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It has been a few days since they set off to Sanguinem to save Guren and Kimizuki’s sister Mirai.
It was still a long way until they would reach their destination but at least no incidents happened. Sure, they sometimes had to defend themselves against the four horseman of john or a few vampires, but as long as there weren’t too many of them, that wasn’t that much of a big deal.
Surprisingly, they didn’t encounter the army even once. Either they weren’t as interesting as they were before for them anymore or they were already waiting for them in Sanguinem or in one of the cities that were on their way.
That’s why they tried to avoid the cities as much as possible. Even though they were mostly abandoned, it still could be a trap to lure them in, either by the army or the vampires. So their only alternative was to find a way around it, may it be a hiking path or through a forest that was nearby in order to attract as less attention as possible. But sometimes it was impossible to find another way and taking the way through the city was the only possibility left in order to reach their destination.
Just like it happened to be the case this time.
They have been walking the whole day and as the sun was beginning to set, they arrived at a city. Of course they could have walked through a forest that was only a few minutes away, but since night was approaching, it was way too dangerous. During the night time vampires were way more active, on the search after careless humans they could drink their blood from. They would stand a chance against a few vampires but if there would be too many or even a progenitor with them, they would certainly lose the fight, especially because all of them were pretty much exhausted from all the walking. After a little discussion about what to do next, they all agreed to take shelter somewhere in the city to spend the night.
After some time searching for something that seemed unlikely to be searched through by vampires or humans, they found an abandoned public swimming pool. Since it seemed to be pretty much intact, they decided to spend the night in there.
As they went further inside, they soon found the dressing room with a lot of lockers and benches in it. Inside the lockers were still some bath-towels that humans must have been forgotten or must have been unable to take with them. Since the benches were still more comfortable to sleep on than the floor, they decided to sleep there, using the bath-towels as blankets.
It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep, except for Mika who didn’t need any sleep as a vampire, so he kept watch so that the others wouldn’t need to take shifts and could sleep until the next morning.
Mika was sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall with his eyes closed in order to be able to concentrate more on noises around him and could hear if someone would get in there.
But the whole time it remained pretty much silent. Nothing could be heard except for the steady breathing of the others or the shifting of someone in their sleep.
But suddenly, Mika could hear footsteps and the opening and closing of the door of the dressing room. But it wasn’t someone who came in, it was someone who went out. Opening his eyes and looking around the room, letting his eyes wander over the sleeping humans he had lived with the past four months, Mika knew who was missing. After he sighed, he stood up and silently left the room to look for the person who just went out on their own.
As he stepped out, Mika found himself in a long and dark hallway.
Looking left, he could make out the entrance of the swimming hall a few meters away but not anything suspicious, so at least they were still alone in there. Assuming that the person didn’t go outside, Mika went right, going further into the building.
At the end of the hallway he found a door and after it were the showers. Even this room was still pretty much intact which was surprising since nobody has been there probably for years.
As he traversed the room, Mika could hear the sound of water which came from behind a door that lead out of the shower-room. Opening the door, Mika was met with the smell of chlorine as he stood in a large hall with a huge pool full of water in the middle of it. Above the pool, attached on the ceiling, were a few huge glass windows, through which one could see the sky which was clouded at the moment, leaving the hall in pitch-black darkness.
Looking around for a short moment, he noticed a person with black hair standing on the edge of the pool, watching the water with a thoughtful look on his face. Having finally found who he was looking for, Mika walked up to him. As they were only a few meters away from each other, Mika stopped walking and asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to startle him:
“Yuu-Chan?”
Pulled out of his thoughts by the voice of his friend, Yuu looked at him.
“Mika,” he said a little bit surprised and added with a smile on his face: “So you did hear me, huh?”
“Of course,” Mika replied, “you weren’t that quiet after all. Even a human would have noticed.”
Still with a smile on his face, Yuu looked back at the pool of water in front of him again. Watching him for a short moment, Mika also shifted his gaze to where Yuu was looking at, asking:
“Is something the matter?”
“…No. Everything’s fine,” he replied without looking at him, “I…just wanted to see if there’s still water in here and…,” Yuu gave a small laugh, “to be honest I’ve never been in a swimming hall before…It’s not like I couldn’t swim or…that there weren’t any in Shibuya. It’s just…that Guren never took me to one…,” he admitted.
“…”
After remaining silent for a few seconds, Yuu added:
“And since we’re going to leave tomorrow morning, I wanted to see it at least once…”
“…”
Standing beside each other in complete silence, enjoying each other’s company, they watched the slow movement of the water in the pool in front of them for a short while.
Suddenly the usual carefree smile Yuu always had appeared on his face and he asked, looking at Mika:
“Hey, Mika.”
“H-Hm?” Mika said, being pulled out of his thoughts, while looking at him again.
“Wanna go swim?” Yuu asked with a bright smile.
