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“Hey, you.” You smile, seeing Dennis walk through the front door of your shared apartment, clearly exhausted after a shift.
“Hey… gosh, dinner? You spoil me.” He smiles, bumping your hip as he passes by. “Do I have time to go shower?”
“Yeah, go ahead. Dinner should be done in fifteen.” He smiles, watching you stir the pot before heading into the bathroom to shower. His gums ached, canines feeling sharper than usual. It’d been almost a week since he’d been able to steal a blood bag, and it was truly starting to weigh on him.
He slipped into the shower, washing away the various spills of the day, wishing he could just hold you close and fall asleep. Ideas of your blood filled his mind as he got a whiff of your shampoo on the shelf, and he shook his head, willing away the thoughts.
You smile as he walks back into the kitchen, handing him a plate. He takes it, setting it on the counter behind you and pulling you into a tight hug. You make a sound of surprise as he buries his head against your neck, taking a deep inhale and letting his body finally relax. “Whoa, hey, Denny… you ok?”
“Just… just need this. Please. I just want a hug.” You nod, hugging him back and letting a hand drift through his damp curls, making him nuzzle closer. The smell was horribly intoxicating, your pulse thrumming beneath your skin, the closest he could get to what he imagined was the most perfect blood. He stays there for a long moment before pulling away with a dizzy smile and grabbing the food.
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
He lay on the couch, arm behind his head, as you sleepily watched whatever was on against his chest. His chest rises and falls with each breath, lulling you into a tired haze. “Denny…” His hand brushes through your hair.
“What’s going on, hm?”
“Take me to bed… please.” You murmur, snuggling closer. He smiles, kissing the top of your head before maneuvering to lift you, an arm under your knees, the other beneath your shoulders. He walks through the hallway, setting you in your bed, and snorts as you jerk him down. “Good try… stay.” You grumble, nuzzling back onto his chest and making him laugh.
“Whatever you say, sweetheart. I can’t turn you down.” You smile against his chest.
“I know.” You look up at him sleepily.
“Get some sleep. You need it. And I’ve got a day off tomorrow.” Your smile grows, shutting your eyes.
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
A big gothic house, dark floorboards, and walls covered in patterned wallpaper. Chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, soft piano filling the air. One of his hands held your hip, another clasping your hand. You wore a black ballgown, twirling under the candles as you swayed to the music. Your thumb ran across his neck, the cold skin of his neck beyond his dark suit as he smiled down at you.
“You look beautiful, my love.” He purrs, spinning you. “And you smell even better.” You give him a lopsided smile, pressing closer to his chest.
“No drinking till after the dance.” He runs his nose along the side of your neck, sharp canines scratching the skin.
“You smell– your taste– it taunts me…” He murmurs, the breath hot against your neck.
“You always say it tastes better after a dance!” You squeal with delight, making him smile and spin you around, stepping through the rooms and corridors of the never-ending house. The music was enchantingly haunting, and Dennis couldn’t look away from you. The black diamond ring sat heavily on your left hand, glittering and shifting in the light with each step. As the music comes to a close, he raises it to his mouth, kissing it tenderly.
“Are you ready, my love?” He asks gently, making you nod.
“Take as much as you need…”
“I’ll be gentle.” He speaks, pulling you in and kissing the junction of your throat before piercing it with his teeth, the warmth of you filling his mouth.
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
You choke out a shriek, pain erupting from your neck, Dennis’s weight heavy above you. You push him off, looking at the red coating his lips, the horror in his eyes. You rub yours, unable to stop the tears of shock, clapping the new wounds on your neck.
“Sweetheart- hey– it’s just–” He scrambles.
“You’re a monster! You– you– you– You bit me!”
“Yes! Yes, I did! Just listen to me! Please!” His voice cracks in his panic, wiping the blood from his face. Your terrified eyes drift to his teeth, the pointed edges making another wave of alarm wash over you.
“You bit me, Dennis!” You cry out, body trembling.
“Do you want me to talk?” His guilt-filled eyes meet yours, reeling at the sight of your panic. You stop for a moment before slowly nodding. “Do you understand why I bit you?”
“Vampire.” You murmur, biting your nail nervously and making him nod gently. He approached you like a cowering animal.
