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The sun was long gone but the heat of the day lingered in the air, he could easily tell by the light clothes people are wearing around him. Parents taking a walk with their kids, young couples enjoying the night sky, and a few people wandering aimlessly under the bright moon. All of them are unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows that the dark night brings.
He doesn’t blame them of course, it’s a Saturday night and they are just enjoying every moment they have before returning to their weekly routine, life is fast and fleeting after all. Well, except for him.
Tetsurou is stuck in a loop, days and nights go by and he remains the same, time has no meaning for him anymore. Hours, days, months… all measurements of time feel the same to him, and as normal humans treasure the moments occurring between those hours, days, and months until they die, Tetsurou lives through them, cold and alone.
His time is infinite, it stretches and stretches before him, extending his decades to centuries so a day means absolutely nothing to him, not if your life has been extended to eternity. Some would be jealous, he knows it, humans born and die every minute, they drop so easily and always long for more time, but his faith is nothing but a curse.
It was centuries ago when he was turned into a vampire, he can barely remember the details of how his life was before that night but the memory of the incident lives so fresh in his head. The night was as peaceful as today, a little bit quieter perhaps, he knew he should have been at home already, but he had lost track of time at one of his friend’s house. The streets were completely bare but it was normal back then, no one dared to leave their homes at night, everyone are scared of the whispers of the night creatures, but he was dumb enough to ignore all the tales about them.
They said they would drain all your blood before killing you, watching you die slowly with their bloody red eyes, some of them had big black wings and they were always ready to snatch you from life, others said they were just the wolves playing with their prey. The whole village was terrorized but for him, this was just the work of a sick psychopath.
“It has to be a monster, a human is not capable of doing such a thing.” He had heard his father a couple of days ago talking about the bodies he had examined and Tetsurou remembered thinking that humans can be monsters as well.
His shoes echoed loudly as he walks down in the silent street, the pacing of his feet becoming more and more agitated as the thought of a deadly creature waiting for him fill his mind. His legs started to work faster to get home quickly as soon as possible but then suddenly, they came to an abrupt stop. He shuddered at the strange noise he heard behind him, his brain tells him to keep moving but he just stay there, frozen. Tetsurou waits for a couple of seconds just to make sure that the sound was a trick of his frightened mind, he gets to sigh in relief when no one approaches him, so he continues to walk down the dark alley.
He doesn’t have time to call himself stupid for being scared when he hears footsteps right behind him. Tetsurou is no coward, he isn’t going to run, he will fight it. He turns around only to find nothing there, glancing over his shoulder, he notices a dark and tall figure approaching him, and only a second later he is being slammed against a concrete wall, his face is pressed against it and he could feel a liquid pouring down his face, he notices that it is his own blood when the salty and metallic taste reaches his lips.
A hand grabs him by the arm and the grip tightens until he cries, Tetsurou tries to kick it but he can barely move, he can’t even scratch it, he is too weak compared to this monster. His hazel eyes search violently for a way to escape but he sees none, the tears don’t let him see anything.
His mother must be so worried, maybe a little angry too, he could hear her scolding him for being late already, but the sigh she let out from her lips are from pure relief. He needs to come back home for her, for his father, for his sister.
There was not a single soul to scream for help.
Tetsurou freezes when he sees the monster's face for the first time, if it wasn’t for the way the beast is growling he could have mistaken it for a human, maybe he was one before. He is way bigger than him, with broad shoulders and big arms, he has dark olive hair, his skin is pale as snow and his sharp fangs are showing. His red eyes glint with hunger but he can see a glimpse of regret in them.
Cold fingers jerk him closer until he can hear his shaky voice right beside his ear. “Sorry…” Hard knuckles run down the curve of his neck, “it will be over soon.”
Something sharp pricks against his neck, it sinks into his skin deeper and deeper, Tetsurou’s scream of pain gets stuck in his throat. His limbs go stiff as he feels his own blood being drained from his body in a matter of seconds. He fights with all his strength to stay awake, to stay alive. A tingling sensation runs down from his spine to his entire body and from that moment on he only remembers the scent of blood and gunpowder.
He hears some people screaming, shots are being fired, rains start to pour and he just lays on the damp floor. His final thoughts included the soft smile of his mother, the wise words of his father, the way his sister gently ruffles his hair every time he gets home, and then everything went black.
His heart stopped completely and it never beat again.
He comes back to his new life with a breathy gasp as if it was the first time he breathed air as if he was drowning for hours as if he was waking up from a long nightmare. Death doesn’t look peaceful on him, every muscle on his entire body feels tense and rigid, there are shadows under his now scarlet red eyes, his skin looks almost greyish, he is now a walking corpse.