“Huh?!” Mika exclaimed, completely caught off guard by that unexpected question and looked at him in surprise.
“Let’s swim a little. It has been a while since we had time to relax, right? After running away from the army, hiding, being hijacked by Ferid. And since we’re in a swimming hall anyway, why not having a little bit of fun?”
“Yuu-Chan, we don’t even have any swimming togs with us right now!”
“Who needs something like that?” Yuu asked with a small laugh, “I bet it doesn’t make any difference in what clothes we swim.”
“Wait a sec. You’re…really serious?”
“Yeah. Who knows when we’ll have the chance to do this again?”
Yuu said, still smiling.
Seeing that Mika didn´t seem that excited about that idea, he asked while tilting his head in confusion:
“…You don’t want to?”
“Of course not! I don’t even understand where you’ve gotten that idea all of a sudden!” Mika said with a slight angry voice.
“…Can’t…vampires swim?” Yuu asked hesitantly while his smile slowly disappeared and only left a sad expression.
“N-no!” Mika said quickly, not wanting Yuu to think he said something that made him feel bad or something, “of course they can swim.”
…At least I never heard of them being unable to…
“Then what’s the problem?” he asked in confusion.
“We can’t let our guard down like that,” Mika replied with a serious tone and expression, “we’re not here for fun after all. We’re just hiding here because it seemed like the safest place in this city, nothing more, and nothing less,” he explained further, shifting his gaze to the door that lead into the shower room he walked through before and didn’t notice how Yuu just annoyingly rolled his eyes, having enough of his exaggerated caution.
“We may be safe at the moment but who knows who may be passing by. If we’re too careless, we’ll be found. So we should stay together and don’t just wander off all on our-”
He stopped midway as a loud splash suddenly filled the room. Shifting his gaze back to where Yuu was standing only a moment ago, were just only his shoes, socks and his black jacket lying on the ground, leaving Yuu only in his hoodie and pants.
After giving an exasperated sigh and with a clearly annoyed expression, he looked at Yuu, who was emerging again, before he waved up to him and said:
“Come on in here, too, Mika. The water is perfect.”
“No. Way. In. Hell.”, Mika deadpanned.
“Why not?” Yuu whined, “Trust me, it’s gonna be fun.”
“I said no. Now come out and let’s head back to the others.”
“…You’re such a kill-joy…,” he pouted.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“Am not!”
“You are.”
Slowly fed up with his stubbornness, Mika sighed again before he said:
“Fine. Then I’m a kill-joy. I don’t care. Would you finally come out of that now?”
“…You know, you were way more fun when we were kids…,”Yuu stated with a pout once more.
“I don’t want to hear that coming from you of all people! Now come out of it!” Mika commanded in an even more serious tone.
“Okay, okay. Calm down, fun killer. I come out.” Yuu said while sighing, “You really got boring over the years…,” he added.
“I said I don’t care!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Yuu said while reaching out one of his hands to him, “would you be so kind and help me out of here?”
Without answering him, Mika grabbed his hand and before he could even react, Yuu pulled him down to him, resulting in Mika falling head first into the pool. Shortly after diving into the water, Mika emerged again, gasping for air.
“Yuu-Chan!” Mika yelled, totally soaked and with a clearly angry expression.
Seeing his reaction, Yuu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Stop laughing! This isn’t funny!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Yuu apologized, slowly coming down from his laughing fit.
“Seriously”, Mika said while sighing and brushing some of his strands out of his face, that were blocking his view, now that his hair was wet, “What are you? Five?”
Yuu laughed again before he said with a big grin on his face:
“Not really. I just know when it’s to time to relax a little bit and to have some fun, unlike a certain someone who’s always so stiff and way too serious about literally everything.”
“Because this IS serious! Did you even once think about what we’re gonna do if the vampires or the army-”
“And since we’re both soaked anyway now”, Yuu interrupted him, completely ignoring what he was saying, “it doesn’t make a difference if we stay here a little while longer, right?”
“Yuu-Chan, did you listen to me at all?! I said we-”
He began but stopped midway as he noticed the bright smile Yuu was giving him at that moment. The kind of smile which always could convince Mika otherwise and could calm him down, no matter how angry he was…which made him always wonder how he could still have such a smile in their current situation…and the kind of smile which Mika always wanted to see again all those years.
“…Do as you like…,” he murmured, averting his gaze, knowing fully well that he could never say no to him if he was smiling at him like that.
As soon as he heard his response, Yuu’s smile got even bigger and without saying anything further, he dived back into the water again.
While Yuu began to swim around in the large pool, even diving until he reached the ground and emerged again for a few times, Mika was sitting on the edge of the pool with his legs dangling in the water, without his shoes and socks on.
Surprisingly, the water really wasn’t that cold like he expected it to be. Actually, it was really warm. That could only mean that this swimming hall was still used or not abandoned for that long. It also explained while the whole interior was still pretty much intact.
