not what he’s worried about. There’s just something about the human that makes Jimin’s mind alert every five seconds.

Almost another hour goes by when he hears Jungkook getting up, his quiet steps on the stone floor and his door being opened. The study room is at the end of the same corridor Jungkook’s at so he just gets out of the chair and watches as the human bounces around as if looking for something. Or someone.

Of course Jungkook doesn’t notice Jimin following him, he stays in the shadows, taking advantage of the castle’s dim lights. 

Jungkook looks up at the ceiling with the enormous black iron chandelier and high walls. He clears his throat quietly before whispering:

“Jimin.”

“How do you expect me to hear you calling me?” 

His deep voice breaks the silence and makes Jungkook jump and scream, falling butt first on the couch he was standing close to. 

“For fuck’s sake, can you not do that?” Jungkook is staring at him with a panicked expression and his hand on his chest, right where his heart is, beating out of control. When he notices Jimin laughing, he rolls his eyes. “It’s not funny!”

“Oh, I beg to differ,” Jimin shrugs. “But did you just whisper my name?” 

Jungkook stays where he is, looking at his injured leg covered by the bandages Jimin put and the sweatpants he lent the human. Jimin rests against a wall and waits for Jungkook to talk. 

“No,” he mumbles, avoiding Jimin’s sight. A few seconds of silence goes by before he tries again. “Yes.”

Jimin smiles and walks closer, sitting on one of the chairs in the spacious living room. Judging by the way Jungkook rested his leg on the couch, he guesses the human is in pain. He uses his supernatural speed to get a painkiller and a glass of water. 

“There you go,” He says, entering the living room again, slowly, so he doesn’t scare Jungkook again. 

“Can you read minds too?” The human looks up at him as he takes the medicine from his hand. 

Jimin rolls his eyes.

“Seriously, kid, stop watching Twilight,” he sits down again. “None of us can read minds, you humans are just easy to read.”

Jungkook swallows down the painkiller and the water and plays with the glass in his hand. He’s distracted as Jimin watches him, dressed in his clothes since even his shirt was full of dirt. The sweatpants fit just fine, but the shirt is slightly small on his chest and arms. It’s a nice view, Jimin thinks, before realizing where his mind is taking him. 

He quickly shakes his head and focuses on the darkness outside the window. When Jungkook starts talking again, he avoids looking directly at the human.

“If you know all these references are from Twilight, does that mean you watched it?” His voice is excited like he just made a big discovery.

Jimin pulls his legs up and hugs his knees.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” he nods. “It’s great fun for us to watch how humans portray vampires in books and movies.”

Jungkook thinks about it for a few seconds.

“Do any of them come close to reality?” 

“A few of them,” Jimin shrugs. “Twilight definitely does not,” he adds.

Jungkook smiles. “So no sparkles in the sunlight?” 

Jimin can see it in his bambi eyes that Jungkook is actually disappointed when he shakes his head. 

Doesn’t take long until he notices the human starts to get very sleepy. The painkiller he offered is one that must not be taken unless you want to fall asleep right after. And sure enough Jungkook is soon closing his eyes and letting his head fall to the side every few seconds, still trying to fight the drowsiness. 

“You would look pwetty with sparksss,” he mumbles in a half asleep, cut, dozy way. Very cute. “Vewy pwetty.”

When Jimin finally carries Jungkook back to the guest room bed, the human is in deep sleep, his mouth hanging open and quiet snores coming out of it. 

**

The sun is already shining in the sky when Jimin closes the book he spent all night reading. He hates finishing his reads in one sitting, but the thriller was too good for him to let go. With the house so quiet and the moon so beautiful in the darkness, he decided it was the perfect way to spend his night. 

He heads to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, because he can hear Jungkook stirring in bed - not that he’s paying any special attention to it - and guesses he’ll be up soon. 

Just one problem- He has no idea what to make, he’s never had to cook for a human before. He knows what they usually eat, he’s watched enough movies and series, but what does bambi eyes like? He opts for hotteoks because they seem like a safe bet, and gathers all the ingredients on the counter. 

Vampires don’t feel hunger because, well, they’re dead. Jimin, for the thrill of it, still eats sometimes just for the sensation of chewing something, and because food smells nice and he genuinely misses the taste of it. Hotteoks used to be one of his favourite things when he was human and he was always quite talented in the kitchen so he hopes that bambi eyes likes it too - not that he actually cares. 

He hears his best friend entering the castle long before he reaches the door. Taehyung is absurdly loud for a vampire, he’s generally the one getting people’s attention, either for his beauty or for his boisterous personality that can’t be quieted down. The hotteoks are almost done when he realizes Taehyung will probably eat most of them so he should definitely make some more. 

He waits for his best friend to come into the kitchen once he enters the castle, but as soon as the door closes he knows Taehyung will go in the other direction, the scent of the human in the guest bedroom catching his attention.

“This should be fun,” he smiles to himself. 

He counts to 7 before he hears Jungkook’s scream echoing through the house. But then Taehyung’s voice catches him by surprise.

“OUCH!” He complains. “Did you just hit me?”

Ah, shit . 

He gets to the bedroom right in time to hold Taehyung back and press him against the wall while Jungkook recoils in bed, hugging his knees close to his chest. 

“This human punched me in the face,” he hisses, showing Jungkook his fangs. 

“It was a reflex!” Jungkook cries. “You scared me.” His voice is still rough from sleep. 

Bambi eyes looks absolutely terrified. Not even the night before, when Jimin choked him and showed his red eyes and fangs, he looked this frightened. Jimin feels bad for letting Taehyung come straight to the bedroom, but he couldn’t imagine this would be Jungkook’s reaction.

“Let me go,” Taehyung complains. One look and Jimin can tell he won’t try anything, so he obeys. “What the hell, Jimin-ah! Who is he?”

Jimin sighs and shakes his head. How on earth is he going to explain that the guy sleeping in his guest bedroom is the human who tried to kill him the night before? Taehyung will freak out, he knows it.

“It’s a long story,” he says simply. Too simply.

“A-are you hurt?” Jungkook’s voice is no louder than a whisper and his big wide eyes are staring at Taehyung with so much regret.

Damn. Those stupid eyes.

“Of course I’m not hurt. You’re a human, you can’t hurt me,” Taehyung barks. 

Jungkook nods, whispering a quiet sorry that Jimin isn’t sure Taehyung even heard. He grabs his best friend by the arm and offers a small smile to the human before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

“Why do you have a human here?” Taehyung asks, his voice still much louder than it needs to be. “And why are his eyes like that?” He adds.

Jimin laughs and points at the kitchen. He left the frying pan on the heat so of course now he can’t use it anymore. He quickly switches the pan so the dough he’s already prepared doesn’t go to waste.

“Hmm, hotteoks,” Taehyung says, already shoving an entire pancake in his mouth.