His face twitches in distate when his father gives him a small bag of blood, working at the hospital has its perks after all. And Tetsurou tries, he really tries to fight against himself to not consume any of the blood, his lips are trembling due to the exquisite smell, and he could feel his fangs showing but he still tries not to drink it even if he hasn’t been fed in a while. He always ends up losing the battle against his new instincts.
His life changed completely, he was a vampire now, a monster , but his family and friends stuck with him for as long as they could.
Kuroo Tetsurou got used to the smell of death, of his mother, father, sister and friends included.
He would do anything in his power to not be here, it is not fair for him to stay. If only he hadn’t been turned into a vampire, he would be able to lay underground as any normal human would. The death of his loved ones remained heavy on his chest, leaving an open scar in him, a scar that will be there for eternity since he was now cursed with immortality.
Every person he ended up knowing, they all become history eventually, all living beneath the earth and the only thing Tetsurou can do is just to move forward over the dust. His face and body haven’t changed much but his soul carries the sad and heavy weight of every bringing year.
He only did what he does best… stay in the shadows.
Loneliness became his best companion. He felt almost numb doing his daily routine, he had his saving but he would work only to make time goes faster so he would sleep all day and go to work at night. The only times he felt alive was when he was drinking blood but he still tried not to do it often, he wasn’t starving himself either, he had done that a couple of times some years ago and the result of that was a massacre, he is not able to control himself when he is hungry.
Besides, working at a bar was the perfect place to look for food since drunk humans were an easy target, the taste wasn’t as good but Tetsurou likes to lie to himself and think that they didn’t suffer that much while intoxicated with alcohol.
Drinking blood was the only thing that would bring him joy, well that was until he met him.
“Death has finally come for me?”
That was the first thought when he saw him for the first time. Maybe he drank enough intoxicated blood to make him dizzy, or maybe time has caught up with him after so long since he is looking at an angel. The thought was fleeting because he is certain that if he ever does die, an angel wouldn't be the one waiting for him.
A petite young man was being introduced as the new bartender and Tetsurou couldn’t take his eyes off the human, he truly has the most strikingly beautiful eyes he has ever seen. His
blonde hair with dark roots were tied in a loose ponytail, some strands falling into his forehead.
“Kozume Kenma,” a soft voice spoke, his delicate features forming a shy smile.
Tetsurou has to hold his own chest with the slight hope that perhaps his heart has been revived at that moment.
Work became his favorite part of the day only for the opportunity to get to see Kenma there. He would soon notice that small talk wasn’t really Kenma’s thing, he would focus on work only, ignoring the attempts of drunk people trying to make him listen to their stories. But soon their relationship started growing into something more than just coworkers, both had melted their walls and gotten comfortable enough to consider each other as friends, yet a selfish part of him wanted something more.
He would admire him from far away, his eyes roaming through every person until they would settle on Kenma’s sharp eyes with a silent plea for Kenma to look for him as well. Tetsurou laughs to himself all the time with the boring expression on Kenma’s face when he has to serve a new drink, he would come to the rescue right away when that expression becomes annoyed due to a drunk client, he would notice the way Kenma bites his lips nervously and he immediately knew that Kenma needed help. Tetsurou gets rewarded with a graceful smile every time and he longed to touch those reddened lips, to kiss them, to bite them, to wipe with his tongue the small drop of blood that Kenma made with his own teeth.
His thoughts would often shift from seeing Kenma as a lover to a prey and that would scare him enough to consider running off the town and denying himself the opportunity of any kind of relationship with him. But just the slightest of touches from Kenma would make him want to stay, the way his warm fingertips would innocently touch his cold hand reminded him of something that he lost so many years ago.
Tonight’s shift passed relatively quickly, it wasn’t that busy despite being the weekend, leaving the bar with a comfortable atmosphere between Kenma and him. The quiet sound of a phone vibrating alerts him and he pulls away his gaze from the empty whiskey bottles to the origin of the sound.
The shadows beneath Kenma’s eyes light up by his phone screen light and a smile forms immediately on his lips. Tetsurou doesn’t look away when those clear honey orbs look through him, and Kenma’s smile widens, giving Tetsurou the same stupid intoxicating feeling every time he directs a smile at him.
“Who is making you smile like that this early in the morning?” He asks curiously, hiding every hint of jealousy in his voice.
“My delivery guy,” he says as he puts his phone back in his pocket. “Just received a text that my order is arriving today. Remember that game I told you about?”
“Ahh yeah, the zombie one?” Kenma nods and Tetsurou just knows that he won’t be sleeping today or the next two days, he is a self-declared nocturnal creature, he would even dare to say that Kenma sleeps less than him. “Don’t you dare to come back tonight without resting a little.”
