Chapter Text
When Mikaela was younger, he used to read stories of how vampires were weakened by sunlight. How they would be burned alive by the rays of the sun. Of course, once real, non-fictional vampires began to surface, he and everyone else quickly began to realize that the stories were just that...stories. The reality was that vampires had their ways to overcome such weaknesses such as sunlight.
It was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he wasn't currently being burned alive for watching the sunrise. But a curse because the vampires still existed. The same vampires that wiped out three fourths of humanity, and the same vampires that turned him.
At least, there were times, like this morning, that Mika could forget he was a vampire at all and just stare out across the ocean to the sun peeking just above the horizon. He could still feel the warm sand underneath where he sat. He was alive. At a cost, but he was alive. And...so was Yu.
"Out early again I see." Mika turned his head at the sound of Yuuichiro's voice. He was wearing casual clothes, a light gray hoodie jacket and black sweats, instead of his uniform. Yu stopped to stand beside where Mika sat and stared off into the distance, smiling contently. "Still don’t get why, but I knew I'd find you here."
At his approach, Mika brought his attention back to the rising sun. "I like watching the morning arrive," he replied softly. "It's comforting."
"Mmm. I guess." Yu's expression turned into something like boredom. "I don't really see the appeal. Sure, it's cool on the ocean but, after seeing it nearly every day, it looks the same every time I see it, now."
The vampire hunter crouched down and sat back beside the vampire.
"It's the one normalcy I can always expect," Mika elaborated further. "In this world full of the unexpected."
"That and you, of course." He glanced over to Yu with a soft look. The raven haired boy turned his head to meet the blond’s gaze, silently admiring how his scarlet eyes seemed to reflect the golden rays of the morning sun. There was at least one sunrise he'd never tire of seeing.
Though, just a month ago, neither of them had known if they would ever see each other again. It was only the hope, the determination that they would be reunited that kept them going. Now that his hope was reality, Mikaela sometimes still didn't believe it. Like he'd blink and be back within Sanguinem’s walls.
Yu snorted, and begrudgingly turned his warming face away from looking at Mika's hypnotic gaze. "Pretty sure neither of us have any normalcy left in us," Yu grumbled but quickly recovered with a smirk. "Though, I thank you for the compliment~"
Mika gave a light laugh, turning his head back towards the ocean. "You're probably right," he admitted. "Normal seems so far away now." He lowered his head with a quiet sigh. "...But you're still around, at least. That's as normal as things will get."
"And you're stuck with me. You have no other choice in the matter." Yu's smirk curved inwards as he lightly bumped his shoulder against Mika. "Of course, you can't survive without me, so..." He coyly tilted his head to show off the faded teeth marks.
Mika glanced back over to Yu at the touch and, upon seeing the markings, a look of vague guilt washed over his face. "...I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't mean to rely on you."
Yu felt instant regret which he quickly shoved aside as exasperation took over. "Mika, come on. We've been over this," He turned so that his body was facing Mika fully and lifted his hands up to cup the sides of his face. "I want you to rely on me because that's what it means to be family. – I don’t have to remind you that if you starve yourself again I'll cry, do I?"
Mika, despite the familiarity of Yu's words, still found himself feeling surprised. His shocked expression held for a few seconds longer, then raised back to a smile. "You're so childish..." he laughed, resigning his head to Yuuichiro’s hands. "Fine... as long as it still isn't at your expense." He paused. "And as long as you let yourself rely on me, too."
"You worry too much." Yu rolled his eyes while still keeping Mika's face in his hands. "I won't die just because you take some of my blood. And obviously I'll rely on you. It's only fair..." His gaze softened as he gazed into those crimson slitted eyes of Mika's. "There's no one else I'd trust more."
Mika blinked in recognition, nodding slowly. Carefully, he shifted closer to Yu, letting his head dip down towards his chest, but not enough to escape the other's hold on his head. "...Thank you...for letting me rely on you. Even after everything... even though this is what I am."
"You're still you, Mika." Yu responded firmly without an ounce of hesitation. "Vampire or not, you're still my family." He gently guided Mika the rest of the way to his chest by his head then wrapped his arms around him in a hug. Mika remained still, then after a few seconds, brought up his arms to return the embrace.