Since the hall itself was also pretty warm, Mika took off his jacket that was soaked anyway due to Yuu’s little “joke” from before, leaving him only in his white turtleneck and his jeans.
Quietly sitting there, Mika silently watched Yuu swimming in the darkness the whole time without even noticing how a tiny smile slowly appeared on his face as he saw how happy Yuu looked like in that moment.
After he swam around for quite a while, Yuu was just floating on his back on the surface with a visibly relaxed expression, enjoying that little moment of peace he had for the moment without having to worry about anything but just letting his mind and body relax for once and watching the night sky through the large glass windows above him.
After some time watching him, Mika noticed from afar how Yuu suddenly stood up but with his gaze still fixated on the night sky right above him. Wondering what had caused his change of behaviour, Mika called out:
“Yuu-Chan?”
But he didn’t get an answer. Slightly worried about him, Mika got into the water and made his way up to Yuu. As he finally reached him, the water reaching them until the chest, he asked once again:
“…Yuu-Chan?”
Still not getting an answer from him, he followed his gaze to find out what caught his interest so much he didn’t even respond to him.
Looking up to the sky as well, Mika understood what Yuu was so fascinated with so much:
The clouds had disappeared and had made way for the stars and the moon, whose light slowly began to illuminate the surface of the water, making both of them stand in a circle of moonlight.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Mika asked softly while he looked at Yuu.
“…Yeah…” Yuu replied in a quiet voice, still looking at the sky above like a little child, not noticing the warm smile on Mika’s face as he looked at him.
Being able to get carried away by such trivial things…he’s really something.
I can’t do that. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a vampire…or if it’s because of my nature in general. I’ve always been a more rational person, whereas Yuu-Chan had always been the emotional one between the two of us. So maybe that’s why. But still…
…I really admire him for that.
Suddenly his gaze wandered from his face to something else, causing his smile to slowly disappear again.
“To be honest I never took that much notice of the night sky before. I…was always so distracted with other things that I just let something like that pass me by,” Yuu said with a small laugh in his voice before he looked at Mika, “kind of sad, isn’t-”
He trailed off as he noticed that Mika wasn’t directly looking at him in that moment.
“…Mika? Is something the matter?”
As if being pulled out of his thoughts, Mika slightly flinched, looking at him with a slight shocked expression, before he nervously averted his gaze from him.
“N-no. I-It’s nothing. Really. I…was just lost in thoughts. That’s all. Don’t worry,” he stuttered but Yuu wasn’t believing even one single word. He always noticed when something was bothering him, when he was lying just to not worry others and he also knew the look in his eyes he had in that moment way too well.
With a sigh, Yuu said:
“Geez, Mika. You honestly think I wouldn’t notice?”
“…”
“We’ve known each other now for eight years. You can’t fool me that easily, you know?”
“…”
“And besides, I already said it, didn’t I? If you need blood, you can ask me anytime.”
Still not getting a response from him, Yuu sighed once again before he pulled the collar of his hoodie a little to the side and slightly tilted his head.
“Come on, drink. You need it, right?”
“…”
“Mika.”
“…”
“Do you really have to be so damn stubborn every time?”
Mika didn’t answer him nor did he look at him, wishing Yuu would finally let up with that again. He didn’t need blood. He could last perfectly fine a few more days without it. That’s how he thought or rather, he tried to talk himself into it.
Actually, he could feel how dry his throat felt like in that moment but he still was determined to not let himself be overwhelmed by his vampire instincts so easily.
Every time he pushed himself to his limit, trying to hide it as good as possible but Yuu always noticed even the slightest change in his behaviour, no matter how much Mika tried to act normal. And if that happened, Yuu could get really insupportable. He would keep nagging him about it until Mika gave in and would drink his blood.
He could beat him in a fight, that’s for sure but when it came to that, he never won. He would always lose against his stubbornness and determination, no matter how hard he tried to withstand.
Mika wasn’t stupid. He knew he would die if he wouldn’t drink blood regularly. He knew that but he still suppressed that desire as long as possible. A vampire could last without blood for three days after all. Until that, he could endure it. There was no need to take more than he needed. And above all, Mika didn’t want to treat Yuu like this. Like livestock. Like something he was only using in order to stay alive, nothing more.
Even though Yuu said it’s fine by him if he used him, he still hated himself for every single time he gave in to his desires.
“…”
Not hearing anything from Yuu for a short while, he thought he would had given up for once but suddenly water was splashed right into his face, soaking his almost dried up hair once more.
“What was that for?!” Mika yelled with an angry expression, looking at Yuu again.
“Don’t ignore me if I’m talking to you,” Yuu replied, “now be a good kid and drink,” he added, tilting his head to the side to give him better access to his neck.
Feeling his thirst slowly becoming stronger at the sight of his exposed skin, Mika quickly averted his gaze once more.
