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English
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Published:
2022-06-18
Completed:
2022-07-15
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3,883
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5/5
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Castel château

Summary:

Alchemist is tired of having to provide all of the blood vampire drinks, so she kicks him out of the house for him to learn how to get food himself.
Turns out the poor man will just end up falling in love with his target

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

"Vampire, I swear to god, if you don't start hunting by yourself I'm going to punch you into the sun."

The man sighed as he lazily changed position on his couch to take a better look at his sister. The woman had a small trail of blood from her mouth to her chin, her fangs out and a bunch of blood containers in her hands. He stopped his saliva from drooling out of his mouth and shook his head

"Whyyyy ... You know I'm always too tired to go out. I can't help it."

"There's a difference between you being tired and you not doing anything to help. Getting blood is time-consuming, y'know ? I have my research to do and I can't always spend my time trying to convince random people to give us blood with whatever excuse I can find for the both of us."

"... I pay my part of the rent. Don't get mad at me."

"That doesn't matter !! As much as I'd love to have access to a blood bank, I don't, and I'm gonna need your help if you want to eat. You literally get money to do nothing all day, you could try to put in some efforts !!"

"As if I had a choice."

"C'mon, get out and move your butt for once. If you want to eat this week, find yourself your own prey. This blood is MINE."

"B-but where can I even go ?!"

"I don't know ... Go find a bar or something. Just hide your face, flirt with someone, block them in a dark alley and bite them."

Before the man could even respond, he felt his sister lifting him up, taking him to the front door and throwing him out, just like that. The man had barely enough time to transform himself into a bad before he could hit the floor, and when he turned back around, the door was already shut behind him.

He was ... A little annoyed. But he understood where his beloved sister came from. Trying to find blood to eat was no easy task, and not getting caught was even harder. She had the excuse of being a well known scientist and could pretend to some people that blood was important in her research to pay them for some pockets without it being suspicious. But him ?? He didn't have anything. He wasn't good with social relationships, he didn't have any real friends, he was bad with conversations and was definitely not strong enough to chase people around to get a meal. He would probably collapse before he could get his fangs on someone's neck

"A bar, a bar ... Alchemist's nice and all, but how do I even socialize at this place ? It's all so ... Exhausting ..."

He wasn't even sure of where he could find a bar, if he had to be honest. He'd rarely gotten out in town to do things like drinking. He'd rather do it from home. The bottles were cheaper and no one would see him rolling down on the floor. Vampire usually drank to help with his lack of blood income ... Which meant he drank a LOT.

After walking for a while, he ended up finding a little place that didn't look exactly bad. He didn't want to go there but ... He had to act as if he at least tried to get some blood or else he knew Alchemist would get angry. He walked in, looked around only to see a bunch of people that were already in friend groups and sighed. Yup. There was no way he could get close to anyone tonight. He looked at the alcohol that was put on display everywhere and softly smiled. Well, at least he could try something he'd never tasted before. That might do the trick to help him feel a little better. He jumped on a chair near the counter, smiled at the barman and slammed a handful of coins ok the wood.

"I'd like to get something surprising. A drink that not many people know about."

The bartender nodded, quickly got out a bottle from under the counter, shoot it up, threw it in a glass with a couple of ice cubes and added some weird crushed berries to the mix. Vampire lifted an eyebrow, took a sip out of the liquid and gasped. That thing was surprisingly good and was indeed something that he'd never tasted before.

"WOW... What's that ?"

"Kir. It's a white wine, black currant cream and I added a little bit of red currant for the taste. I'm guessing you're enjoying it ?"

"Definitely ! God, and here I thought I'd wasted my night ... You have quite the eye for alcohol, sir ..?"

"Sparkling. You can call me sparkling. And well, it's kind of my work. If you enjoyed this first drink, I can gladly share you some of my other rare bottles. I rarely get the occasion to show others what I like."

"Oh, gladly. I'd love to see that."

Vampire smiled as he looked at the man. Maybe he hadn't wasted his night

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

As much as Vampire hated to go out and socialise, he had to admit it ... Going to Sparkling's pub was no chore anymore. He really, really enjoyed it. The first time was pretty much based on luck. He went there, got a few drinks and talked with someone that was pretty sweet and who knew how to keep a man captivated, and that was it. The second time, Alchemist almost dragged the man out of their house for him to keep pursuing this beginning of a relationship. She begged for him to try to get along with the man, get flirty and play around with him so that he could fall under his spell and become an easy target for possible ... "Blood transactions". And so, not thinking much about it, Vampire came back, asked for yet another drink, flirted a bit with the man and surprisingly... Got flirted with back. It was probably the most unexpected thing to happen in this situation, at least in Vampire's opinion. He always thought that bartenders were hit on way too often for them to even be interested in anyone anymore. And considering how good looking this man was ... Welp, it didn't feel like the little bat had much of a chance. But he did. And with that, a game began to form between the two.