“They’re not for you, but sure, bon appetit,” Jimin points out.

“Are you cooking for the human?” Taehyung asks, mouth so full it gives Jimin a deliberate view of the food all chewed up. He makes a face.

“You’re disgusting,” he shakes his head.

Taehyung sits on the marble counter and watches him curiously. Jimin knows he’s waiting for his answers and he’s actually trying his best to come up with one but his mind is blanking. He can hear Jungkook moving around in his room - again, he’s definitely not paying attention - and the human will probably find them soon, if he has the guts to face Taehyung again.

He finishes making more hotteoks and notices that, just as he thought, Taehyung has eaten most of them. He puts them all in a plate and places it on the counter, covering the plate to try and keep them nice and hot.

Now that he’s finished, he has no other way to dodge Taehyung’s questions. Will he notice if Jimin starts washing the dishes instead of putting them in the dishwasher? The answer comes as soon as he grabs the sponge.

“You have a dishwasher,” Taehyung crosses his arms and raises one eyebrow.

He could be intimidating when he wanted to.

Much to his relief, Jungkook finally shows up, with tired eyes and hair pointing up in different places, he doesn’t even look like a guy who just punched a vampire. He looks taller in the daylight and also much more handsome - but it should be known that  Jimin is most definitely not paying attention to that.

“Good morning,” Jimin tries. “Hotteoks?”

He grabs the plate and puts it closer to the human, watching him just stand there, injured leg still not touching the floor. For some reason, now that the morning is here, it feels weird to talk to him, maybe on some level he hoped last night was just a fever dream, despite his inability to sleep, or dream. Everything that happened hours before comes rushing back in his mind, one in particular making him feel a little warm inside.

You would look pwetty with sparksss , were Jungkook’s exact words. Sure, he was drowsy because of the painkiller Jimin gave him but did that make it any less true? Jimin thought about it all night as he read the pages of the book, even stopping from time to time because the words kept echoing in his head and he couldn’t concentrate properly. Which was ridiculous, given the fact that he was half asleep when said those things- it shouldn’t have this much of an effect on him. 

What is it about this human? He couldn’t be this affected, just because of a pair of bambi eyes. Especially a pair of human eyes that belong to someone who tried to kill him. God, if Taehyung was aware…

Jungkook is still frozen by the door. His eyes go from the hotteoks to Taehyung as if he’s waiting for his permission to eat them. Taehyung has already grabbed another hotteok and shoved it in his mouth, observing the human carefully.

“You can sit down,” Jimin points at the same stool Jungkook used the night before. “The hotteoks are still warm, but if you wait too long Tae’s going to eat them all.”

“Yeah, human,” Taehyung smiles, too sweetly to be an honest one. “Come sit with us and eat, we like our meal to be all chubby and sweet.” He shows his fangs as he pushes the plate closer to the edge of the counter and towards Jungkook.

Jimin scoffs, and  notices Jungkook’s hesitance by the door. The human looks at him, and then at Taehyung, eyes flitting quickly between them.

“Jimin said you don’t kill people to eat.” Although Jungkook’s saying this with conviction, there’s still fear in his voice.

Maybe it was a mistake telling him that, or he should have specified he was only talking about his clan, now Jungkook is going around telling everyone vampires don’t kill people to eat and well, that’s a blatant lie for most vampires.

Jimin senses the change in Taehyung’s mood immediately. His best friend looks at him with piercing eyes full of questions about what is happening. They have both been vampires for almost 200 years and have never gotten so close to a human, as they mostly kept to themselves, avoiding any kind of contact with the other kind.

“Oh, Jimin,” Taehyung repeats Jungkook’s tone. “So we’re on a first name basis.”

Here we go , Jimin thinks. Taehyung looks at him with a sarcastic grin.

“So you let a human sleepover and call you, Park Jimin, crown prince and only heir of the Park Dynasty, Jimin?” Taehyung’s voice expresses his indignation.

“Prince?” Jungkook says.

In his defense, Jimin is not used to talking to humans- introductions weren’t necessary, as everyone in his circle of friends were already conscious of the fact that he was royalty..

Did Jungkook not notice when he called his home a castle? Or did he think every vampire lives in one? His beloved Twilight vampires definitely didn’t live in a castle, so he wonders, with amusement, where he must have picked up that misconception.

“Crown Prince,” Taehyung emphasizes. “So it’s Your Royal Highness for you, not Jimin .”

Jimin narrows his eyes at his best friend, shooting him a look. No one calls him that apart from his parents’ ass kissers.

“You don’t have to call me that, Jungkook,” he smiles gently. “You can call me Jimin.”

Bambi eyes still seems in awe with the fact that he’s a prince but he just nods in agreement. Taehyung on the other hand, doesn’t seem happy at all. He sits on the counter again and watches Jungkook stuff a hotteok in his mouth. Suddenly, he seems to remember something important and pulls the plate closer to him receiving an annoyed look from the human.

“You smell like blood,” he points out wrinkling his nose. “Did you hurt your leg and decided to knock on a stranger’s door to ask for help?”

Jungkook looks down at his leg even though the injury is covered by the sweatpants. He glances from Taehyung to Jimin and shakes his head.

“I was running from the stranger,” he nods in Jimin’s direction.

“Why were you ru-” Taehyung immediately looks at Jimin. “Min, please don’t tell me you let a hunter sleep here.”

Jimin is gone for a few seconds and comes back with the stake he caught the night before, the one Jungkook threw at him before running. It’s even funnier to look at right now because the point that is supposed to be very sharp and pierce a vampire through the heart, is poorly made, round in a way that it would take an inhuman amount of strength for this to actually get through a vampire’s skin. 

He has no idea where Jungkook bought that stake, but it was a rip off, no doubt about it. Just like him, the person who created this stake didn’t know much about vampires.

“You tell me if he’s a hunter,” Jimin mocks, leaving the object next to his best friend.

Jungkook blushes when Taehyung starts laughing, holding the stake that in broad daylight looks a lot like a harmless toy. The two vampires exchange a look. They’ve seen enough of these objects that supposedly can kill vampires being used improperly by humans.

“What else do you have, human?” Taehyung turns to Jungkook. “A cross? Holy water? Garlic?”

Jimin chuckles. “Oh, he had garlic alright.”

Jungkook is a sight trying to conceal his dark pink cheeks with his hands and avoiding eye contact with both vampires in the room. He seems much more at ease now in Taehyung’s presence, despite the incident from earlier.

Humans try so hard to paint vampires in the same murderous light, that they’ll never come to understand that some good natured ones did exist. They prefer to just insist on the narrative that they’re the victims of these vile creatures that will hunt them down for their blood. Maybe it’s because ever since Jimin became a vampire he was taught that they don’t have to fit the stereotype and he was better off this way and that’s why he’s still a little hurt over all the prejudice.