“…”
“Every single time it’s the same with you,” Yuu said with a sigh, “if I say I don’t mind you drinking my blood, then I mean it. And besides, we promised each other to live, no matter what, remember? So if you need blood then there’s no need to hold back.”
“…”
“Do everything to stay alive. And if you don’t want do it for yourself, then do it for me.”
“…”
“Mika.”
“…”
“If you’re not gonna drink my blood, I’m gonna dunk you under water.”
Hearing his treat, Mika glared at him in anger.
“You won’t dare.”
“I will.”
“You won’t.”
“You know me,” Yuu said with a self-confident smile.
Looking at him for a few seconds, Mika murmured:
“…You’re horrible…”
“Maybe. But if it’s for you, I don’t care if I’m horrible. If it means I can be with you a little while longer, it doesn’t matter to me even if I’m the devil.”
“…”
“Now drink already.”
“…”
“Or do you prefer to swallow water?” he asked in a teasing voice, but Mika knew he wasn’t just joking, that Yuu would do everything to make him drink his blood, no matter what it was.
As he looked at him for a few more seconds, Mika saw the determinate look in his eyes and had to admit defeat once more.
Without contradicting any further, Mika carefully placed his hands on either side of his shoulders, drawing nearer to him and bringing his mouth to his neck. Closing his eyes, Mika slowly sank his fangs into his tender skin.
Feeling the sharp pain caused by his teeth piercing through his skin, Yuu immediately tensed up and grit his teeth. Shortly after, he closed his eyes while he exhaled deeply and relaxed again as the pain slowly turned into that pleasant feeling he felt every time Mika was drinking his blood.
When he felt how Yuu slowly relaxed, Mika pulled back his hands and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, hugging him.
Over the past four months it became a sort of habit for him to do this while he drank his blood. Being so close to him and feeling his soothing warmth made him feel save…wanted…and loved. All those things he longed for the most all those years but no one could give him.
He was deprived of it for so long that he slowly started to forget how it even felt like to feel another one’s warmth, making him feel completely dead inside. Only when he found Yuu again, he was able to feel somewhat alive again. He was the only one who could make him feel this way, who gave him the feeling of being home. The only one who made him want to live, even though he was no longer human.
That’s why Mika always pulled him as close as possible to him. He wanted to feel the warmth of the person who was giving him all these feelings no one else could, who was willing to stay by his side and would never push him away, regardless of what he was.
And while he took him in his arms, Yuu began to slowly stroke his hair, wanting to assure him that everything was alright and that he didn’t need to hold back.
Yuu knew how bad Mika felt for drinking his blood. That he tried to be strong and to endure his thirst for blood as long as possible only for his sake. That he didn’t want to give Yuu the feeling that he was only using him.
But Yuu really didn’t mind that. As long as it was Mika, he wouldn’t even mind to give him his whole life, if that was what he needed. So giving him his blood wasn’t that much of a big deal.
It went by faster than convincing Mika to drink it in the first place after all. And it didn’t even hurt. Only a little bit at the beginning but that was understandable considering how sharp his fangs were. But nothing he couldn’t endure.
Actually, it surprised him how little it hurt.
Yuu still remembered how much it hurt when Ferid bit him once and how disgusting it felt like. He liked to pretend it never happened and wished it would also never happen again.
But with Mika, it was different. It felt different.
Probably because he was always so careful and gentle when he drank his blood. It didn’t feel disgusting at all. And as soon as the pain was completely gone, it was even a really nice feeling even though Yuu never understood why. And he also didn’t dare to ask Mika for the reason since he either didn’t know himself or wouldn’t give him a proper answer, so he kept it to himself.
They remained like this for a short while with the only sound audible being the sound of Mika swallowing down his blood, until Yuu felt how he carefully released his fangs from his neck again and began to slowly lick along his neck, licking off the trace some blood that accidently streamed down left behind, before he also licked over the wound he caused him.
Yuu was used to him doing this every time after finished drinking. But he still couldn’t prevent himself from tensing up a little bit and the heat from rising to his cheeks while he felt the sensation of his tongue slowly guiding over his skin.
After another short moment, Yuu felt how he loosened his embrace before he pulled back again. As soon as he let go of him, both of them opened their eyes and Mika averted his gaze with a slight blush on his face while distancing himself from him a little and wiping away some remaining blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
“…Sorry,” Mika apologized.
“That’s also something you do every time. I said, it’s fine by me, didn’t I? So you really don’t have to apologize for that, you know?” Yuu replied but didn’t get an answer.
Watching him for a few seconds in silence, he thought about how he always behaved like this after he drank his blood. So nervous…and shy…never meeting his gaze…as if he tried to hide something.
“…Hey…Mika?”
“Hm?” he replied, still averting his gaze.
“I…know it’s kind of weird to ask this but…” Yuu hesitated for a short moment, before he asked:
“…How…does my blood taste like?”