"...I'm not losing you again. And if being a vampire bothers you that much still then we'll just have to turn you back to human." He spoke assuredly.
Mikaela’s breath hitched, and he felt a wet warmth run down his cheeks. Another reminder that despite losing most of his humanity, he still had that part of him left.
"I promise, Mika, we'll get your humanity back."
"...I trust you," Mika nodded, trying to keep his voice steady. "I...I believe you." He slowly, a bit reluctantly, raised his head back up with a teary-eyed smile. "I'm starting to believe you could do anything if you really wanted to."
"Hell yeah I can!" Yu responded confidently. "That's never changed about me. I can take on whatever this hellish world has to throw at us and I'll throw it right back ten times as hard!" Yu declared without so much as a shred of doubt.
"You're right...you've always been that way." Mika released the hug to bring his arm up to dry his eyes. "All this time...you haven't given up," he muttered, lowering his arm to give Yu a bright smile. Brighter, more genuine than before. "That's the Yu I remember."
Upon seeing that smile, the Mika smile, Yu's face widened in surprise then quickly morphed into fondness as he reciprocated the smile. "There's the Mika I know."
Mika looked confused for a moment before realizing, then quietly laughed. "I didn't even realize..."
Yu snorted. "What's with the look? Is it really that surprising for you to be yourself?" He grinned and reclined back on the sand with his arms crossed behind his head of messy, raven-black hair. "You should smile more often, Mika. It suits you better than crybaby tears. Though, I guess crying has its own attraction." He chuckled.
"You're one to talk about being a crybaby, Yu-chan," Mika teased as he brought himself downwards as well. He kept his arms at his sides, and kept his eyes on Yu. "You always came crying to me whenever you were upset, remember?"
Pink tinted Yu's cheeks as his grin swiftly dropped into a pout as he turned to glare at Mika. "Wh-What!? No I didn't!" He denied harshly, his face only heating up faster. "I wasn't the crybaby!"
“Oh really? You don’t remember anything?” Mika’s smile only grew at Yu’s glare. “Because I can remember plenty of times. I’m happy to recount them, if you’d like.” He gave a bright look to Yu, one reminiscent of the happy look he gave people as a child.
“Shut up! I wasn’t a crybaby! You’re the one who ends up getting all teary eyed! Not me!” Yu shoved a hand against Mika’s face in an attempt to push his teasing away. Mika only laughed.
“...You’re not wrong,” he muttered after a pause. “We really have changed, haven’t we?”
Yuuichiro gave a grunt as he flipped back to follow Mika's gaze skyward. "Of course we have. But we haven't completely changed. We're still recognizable to each other." Yu blinked slowly and when he reopened his eyes they were set back on Mika with a smile to add. "And the fact that we're family won't ever change, no matter how different we may become."
Mika nodded, a soft expression still on his face. "I'm glad... I don't know what I'd do without you." He felt his face heat up at his admission, but it wasn't anything but the truth. Finding Yu was his only reason to keep going, to keep fighting his thirst. Though, even with how long he fought... he still gave in.
"Yup. You're totally lost without me. Ever since we were kids you were dependent on my brains and strength." Yu was impressed with how his voice was not breaking on him as he spoke with a straight face.
"You've definitely gotten stronger, and smarter," Mika agreed teasingly, glancing over to Yu once again. He felt his smile falter when he noticed that Yu didn't share his expression. Something seemed to change in Yuuichiro’s demeanor at that moment. "Yu...? Are you alright?"
"Huh?" Yu turned his head to look up at Mika. He sooner regretted it upon seeing the concern on his face. "Yeah. Of course I'm alright!" Yu smiled reassuringly. "Don't be such a worrywart, Mika–guess some things never change."
Mika didn't respond for a good few seconds, the concern in his eyes unfaltering, but eventually he pulled back and stared back into the water. "If you say so. But just remember that you can rely on me anytime."
"It's not- Ugh. Mika!" Yu sat up sharply and leaned forward to be in Mika's face. "I wasn't lying. I am perfectly fine, okay? You just need to stop reading me so well! I don't need you worrying about me. Can't we just have one morning where we don't get down on ourselves?"
Mika flinched in surprise at Yu's sudden outburst, lowering his head down. "I- I'm sorry..." he instinctively responded, then shook his head. "Actually... no. I'm not. You can't make me stop worrying about you. We're family, just like you keep saying. Even if you are fine, I can't just not worry."