Unlike him, Taehyung was born into a clan of violent vampires. For at least 50 years he killed humans to satisfy his thirst but when he met Jimin and was introduced to his peaceful clan, Taehyung slowly began to change his way of thinking and habits. It wasn’t easy and there were definitely relapses here and there but time worked its magic and now it’s difficult for him to even think about those days.

“Humans,” Taehyung sighs exasperatedly. “What else? Are you going to tell me he’s also a Twilight fan?”

Jungkook moans, hiding his whole face with his hands as Jimin laughs. The kitchen is filled with laughter when Taehyung assimilates their reactions and joins his best friend. Turns out teasing a human is much more fun than they predicted.

“C’mon, human, don’t disappoint me,” Taehyung begs. “Tell me at least you’ve watched Nosferatu.”

When Jungkook doesn’t offer an answer, both vampires shake their heads. Jimin changes the subject upon seeing Jungkook’s face grow even redder. When he gets closer, once again he hears the human’s heart start to race. 

Interesting.

“We need to change the bandages,” he says simply. 

While Taehyung finishes all the hotteoks Jungkook didn’t eat, Jimin takes care of the injured leg again. It looks better than the day before but he can tell Jungkook is still in pain by the way he reacts whenever Jimin touches the leg. 

The only sound in the kitchen is Taehyung’s loud chewing. Jimin can feel the human following his every move and at some point he decided to test the heartbeat theory and came to the conclusion that it definitely speeds up whenever he stares back at Jungkook. He doesn’t say anything though but he notices Taehyung glancing at him, meaning he’s also heard the human’s heart. 

“You’re gonna give that poor guy a heart attack, you know?” The taller vampire says when Jungkook excuses himself from the kitchen. 

Jimin shakes his head. “What does that even mean? It’s nothing.”

“Oh, it’s something,” Taehyung answers. “I know a human with a crush when I see one.” 

Jimin wants to remind him that the reason Jungkook is there is because he wanted to kill a vampire in the first place. Or he at least thought about it because the way he threw the damn stake is enough to tell he had no intention of actually killing. He doesn’t say anything though, there’s no use arguing with Kim Taehyung.

They say goodbye not too long after with Taehyung gushing over his new boyfriend - which by the way Jimin still has no idea who he is because Taehyung refuses to tell him - and how they plan on spending the rest of the day together. 

Jimin can hear Jungkook bouncing around the house so he follows the sound to find him in the study room, eyes lost on the massive bookshelves filled with all kinds of books from newer ones to books from over 100 years ago. He doesn’t say anything but he’s not quiet enough to scare the human, he definitely knows Jimin is standing there.

Jungkook’s eyes go from one side of the shelves to the other, sometimes he stops for a few seconds as if reading one particular title that might have caught his attention. It takes Jimin by surprise when the human looks back at him and smiles showing Jimin his teeth in the cutest way. Maybe if Jimin’s heart was still beating Jungkook would also be able to hear it right now.

“Have you read all of them?” He asks, pointing at the shelves.

Jimin nods. “187 years of death means a lot of free time to read.”

Jungkook doesn’t say anything for a few seconds but then he seems to register what Jimin just said and bounces on one leg to turn his body to the vampire.

“187 years? Is that how old you are?” There’s a lot of admiration in his tone.

“Yes but you know what’s funny? In vampire years I’m pretty much still a kid.” It’s funny to watch Jungkook’s expression change to surprise and then curiosity. Jimin isn’t sure if the human knows how much his expressions give away what he’s feeling, he’s probably the easiest human to read because everything he feels is just right there, reflected on his face. 

“How old was the oldest vampire you’ve ever met?” Jungkook bounces a little to get closer to where Jimin is and holds on to the chair to keep his balance.

Jimin thinks about it for a few seconds because being royalty means meeting a lot of vampires over the years.

“Oh,” he says, remembering something. “I’ve been to a vampire’s thousandth birthday party so I guess a thousand years old.”

Bambi eyes’ bewilderment makes Jimin laugh. He seems to be fighting to find the words but his mouth just hangs open as if he can’t even control it. Jokingly, Jimin takes a few steps towards him and touches his chin to make him close his mouth.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Oops. Maybe that was a bit too bold of him.

“Would you like a tour of the castle, Jungkook-ah?”

“Yes!” His excitement flows from his voice to his leg because he suddenly starts to bounce as if he has no control over his foot. “Wait. Do you live in this big ass castle alone?” 

Judging by his tone Jimin guesses he’s been wanting to ask this question for a while. He’s probably been wanting to ask a lot of questions and Jimin definitely doesn’t mind answering them.

“No, I live here with my parents but they’re on vacation celebrating their 359th anniversary,” Jimin answers calmly.

“That’s a very long time,” Jungkook answers innocently, making Jimin chuckle. “Is that a lot in vampire years?”

Jimin shrugs. “I guess it’s a lot in any kind of year but we tend to only get married once so it’s 359 years out of, well… eternity.”

Jungkook seems into deep thought as if calculating how much is an eternity. He doesn’t even see Jimin leaving and coming back with a wheelchair to carry him through the tour of the castle. Jimin gestures for him to sit down but the human narrows his eyes at it.

“Did you just run to the hospital and steal a wheelchair for me?”

Once again Jimin finds himself bending down from laughing so much, if it was possible he would definitely be crying by now. He doesn’t mean to embarrass Jungkook but the human is by far one of the funniest people he’s ever met and he’s not even trying.

He thinks about Seokjin, another one of his close friends who is the funniest person ever and wonders if he and Jungkook would get along. Maybe he’ll find out some day.

“I’m fast, but not that fast. It would take me a few more seconds to go into town,” he explains. “Dad brought it from the hospital once but don’t worry, they’re fully aware of that, it’s not stolen.”

Jungkook nods but still seems unsure of Jimin’s words.

“My dad works at the hospital,” Jimin adds.

That seems to take Jungkook by surprise.

“I didn’t think vampires worked,” he says. “Especially as a doctor, I mean, seeing blood every single day and not being able to drink it? That must be tough.”

He finally sits down on the wheelchair and Jimin starts pushing him, he has to watch his speed because he’s so used to just rushing around the house that it feels new to walk step by step with Jungkook.

“And if you’re a prince, doesn’t that make your father a king? Why is a king working?”

Jimin can only imagine how many questions were popping  into the human’s head. It feels nice to see him grow more confident to ask them, Jimin doesn’t mind at all. He’s been alone for a few days so to have someone else’s voice echoing through the hallways puts him in a better mood. Even if it’s a human’s voice.

“Let me ask you a question, Jungkook-ah,” he goes to the living room first because he’s sure there are details Jungkook hasn’t noticed yet. “Do you know what it’s like to stay awake 24 hours for over 400 years?”

Jungkook looks back at him with wide eyes and a cute little pout that tells Jimin he’s thinking about an answer but when he doesn’t offer one, Jimin nods.