Slightly caught off guard by that unexpected question at first, Mika replied without looking at him in a barely audible voice:
“…Gross…”
“Huh?”
“I said it’s gross,” Mika repeated a little bit louder, “the most disgusting thing I ever drank.”
“Come on, Mika. You don’t really mean that. I bet it isn’t that bad.”
“Yes, it is,” Mika said, looking at him again, “what do you think why I try to avoid drinking your blood as long as possible?!”
“Well because-”
Yuu began but was interrupted by Mika.
“Because every time I drink your blood I fear I might throw up, that’s why.”
“You’re…exaggerating, you know?”
“No, I’m not,” he said, looking away from him once again visibly blushing, “…it’s really gross…,” he murmured.
Yuu looked at him for a moment before a tiny smile appeared on his face which Mika noticed from the corner of his eyes.
“What?” he asked, slightly irritated by his smile.
Yuu shook his head, replying:
“It’s nothing.”
I know you’re lying. I know that’s not how you really think.
Do you really think I don’t notice the way you behave every time you drink my blood? How much you relax? How every single drop that’s flowing down my neck you’re licking off? How much you blush? How you just can’t say that my blood tastes gross while looking directly into my eyes?
You’re only saying that because you’re afraid I would think badly of you if you would say something else, don’t you? I wouldn’t. I would never think badly of you or would be afraid of you, no matter what. If that’s how you feel, then so be it.
But no matter how much I ask, you won’t tell me the truth, right? And I also won’t urge you to. It’s something you have to tell me on your own.
Even though sometimes I…really want to know how the part of my life I’m giving to you…feels like for you…
Suddenly Yuu felt how something wet was slowly streaming down his neck. At first he thought that it were some water drops but as he put one of his hands on his neck and looked at it, he realized that it was blood.
Blood from the spot Mika had bitten him only a moment ago.
Noticing from the corner of his eyes that Yuu was staring at something, Mika looked back at him again and noticed that blood was coming out of the wound where he bit him.
“Ah! Sorry,” he quickly apologized in slight panic, “dammit, the wound didn’t close up…Usually vampire-salvia quickens the healing process…I guess it didn’t work this time because you’re soaked wet and the water-”
Mika stopped midway as Yuu slowly brought his hand to his mouth and drank his own blood.
Surprised by this sudden action, Mika just stared at him in silence.
After a few seconds, Yuu removed his hand from his mouth again, saying with a clearly disgusted expression:
“…Bitter…”
“Huh?” Mika asked in confusion.
“It tastes bitter…I guess blood tastes different for humans and vampires, huh?”
Looking at him for a moment in irritation, Mika said:
“Of course it does! Did you really think it would taste the same?!”
“Well…Sort of,” Yuu admitted, earning a sigh from Mika.
“You know, sometimes I’m really wondering if your brain still functions up there,” he remarked, pointing to his head, “or if it already lost all its cells.”
“Hey, you never know if you don’t try, right? I just wanted to know if it really tastes as ‘disgusting’ as you said and-”
Yuu paused for a moment, thinking about what Mika had just said to him, before he asked with a slight angered voice:
“Wait a sec. Did you just call me an idiot?!”
“That took you quiet long,” Mika said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
“Mika!” he exclaimed, making Mika burst out in laughter that resonated through the hall.
Yuu couldn’t remember the last time he saw him laughing like that and couldn’t help but just looking at him in awe.
“You’re…funny, Yuu-Chan,” Mika managed to say while slowly calming down from his laughing fit, “you…haven’t changed in the slightest since back then. You’re still such an idiot.”
“Hey!” Yuu protested with a pout.
“Sorry,” he apologized with a small laugh.
After he looked at him for another brief moment, Yuu averted his gaze.
“…”
Noticing that, Mika said:
“I’m sorry, okay? Don’t be so offended.”
“…I’m not offended…,” Yuu said in a quiet voice, “it’s just…You should do that more often…”
“Huh?” Mika asked in surprise, “what?”
“…Laugh…and smile. It…suits you. Way better than this serious expression you usually have nowadays…”
Hearing that, Mika looked even more surprised at him for a moment, before a smile appeared on his face. Noticing him staring at him like that, Yuu shifted his gaze back to him, asking:
“What?”
“Nothing, Yuu-Chan,” Mika replied, still with a smile and shaking his head, “it’s nothing. By the way, you…still have some blood on your lips,” he added, while giving him a really warm smile. The kind of smile he always had when they were still kids.
Yuu didn’t know why.
If it was because of the smile Mika gave him at that moment he hadn’t seen on him for years. If it was because of the sudden rapid beating of his own heart or if it was because of the way Mika’s crimson eyes were shimmering so utterly beautiful in the moonlight.
He didn’t know.
He didn’t know the reason as he whispered in a soft voice:
“…Go ahead.”
“…Huh?” Mika said, looking at him in confusion, not quite getting what he meant with that.