“Of course,” Kenma says as he sips from his fourth cup of coffee, drifting his eyes away.
Tetsurou watches as the bitter liquid goes down his throat, his Adam’s apple gulping as he empties all the cold coffee he has left. He can’t really help himself to lick his lips and yes, maybe staring at Kenma’s throat is something he does multiple times per day, but today his eyes are hiding something else besides desire.
“Wow, it hurts me how easily you can lie to me.”
Kenma snorts softly, some of his hair falls into his forehead and he gently pulls it behind his ear and Tetsurou just keeps staring at him boldly. He often gets intoxicated just by looking at him but tonight is just… different. He feels like he’s in a trance, looking at Kenma mesmerized by every sudden movement he makes, his nostrils getting filled with his essence mixed with the dark coffee he is drinking, the innocent feeling expands throughout his body until it starts burning. He has to hold his own chest trying to ease the sensation and that's when he notices, he is hungry.
He is drooling not so discreetly as he curses at himself for how stupid and reckless he has been. When was the last he ate? Two days? Maybe three? He refuses to lose control with Kenma close, not with him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, just a bit tired,” he answers maybe a little too fast. “Just wanna go home.”
There were not too many things left to do, but Kenma works quickly so they can close earlier tonight. “Are we still walking together?”
Both live close to the bar and it was part of their routine to walk home together, Tetsurou knows better than anyone how dangerous the night could be and he wasn’t going to let Kenma walk alone that dark at night, especially because he gets easily distracted with his phone most of the time.
“Of course, we always do.”
The night is still warm, the sky is clear and the moon is bright and full bathing them with all his bright glory, illuminating their path home. The streets are deserted and so disturbingly quiet, it’s almost a cruel memory, a cruel warning. Something is wrong, Tetsurou wasn’t able to see all the signs before but now he does, this is the prime time for vampires to come out of the shadows looking for food.
Kenma is unaware, just humming a cheesy pop song that was playing all night on repeat, he claims to hate it but he’s always humming it. It’s truly endearing.
“You should participate for Karaoke night next Friday.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Tetsurou chuckles. “You could easily win, we chose the winners after all.”
“Stop it, I hate that fucking song.”
A sudden cold breeze swaying leaves on its way makes him almost jump on his spot, he turns around only the stare at the empty road behind them. There’s nothing there but he still has the feeling that someone is watching every step. Kenma’s humming gets distant and he runs back to him, he walks a couple of steps behind him just to be extra careful and look after his friend. Another strong breeze reaches him filling the air with a familiar aroma around him, Kenma’s natural scent is getting stronger, Tetsurou takes a deep breath inhaling it, and that prickling sensation returns.
He is so hungry and Kenma smells so delicious.
He fucked up. He waited too long without drinking blood, he was just trying not to be so dependent on it, he just wanted to be a better man. If he just waits for a couple of minutes until Kenma is safe at home he could go hunting, he can’t even feel bad for the person he will kill, he just needs to get away from Kenmas as soon as possible.
He watches as Kenma walks, his soft footsteps barely making a sound, his hands are in his pockets probably because the night is getting colder, the blonde really has no idea of what he is.
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Kenma looks over his shoulder and his eyes look so bright, so full of life. He is worried, maybe because he has been acting strange the whole night but still the thought that Kenma worries about him makes him flustered.
“Yes, I just need to lay down.”
“You wanna come in?” The rattling of his keys opening the door echoes in his head. The invitation is so tempting but is too dangerous. “I can call you a cab from here if you want.”
“No,” he answers too fast. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
He always walks him to his doorstep and this is the first time he invites him in. He can’t control himself around him anymore, especially not in his house. Maybe he could go to find a victim fast enough to come back, maybe one of his neighbors.
“Don’t be dumb, just come in.”
His feet follow him without really thinking as he gets inside, his eyes roam around the room curiously until they land on the human.
“Eh, sorry for the mess.” Kenma runs to take some glasses from the table, there are clothes on the floor he is kicking under the couch but Tetsurou keeps his eyes on the giant pile of video games he has in front of his tv. “You want some water?”
He can only nod as he watches him walk around the kitchen, he could easily hear his loud heart beating through the small house, it’s getting so fast and Tetsurou might get worried if it weren’t for how beautiful it sounds. There are a couple of pictures from when he was a kid, his parents are behind them smiling and Kenma has the softest smile he had ever seen. The guilt comes instantly, what is he doing here? He can barely control himself right now.
His body shifted on its own, getting as far as Kenma as he could. His intoxicating smell is everywhere, taunting him. He is starving and the thought of warm blood being pumped from Kenma’s veins invades his mind. His throat is on fire, he could feel his fangs throbbing in his mouth. He is so fucked.
