Work Text:
Rosaria’s descent from the rooftop she hid on was usually more graceful, but she missed a step today.
The girl in the Knights’ armor she’d landed on was red in the face, staring at her with wide eyes.
“A-are you hurt?” She managed to ask, out of breath.
Rosaria ignored her, lifting herself off the other girl and began looking around for her things. She felt lightheaded, she needed to go and hunt soon.
“I have some bandages, or if walking doesn’t hurt too much, I could escort you to the Cathedral?”
Archons, no.
“Anywhere but the Cathedral,” She said sharply.
“Oh,” the blonde said, disappointed. But that disappointment lasted for just a moment, as she managed to put some enthusiasm into her voice. “My name is Jean. I must apologize for my etiquette earlier, but I haven’t seen you in the city before. Are you a traveler?”
“Not a traveler.”
Rosaria had found her bag, and checked to see if all her supplies were there. She turned and examined Jean, who had gotten up. Her smile looked forced and her face was still flushed, possibly from embarrassment. She still looked eager to do something for her, and Rosaria couldn’t sense that there was a genuine urge to help just her , out of the pure selflessness of her heart.
The people of Mondsatdt were so strange.
“Well, if there’s anything you need assistance with-“ she started, tentatively taking a step towards her.
“There’s no need. I can handle things on my own,” Rosaria said, cutting her off. She dug into her bag and pulled out a small bottle, some medicine she swiped from the Cathedral, and tossed it to Jean. “It’s a painkiller,” she looked her up and down again. “I heard Knights can get into some unfortunate accidents.”
Jean looked at the bottle, caught off guard again. “Thank you,” she said quietly, though it almost sounded like a question.
She sighed. “Don’t mention it.”
Rosaria knew that the gesture was strange, but the Knights put her in this city to rehabilitate herself with the nuns, or whatever the Grandmaster had said. It was some wordy speech that she didn’t care to dwell on that much.
This exchange happened years ago. Over time, she would come to learn that the girl was of the Gunnhildr clan, a talented swordswoman, and a captain of the Knights. Maybe she was used to being well-known.
Time passed on. Rosaria’s “security” work came to be known by the Knights, and multiple times, Jean had stopped her to ask if she could be of assistance. The first several times, she’d found it annoying. Really, Rosaria couldn’t understand how Jean didn’t immediately gather that her work was done independently, but it was all part of her dedication and drive to protect Mondstadt.
And that was admirable, to her. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, though.
She was just out on an evening stroll tonight, but felt as though she was being followed.
She stopped and turned.
“Sister Rosaria!” Jean exclaimed at being spotted.
“You were following me,” she said, not a question.
Jean stopped a few feet behind her. “My apologies, Sister. I was just doing some patrol, and I happened to spot you. I was only following you just in case you came across any disturbances,” she said quickly, but looked down in embarrassment. “Oh… but you can hold your own, can’t you?”
This was amusing to her. “I won’t hold a grudge against you,” she said, less harshly than she would with anyone else. “I was just going for a stroll.”
She blinked. “Really?”
“Yes… really. What, do you think I’m a total workaholic like you?”
Jean paused. Rosaria saw no issue with being blunt, but it was obvious that Jean wasn’t used to it. Or maybe nobody really told her how obsessed she was with her work like that before. Gentle treatment wasn’t really her specialty.
“I… uh… no,” She said. “I just didn’t think going on nighttime strolls was something you’d do.”
She shrugged. “I find it relaxing. You could join me, but there probably won’t be any work for you to do.”
Jean caught up to her. “You’re always so considerate in the strangest moments, Sister,” she whispered. Rosaria pretended not to hear.
They walked along Cider Lake in silence for some time. She wasn’t used to the company, nor would she call Jean a close friend, but she wouldn’t say she was tense. She didn’t need protecting, but Jean had an aura around her that seemed to put people at ease, this included Rosaria. Over the years she lived in Mondstadt, she came to know Jean like every other citizen in the city, but the impression she had of her in the back of her mind was the other girl she stumbled upon as a teenager.
They entered the woods, the trees blocking out the moonlight. An all too familiar, all too dreadful feeling suddenly came over Rosaria. The sudden hunger wasn’t unbearable yet, but if it wasn’t handled soon… well, she’d never been in this situation before. And that’s what filled her with dread.
She was almost tempted to begin praying for anything to come and distract Jean so she could sneak off and collect herself. But prayer was for desperate fools, and she wasn’t about to die, she was just embarrassed. She was never told to keep that she was a vampire secret, but she still did, assuming that it would cause unnecessary panic in the city. Anything could rouse that idle place up- she once witnessed a ten-person search party go around looking for a lost cat.
Rosaria’s walking had slowed, every step she took made her head throb.
Fuck. What in hell is this?
She was usually good at maintaining herself, but she never had sudden thirsts like this. She was finding it difficult to breathe, and she couldn’t figure out how to get Jean, who was now far too close to her, away.
“Rosaria? You’re looking pale,” Jean said, hand on her shoulder. Her gentle voice was nearly drowned by the throbbing in her head.
She cursed under her breath, and leaned on a nearby tree.
Jean stayed close, leaning over. “Here, I have an apple, please, eat something.”
Rosaria refused to look at her. Her fangs were already poking into the bottom of her mouth, burning like hot iron.
“No,” she said, smacking the fruit out of Jean's hand. She was using her other hand to cover her mouth, and it was hard to stay upright without any support. Despite her weakness, her voice was still sharp as ever, harsher even, as she felt more control slipping from her. “I don’t need that. ”
“Then what do you need?” she pleaded, taking her hands. “ Let me help .“
“Archons! Just shut up!” she snapped.