“Why worry if I’m fine?” Yu counterpointed. His brows furrowed as he scooted closer so that their sides were pressed together. “Mika, I’m safe, we’re together, and we’re watching the sunrise. There’s nothing to worry about except getting sand in our ass cracks, right now. But I’m not even worried about that because I’m with you!”
Mika stared at Yu with uncertainty before finally dropping his gaze. "...You're right. I know I shouldn't worry. I'll... I'll try to calm down," he assured, taking a deep breath afterwards. "As long as you're safe... I'll try not to worry."
Yu smiled, it was small but soft. A gesture not often expressed by the vampire hunter. “Same here.” He couldn’t help a sigh from passing his lips as he said it. Then, he turned his head to look ahead of them, a forlorn look crossing his face. “I just... I really don’t want to lose you, again, Mika. I’d never abandon you. Never again.” It was an abrupt topic change, but it made sense in Yu’s head. And, in a way, it did give the answer Mika had been asking for before...
Mika blinked, suddenly confused by Yu’s revelation. “Abandon me... again?” He wondered, bringing his eyes back up to meet Yu’s. “What... what do you mean? When have you abandoned me?”
Yu dug his hands into the sand beneath them and clenched tight, refusing to meet Mika’s gaze as he glared ahead. “Don’t pretend, Mika. It’s my fault you’re a vampire — I never should have left you. Our family — it’s all my fault, dammit! Four years, Mika, and I still can’t stop seeing what happened. What I could have prevented if I had just—“ Yu bowed his head, bangs shadowing his eyes, as his shoulders began to tremble in his emotional state. “...Dammit!”
“That’s not true, Yu,” he began, bringing his hands up to grip the hunter’s shoulders who snapped his head up at the contact. “I told you to run, remember? If you didn’t do that, you would’ve died. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Don’t give me that crap! I could’ve saved you, at least! But I was a coward and left you to die.” His grip tightened around Mika’s wrists. “Fuck— This is why I didn’t want to answer you in the first place! What’s done is done. Just know, there’s no way I’m ever abandoning you again. Got it?”
You’ve never abandoned me at all, Mika wanted to counter, but wasn’t sure how much good it would really do at the current moment. “I trust you. And no matter what you think, I’ll never blame you.” He didn’t leave any question in his tone, making it entirely clear what he thought. No hesitation, no regret.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Yu muttered with a rueful smile. He sighed, then gave a more teasing smile. “It’d be kinda concerning if you didn’t trust me. After all, we’re family.”
Mika frowned. "You know what I'm trying to say, Yu-chan." He released his hold on Yu and sat back onto the sandy beach. Yu automatically joined the vampire back on the sand, only, laying on his side. "But... fine. As long as you know."
“...What if I don’t know? What would you do about it?” Yu asked with a straight face, trying to hide the slight playfulness that lay beneath.
"...Then I'd find a way to make you know." Mika stated, staring up at the sky with a subtle determination still in his eyes. "Even if I had to tell you over and over again until it finally got through to your thick head." His own playfulness crept into his words, but the meaning behind them still held true.
“Hey!” Yu’s serious persona quickly cracked at Mika’s last words. “Look who’s talking! I’m not the one with the thick head around here! It took me threatening to cry to make you not starve yourself to becoming a beast!” Yu glared a hole straight into the side of Mika’s head as he frowned. “You’re the thick headed one!”
"I didn't exactly have anyone I trusted as much as you try to convince me beforehand," Mika smiled sweetly, turning his head towards Yu. "If you consider that, it was actually pretty easy for you to convince me." No, it wasn't, but for the sake of teasing he'd stick with his story.
"Easy? You make it sound like I've had practice convincing you to drink my blood before," Yu snarked dryly. "I've never offered my blood to any vampire except you, Mika. But, you're right, I did manage to convince you pretty easily, huh?" He took the bait, willingly, as he smiled smugly at his vampire.
"Easily enough, with the circumstances," Mika agreed with a nod. "Meaning you're still more thick headed than I am." He countered in return with a teasing look.
"Wh- What the hell, Mika!? How does that make me more thick headed?!" Yu questioned disbelievingly. His smugness vanished and was replaced with annoyance as he stared at Mika. "So ungrateful."