“Exactly. Sometimes we just gotta find something to distract us,” he shrugs.

“Do you also work?” He’s still looking at Jimin.

“Nah, I just rob a bank every now and then, and that’s enough to go by for a few years,” he keeps a straight face just for the fun of it.

“Woah, that’s so cool!”

That’s definitely not the answer he was expecting from the human so he just smiles.

“It was a joke, bambi eyes, but glad to know I can count on you if I ever want to actually rob a bank,” he jokes.

He shows around the living room, pointing at some of the furniture and talking about the history of it if it’s an antique. There are also a lot of photographs around from family, friends, trips, and all kinds of gatherings. Jimin’s father has been passionate about photography ever since the late 1800’s and had all kinds of cameras throughout the years.

Jungkook is not shy about asking questions and seems genuinely interested in all the stories Jimin tells. Whenever he turns around to face the vampire, Jimin can see the sparkle in his eyes and it makes him beam with excitement. 

His favourite part of the living room is definitely one that most people don’t notice and judging by Jungkook’s reaction, he hadn’t noticed either. Behind the big mirror wall on the corner of the room, there’s a black and white piano that takes up most of the space. It shines beautifully in contrast with the stone floor and when you sit to play you get a beautiful view of the backyard through the floor to ceiling windows.

“It’s beautiful,” Jungkook whispers, eyes never leaving the instrument. “Do you play, Jimin-ssi?”

Jimin is taken aback by the honorific but he likes it way more than he should. He walks to the piano bench and sits down, looking at Jungkook and asking him what he would like to hear.

Jungkook looks down and bites on his lip. 

“I don’t think I know any piano pieces by memory,” he answers shyly.

Jimin smiles. “Can I play you my favourite then?”

When Jungkook nods in agreement, he starts playing, the melody filling the room slowly as he works his trained fingers on the keyboard. Over the years playing piano became second nature, it’s what he turns to when he feels sad or happy. He learned to express his feelings through music and even composed a few pieces but Jungkook doesn’t need to know that now so he just continues playing.

Although his eyes are closed, he hears Jungkook pushing the wheels of the chair to get closer to the piano and sure enough, when he opens them, the human is next to him, watching his fingers move and seeming completely lost in the melody playing. Jimin smiles to himself before closing his eyes again.

When Jimin stops playing he watches closely for Jungkook’s reaction but the human is still so entranced that a few seconds go by where Jimin just stares at him. Slowly, Jungkook’s eyes find Jimin’s and then he smiles, the action brightening his handsome face.

“That was beautiful,” he says simply.

“It’s Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata,” he tells. “I mean, it’s only a part of it. The whole piece is around 17 minutes long.”

As he goes back to pushing Jungkook around the house, the human asks him questions about his music abilities. From when he started to how much he practices and if he’s ever played professionally. Jimin answers everything solely because watching Jungkook’s reaction has quickly become one of his favourite things to do. The human is genuine in his responses and doesn't seem to care if Jimin will like them or not, he just says whatever is on his mind.

To go to the second floor Jimin suggests carrying Jungkook through the stairs but he quickly learns pride is one of the human’s flaws. He denies help and hops step by step as Jimin watches from the top even sitting on the wheelchair just to mock Jungkook who doesn’t seem to care. 

When Jungkook finally gets to the top of the stairs, out of breath and with his heart beating out of control, Jimin offers the wheelchair again.

“Have you ever read Othello, bambi eyes?” He asks.

Jungkook narrows his eyes at him. “No. Why?”

“Well, remind me to give you a copy later. It will teach you something about pride.”

He can hear the human sighing and probably rolling his eyes.

“What are your flaws, your Royal Highness ?” The teasing tone is so clear it makes Jimin chuckle.

“I have a lot,” he answers sincerely. “Although pride is not one of them.”

Jungkook shrugs. “Yeah, well, you had like 200 years to work on it, and I’m only 23, so it’s not really a fair comparison.”

Although this little banter was definitely not what Jimin envisioned when he suggested the house tour, he can’t deny he feels pretty content, just pushing Jungkook around watching him being comfortable around the castle and acting like an old friend is enough to fill Jimin’s day with more than just his books and some music. They might not have started on the right foot and to be honest Jimin still has some red flags raised here and there since Jungkook is a human after all, but he thinks maybe a friendship is being born right before his eyes.

Jungkook turns around on the chair and seats sideways. Doesn’t look too comfortable but he seems happy to be able to look at Jimin while they talk.

“So you’re 23,” Jimin repeats. “That would make me your hyung in human age, because I died at 25.”

The human is playing with the drawstrings of the sweatpants, but suddenly stops and looks up at him. Jiminis still amazed at how sparkly Jungkook’s eyes always seem to be. They have a beautiful chocolate color to them, their round shape making them even more alluring and Jimin can’t quite explain but they complement Jungkook’s features really well.

He knows what Jungkook wants to ask and he understands why he’s hesitating, looking at Jimin with a curious expression while his mind works to figure out if it is appropriate to ask what he wants. It doesn’t bother Jimin so he offers the human a serene smile.

“How did you die, Jimin-hyung ?”

Jimin sighs and stops pushing the wheelchair, his mind filling with memories that once were very painful for him, but he’s learned to deal with them over the years.

“Do you really want to know?”

Jungkook nods, and that’s all Jimin needs to see. 

“I was born in Busan in the early 1800’s, there was nothing special about my childhood or adolescence,” he says. “As a young adult I was living a pretty comfortable life, I had a stable job, great friends and a family who loved me very much. Of course life was completely different back then, much simpler without all the technology and complications from now,” he speaks calmly, watching Jungkook’s attentiveness to his every word.

“I was visiting my parents when it happened. We didn’t live exactly close and there was no telephone back then to make it easier to contact them, so I made sure to visit at least once a month and see how they were doing,” Jimin sits down on a chair in front of the computer his father uses when he works from home, presiding meetings from the board committee at the hospital. 

“I was just leaving their house, it was a little over midnight, which back then meant the streets were all empty, very few people would wander around at that hour. It all happened very fast, I remember feeling dizzy and falling to the ground, the back of my head hit the curb and I could immediately feel the blood wetting my hair.”

Jimin pauses for a few seconds, to gauge Jungkook’s reaction- it couldn’t be easy, listening to a story about death. His death. When the human blinks, still absorbed in his words, he continues.

“My parents had these neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Park, they had been living in the house in front of ours for almost 15 years,” Jungkook’s eyebrows are knitted together but he doesn’t ask anything, just lets Jimin talk. “I wasn’t exactly unconscious although everything was just a blur, but I remember my mom talking to someone and begging whoever that was to save me. Turns out my mom knew the Parks were vampires but she never told anyone, not even my dad.”