“It sounds funny, but I didn’t mean to bite you. I never wanted to bite you.”
“Then… then why?” You whisper, curling tighter into yourself, feeling the wooziness from the blood loss.
“I was… having a dream. About… us. I bit you in my dream, and I guess… that carried over somehow.”
“What was happening in the dream?” You ask meekly. His eyes look up to meet yours, and if he had blood in his body, a heavy blush would’ve coated his cheeks.
“We were in this house… this beautiful house… like one from a movie. You had the most beautiful dress on… and we were dancing. The rooms and hallways were endless, and you knew in the dream! We danced and danced until the music stopped, and you let me bite you.” The flutter in his stomach wouldn’t stop as he recalled it, shyly leaving out the ring.
“I let you bite me?” You ask, voice weak as your head pounded.
“Let me help you–” He reaches out, and you flinch before letting him grab you. He lays you back down, brushing the hair from your eyes and looking at you regretfully. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart… I’d– I never wanted to hurt you– please know I didn’t want to hurt you… I’m sorry…” He whispers.
“My head feels fuzzy…” You mumble, blinking up at him slowly.
“It’s the venom. It won’t hurt you… promise. Helps the punctures heal.” You nod weakly, grasping his hand.
“Can you turn into a bat?” He smiles and nods, caressing the side of your head softly.
“I’ll explain more in the morning, ok? I need you to sleep. Promise I won’t bite you again.” You blink slowly, intertwining his awaiting pinky with yours before you drift off.
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
Your eyes flutter open, groaning softly as the night washes over you. Dennis’s arm was heavy across your middle, head tucked against the shoulder. He had made sure not to tuck his head against your neck, weary of biting or scaring you again. The gesture eases some of the tension, and the ache in your neck is now only a dull throb.
He stirs, feeling the blood rush through him quicker with each movement, the smell making his gums ache. But he willed himself away from you to sit up, glance down at your face, and brush a strand of hair off your forehead. “Sleep ok? No… nightmares, I hope?” You shake your head.
“Can you actually turn into a bat?” You blurt out, voice hoarse from sleep, making him shake his head and laugh.
“Yes, I can. But it’s probably pretty underwhelming.”
“I don’t think a bat is underwhelming.” You mutter, tracing his arm and making butterflies erupt in his chest.
“It's because I can only shift into a vampire bat. They’re only four inches long.”
“Can I see?”
“Are you sure?” You nod eagerly. He sighs, rubbing his eyes and stretching out. In the blink of an eye, a small bat squeaks loudly on your chest, making you giggle. You stroke the soft fur of his head, smiling at his form.
“You’re so cute! Look at these wings…” You beam, delicately stretching out the soft wings. “You’re a lot less scary as a vampire this way. I can’t believe you’re a vampire. My neck doesn’t hurt anymore.” You can see the small animal perk up gently. “Hungry? Wait– like– breakfast hungry. Not…” You huff, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. “We need to talk, don’t we?”
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
Dennis leans against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, which you can't help but admire as you move around the kitchen to make your breakfast. “Was it really an accident?” You ask meekly.
“Yes, yes of course… I… adore what we have too much to ruin it with something like that.” He stares down at his mismatched socks. But he’s shocked as you hug him tightly, head buried in his neck.
“Was it at least good?” You whisper.
“Best blood I’ve ever had. Sweet with this… soft tang… means you’re healthy.” You look up at him, chin on his chest, and he can’t help but let his hands drift to your hips.
“I’m glad you’re not trying to kill me. I know… that’s a… silly thing to say but… I’m glad I’m not a blood bank.” He smiles with relief.
“You have a little too much personality just to be a blood bank.” He teases, rubbing your sides.
“Do you have today off?” He nods. He brushes his knuckle along your ribs, making you smile.
“Movie marathon?”
“Depends… what are we watching?”
“Vampire movie marathon.” He snorts and rolls his eyes.
“Name ‘em.” He wasn’t strong enough to deny you.
“Lost Boys, Interview with a Vampire, Nosferatu, Twilight… sound good?” He lets out a loud chuckle, squeezing you tightly.