Jean gasped and a hand flew to her mouth, not at the abrupt statement, but at the sight of her fangs. Realization dawned on Rosaria too, but another sharp pain caused her to stumble over into Jean, who caught her. She knelt down with her, Rosaria’s face buried into her neck. She could feel Jean’s heart pounding at an alarming rate, but she couldn’t seem to remove herself.
The brief moment of silence between them felt louder than the throbbing in her head.
“So you…”
She was pathetic.
“Yes, a vampire, and yes, I’m extremely, extremely, hungry right now,” she grumbled, only managing to lift her face a few inches from Jean. “if you could just…” Fuck, she could feel tears in her eyes now. “A squirrel or something, we’re in the woods.”
“You’re getting worse by the second, what if-“
“Stalling like that will only- shit ! ” she cried. She felt so hollow and yet, the pain never ceased its stinging.
Jean’s eyes darted, looking for something to help her. Her hand moved to her neck, above the clasp of her cape. She slowed, putting her panic away as best as she could. “What about my blood?”
Her head shot up.
“You’re insane,” Rosaria spat out. “A fucking lunatic. Do you know how dangerous that is?”
She nodded, somehow calmer than she should be. “But I’m terrified of what will happen if I leave you alone, and… well, I can take it.”
Rosaria let out a singular, dry laugh, shaking her head. “You’re just a regular human, Master Jean. No god or anything. And I have never taken human blood, and I won’t do it just so you can keep living your dream of being Mondstadt’s ‘honorable protector’. That’s why you’re saying this shit to me now, right?”
She could care less that she was just saying anything she could think of. Anything so that Jean would never follow her again, to make it easier to forget that she ever saw her in this state. Every word was a lie, she knew. And there was disappointment in her eyes, like Jean knew too.
“Letting you take blood from me isn’t something for the greater good of Mondstadt, it’s for you. ”
She could barely register the shock she felt. She could sense that she desperately wanted to question her further, but her hunger was still getting the better of her. Jean began to take her cape off, and pointed to a specific spot on her neck.
“I’ll admit, my research hasn’t been very thorough, but I’m sure here is the safest spot for you to drink,” she took her chin in her hand and moved her face over to it. “Now, go on,” Jean said, it coming out as a command.
Jean smelled like that damned city of freedom, like the wind and the wine that lingered in it, but less heavy on the alcohol. Clean too, like soap and mint and medicine. Different than she was used to. Rosaria sunk her teeth in, too tired to hesitate and giving up her fight. Jean let out a gasp and whimpered, her fingers pressing into her shoulders. She held Rosaria tightly, like she was trying to get her to bite deeper. Strange, feeling someone hold her intimately like that.
The Dandelion Knight’s blood didn’t taste like wine, but it felt the same. The blood filling her mouth as she sucked had a different taste than she was used to, but it was something pleasant. She wouldn’t know if it was just human blood that was like this or if it was just Jean’s. Rosaria had never gotten drunk, never allowed herself to, but she felt like she could get close to it now.
She wanted more, but Rosaria removed herself, so Jean wouldn’t be completely drained. She wasn’t fully satiated, but full enough that the pain was slightly relieved, and her cheeks felt warm again. Jean was panting, her hand on the wounds Rosaria left behind. The skin around it was red, but she had lost some color in the process.
“That… hurt a lot more than I thought it would,” Jean said, breathy, adjusting her position to rest her back on a tree.
“Oh, but you were a very brave girl, Master Jean,” she teased, wiping her mouth, staining her gloves in the process. She felt new, like she always did after feeding, but she didn’t even take that much this time.
Look at that, Jean’s blood on my hands. Rosaria smirked, some strange feeling within her at seeing Jean like this. Pride? Whatever it was, at least they were close to being even.
She looked over, and Jean had another apple that she had taken out. She stared off into space, already neglecting to clean up the mess Rosaria had made on her neck.
There was something about the way her blood dripped down, slowly making its way to her chest. The little moonlight that made its way through the trees only made the deep red even more vibrant, stirring up some strange desire in Rosaria again.
“May I?” Rosaria asked, pointing to the blood left.
“”Oh, sure, I might have a handkerchief- ah! ” Jean yelped (though if Rosaria felt like thinking about it, it almost sounded like a moan). Rosaria licked the marks she made clean. She could feel Jean shiver slightly when her tongue ran across the spot right above her collarbone. Her hand immediately went on her shoulder again, to keep herself in place.
She still held back, but upon realizing what she’d been so bold to do, she noted to keep some more restraint.
“Sorry,” Rosaria said, her voice lacking any sign that it was genuine. She moved to sit next to Jean, who still had enough blood left in her to turn her face a shade of rose. “Guess I should’ve given a clearer warning.”
“N-no, it’s fine,” Jean was looking away, taking interest in the pebbles on the ground. “I guess I'm just sensitive.”
Rosaria couldn’t help but laugh. She dug around in her pocket, once again taking out a tiny, corked, blue bottle and handing it over.
“Here, to alleviate your pain.”
Jean took it, and smiled immediately, recalling the memory like it was something she held with fondness. She drank, and her posture fixed itself.
Jean was strange, so, so, strange. What person waits this long to repay such a small favor? Rosaria thought.
She doesn’t consider that maybe Jean just admired her in a similar way too.
“I never used this, you know,” she said, holding it up, finally looking back at Rosaria. “Back when you gave it to me. It really was a thoughtful gift, a bit unexpected, but I just never get into accidents that much.”
“Until now.”
“Yes, I suppose. Not until now.”