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The morning when Tsukasa got back, Rui knew something was off. He didn’t go off on some long tangent about how something crazy happened like he did on occasion when he wasn’t feeling at his best. He just entered the apartment, grumbled a greeting to the alchemist who had been working on a new project on the kitchen floor, and trudged off to the bathroom. The sight Rui got of him was covered in dark, maroon blood. This wasn’t particularly surprising, he had gotten quite used to the pungent odor of rogue blood. Even so, his lack of enthusiasm was worrying.
Rui decided that he was going to talk to him whenever he got out of the shower. He put a pause on his project, putting the pieces into a box that would be safe, out of harm’s way. He pushed the box to the side of the kitchen and stood up, pulling the goggles off of his head. Living with Tsukasa had turned him into a night owl of sorts. He would spend all night working on new inventions while the vampire was out, and when Tsukasa would return, he would spend the morning with him, before the two slept the afternoon away. He figured it was a dangerous cycle, as a human never really having time to see the sunlight, but he was happy to just be with Tsukasa. He was the only light Rui needed.
After a bit of waiting around, Tsukasa finally stepped out of the bathroom. His long hair was still damp, and he had changed into one of Rui’s old t-shirts. The alchemist noticed that his eyes seemed darker than usual.
“Tsukasa-kun!” He dashed over to greet him, hoping that the shower had refreshed him. “How was your night?” Rui gave him a smile, stopping just a few paces in front of the vampire.
Tsukasa grunted in response, looking past him. “It was fine, nothing really to talk about.”
This was wholly unusual. Rui knew that he loved to talk. Something was definitely wrong.
“Hey, are you feeling alright?” he asked, turning his head and giving Tsukasa a once-over. He didn’t seem to have any obvious, life-threatening wounds.
“I said I’m fine. I just want to go to bed.” He was given such a curt response. Though his words were believable, the tone of his voice said otherwise. Not wanting to just stand there longer than he had to, Tsukasa pushed past Rui, headed toward the apartment bedroom.
A hand gripped onto his wrist stopped him.
He whipped back around, a wild look in his eyes, and his fangs bared. The image shocked Rui- never had Tsukasa snapped at him like that before. “Let. Go of me.” He felt the tendon in his wrist shift as he flexed his claws. Rui’s stomach churned, a nervous feeling welling up inside of him. Even so, he refused to release the hold on him.
“Tsukasa, let me help you. Talk to me.”
His scarlet eyes bore deep into Rui. The vampire swallowed thickly, a small bead of saliva escaping his lips. The crazy look he had turned to one of desperation, and his eyebrows furrowed.
Tsukasa let out a shaky breath. “Do you trust me?”
What kind of question was that? Rui’s face remained stern. “Of course I do,” he spoke in response. The grip on his wrist loosened.
“I need your blood. Please.” It sounded like he was begging. The pang of fear inside him turned into empathy. It was true, now that Rui thought about it, that he had never once seen the vampire drink blood. He never questioned him about it, knowing that vampires had their own way to source blood without harming people. But to hear Tsukasa sound so frantic really made him feel for him. There wasn’t much Rui could think of that he wouldn’t do for him.
He had always wondered what having his blood drank from the fangs of a vampire felt like.
Rui just nodded, noticing the slight look of relief in Tsukasa’s eyes. What would he have done if I said no..?
Tsukasa pulled his arm from the loose hold and took the alchemist’s hand instead, guiding him into the living room. Almost forcefully, he pushed him toward the couch, climbing on after him. Everything seemed to happen so fast that it overwhelmed Rui- one moment he was standing in front of the bathroom, and now he was shoved onto the couch, the vampire hovering over him, saliva dripping from his lips.
“Hey, hold on-” he grabbed onto Tsukasa’s shoulders, preventing him from diving straight into his neck. His face was flushed, golden eyes wide. “Not the neck. Not yet.” Rui looked away, embarrassed.
The pitiful whine he heard from the other was not something he expected. Tsukasa sat back, next to Rui on the couch, who glanced back at him. A defeated expression was plastered across his face, thick drool cascading down his chin, his breathing heavy.
Oh my god, it was worse than he thought.
As much as the unprecedented sight of Tsukasa sitting before him like that stirred his curiosity, he couldn’t just let him suffer and starve. Rui pulled the glove off his human hand and presented his arm to him.
“Here, my arm is fine.” He paused, feeling the need to explain. “My neck is just too.. Intimate right now. Not for the first time.” He scratched the back of his neck with his opposite hand, a light blush crossing his nose. Tsukasa didn’t argue. He wasted no time pulling Rui’s arm closer and hunching over.
A gasp escaped the alchemist’s mouth, the pain of Tsukasa’s fangs deep into his skin taking him by surprise. The sting was quickly eased as a numbing sensation traveled up his arm, focused around the bite. He grunted softly, the vampire now sucking at the wound.
