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Kaoru stood there, in the middle of the training room, staring at Rei, however it felt like he was looking through him instead. The man seemed absent, ignoring Kaoru's peering look, his eyes focused on nothing specific. Their practice was supposed to begin soon, or whenever the other two would plan on showing up, since apparently they were going to be late today, according to what Adonis messaged Kaoru a few minutes ago.
Kaoru didn't wish to pry… yet. He was aware that Rei could be somewhat of a mysterious person, knowing that he was one of the eccentrics after all, however zoning out like this was pretty unusual for him. He would like to think the older man would talk if anything was bothering him, since Kaoru wants to believe that they trust each other enough at this point. They've been around each other for quite a while, sharing both a unit, and the title of "one of the main attractions of Undead."
So why was Rei so… silent about it? Was it something that he didn't wish to talk about? Of course, Kaoru would honor his request, however he hasn't spoken up, so he cannot read whatever he has in mind. Maybe he's shy, or maybe Kaoru is overthinking it in the end?
"Rei-kun, should we stretch a little? We have time to kill before the other two come over anyway~" Kaoru tried to play it safe, ignoring his suspicions at the moment. It took weirdly a long time for Rei to reply, though.
"Mm? Sure, Kaoru-kun." His voice seemed… weaker than usual as well. Was letting him practice even a safe idea? Maybe stretching for a little could allow him to find the answer.
As they began their routine, Kaoru could focus on nothing except for observing his friend. Since they've been in these positions countless of times before, making the same moves, occasionally taking peeks at each other to make sure the other person wasn't falling out of rhythm or their posture wasn't off, he could tell Rei was far from being in his top shape today. Was staring this closely at him a bit creepy? Yes, probably. Kaoru was somewhat weirded out by his behavior as well. Nonetheless, it would be hard not to notice the man's stiff shoulders, lack of proper posture, more than usually quickened breath–
"Kaoru-kuun?" Rei seemed to have stopped, or maybe he has been standing like this for a while already? The blonde couldn't tell. He had a big, intrigued smirk on his face, as he must have noticed the way Kaoru was scanning him with his eyes. "What, am I that handsome?" He laughed to himself, clearly playing with the other man.
"Y- You know that's not it. Let me grab a drink, though." Kaoru's face turned slightly red from embarrassment. If only you knew I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong, he thought to himself, immediately chasing those thoughts away, as he thought they sounded a bit too romantic for his liking.
"Sure, sure…"
Rei's voice seemed to have oddly quietened at the end, which didn't escape Kaoru's attention either.
The blonde boy was fumbling with his water bottle, unable to open it properly due to him being more lost in his thoughts than focusing on what was in front of him. But before he could properly get the drink open, one of his fingers slipped, cutting on the side of the bottle cap. He winced slightly, prepared to lick off the blood that would most likely start flowing soon, although something stopped him. Or, more precisely, it was an intense stare towards him, which was so powerful he didn't even need to look where it was coming from. Then, something seemed to click in Kaoru's mind.
"Rei-kun?" He turned his head towards his friend, but he failed to notice that he was already way closer to Kaoru's face than he was 5 seconds ago.
"Oh, my apologies, I was just… trying to make sure you were okay." Rei nodded, backing off slightly, as if he was just caught committing a minor crime. His eyes were practically glued to Kaoru's finger, as a drop of blood appeared next to his fingernail.
"Rei-kun, don't lie to me now. Do you… want this?" Kaoru pointed the bloody finger towards Rei, who immediately seemed to perk up, before backing away even more in… shame?
"Oh, Kaoru-kun, you know you shouldn't offer this to me, I might even take it seriously…" A few of his iconic kukuku's followed the sentence, they didn't seem as joyful as they usually would, though.
"I'm not joking, though?" Kaoru turned his head like a confused puppy. Of course, he wasn't too keen on offering his precious blood to a dude – he would've enjoyed it if Rei was a beautiful girl instead. But if this was the only option to finally solve the puzzle, and fix Rei's sluggishness from today, then he didn't really have much of a choice. "You've been feeling weak, haven't you? Your moves are slower than they usually are. You are acting more… off, as well. Absent even, I guess. The younger two aren't here yet, so you should regain your strength before Koga-kun kicks your ass, you know?"
"Mm, you caught me, Kaoru-kun… I suppose I haven't been able to put on my facade well enough today, how troubling…" His laugh was even weaker now, as he carefully approached Kaoru. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Just take it before I change my mind, alright." Kaoru rolled his eyes, sitting down on the bench.
Rei sat down next to him, taking Kaoru's hand in his own. The blonde could feel how cold and delicate Rei's fingers were, even with his callouses and slight beads of sweat.
He brought Kaoru's finger up to his mouth, as his tongue started licking off the small amounts of blood. The younger flinched slightly, it felt as if a kitten has decided to lick on his finger instead. It felt wet, rough, and slightly disgusting. He tried to not think about it.
"Kaoru-kuun… This isn't enoough…" Rei backed away from Kaoru's finger, apparently already licking all of the blood off. He was pouting, holding the other's hand in his, making pitiful puppy eyes, as if he was about to cry.
"Huh?! What am I supposed to do then?" Kaoru probably knew the answer to this, however he didn't want to admit it.
"Can I… take a bite?" Rei pleaded, but Kaoru could tell it wasn't forceful, he could back away if he wanted to. For some reason though, he didn't. Just for Rei's health's sake…
"Alright, fine."
Rei seemed to make a beeline towards Kaoru's neck, the blonde didn't let him proceed though, putting his hand on Rei's face, backing him away. He made an audible "blegh" noise, as if he just accidentally hit the wall, which didn't fail to make Kaoru giggle a little.
"Not the neck, idiot. How am I going to explain it to the others? You can have my wrist, or whatever. Just don't make it too visible."
Rei's familiar bright smile seemed to be back, as he nodded happily, before diving in for his delicious meal. Or, at least Kaoru hoped it was delicious, since the bite hurt, and Rei famously "disliked the taste of blood" anyways. He seemed content, though. He was trying to avoid being rough and vicious, calmly taking slow sips instead. As more and more of them were coming, Kaoru felt more lightheaded, making him lean backwards against the wall.
He couldn't really tell if it was just his mind playing tricks on him, or if Rei was injecting him with some drugs, but the man looked… handsome. His lips were gracefully covered in blood, the red smearing like natural lipstick. The vampire's eyes seemed more crimson red than usual as well, almost as if they were glowing, and couldn't look away. His face felt warm, as he used his free hand to grab the water bottle from before, and put it against his forehead.
After a while, Rei pulled away, licking off the blood from his lips. He carefully placed Kaoru's wrist on the man's lap, and looked up at the blonde, their eyes meeting.
Kaoru's heartbeat quickened, and he couldn't tell if it was because of the blood loss, or if it was the black haired man's fault.
"Kaoru-kun? Kaoru-kun, are you okay?" Rei's smile was honestly the best reward in the world, or so Kaoru thought, before the vampire leaned in closer towards him, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you. I'll get you a bandage from the infirmary, okay?"
And Kaoru was left there, by himself, wondering how did all of this even happen.