Even though Yuu was surprised himself from what he just said, neither let he show it nor did he take it back. Instead…he just closed his eyes.
Mika was even more confused than before when he did that. He just didn’t know what he wanted from him. His gaze wandered from his closed eyes to his lips and back again and after a few more seconds, Mika finally understood what he had meant with “Go ahead.”, and felt how his face turned bright red in that moment.
At first he thought of it as a joke, that he would burst out in laughter any second and tease him about falling for that obvious prank, that he wanted to take revenge for being called an idiot by him before…but when Mika saw his expression, he knew he wasn’t joking. He was being serious about it.
Feeling how his face was even more heating up, he quickly averted his gaze, looking anywhere but Yuu, trying to distract himself somehow.
Moments passed but Mika still wasn’t able to calm himself down. He could still feel his face burning from embarrassment from Yuu’s sudden suggestion. Hesitantly, he looked over to Yuu, who still had his eyes closed.
Mika wanted to look away again.
He wanted to find an excuse to finally leave the swimming hall and return to the others. He wanted to get out of that situation as quickly as possible…but for some reason, he just couldn’t look away from the boy in front of him anymore.
Captivated, Mika just stood there and looked at him in silence, watching how some single water drops still streamed down his face from time to time and taking in every single detail of his face.
And suddenly…Mika felt how his body moved on his own.
Slowly, he drew nearer to him, without looking away from him even once, until he was in front of him. Mika tilted his head a little to the side and bend down a little, realizing their height difference for the first time.
…I’ve…never noticed than he’s slightly shorter than me. Even though…it’s only a few inches. I wonder…Was it…always…like this…?
Were his last thoughts while he closed his eyes and slowly leaned in.
At first, he only slightly brushed his lips against Yuu’s, unsure if this had been really what he wanted and also wanting to give him the opportunity to pull away any second…but he didn’t. Mika couldn’t feel any resistance from him, not even as he hesitantly pressed his lips a little bit more firmly against his. Slightly parting his lips, he gently and slowly began to move his mouth against Yuu’s, being careful not to hurt him with his fangs and tasting his blood, which still stained his lips, once again.
“…How…does my blood taste like?”
His question from earlier suddenly came to his mind again.
But no matter how much Yuu would ask, Mika would never tell him the truth. He would never admit how much he actually loved the taste of his blood. How he never tasted something so nice before in his life.
And strangely…his blood was the only one he felt that way about. He didn’t know if it was because it was the first human blood he had ever drank, or because he always drank it directly from him, but it was somehow different.
He first noticed that when Shinoa and the others had given him their blood. Even though he drank it, it really was gross, and cold. So entirely different than Yuu’s blood he had drunk all those months before.
It surprised him himself that it didn’t taste the same. He always thought it wouldn’t make any difference. That blood is blood, no matter from which human. Vampires almost never drank from the same human, after all, since they often killed the human in the process by drinking too much of their blood. So he thought it would taste pretty much the same.
But Yuu’s blood tasted so entirely different. It wasn’t gross at all, it…was rather the opposite. A flavour that was sweeter than everything else he ever tasted before. Something that warmed up his whole body every time it ran down his throat. Something…that made him feel alive even though he felt dead inside for years.
And with every single drop he took, he felt how he got more and more addicted to his blood. So addicted, that every other vampire would have drank him dry already if they were in his shoes, but Mika never took more than he needed. Yuu was more important to him than his desires, no matter how strong they were, he would always put his life over his own because Yuu meant the world to him.
But still…He could never tell him how he really felt about drinking his blood. Not only because he was afraid of his reaction but also because he hated himself for thinking like that.
Part of him desperately tried to suppress his feelings, trying to convince him that it was wrong to think like that, that it was something he shouldn’t like at all.
…That it was something only a monster would think.
Where the other part couldn’t help but love it, no matter how wrong it seemed. Telling him that it was alright to feel that way.
…That Yuu wouldn’t think badly of him because of that.
But even if he would decide to tell him, Mika wouldn’t know how he should describe it. It tasted sweet, refreshing…and warm, but it was more than only that to him.
If he would had to choose one single word for it, it would be…life.
His blood tasted like life.
Something so precious that it can’t be returned once it’s taken. Something he couldn’t take for granted. Something…that Yuu was willing to give him even though it could cost him his own life.
Every time Mika drank his blood, he felt this way. But this time…it was different. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the odd way he was drinking it or because of the sensation of his lips on his own but… There was something else he felt in that moment. A weird feeling that were slowly forming in his chest and stomach and was sending shivers down his spine.
Something he never felt before in his life, not even as a human. But even though it felt so utterly strange, it wasn’t like he disliked it. Not at all. For Mika, it was probably the nicest thing he ever felt.
He was sure that if his heart could still beat, it would had probably beaten like hell in that moment, not letting him form a clear thought. But since his heart stopped beating a long time ago, that wasn’t the case.