Tetsurou feels Kenma's sweet honey gaze on him but he refuses to look at him. “Kuro, I think you need to go to a hospital, you look so pale.”
“I just need to… Can I sit down?” He collapses into the floor, both of his hands are shaking and his voice is hoarse from wanting, he is so thirsty and so weak.
“Kuro!” He feels Kenma’s hand against his forehead, the warmth of his touch is so caring and gentle unlike his.
“No! Stay back,” he tries to sound firm but only a whisper comes out of him. “Just- please stay away.”
He doesn't listen of course, Kenma’s fingertips caress his cold skin, his thumb goes down from his cheek to the corner of his mouth. A tiny gasp leaves Kenma’s lips as his eyes brightened with understanding.
“You are one of them,” he doesn’t say it in an accusatory tone it’s more of a realization as if everything is making sense now.
There’s no point in hiding it anymore, his fangs are out and craving and his eyes must be scarlet red with need.
“Are you scared?” He should be.
Kenma shakes his head. “What can I do to help you?”
“You can’t help me.”
“Oh… Are you hungry? Is that it?” He asks, tilting his head to the side. “You can drink from me if you want to.”
What… He should be running by now. Why is he still here? Why is he offering his blood? Maybe the realization that he is a killer, that he is a monster hasn’t come yet. But Kenmas has never flinched away from his cold touch.
Tetsurou grasps Kenma’s hand away from his face. “I could kill you. That’s what I do.”
"You could never hurt me. I trust you."
“You shouldn’t.”
“Look at you, you are dying.”
He can’t help but use the strength he has left to move the muscles of his mouth, his lips curving in a sly smile. “I’m already dead.”
“You are so dumb. You have to eat.”
“I can’t feed off from you, you make me lose control.”
Kenma’s concerned expression melts into a flustered one, he looks away trying to hide the blush rising up his cheeks. “Look at you, you need it. I won’t let you starve anymore.”
It sounds like a promise, but he is afraid to ask him. “I just wanted to be a better man for you.”
“Well, you won’t if you are dead. So do it, drink from me.” Kenma looks nervous but determined as he speaks, he doesn’t blame him of course, a night creature is about to drink his blood and potentially drain him. Maybe something is wrong with him as well after all.
Tetsurou’s hands cup his angelic face, trapping his overheating cheeks against his cold palms. He looks so perfect from this close and he lets himself enjoy the view for a few seconds before launching forward.
He gives Kenma the softest and most gentle press on the lips he could offer.
Tetsurou pulls away only moving a fraction of a breath, the human is looking at him with wide eyes but soon his features melt into pure affection, his eyes flutter close before he leans closer to connect their lips again. Time has stopped for so long but with just a simple kiss he can feel as he lives once again.
Their foreheads are pressed together as both wait for what’s next. “Are you sure?” He asks in a small whisper.
“I am.”
He gets to breathe in Kenma’s exquisite scent right on the side of his delicate neck, his lips touching his skin lightly, kissing the spot before biting it. He hears Kenma gaps in surprise or probably in pain, he tries to calm him by running his fingers through his insanely silky hair and he can feel him immediately relaxing on his arms.
He drinks slowly, using all of his inner power to be careful with the warm liquid that is going down his throat, Kenma’s blood is quenching his thirst so deliciously as he consumes more and more. Every gulp of blood he draws from him wakes his body, filling it with the strength he had lost. He takes the enough tho, even if he is craving it more than ever now but he refuses to hurt Kenma further.
Kenma’s gasp is louder when his fangs let go from his neck, there’s a drop of blood falling from the bite mark he left and he resists the impulse to lick it, that would be too intimate, so he wipes it out with his fingers instead but Kenma’s blood is too precious to go to waste.
“How are you feeling?” He asks before sucking the blood directly from his finger.
“Ah- weird. How are you feeling?”
“Much better to be honest.” He really is feeling better, he is full of energy now, well maybe he still needs more blood, but he will find a solution for that later. “Let’s clean up your wound.”
He stands and offers his hand for Kenma to take and when the boy does he caresses it, hoping that he will keep holding his hand.
“Thank you, Kenma. You saved me.”
Kenma quickly shakes his head in order to hide his blushing face. “It was nothing, you would have done the same for me anyways.”
The sun has risen, it’s peeking through the dark curtains that are getting more and more illuminated and for the first time in ages he can swear he is feeling the warmth the sun is giving.
“Can I ask you for another favor?”
“Sure.”
“Can I stay here until it gets dark?”
Kenma tilts his head, his curious mind is probably full of questions right now and he appreciates the fact that he is giving him space and time to answer them. The smile he gives him before answering is so assuring, so loving.
“You can stay here as long as you want.”