They'd quickly became friends. Sparkling was clearly not as interested in the man's money anymore, and genuinely wanted to spend more time with him. And since Vampire didn't have much to do outside of laying around in his house all night ... Well, he just came more and more often. Every time, they would tell each other's stories, late enough for the sun to rise up and the two of them having to go to sleep. More than once Sparkling hesitated to invite Vampire over to his house so that he wouldn't have to walk too much. But despite all of the playful flirting the man had displayed, he was still a client. And despite how interested Sparkling was, he didn't want to look bad, both as a friend, and as a professional. So it just stayed like that. Two friends, playing with each other's feelings, not really knowing where this adventure might go but appreciating it anyways, and perhaps waiting just a little bit for something to happen.

 

As he was cleaning a few glasses to put on display, Sparkling heard a familiar flap of wings outside, smirked and watched the door open revealing a sweet little red figure that he knew oh too well.

"Good evening, Vampire. Can I get you anything ? As you can see, you're the first to come tonight."

"Hehe ... The same as always. Surprise me ! You're the best for that."

The bartender softly nodded, grabbed a bottle, a couple of ice cubes, two sugar packs, threw them in a shaker and added a large amount of water before closing everything and shaking it.

"Was the water really necessary ? You know I can handle hard things."

"Oh, dear Vampire ... Do you want to get an heart attack ?"

"I mean ... I get see you every night, I know how if feels to have my heart going wild."

Sparkling hid a chuckle and a bluff behind his arm before going back to shaking his secret drink. Sometimes, vampire wondered how these cheesy lines could even work on that man. He wasn't even that good at delivering them. He didn't have a specific tone off voice, he didn't try to make himself look good, he was just ... The little tired man that was always half asleep on the bar's counter. But here he was. Making Sparkling blush. It felt so good that sometimes, Vampire even forgot that he did all of that with a goal in mind. And when he thought about that ... His heart just ached a little. He wished he could have a boyfriend without the need to think that he might become his next meal.

"Here you go ! Tell me what you think."

Vampire took a sip out of the beautiful green liquid he'd been served, and immediately coughed. It wasn't a violent series of coughs like someone who might've chocked on their drink, just a little one out of surprise. The man took a deep breath, looked back at his glass and took a small sip this time, finally appreciating the drink's flavor.

"You were right. This is pretty strong. But it's good ! Wow ... I still feel all tingly..."

"Absinthe is so powerful it used to be forbidden by law. It's not known by many, but hey ... Since you ask for wild drinks, I'm always happy to share what I have in stock."

The barman winked and Vampire felt his heart pounding out of his chest. He didn't move, simply grinning in return.

"Well, when such a sweet man seems always so happy to share his little secret recipes, I can't help but come back. A smile like this ... Most people don't get to see it everyday. But I do."

Sparkling hid a blush as he grabbed another glass to clean to distract himself. Vampire nervously clenched his fist.

This was getting a little too real for his taste.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Vampire was walking up to his favorite place once again. For two months straight, he'd come to sparkling's bar every night it was open. He ended up falling asleep there more than once because of his natural low energy but ... He couldn't help but go back anyways. Not a single time Sparking had judged him for fainting because he took just a few steps more than his body allowed him to. He was ashamed of his behavior, but the barman didn't mind. If anything, he looked happy to be able to take care of Vampire. That certainly was a change compared to how his sister was treating him. One that he did appreciate.

There was no hiding it now, Vampire was in love. He wasn't exactly sure if he hated it or not. The fact was, he enjoyed seeing Sparkling every night. It gave him something to look forward to every day. Sparkling was pretty much a perfect man. There was nothing vampire could've wished to change about him. But then, with all of that in mind ... He felt even more guilty about the fact that this man was supposed to be his prey. He'd not given up on that, not after Alchemist had threatened him to cut his blood supplies if he didn't provide enough efforts. Blood was vital to him. He simply couldn't just overlook the fact that he needed to eat. Normal foods and drinks were never enough for him, and he wouldn't allow himself to starve to death. So he had to get Sparkling's blood. Somehow.