“Only if I can point out what’s wrong with each one.” You nod, taking a moment to lean your head on his chest and enjoy his hug. “Thank you… for not leaving after last night. It’ll never happen again. Promise. I wish it hadn’t.”
“Did it make you feel better?” He nods, dragging his knuckle along your side again.
“I hadn’t fed in… a while, so… it was nice.”
“It helped?” He nods, looking down at you.
“More than you know.”
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
Dennis’s chest was warm as you stir, Twilight playing softly in the background. “Do you actually sparkle?” You murmur. His hand was warm in your hair, and he chuckled at your words.
“No. But I definitely burn.” You snuggle against his chest with a long breath.
“How long was I out?”
“About an hour. Feeling ok?” You nod. “Getting bitten can cause fatigue.”
“Can I ask you something?” You move your chin to look at him, making a heat flutter between the two of you at the closeness.
“What’s up?” He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear.
“Do uh… do you need more of my blood?”
“What?” His brows furrow and his hands freeze.
“Do you need more blood?”
“I would never ask that of you. Ever.”
“What if I uh… offer?” You say sheepishly, toying with the collar of his shirt.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because… I’m your friend, and you need it… Would it help?” He watches you with big eyes for a long moment before cupping the back of your head and pulling you in tighter.
“I can’t do that to you. I can’t hurt you again.” You frown against his chest, but drop it, the feeling of him lulling you back into sleep.
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
A multicar pileup had kept him till almost midnight. His gums burned painfully, his body aching with emptiness and exhaustion. His pupils dilate as he steps into the apartment, getting a whiff of your blood. He calls out your name, wondering why the lights are still on. He finds you sitting on the floor of the bathroom, hand wrapped in a bloody rag. His nostrils flare, and his body trembles desperately. “Are you ok? What’s– fuck– what’s going on?” He drops to your side.
“I was changing my razor blade… my– my hand…” He shakes his head, willing away the smell and pulling the rag away to look at your hand.
“It… uh… it looks… fuck me– I don’t think you’ll–”
“Drink it.” You say gently, watching the way his pupils dilate. A depraved groan leaves his lips, shaking his head again.
“I can’t do that–”
“Please, Denny… I can tell you need it. You looked–” His mouth clamps around the cut, and he moans out at the sweet taste, the energy surging through his body. You watch nervously, the venom starting to sting. “Dennis–” The hint of pain makes him pull away like he’d been struck by lightning.
“Are you ok? Hey–hey–hey? You with me?” He panics, cupping your cheek and making you lean into the touch.
“Stings…” You mumble, feeling lightheaded.
“I know– I know, I‘m sorry… it’ll be ok. It’s gonna sting for the night, and the cut should heal in the morning… the venom will uh– heal it. Promise.” He pulls you into his chest, petting your hair before lifting you into his arms and bringing you to bed.
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
You stir, feeling a dull headache in the back of your skull. You shift beneath your sheets, stretching out and glancing at your now healed hand. A weight moves beside you with a groan, and you notice the arm around your middle. “Denny…”
His eyes snap open, looking over you in a quiet panic. “Are you ok? Feel ok?”
“My head hurts…” He nods, pulling you into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” You smile, and he feels it against your skin. “I’m… glad I got to help… I hope it helped…”
“It uh– did. A lot. Thank you.” He whispers into the crown of your head, following the words with a soft kiss.
“Would… would it help if that was… a–a– a constant thing?” He pulls away to look at you.
“What?”
“Let me make it a constant thing. Let me… help you.”
“Are you sure?” He caresses your cheek, eyes searching your face.
“I liked getting to help you.” You say sheepishly, making him smile and kiss your forehead. Heat creeps across your skin at the feeling, and you look at him with wide eyes. “What… uh… what was that for?”
“Can I kiss you?” He blurts, immediately wanting to take his words back at the way you freeze.
“Me?”
“Yeah– uh– yes you… I’d… like to kiss you.” He whispers, eyes following your features.
“Promise you won’t bite?” You tease, and he breaks your smile with the soft press of his lips against yours. You sigh at the gentle feeling, letting him move over top of you and rub your sides.
He breaks apart for a long moment, watching the way you smile. “Promise.” He smiles down at you before diving in to kiss you again.