Mika's smile weakly fell, and he redirected his eyes down to the sand instead. "...I'm sorry. I was trying to joke around, like we used to."
Yu paused his over the top frustration to look over his shoulder upon hearing Mika’s apology. Of course, the whole point of Yu’s act was to make Mika feel guilty. But, he didn’t think it actually would.
The hunter sighed and decisively scooted closer to Mika so he could wrap an arm across the vampire’s chest. He then proceeded to pull the vampire down to lay on the sand with him, again, pressed together. Mika only made a surprised noise in reply to being quickly pulled down.
Yu stayed on his side with his arm slung over Mika’s chest as he stared at him intently. “I’m done joking around.” He spoke in a neutral tone, his green eyes staring hard at the blond he held ‘captive’.
It took Mikaela a few long seconds of just staring confusedly at Yu before he managed to form a proper response. "Huh?" He smiled almost shyly. "Sorry, that's not what I meant. I didn't mean to bring the mood down," he quietly laughed, his face slowly becoming of similar hue to his eyes. "You don't have to stop joking around."
Yu’s cheeks heated up as he let out an exaggerated pout before closing his eyes in a disdainful manner. “Nah. The mood’s already changed. It’s not worth trying to go back.” He reopened them and stared intently into Mika’s. “Besides, I don’t want to. I’m perfectly okay with what we have. This morning is perfect.”
"It... is?" Mikaela wondered, sounding truly surprised. "Even though I... made it depressing a few times?" He added with another weak laugh, absentmindedly tucking his head closer towards Yu's.
“I wouldn’t say it was if it wasn’t true!” Yu pointed out as a matter of fact. “Come on, you know I don’t sugarcoat anything. I say it how it is.” He closed the rest of the distance between their heads himself so their foreheads touched. “Spending the morning with you is perfect for me.” His face was burning but he ignored it, eyes locked with Mika’s red ones.
Mika's smile turned more genuine, and he closed his eyes with a look of content. "...I'm glad you feel that way too, Yu-chan," he whispered, shifting in the sand to be closer to the vampire hunter. "Every morning's better... now that you're here."
Yu smiled softly at Mika’s words. “Same here,” he responded quietly. He lifted his other hand to lightly stroke the back of Mika’s head. His fingers combed through the other’s blond locks with gentleness he’d give no other vampire but his.
Mika quietly sighed, his smile remaining with Yu's comforting touch. He brought his arms up, carefully, to wrap around the other in return. "...I missed you, Yu-chan." He let the rushing of the waves hold the silence for a few seconds longer. "I missed you a lot."
Yu chuckled. “Don’t even get me started on how much I missed you, Mika.” He cupped the back of Mika’s head as he stared affectionately at the other’s face which was so close to his own. “Thinking your entire family is dead and living off revenge for them for four years? It’s a completely different life from what I have now.” His smile grew. “I’m glad you’re alive. I can’t even describe how happy it makes me to have you with me, again.”
Mika slowly opened his eyes, to meet Yu's green ones once more. "You're the reason I fought so hard," he began. "I wanted to see you again... to protect you, to save you... I wanted to do anything to see you again." His eyes, despite how alarming and evil they would look to others, displayed unyielding affection towards Yu. "And now... I'm happy. With you."
“How did you even know I was alive?” Yu asked, his expression nothing but soft for Mika. “We had no idea there were any other people out here. And we always thought the sickness would get us after a couple years once we left. So, how?”
"...I didn't, at first," Mika answered with a more solemn smile. "I just hoped that you were. I had to believe that you were. But then Ferid told me that you were alive, that the humans were using you for their experiments..." He shut his eyes. "That's when I knew I had to find you and rescue you."
Yu’s smile fell back to a straight line but his expression was still so very soft as he gazed at Mika. “Well, you don’t have to worry about rescuing me anymore,” he said gently. He brought his hand to gently stroke along the blond hairs that framed Mikaela’s cheek. “We’re together now, and we won’t let anything anyone get between us ever again.”
"Yeah. We won't be separated again." Mika agreed, opening his eyes to give another soft look to Yu. "I'll make sure of it."
Yu cupped Mika’s cheek. It lingered there for a few more seconds before slowly tracing down to rest on the nape of Mika’s neck.
“As will I.”