Chapter Text
The first time it happens, Kid Vampire thinks he might be hungry. But that can’t be it, because he’s currently sipping at yet another excellent batch of noseblood from his good friend Bubby, and the strange feeling subsides even as his glass becomes empty.
So it’s not hunger. Is it something else?
Once he’s home and hanging from his favorite ceiling beam, he thinks about it long and hard as Count Papa works on his screenplay below him.
It’s not hunger. It’s not anger. It’s not quite happiness either. The closest thing Kid Vampire can compare the feeling to is his first day of human school, when his insides were flipping about his body as if knocked loose from the stress.
But he’s not scared of Bubby. If anything, the human has proven that he can make him even braver than he already is (quite a feat, considering his high amount of confidence).
Even thinking about Bubby is starting to give him the feeling again. Ugh.
To distract himself he lets go of his perch and lands next to Count Papa, sliding from the chair’s arm to the older vampire’s side. He’s so absorbed in his writing that he barely lifts his arm to let Kid Vampire snuggle closer, hardly picking up on his son’s disgruntlement.
Kid Vampire almost instantly regrets his new position when a quick glance reminds him of what his father likes to write most.
Romance. Great. He sighs loudly and rolls his eyes, but doesn’t move an inch. He doesn’t even know why Count Papa likes that gross stuff so much. It’s barely more than some stupid, made-up human idea that –
Kid Vampire is reading a line of the script when his thoughts grind to a halt.
“It is lyke butterflyes in myne chest wheneverre I see Jerome! Lyke myne stomache will crawle out of me to joine himme, and sing myne secrets right at himme!”
Under Count Papa’s quill, the heroine laments her infatuation further. Under the author’s arm, his son almost panics at the accuracy of the words (not that he would ever tell his father).
Could it be that he is feeling romance for Bubby? Disgusting! Not the Bubby part, Bubby is nice. But romance?? Surely he’s way above that!
Kid Vampire sulks next to his father for a good handful of minutes before stomping away to his bedroom. He pulls out paper and crayons, plants himself on his carpet and sulks some more at the items. Then he starts drawing, angrily at first, but the activity cools his head and thinking gets easier.
So. Considering the possibility that he is feeling romance for Bubby.
It’s not the worst thing that could happen to him. Romance is sort of gross, sure, but if it’s with Bubby it shouldn’t be so bad. He needs to learn more about romance, to know exactly what having one entails.
Because Kid Vampire frankly has no idea what a romance is. He has never paid enough attention to Count Papa’s ramblings, nor has he noticed any romance around him so far. The most he knows so far is that human romance involves holding hands (he carefully draws himself and Bubby holding hands, and is strangely pleased with the final product) and sometimes living together (would he like living together with Bubby?), but not always.
And what about vampire romance? The thought makes him pause. He’s never seen Count Papa have a romance, and they don’t frequent other vampires.
He suddenly feels very very dumb, and he doesn’t like that. How is he supposed to be good at doing human romance for Bubby if he doesn’t even know how to do vampire romance first?
He will, he decides, have to practice. Do his research. It’s going to be not his school project but his home project. Heart project. Whichever.
On this adventure he must go solo, but he is determined. Confidently storing his drawings under the carpet (can’t let his secrets be revealed), he decides that the first step of his project will be to observe romance.