Rui allowed himself to relax, slowing his breathing. There was an absence of pain now, which piqued the alchemist’s interest. It would continue to hurt if a human had bitten and sucked on the wound, however because Tsukasa was a vampire, it seemed he had a mechanism that quelled the pain. Perhaps it was a paralyzing agent all vampires contained, in order to immobilize their prey? Thinking of himself as Tsukasa’s prey made him shudder. He averted his eyes, his face flushing at the thought.
The pressure on his arm was released, and he took a deep breath. When the vampire slowly lifted his head from the spot he had latched to, Rui peered at his arm. Two punctures were left behind, tiny spots of blood bubbling up from under his skin. The area was wet from saliva.
Tsukasa’s eyes met his, their usual sunset orange a deep red. A small trail of blood trickled from his parted lips. Rui’s mind had gone foggy- why was he so trained on his lips? The hand that was formerly wrapped around Rui’s arm moved to sit on his knee, and Tsukasa leaned forward.
“Rui, can I kiss you?” he asked, eye contact unwavering. With the way Tsukasa was looking at him, eyebrows furrowed, mouth opened enough to reveal two pointed teeth, Rui felt like his question was more of a demand. He could barely give him a nod before the vampire closed the gap between them.
He felt a cold hand reach up to hold his flushed face. As Tsukasa’s lips pressed into his, he closed his eyes, submitting to his affection. The blond moved closer, swinging a leg over Rui’s legs, and shifting his body to straddle his lap. Rui gasped at the sudden adjustment, but Tsukasa just pushed deeper into the kiss. His hands found themselves a spot on his back, holding onto his thin shirt.
Rui was finding it exceptionally difficult to think. Between the movement against his lips and the newfound weight in his lap, he was afflicted with a warm feeling inside him, even warmer than the blush across his cheeks.
A wetness touched his lips, and Rui quickly gave in. He parted his lips, allowing Tsukasa’s tongue inside. He was immediately met with the metallic taste of blood. Only moments before, his vampire was eagerly drinking from his arm. There was something so personal about tasting his own blood from the mouth of someone else. Wait, his vampire? God, Rui was in deep now. A soft moan escaped his throat as Tsukasa pushed deeper into his mouth, his tongue pressing against his own. He felt hands tangled in his plum hair, tugging gently. The blond returned a hungry moan into Rui, clearly enjoying the work he was doing.
Rui’s breathing grew heavier as the kiss increased in passion. It felt so, so good, kissing Tsukasa like this. He held on tight to the other’s back, desperately not wanting to let go. The fog in his brain was only thickening, clouding his thoughts further. The touch of Tsukasa’s sharp fangs in his mouth drove him nearly mad. He wouldn’t mind being bitten by those teeth every day. Just the thought caused his already-flushed cheeks to darken. It was becoming hard to breathe.
Tsukasa pulled his mouth away, licking the saliva from his lips. The alchemist’s eyes fluttered open, noting the defined rising and falling of the vampire’s chest. Tsukasa was so pretty. It was unusual for him to be so direct. Not that Rui didn’t enjoy him so unwaveringly taking charge. He closed his eyes, unable to keep them open, and leaned into the back of the couch. He felt as if his consciousness was going to easily slip away, and his breathing was ragged.
“Rui..?” he heard a familiar voice. He hummed in response, turning his head to the side, exposing the side of his neck. “Rui!” he jolted awake, Tsukasa’s hands now on his shoulders, shaking him. His wide eyes met the vampire’s, formerly red returned to their usual orange.
The unmistakable feeling of dizziness overtook Rui. He closed his eyes once again, letting out a groan. “Shit,” Tsukasa cursed under his breath, just loud enough for Rui to register. The weight that had once sat upon him had left. The sound of footsteps departed, and returned as quickly as they had gone. He felt the couch shift.
“Here, drink.” Despite his tiredness, Rui opened his eyes. Tsukasa, now sat next to him on the couch, was holding an opened bottle of water to his lips. He weakly nodded his head, and the bottle was lifted upward, allowing the water to glide into his mouth. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he had become. The cool water felt so nice going down his throat. After a few moments, Tsukasa pulled the bottle away from him and screwed the cap back on. Rui watched as he put it down on the ground in front of the couch, and when he leaned back up, he noticed that the vampire had something else in his hands. He fiddled with it, the familiar sound of tearing plastic met Rui’s ears.
Now, Tsukasa held a breakfast bar in front of his mouth. “Eat this.”
Sense was beginning to return to Rui. His mind was certainly still muddled, but the warm feeling he had was going away. “What? Are you my mother or something?” he finally spoke. Tsukasa, however, was not taking this as an answer, so he shoved one end of the bar into Rui’s mouth before he had a chance to close it. He let out a muffled grunt, lifting his hand to take the other end of the breakfast bar, and took a bite.