Silence hangs in the air around them. Jimin stops because he wonders if Jungkook understands the rest of the story and sure enough the human tries to fill in the blank spaces.

“So the Parks, your vampire parents, were the ones who saved you?” He asks. Jimin nods and lets him go on. “They turned you into a vampire to keep you from dying because your human mom didn’t want to lose you.”

It wasn’t easy for Jimin to come to terms with his new life. He passed out a human and woke up as a vampire with all these new abilities and an insatiable thirst for human blood. Being able to still have his human parents around helped a lot although his dad took it much harder than his mom. Jimin is glad and very thankful he got to see his parents grow old and take care of them, saying goodbye, however, was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

“Jimin-hyung,” Jungkook calls and opens a huge smile when their eyes meet. “I’m also from Busan.”

The tour of the castle lasts much longer than Jimin predicted. With Jungkook asking all kinds of questions about the history of the Parks and being completely enraptured by Jimin’s every word, when they finish the tour the sun is very high in the sky and he doesn’t even need vampire hearing to notice Jungkook’s stomach complaining about the lack of food.

The human looks embarrassed by his own nature, warning everyone around of how mortal he is, but Jimin just laughs it off. If he didn’t have the warning, he could easily forget about human needs since he doesn’t eat very often.

When they stop at the top of the stairs, Jimin stands next to Jungkook on the wheelchair and points at all the steps the human insisted on taking on his own earlier.

“So, bambi eyes,” he taunts. “Do you want to bounce step by step again with your pride held tight in your arms or do you want to get this over with in a second?”

Jungkook whines a little, getting up from the wheelchair and standing in front of Jimin. There’s a whole carnival going on in his heart with the beat now turning to music in Jimin’s ears. He bites on his lower lip to keep from smiling both because he doesn’t want Jungkook to know but also because he knows he shouldn’t be so happy about this.

“I looked up the meaning of bambi eyes, you know?” The human says with a proud grin.

Jimin raises one eyebrow. “Really? And what did you find?”

Jungkook reaches inside his pocket and grabs his phone, quickly unlocking it and finding what he wants. He clears his throat before reading a passage from a website.

“Completely clueless look to their eyes like a deer, but generally are gorgeous and doll like eyes. Also means you look innocent or still child like,” he finishes.

Jimin smirks because that is indeed the perfect description of Jungkook’s eyes and exactly what he meant when he thought of the nickname. Rather Jungkook likes it or not, he can’t deny this characteristic and even Taehyung agreed.

“Does that offend you?” Jimin asks.

It takes three seconds for Jungkook to shake his head, putting the phone back in his pocket and looking at Jimin again.

“I mean, it can come in hand, right? Like when the cat from Shrek uses his Bambi eyes to ask for things, maybe I should try it some time,” he blinks a few times and Jimin immediately understands his intentions.

Jimin groans. “Don’t use them on me!”

Jungkook doesn’t answer with words, he let his eyes talk and for the first time Jimin regrets the nickname. If he knew it was going to be used against him, he’d have thought of another, one that’s less likely to make him feel things he definitely shouldn’t be feeling, especially for a human.

He picks the human up and carries him to the kitchen, leaving him sitting on the stool as he goes back to grab the wheelchair. The whole thing doesn’t last more than 3 seconds but Jimin can hear the thump, thump, thump of Jungkook’s heart for much longer.

“What would you like to eat?” Jimin asks, resting his elbows on the counter opposite from where Jungkook is sitting, it’s probably best if he keeps his distance or Taehyung’s heart attack theory might come true.

“You don’t have to cook for me,” he answers shyly.

“If I let a guest in the Park household starve my mom will never forgive me, so technically yes, I do have to cook for you,” he explains. “You said jajangmyeon is your favourite and I can actually make a very good bowl of it.”

“Will you let me help?” Once again Jungkook uses his power against Jimin when he blinks his bambi eyes and even worse, pouts.

It takes Jimin a few seconds to be able to come up with the words he needs. Damn, he shouldn’t have let the human know about his power.

“You can cut the vegetables and the mushrooms while I make the sauce,” he agrees, not even bothering to resist.

They work in silence and get everything done in no time. Jungkook looks happy with the result, the dish in front of him putting a smile on his face. Jimin ends up eating a little too, only because it would feel weird to just stand there and watch the human eat and make satisfied sounds with each bite.

They make small talk, Jungkook asking about Jimin’s parents and his friendship with Taehyung. As always, he seems to be genuinely interested in all the answers, paying attention to Jimin’s words and asking whatever is on his mind. It feels comfortable between them, like there’s a familiarity to it despite the fact that they met less than 24 hours ago.

The sun is setting when Jungkook asks what Jimin usually does alone in the castle. Jimin doesn’t say that he’s rarely alone there since his friends are always coming around unannounced. Taehyung has probably made sure to spread the news that a human is staying there and that’s why neither Seokjin nor Hobi have dropped by yet.

“I read a lot, or watch a movie,” he answers. “Sometimes I play piano for hours or paint to help pass time.”

Jungkook seems surprised with the last piece of information.

“You also paint?”

“Yeah, I’ve actually taken part in an exhibition at a small gallery not too far from here,” he takes pride in his paintings, it’s something he’s very passionate about.

“So you’re just good at everything?” Jungkook asks lightheartedly. “Seems to me Twilight was very spot on about that then.”

Jimin rolls his eyes but doesn’t keep from laughing. He’s never met such a Twilight die-hard fan and he definitely wouldn’t expect that a grown man like Jungkook would be one. Maybe he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover since it’s what humans do to vampires all the time.

“I’m going to change your nickname from bambi eyes to Twilight boy,” he jokes. “But seriously, you’re so obsessed with Twilight but you’ve never seen Nosferatu? Do you only like the vegetarian vampires?”

Jungkook blushes at the accusation, and shakes his head adamantly to deny it. He doesn’t seem ashamed of loving a movie that was made fun of by not only vampires but also a lot of humans. Jimin likes that, the fact that the human is not ashamed of being himself. 

“Watch it with me then,” he says, catching Jimin by surprise. “You have that movie room upstairs with the big screen so maybe we can watch it together.”

How did their relationship go from almost killing each other to talking about their personal lives and watching movies together? Jimin doesn’t quite understand and right now he’s not trying to, he’s been around for 200 years, and this is by far the weirdest thing that’s ever happened. 

He agrees because by now he has realized how hard it is to say no to those bambi eyes. And so he finds himself on the couch in front of the big screen that plays the beginning of Nosferatu. He’s not as big of a fan of the movie as Taehyung is but he doesn’t mind watching it again. 

Jimin sits as far from Jungkook as possible, hugging his knees close to his chest and trying to focus on the movie playing. The lights are off but that doesn’t affect how well he can see but it does make him more alert, ears always catching any movement. Unfortunately right now Jungkook is the only one moving, trying to find a comfortable position and distracting Jimin. 