Instead…he heard the rapid beating of someone else’s heart. Yuu’s heart. It was beating so loud and fast that Mika could perfectly hear it due to him being a vampire.
For a short instant Mika thought about stopping since he was afraid that his heart wouldn’t be able to last for long like that…but threw that thought instantly away as he felt how Yuu slowly began to kiss him back, telling him in his own way that he didn’t want him to stop.
And without him even noticing what he was doing, Mika placed his hands around his waist. Carefully, in order not to startle him, Mika pulled him a little bit closer to him, feeling how tense Yuu actually was in that moment.
It surprised him. Yuu was usually the one who acted so brave and tough. Always seemed like he would be able to handle everything. But in that moment…Mika could basically feel how his friend he always thought of as the biggest hothead he ever knew, suddenly turned into such a shy and nervous boy.
Even though Yuu had tried his best to hide it, he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t hide such things as good as Mika could. He just wasn’t able to.
Yuu never once thought about kissing before. It seemed…unimportant and trivial to him to think about something like that. He had other things to worry about and since he’s never been in love with someone before, it also didn’t seem necessary to him.
But even if Yuu had thought about it…he probably would have never imagined his first kiss being like that.
In an abandoned swimming hall at night, standing in chest-deep water, illuminated by moonlight…and above all he also would have never imagined his first kiss being with Mika of all people.
He couldn’t even believe that he himself was the one who initiated it. And he also wasn’t even sure if this was the right thing to do. If it wouldn’t had been better if he’d just backed out of it again…but these kind of thoughts were instantly washed away as soon as he was tasting a mixture of his own blood and chlorine…and feeling a pair of cold but soft lips softly pressed against his own.
Yuu didn’t know how to describe that feeling in that moment. It felt so entirely different than anything he ever felt before in his life. Mika was kissing him in such a gentle and slow way, that he could feel how his knees were slowly getting weak over the time, about to give way any moment.
His heart was beating so fast in that moment, he feared it was going to explode and for a moment, he even forgot to breathe.
It would have been understandable if he would had wanted to stop but strangely…for some reason he found himself kissing him back.
Yuu didn’t know if he was doing it right, since he never kissed anyone before. He just imitated Mika, who seemed to know really well what to do but that wasn’t surprising since Mika had always been good at almost everything since they were kids.
As he felt how his legs got even heavier, he feared they wouldn’t obey him any longer but before that could happen, he could feel how Mika’s hands slowly wandered around his waist, pulling him closer, while his own hands were still hanging on his sides.
He was unsure of what to do with them in that moment. If he should also wrap them around Mika or if he should just let them where they were. He didn’t know. So he just remained like this and let Mika take the lead while he slowly let himself relax to the sound of the slow movement of the water around them and each other’s breathing while they kissed, surrounded by moonlight.
Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that. If it was only for a few minutes or even longer, they didn’t know.
It seemed like an eternity passed until Mika slowly pulled back a little, their lips still only inches apart while both of them opened their eyes again. They looked deeply into each other’s eyes for a brief moment, before Mika let go of him and they both quickly distanced themselves from each other and averted their gaze with a more than visible blush on their faces.
They stayed in complete silence, both unable to think of something to say or to act normal towards each other. It was Mika who was the first to speak again after a short while:
“We’re…soaked wet,” he remarked with a small and nervous laugh.
“…Huh? Oh,” Yuu said, shifting his gaze back to him for a few seconds before he looked away again, “yeah, I…guess you’re right…”
“…And we don’t even have spare clothes with us…,” Mika said while sighing.
“Well…we still have our uniforms,” Yuu replied, looking at him, the colour of his face returned to normal again.
“You don’t really think I’m going to wear this right now, do you?” Mika asked, also looking at him with a normal coloured face.
“Why not?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“It may not looked like it, but this uniform can get really uncomfortable over the time,” Mika explained, “and to be honest I was really glad I could wear something more comfortable for a change for some time and now a certain someone had to have such a crazy idea like swimming without any swimming togs!” he said while looking at him with a slight angered expression.
“Come on, Mika. You’re not going to lecture me for that for the rest of my life, do you?” Yuu asked with a small laugh in his voice but didn’t get an answer from him.
Instead, Mika just continued to stare at him. Knowing he would never let up with that again, Yuu decided to apologize for it:
“…Okay. I’m sorry for wanting to have some fun and for not listening to a killjoy like you. Are you satisfied now?”
“Well, it’s still better than nothing. And the next time you’ll have such a brilliant idea you’ll think before you act, got it?” Mika exhorted.
“Yeah, whatever,” Yuu replied with a pout and averting his gaze from him.
“Yuu-Chan,” he said his name in a commanding way.