As he chewed, Tsukasa explained. “I.. I haven’t taken blood directly from the source in a while,” he stated, a nervous edge to his voice. “I forgot that it wasn’t a good idea for you to uhm.. Not eat anything before. And I was really hungry.” He had his gaze trained on something past Rui, refusing to make direct eye contact. “I’m really sorry, I got carried away.” The pointed tips of his ears were becoming flushed. He stood up once again, swiftly making a trip to the bathroom.
Although the dizziness began to subside, Rui still felt tired. The cloudiness in his mind was dissipating. It was somehow reassuring that the way he felt was due to blood loss, rather than being down so astronomically bad for the vampire like he initially thought. He silently finished his bar and wadded up the wrapper, throwing it onto the floor. That was a problem for future Rui to deal with.
Once Tsukasa returned, he held a small, plastic container. He opened it, revealing the contents inside to be first-aid supplies. He knelt on the ground, in front of the couch, and gently took Rui’s arm. The blood had stopped flowing for some time now, and it had begun to dry. He pulled out a packaged disinfecting wipe and unwrapped it, pressing the wipe to his wound. The contact of the disinfectant on the puncture stung, causing Rui to clench his teeth. He let out a strained sigh as the vampire softly rubbed at the area, making sure to clean any excess blood. Once that was done, Rui watched Tsukasa take a larger band aid from the first-aid kit, unwrap it, and stick it onto the bite mark. He paused for a few moments, staring at his work, before returning to the container to shut it. He stood up, preparing to make an exit from the living room, but Rui leaned forward and took hold of his wrist.
“Come here, it’s okay. I’m fine,” Rui reassured, tugging on his arm to pull him back to the couch. The look Tsukasa gave him stabbed right through his heart; his eyes were wide, tears threatening to fall, and his typical smile was replaced with a frown. Oh, god. “No, no, no, don’t cry!”
Tsukasa brought his hand up to his face, shaking his head. “I’m not!” His arm was pulled again, and this time he fell onto the couch next to the alchemist. Rui let go of his wrist, moving his arm to wrap it around the other, and pulled him closer. “I just- I don’t want to hurt you. And I messed up,” he sniffled, leaning into his touch.
“You didn’t hurt me, like I said before, I’m fine,” Rui soothed, rubbing circles into the blond’s side. Tsukasa looked up at him. His eyes were glistening, but his cheeks were not wet. That was a relief. Rui didn’t want to be the reason for Tsukasa to cry. He had found himself becoming more and more attached to this goofy vampire that dropped so abruptly into his life. He wouldn’t want to do anything to drive him away. The status of their particular relationship refused to be given a name- they weren’t lovers, but they were clearly more than friends. It was a complicated matter to the alchemist, so Rui didn’t particularly feel the need to ask Tsukasa’s feelings on the situation. The two lived in comfortable affection.
Rui averted his eyes. “Anyway, I kind of… enjoyed it.” Blush was creeping up his neck and across his face. Was that weird to admit…? The initial sting of Tsukasa’s fangs breaking his skin, paired with the paralyzing numbness that came after, was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It felt so personal, so intimate, Rui now wondered how it would feel to have the blood sucked from his neck, rather than the arm. He didn’t have any blood to spare right now, but… his eyes landed back on Tsukasa’s, who was just staring at him, face as equally red.
“Hmm..?” Rui’s voice came out higher than expected. This was so embarrassing.
“Enjoyed it?” the vampire repeated back to him. He nodded. There was a brief awkward silence where the two just stared at each other, until Tsukasa broke it with a smirk, followed by a chuckle.
Tsukasa’s hand reached up, fingertips brushing the side of Rui’s neck. He did not consider himself a bashful guy by any means, but by god, Tsukasa was going to turn him to jelly. “Of course you did,” he spoke, as if Rui were just stating the obvious. “I didn’t take you for the kind of person who wouldn’t bend to the temptation of a vampire.”
HUH? “What’s that supposed to mean?!” the alchemist choked out, golden eyes flitting about the room before landing back on the smug-faced Tsukasa. The chipper air had returned to him. However, he seemed to be using the change in mood for evil. His finger hooked under his choker, tugging against his throat slightly. This caused a noise to escape Rui that he wasn’t even aware he could make, his cheeks now bright red. Tsukasa pressed a kiss to his neck.
“-kasa please,” he breathed out, “you’re going to make me pass out for real this time.”
The vampire seemed to contemplate his options, before tilting back away from him. His hand trailed from his neck, down to his collarbone, and stayed there. “I am glad though, Rui.” His eyes rested on the other’s chest. “That you trust me. That’s not something I’m used to- coming from a human. Thank you for that.”
Rui smiled. Tsukasa was so genuine with him, the care he shared would be difficult to put in words, but he truly appreciated the time he put into what they had. Even if their circumstances were odd, Rui loved the time spent with him. He pulled his hand up, running it through blond hair. Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on Tsukasa’s forehead.
“I’d do anything for you, starshine.”