Looking at the human sitting on the other side of the couch, he notices that even though Jungkook is restless, he’s focus is entirely on the screen. Jimin doesn’t realize how lost he gets watching the human’s reactions to the scenes. He can’t tell what part of the movie he’s missed, or for how long he’s been watching Jungkook but as soon as he’s aware of what he’s doing, he turns his attention back to the movie. 

Ninety four minutes go by in the blink of an eye, so fast that Jimin realizes he’s missed at least half of the movie because he wasn’t watching the screen. It was worth it though because Jungkook’s reactions and expressions were so genuine it definitely entertained him more than the silent movie. 

“Now you can tell your friend I’m a Twilight die-hard fan who has watched Nosferatu,” Jungkook smiles proudly. 

“What did you think of it?” Jimin questions, still seated on the couch, the screen now dark and the lights on. 

“Hmm, let me see,” he reaches for his phone and Jimin raises an eyebrow. “I like to read trivia about the movies before making a decision.”

Jimin laughs, but agrees, watching the human type on his phone.

“I can give you trivia about it if you want,” he offers.

Jungkook nods. “Okay, tell me and I’ll check if it’s here.”

Jimin thinks about it for a little while as Jungkook reads whatever is on his phone screen. The first time he watched Nosferatu the movie hadn’t even been released in the US yet, but over the years Taehyung made him watch many more times. 

“It’s an unauthorized adaptation of the novel Dracula although a lot of things were altered to avoid copyright issues, including the name from Count Dracula to Count Orlok,” Jungkook nods as if agreeing the information is there on his phone so Jimin keeps going. 

“Also technically all copies of this movie were destroyed after the heirs of the author sued over the adaptation, so this one,” he points at the screen. “Is illegal.”

Jungkook looks impressed.

“Do you like this movie a lot or do you just happen to know a lot of vampire movies trivia?” 

“I told you, Jungkook-ah,” he gets up from the couch and motions for Jungkook to do the same as they leave the room. “187 years, awake 24 hours a day, a lot of free time.”

The walk back downstairs is quiet because again Jungkook seems lost in his own thoughts. Jimin has noticed that he does it quite often, he vanishes into his own world inside his head. He doesn’t interrupt since he has no idea what the human is thinking about, not even when they get to the stairs and Jungkook bounces step by step again, this time Jimin just follows at the same pace.

It’s already dark outside again, which means Jimin’s favourite time of the day. He likes to see the sunshine, rainbows, clear blue skies and all, but not being able to enjoy a lot of hours outside makes it hard for him to love the day time as much as the night time.

“If you don’t sleep, what do you do at night, Jimin-ssi?”

Jimin nods towards the study room. “Well, last night I read a whole book and before that, if I remember correctly, I was tending my garden when you… interrupted me.”

The tips of Jungkook’s ears get red as he looks down, clearly embarrassed by Jimin’s comment.

“It looked very pretty,” he says. “Speaking of which, can we go back there?”

Jimin is surprised by the request but for the first time there’s nothing in Jungkook’s expression to help him to understand the human’s intention. They stare at each other for a few seconds and Jungkook just seems like he’s waiting for an answer, so Jimin nods in agreement.

“Do you mind carrying me?” He whispers. “I think I can already put my foot on the ground and it won’t hurt so much but I don’t want to force it.

Jimin appreciates his honesty, so he just smiles sincerely.

“I don’t mind at all, Jungkook-ah.”

Just like the night before, the flowers look beautiful under the artificial lights, they’re an explosion of colors and scents in a beautiful contrast to the dark green of the bushes and trees. For a second Jimin forgets what happened 24 hours before, just admiring the beauty of the garden in front of him.

He’s leaning in to smell a beautiful white magnolia when Jungkook’s voice interrupts his thoughts.

“You’re doing a wonderful job with them, Jimin-ssi,” he compliments, touching a pink camelia. “They do look very pretty.”

“Thanks but I can’t take credit for them now, I’ve been really neglectful so Mr. Lee is the one who should be praised,” His chest is tight as he says this, realizing how much he’s missed being in that garden.

Jungkook doesn’t offer an answer, maybe sensing Jimin’s sadness as he talks. They wander around in silence, both getting lost in all the plants and flowers. This time Jimin has more time to pay close attention to each one of them, not really worrying about the human’s presence. He can feel Jungkook’s eyes following him around but he focuses his attention on the lilies, peonies, daffodils and so many others. 

It takes Jimin a few seconds to realize he’s standing on the exact spot he was the night before when he turned around and saw the stake flying at him and Jungkook running. It’s a foreign feeling to be there again after everything that happened since then. He wonders if Jungkook feels it too, that would explain why the human is so quiet.

He turns around when he hears Jungkook steps towards him and notices he has a little flower in his hand. Before he can even say anything, the human explains himself.

“I promise I didn’t take it, it had already fallen,” he says. “So I thought it would look prettier if it was right…”

He looks up and slowly raises his hand and puts the flower behind Jimin’s ear, the petals beautifully contrasting with his silver hair.

“Here,” he finishes.

His fingers brush Jimin’s skin, from his cheek to his chin and Jimin can almost feel the goosebumps all over his body. He misses having goosebumps, the good kind. The kind you get when the cute guy you’re crushing on touches you so delicately you hold your breath and close your eyes at the sensation.

But Jimin can’t do any of that, he can’t feel any of that, because he’s not human anymore. And also because he’s definitely not crushing on the cute human in front of him. 

Definitely not.

“What flower is that?” Jungkook asks softly.

They’re close enough that Jimin can see himself in Jungkook’s sparkly eyes. Needless to say the human’s heartbeat is almost as fast as the wings of a hummingbird flying to kiss another flower.

“It’s a frangipani,” he answers. “Some cultures associate frangipanis with ghosts and demons, but I prefer the ones that associate them with love and hope.”

Jungkook smiles at the explanation, he briefly looks at the flower before their eyes meet again.

“And they’re my favourites,” Jimin adds.

It’s becoming almost unbearable to stare into Jungkook’s eyes, being so close, hearing his heart and smelling his scent and just standing there, unable to reach out, his touch still lingering on Jimin’s skin like a ghost kissing the path his hand left behind. The human seems to sense the tension, so he breaks the silence first.

“I’m sorry, Jimin,” he whispers. “I don’t know what I was thinking yesterday when I came here with that stupid stake.”

Jimin shakes his head and is about to tell Jungkook that he understands when the human starts talking again.

“I just had that article in my head and I’d heard people talking about these vampires who lived across the forest but it was an irrational decision,” he speaks fast and it’s a true word vomit but Jimin just lets him get this out of his chest cause it really seems like he needs it. “As soon as I saw you I knew it was a bad decision. No one can look like you and be a heartless killer, right? Murderers don’t talk to flowers the way you were doing yesterday.”

Oh.