“Okay, okay,” he said, slowly fed up with his stubbornness and looking at him again, “I promise I won’t do this kind of thing again.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, “ he said, hoping he would finally let up with that but still murmured in a quiet voice, looking to the side with a pout: “…But it was still fun…”
“Maybe for you! As for me, I could have gone without it,” Mika said who had heard him perfectly fine.
“You may say that but…actually you also had fun, hadn’t you?” Yuu asked with a grin on his face.
“What? There’s no way I-”
“There’s no need to hide it.”
“I’m not-”
“Come on, Mika. You just don’t want to admit that you also liked it, do you?” he said in a teasing voice and with a smile.
“…”
“…Huh?”
Suddenly Mika looked at him in surprise before his face slowly turned bright red before he looked away from Yuu.
Wondering what was the matter with him all of a sudden, Yuu remembered their kiss from just a moment ago and could feel how his own face became warmer and warmer before he also averted his gaze.
Moments passed and neither of them could think of a way to break that awkward silence between them, until Mika suggested in a quiet voice:
“It’s…late. We…should go back to the others…”
“…Hm…,” Yuu hummed.
Both of them climbed out of the pool again and made their way back to the dresser room.
The whole time, they remained silent, too embarrassed to find the right words to say and the only sound audible being their footsteps.
From time to time they stole glances at each other while the other wasn’t looking, but didn’t dare to say anything.
Just before they reached the dresser room they were reminded that they were still soaked from head to toe. They first thought about really changing into their uniforms but they feared that it would attract attention. Being asked about it was one thing but being teased by Shinoa was a complete other one and since they didn’t want to hear that for the rest of their lives, they agreed to just let their clothes on, hoping they would dry until the next morning.
Finally returning into the room where the others were sleeping in, both of them silently returned to where they were resting before.
Yuu was lying on his back on one of the benches and covered with a towel as a blanket, trying to find some sleep.
But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t fall asleep. Too vivid were the memories of their shared kiss from before and the feeling of Mika’s lips on his own.
Remembering that moment, he felt how the heat was slowly rising to his cheeks again and how his heart started pounding rapidly in his chest. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep like that anyway, he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, trying to sort his feelings out.
It wasn’t just a kiss, for neither of them. It was way more than that.
Both knew that something had changed in that moment. Not only their feelings but also their view of each other.
It was obvious to both of them what it was they were feeling but they just didn’t want to admit it to themselves. It was impossible that it happened in that single moment, with that single action. It couldn’t be.
The only explanation they could think of was that it had been like this for quite a while now and they just hadn’t noticed this whole time.
Of course they were important to each other. Even to the point where they would die to protect the other and there was also no doubt that they loved one another, they were family after all.
But in love?
Neither Mika nor Yuu could quite imagine that. It was just too simple of an answer for what they were feeling for each other. It was more than just a simple ‘I’m in love with him’. What they were feeling had a way deeper meaning than that.
But they just couldn’t give a name to that feeling.
Feeling that his thoughts were getting him nowhere, Yuu sat up and looked over to Mika who was sitting on the floor in a corner with his eyes closed.
Even though he looked peaceful and not troubled at all, Mika was also thinking about what happened between them, not able to formulate a clear thought without thinking at it. That he didn’t need to sleep at all made everything even worse, leaving him alone with his own thoughts.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the quiet footsteps that were slowly coming nearer to him.
Only as he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder, he opened his eyes and looked beside him, seeing that Yuu was sitting right next to him, resting his head on his shoulder while being wrapped up in the towel.
Mika looked at him for a few seconds, before he averted his gaze and said:
“If you’re cold, then you shouldn’t come to me for warmth, you know? I don’t have any body heat, so I can’t warm you.”
“I’m not cold…,” Yuu said with eyes closed and in a quiet voice, almost a whisper, “it’s just…uncomfortable on that bench…that’s all.”
I just really want to be near you, right now…
“…”
Both stayed like that in complete silence for a while, until Yuu could feel how Mika rested his head against his and he could feel how his face got warmer from that action.
“…Mika?” he asked in the same whispering tone like before.
“Hm?”
Yuu remained silent for a few seconds, until he replied with a warm smile while snuggling up even more to him:
“…Nothing. Forget about it…”
…It felt nice…when you kissed me…
“…Are you sure?”
“…Yeah…”
…Did you also…feel that way?
“…”
They remained silent once again for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. After he listened to the soft and steady breathing coming from the boy beside him for a while, Mika realized that Yuu had already fallen asleep.
“…How can you even fall asleep so easily?” Mika asked in a quiet voice and with a small laugh, “at least…you could have told me what you were thinking in that moment…First wantig me to do something like that and then…never talking about that again. Sometimes you’re really just a dumbass.”
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
“But you know, Yuu-Chan. You were right,” Mika whispered while he closed his eyes, “I liked it.”
A faint blush began to cover his cheeks as he remembered the beautiful sensation he felt as their lips met surrounded by moonlight, before he said in an even quieter voice:
“…I really…really…liked it…”