That night, Vampire felt a little odd. He hadn't managed to get blood for two entire weeks, and he felt as if he was about to fall on the ground out of weakness. But the thing was ... He still wanted to see sparkling. He didn't really care about what might happen to him if he were to pass out due to his hunger. He was ... Kind of desperate to get comfort. Perhaps over his own well being. He could've easily attacked someone in the street, bit them and make himself feel better but he knew full well that his chances of failing would be high, and that looking at sparkling in the eyes after doing that would be too difficult. He'd probably feel like a monster.

Vampire had expected a lot of things for that night. The routine, he barley even noticed it. But it was still something he thought would happen, like every other night. He did expect for it to be rather dark outside at this hour. He did expect a few lights to be lit up to see the path outside. He did not, however, expect a massive ball of light bursting through the night sky. It took a second for vampire to even understand that something so big just even happened. But after that, a small ball of fire landed next to his feet to explode. And on a nearby plan. And on a house's roof. And before he knew it, hundreds of little explosive particles spread around the whole kingdom. And finally, the sirens's call began to rise through the night.

"EMERGENCY. A DRAGON IS ATTACKING THE CITY. TAKE COVER IN BUILDINGS, AND CALL FIREFIGHTERS IF YOU SEE FIRE SPREADING IN YOUR HIDEOUT. STAY CALM UNTIL THE END OF THE ATTACK."

Strangely enough ... Vampire wasn't exactly scared about this attack. It annoyed him more than anything else. He may have been born with a low amount of energy, vampires needed much more power to be killed. It simply annoyed him because he might not be able to spend his night with his favorite bartender.

The man looked behind him and sighed. The way back to his home was a little too long for his taste. The one place he knew he could take cover in would be the bar. Vampire was ... Not exactly fond of the idea of knocking at people's door to ask for help. Once again, talking with strangers wasn't his forte. So he simply began to walk a little faster towards his destination. Seeing the streets being covered in little flames everywhere he looked was a rather ... Strange situation. But Vampire wasn't exactly impressed by it

However, the one thing that most definitely hit him was the body of the bartender laying down in the middle of the street, covered in bruises and flames.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

While Vampire was usually someone rather slow, it didn't take him very long to realize what was going on. Sparkling had been trying to reach up the bar to take cover, and had been caught up in an explosion. The red-haired man felt a shivered crawl up his spine as he sprinted towards the unconscious body. He took Sparkling by the arms and began to painfully drag him inside his shop before locking the door behind him and immediately falling down on the floor, panting. All of this had made Vampire forget how weak he could be, and at this moment, he had used way too much energy in such a short time. The bat laid down on the floor next to his friend, glancing at the man's chest to check if he was still breathing. It was the case, and overall, Sparkling didn't seem to have any major injury. However, one thought took a little while to sprout in Vampire's mind despite it's importance. Right now, Sparkling was covered in small amounts of blood dripping from all of the cuts he'd received after the explosion. It wasn't exactly flowing from his body, but ... It was enough to make Vampire actually drool. He could feel a small amount of saliva dripping from his mouth as he kept his mouth wide open at the view of such meal.

Vampire, despite his appearant simplicity and stupidity, was someone sane and did not act impulsively, despite his bestial origins making his brain act wildly sometimes. Unlike his sister, he'd never jumped on someone's neck to eat, stole from a blood bank or anything similar. He was a little too scared to be caught for such thing. But right now, as he panted and waited for his body to regain forces, his eyes would not leave Sparkling's beautiful body, covered in small red drops that he desired so much. Vampire was HUNGRY. And right now ... There wasn't much that could happen, wasn't it ? No one to see him, Sparkling seemed to be pretty out of it and ... He probably wouldn't notice if a little more of his blood was missing.

This was bad. Really bad. Vampire felt as if he was about to destroy the entire relationship he'd forged with Sparkling in the last few months just for a couple drops of fresh blood. But the temptation was too much, and the poor man was hungry. As soon as his arms allowed him to do so, Vampire dragged himself over to Sparkling's body and began to hungrily lick his open neck wounds, fighting against the urge of biting him to make the blood flow more intense. With every drop, vampire could feel his forces get back to his body, but the beast was way too focused on getting more of the precious liquid to truly enjoy his newly found life force. More, more ... Ah, this truly was addictive.