Jimin had no idea the human had had time to watch him. He really needs to be more careful when he’s in the garden. He gets too lost in the flower’s beauty and scents and his senses just seem to shut down for a few seconds.

“I guess I just threw the stake to call your attention,” Jungkook continues. “I wanted you to notice me because I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.”

The last part is barely a whisper but it feels like a breath of fresh air being blown in Jimin’s face. How is he supposed to not feel when all Jungkook does is make him want to feel? Looking at his gorgeous face right now all Jimin wants is to put his hand over Jungkook’s heart and pretend he can feel his own heart beating at the same pace. 

He sighs.

“It’s okay, Jungkook-ah,” he smiles gently. “I’m used to being judged by humans, I know how much you all hate my kind and I understand why.”

Jungkook frowns. “But you shouldn’t be used to it because you’re kind and nice, you don’t deserve this.”

It’s hard for Jimin to find the words right now, because in all of his years as a vampire, he can count on one hand how many humans he interacted with. Of all of them, Jungkook is the first one he lets get this close. It’s not easy for him to come to terms with the fact that a human made this big of an impression on him, but that's exactly what Jungkook did.

“Not everyone has a good heart like you, Jungkook.” It’s the most honest answer Jimin can give. “You gave me a chance and not a lot of people would do that.”

They fall into a comfortable silence again and Jimin finally moves away from the human. He hides his hands in his pockets simply because it’s hard to control the urge to not touch Jungkook and not look at him until his cheeks grow pink and a cute but shy smile forms on his lips.

This time Jungkook stays closer, he asks about the flowers and points at his favourite ones. He probably notices how much Jimin likes them because he just keeps the questions coming and listens attentively to every single answer. Jimin doesn’t know if he’s genuinely interested in them or just afraid the tension from before will return so he goes with it.

“Jimin-ssi,” Jungkook calls. “Are all vampires like you?”

Jimin tilts his head, clearly confused by the question. Jungkook laughs and then explains.

“Can all of them run really fast and are really good at just about everything?”

For a second Jimin wishes he could see himself through Jungkook’s eyes. He’s sure the human sees him as some sort of perfect vampire with no flaws, which could not be farther from reality. Jimin’s just very good at hiding the side of him he doesn’t want people to see.

“I’m definitely not good at everything, Jungkook-ah,” he keeps a light tone to his voice. “There are some characteristics that define vampires like our speed and heightened senses so I suppose we each use our ages to our own liking. I already liked music and art as a human, so I guess I just made good use of my time and learned to get better at what I love.”

Jungkook takes his time to process the information Jimin’s just given him. Although his attention is on a particular flower next to him, Jimin knows his own words are echoing in the human’s mind.

“So you can see, smell and hear really well?” He confirms.

Jimin agrees quietly.

“How heightened are they?” He wonders. “Can you hear someone scream all the way in town?”

His curiosity never fails to make Jimin smile. He gets closer to Jungkook and the human has the exact reaction he was hoping for. He looks right into his eyes and says:

“Better than that. I can hear your heart beating out of control every time I get close to you. It doesn’t beat so loud out of fear, does it, Jungkook-ah?”

Incredibly enough, the involuntary reaction to Jimin’s words is an even brisker heartbeat along with an arrhythmic breathing. He finally reaches out and puts his hand on Jungkook’s chest, right where he can feel the pulse on his palm. 

This is what he’s been missing, it’s what awakens something in him that had been asleep for way too long. He feels it pulsing through all his body like a flood that’s taking away all his doubts and fears, the wave that breaks down the wall he never knew was there. How is it possible that a human’s heart can make him feel alive again?

He watches Jungkook put his own hand on top of his, like he’s afraid Jimin will run away. Maybe he’s not so bad at reading Jimin’s expressions after all because that’s exactly what his first instinct is begging him to do. 

“I’m not afraid of you, Jimin-ssi,” the soft sound of his voice seems to reverberate through the quiet darkness that surrounds them. 

But I’m afraid of you, and the way you make me feel . Jimin doesn’t say it out loud because that would make everything more real and right now he can’t cope with that. Which is why he takes a step back and lets his hand fall to his side. He doesn’t look at Jungkook before turning his attention back to his flowers.

“If your leg feels better tomorrow I can help you walk back to town” he murmurs.

There is no answer from Jungkook, not a verbalized one at least. Jimin listens as the human limps back to the castle in a silence that is scarier than any other sound.

**

Jimin can hear Jungkook moving around in the guest room, he’s heard it all night until the human finally fell asleep and then again at 6 in the morning, when he started tossing and turning and then groaning in frustration. He feels the same way, except he does it quietly while pacing around the house and cursing himself in every way he can.

It’s not until around 8 that Jungkook finally opens the door and finds his clothes, now all clean, sitting outside the bedroom. Jimin fixed the big rip in his jeans during the night, one of the few things that distracted him for a few minutes but then finished way too fast. Jungkook changes quickly and is back out in no time, heading to the door without even looking back.

The predictability makes Jimin chuckle as he follows, already dressed in a hoodie and wearing a hat since the sun is shining bright in the sky and he doesn’t want to get burned. Luckily the forest provides enough protection even with Jungkook’s slow pace.

Jungkook is still limping, although it’s less than yesterday. Jimin wishes he would let him change the bandages one more time but he knows what the answer would be so he doesn’t bother asking. He just follows the human silently while he tries his best to walk a little faster as if that would make Jimin stop tracing behind him.

They finally reach the castle’s gates and although Jimin is pretty sure Jungkook just skipped over it when he came in, it’s clear he can’t do it now. The human stops but doesn’t say a word, Jimin feels the urge to wait until he actually talks but he doesn’t want to push him, he knows Jungkook is hurt. He opens the gate without any effort and lets Jungkook pass, following right behind him.

“You don’t have to follow me,” he mumbles.

Jimin doesn’t stop. “I know.”

Jungkook doesn’t try again. He just keeps walking, sometimes grabbing his phone and typing things Jimin can’t see. Much like Taehyung, Jungkook is loud, he doesn’t really watch his steps and only seems determined to get to town as fast as his injured leg can take him.

“Let me carry you,” Jimin suggests.

His only response is a scoff.

Ouch .

He never noticed how big the forest is, it doesn’t even take him a minute to cross all of it, but with a limping human he guesses it will take them at least 30 more minutes to get to the end of it. Not that he minds anyway. No matter how much he wants to lie to himself, having a few more minutes with Jungkook is something he really wants right now, even if the human is pretty much ignoring his existence.

Listening to the sounds of the forest is much more interesting than one would think. Jimin can identify a lot of animals just by their sounds and hear the sounds of cars in the roads not too far from where they are. There’s also a park a few miles away and the laughter of the children playing is very loud to his ears.

He’s watching Jungkook’s step become slower as his limp becomes more prominent, making him walk closer without getting the human’s attention. It’s only when Jungkook trips and almost falls face first that he rushes to his side, not really touching him but reaching out his hands in case he needs them.

Jungkook doesn’t spare him a glance but when he takes the next step, his face makes it clear he’s in pain.

“Let me carry you in my back, Jungkook-ah,” he tries again. “It will be faster and you won’t feel pain.”

Jungkook’s voice is strangled when he answers.

“I don’t want to.”

It takes a lot of willpower for Jimin to not just ignore Jungkook’s wish and carry him anyway. Seeing him limping like that is breaking him, he knows the human is in pain and his urge to help him and try to take the pain away is killing him - metaphorically speaking of course.

“Why not?” Jimin insists.

There is no answer, not even the scoff from before. He’d rather have Jungkook screaming at him than ignoring him completely. He’s still close enough to catch the human if he falls again but Jungkook is trying his best to walk faster and pretend he’s not being closely followed by a vampire. 

Jimin repeats his question.

“Because, Jimin!” Jungkook yells.

Progress, Jimin thinks. Yelling is better than nothing. He tries to push it a little further.

“Because what?” He wants Jungkook to continue, he needs to hear why even if it’s going to hurt him.

Jungkook sighs and then finally turns around. There are a lot of fleeting things  flashing in his eyes. Anger, hurt, sadness, it’s nothing like the bambi eyes Jimin grew to like, the ones that sparkled whenever Jimin shared a little part of his life with him. These eyes right now could dig holes through his skin.

“Because I don’t want to say goodbye, dammit.” His answer catches Jimin by surprise. “And because I know you feel the same way.”

Jimin can’t seem to get his eyes off of him. He knows Jungkook is honest, he showed time and time again that he just says what’s in his head and even when he doesn’t, he can’t hide his emotions, that’s what made him so easy to read. 

Right now he’s facing Jimin and his emotions are so raw that all Jimin can hear are his words wrapping around him and not letting him move. There’s the heartbeat again, the one Jimin has had stuck in his head since the night before along with the feeling of it under his hand and how alive he felt because of it.

He sighs. “I’m a vampire, Jungkook. I don’t even have a beating heart.”

It’s a reminder. To Jungkook and to himself.

“But I do, and I know you can hear it,” Jungkok takes a few steps closer but Jimin is still rooted to the ground. “And I don’t care if yours doesn’t beat anymore, it doesn’t make all of this any less real.”

Yes, it does , Jimin wants to yell. Because none of it can be real. What part of him being a vampire is Jungkook not understanding. Who even wants to have a relationship with a vampire anyway? Can’t humans just stick to their awful judgements and stay away from his kind?

But he doesn’t say any of that, instead he tries other arguments.

“You don’t even know me, Jungkook. All you know about me is the parts I wanted you to see.”

It doesn’t seem to have the effect he was expecting because all Jungkook does is nod and get even closer to him.

“I know and that’s what I’m trying to say, Jimin. I want to get to know you, I want to see the good side and the bad side of you,” his voice is weak as if he’s tired of saying this. Maybe he said it in his own head before.

Jimin is about to argue but Jungkook is not finished.

“I want my poor heart to have the chance to get used to your presence and maybe stop embarrassing me every time you get close to me.” Although the sentence is lighthearted, his tone is heavy. “Please.”

Oh no. Not this again.

“Don’t bambi eye me,” Jimin says.

“Then say yes.”

Jimin shakes his head. As if any of this was that simple. As if a yes would solve everything, would make him not be a damn vampire and Jungkook a human. Why is Jungkook being so persistent? And worse, why does a part of him want to just say yes? It’s those damned bambi eyes. He knew they would break him at some point.

“I can’t, Jungkook-ah,” Jimin falters.

“Kiss me then.”

He can’t have heard that right, right? Those words did not just leave Jungkook’s mouth. For the first time in 187 years his ears have failed him. Or maybe it’s his mind playing tricks on him. Those were not the words Jungkook declared.

He’s lost for words. Because he’s either heard it wrong or he’s heard what he thinks he did and he does not have an answer for that. Because it makes no sense. It doesn’t, right? Why would Jungkook ask that? Fuck , he wants to. More than anything, he wants to kiss this damn human.

“What?” It’s all he can blurt out.

Jungkook takes a deep breath and although his cheeks are slowly turning pink, he doesn’t back down.

“Kiss me and prove me wrong,” he insists. “If you really think that because you’re a vampire you can’t feel anything for me, then kiss me.”

There’s only a second of hesitation before Jimin answers.

“How would that prove anything?”

Jungkook doesn’t answer right away, his eyes are still holding Jimin’s gaze and he doesn’t move for a few seconds. Jimin counts it in his head.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three heartbeats.

“I don’t know!” Jungkook thunders and then whispers; “I just wanted an excuse to ask for a kiss.”

Jimin doesn’t think. He doesn't hesitate. There’s not a second of reasoning before he takes the three steps that separates him from Jungkook and kisses him.

The thump-thump-thumping in his ears grows louder and louder as Jungkook kisses him back, his arms hugging Jimin and pulling him closer. This is not something Jimin has ever experienced before. Sure he’s had his fair share of kisses as a human and as a vampire. He fell in love once, when he was still alive. His name was Jihoon, and he once gave Jimin all of those movie-worth moments and even the butterflies in the stomach.

Still, nothing could prepare Jimin for this, for how he feels as Jungkook deepens the kiss and breathes into his mouth. For what it feels like to hold him and be held by him. All of his senses are blurred, it’s dangerous because vampires should never drop their guards and yet here he is and he doesn’t care, not when he gets to have Jungkook like this.

He’s the one who breaks the kiss, Jungkook still stealing a few pecks that make him smile and probably melt a little. Vampires should not be melting over humans and there’s another thing he doesn’t care about.

He presses his thumb to Jungkook's lower lip, his own eyes following the action because it’s still hard to believe what just happened. The thin lips are still calling out to him, seducing him as Jungkook bites down his thumb playfully.

“Did that prove anything?” He asks uncertainly. 

“Yes.” Jimin answers, “Yes.”

He’s still holding Jungkook’s face in his hand and the human’s arms are still around him, protective as if he’s the immortal one, not Jimin. It feels nice and he doesn’t feel weak, just cared for. It’s another first for him.

“Are you going to stop being stubborn now and let me help you?” Jimin teases.

There’s such a beautiful grin on Jungkook’s face, one of relief and joy, that Jimin can’t help his own smile from forming. This human really knows how to make him feel. Whatever it is that he makes Jimin feel.

“Are you going to stop being stubborn and let me court you?” Jungkook replies.

Jimin is taken aback by his choice of words, by his brazen suggestion. He definitely didn’t expect a human to ask for permission to court him. Does he even have an answer for that?

Of course he does. And so he chuckles and repeats the only suitable answer.

“Yes.”