Maybe it was just a placebo effect, some sort of familiar smell or just a simple desire to stay closer to the man he loved but ... Vampire was just intensely hypnotized by the fact that he was so close to Sparkling, so much that it felt that the little blood he got from the man's wounds was more than enough to satisfy his hunger. The reason why he wanted more ? Well, it was rather simple to understand. The same reason why you'd eat a handful of candies after a good dinner. It was just an intense craving for more than what he actually needed.

It was bad, so bad that Vampire bit more than he could chew.
And the poor man only noticed that his friend was awake when their eyes met, and the realization of what he'd done kicked in.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

This was probably the worst situation Vampire had ever been in. More than once, he'd been scared for his life because of his condition. It wasn't rare for him to have to explain what was a vampire and how it affected him, which most often resulted in the man getting attacked by fearful and angry people. That was one of the reasons why barely attacked anyone. Trying to find justifications whenever he was caught was nearly impossible, and the gut wrenching fear that resulted of these moments of weakness usually ended in self hatred and nights without sleep. But this ? This was the first time he had to explain himself to his victim. And this was the first time the victim was a friend as well. It hurt. Vampire knew he'd most likely destroyed his relationship with Sparkling. He was supposed to be prepared for it but ... He still failed. And despite everything, the man tried to justify himself. Like he always did.

"I'm really sorry ... It's complex to explain ... I didn't mean to- well, I did but ... I promise I'm not the one who harmed you and- !"

"Don't worry. I remember the explosion. You saved me, right ? I can still smell the smoke outside. I'm guessing the attack isn't fully over yet."

"Y-yes."

The bat began to frantically look around, trying to find his words. This was getting, really, really awkward and he had no idea of what he could say.

"So, about the blood."

"I don't think you have to explain yourself. I know what a Vampire is, a presentation won't be necessary. I'm not an idiot."

"Y-YOU KNEW ?!"

"Well ... You do call yourself Vampire, don't you ? How obvious is that ?"

"... Everyone I've ever met thought it was a nickname."

"So did I. Until I found you licking my blood. Also, it's not the best to cover your tracks."

"... F-Fair."

Vampired looked at the floor with a sigh until the man he was way laying on grabbed his face with a smirk.

"My blood isn't free though. I would gladly lend some to you in the future, if you deem it necessary. However ... Such thing would come with a price."

"I don't think I can argue with that ... I'll accept anything, Sparkling. Just give me your price. I don't want to loose you as a friend, and I just ... I want to show you how sorry I am."

Sparkling didn't answer. He simply brought his lips against Vampire's for a kiss before letting go of his face with a satisfied smirk.

"I believe that should be it. A fair price for a couple drops of blood. If you enjoy it, we may even make it a habit."

The bartender got back on his feet with a little bit of difficulty, but seemed overall fine. He walked over to his counter and smiled before winking at the poor little man he'd just played with.

"Can I offer you a drink, perhaps ? It's on the house."

Vampire shook his head as the blush on his cheeks began to show.

"...I was about to say that it might not be the right moment but you know what ? Yes. I think I need a drink."

Sparkling chuckled as he grabbed a bottle from behind the shelf, carefully masking the label with his palm. He poured a little shot of it before carefully sliding it to his new boyfriend.

"Consider it ... A gift to celebrate our new union."

Vampire raised an eyebrow before taking a sip of the beverage. The taste was intense. Somehow ... Close to the taste of blood ? It definitely didn't give him as much energy as the red liquid did, but he couldn't deny that it was pretty similar.

"What's that ?"

"Do you like it ? I was pretty sure you never tasted it before."

"You're right about that ... But you still didn't answer my question."

"It's snake blood alcohol."

Vampire cleared his throat with a blush as Sparkling began to laugh at him. Clearly, with a boyfriend like that ... Vampire was in for a ride. But at least, his secret would be safe.

 

 

"Hey, Alchemist... I have both good news and bad news."

"You've survived the dragon attack without being hit by a fireball, i guess that's already a good enough news for me. But go on. Tell me all about it."

"I found a source of blood that's going to provide me food on a regular basis."

"REALLY ?! Oh Vampire, that's not good, that's AMAZING !! How did you even manage to do that ? Did you finally ask your bartender out ?"

"How do you know- ... Well, technically, he's the one who asked me out. But yes. You're correct."

"Good, good ! And how about that bad news ?"

"... I think I'm an idiot."

"Well that's not very new, now is it."

The man silently nodded and awkwardly rubbed his neck.
He couldn't wait to see Sparkling again the next day.

Notes:

Updates on Fridays