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Minato’s never been one to really want something. Well, to put that into better words, he never really wanted anything for himself before. He stayed to himself mostly, training at the gym when he wasn’t at uni to be better able when it came to killing vampires. Joni basically pretended like he didn’t exist after going on a vampire hunting trip with the High Stakes Club once and Helsie simply followed suit just because the blonde ruled the club with an iron fist. So you could call him a loner and Minato was fine with that. He never asked anything from anyone nor asked for help, but was always willing to help others if they needed it. That’s just the kind of person Minato was. Selfless. He’d soon forget those days of selflessness after meeting Lucien for the first time.
The raven haired was walking off campus, having just finished up his classes for the day. Macroeconomics was not the best class at keeping his energy levels up for the gym. He practically slept through the entire class. He wasted no time in heading to the nearest 24-hour store for an energy drink. He frequented this store often just because of how close it was in proximity to campus and his gym. He usually was pretty good at recognizing the usual customer as well. So when he saw the red haired leaned up against the front of the store covered head-to-toe in tattoos and piercings, he had to do a double take. The first thing he noticed was Lucien’s red hair. It almost made him forget about his fishnets that would make any millennial scoff in distaste at and black leather boots that looked practical but completed the man’s alternative style. He rather enjoyed his smell too. Woodsy with just the slightest hint of burnt tobacco. He must have just finished smoking, if it wasn’t already obvious by the stomped out cigarette lying on the ground pathetically by his boots. He looked like someone Joni or even Helsie would hang around, which was why Minato was surprised he’d never seen the red haired on campus before.
Minato’s train of thought was soon cut short though after hearing a scream nearby. His head darted in the direction the scream had come from, seeing a crowd of people running away from that area. Vampire attack. These are getting way too common lately, the High Stakes Club had to have been working doubles now that Minato was out of the picture. Fine by him, less work for him to do. He went to look back at Lucien but the man had seemingly disappeared much to his disappointment. He wasn’t going to lie, he was interested. This was the first time in a while Minato had actually expressed interest in someone. It made him want to know more about the stranger. That was trouble waiting to happen though and more time spent gawking at Lucien meant less time spent at the gym, so he focused back on the task at hand and walked inside the store. Quickly paying for his energy drink and chugging it on his way out.
Although, he did wonder how the High Stakes Club was handling that attack right now and it was on the way to his gym. He wasn’t going to help, he decided. He’d just take a quick look to make sure everything was handled. He tossed his empty can into a nearby trash can and made his way over. He honestly should have just taken the long way to the gym. As soon as he rounded the corner, he saw Joni and Helsie cheering and letting out sighs of relief as the familiar red haired finished off the remaining vampire with a spear. It felt like his stomach dropped. He hated being right most of the time as he watched the three high-five and pat each other on the backs. No, he wasn’t upset. There was nothing to be upset over. It was childish to even feel the slightest bit of sadness. He was fine with the way his life was right now without the High Stakes Club and friends. In fact, he was better off. All that hard work paid off at the gym since he didn’t need others dragging him down to go vampire hunting. Even though a small part of his brain was causing him to imagine celebrating with those three over that victory. He hated the unfamiliarity of this feeling and it was only because of a pretty red head glancing in his direction.
Lucien wasn’t expecting his life to change so drastically as soon as he transferred universities. He needed a change of pace with his change of major. He figured a small quiet city would do him good. He was a bit of a reserved person in general and even kind of timid. You wouldn’t even think the red haired’s secret hobby was hunting vampires. But here he was weeks into his first semester and he's already a soul member of a vampire hunting club. There were only 3 members since not a lot of people enjoyed hunting vampires in their free time. Shocking. Did he mention he had a stalker now too? Perhaps he was just overreacting, but ever since he locked eyes with the raven haired at that convenience store, he saw him almost everywhere he went. Yes, they did go to the same university so he knew they were bound to cross paths eventually. But those paths crossed a lot more times than he expected them to. At that same store, during meal hours, even on missions with the High Stakes club. Somehow Minato was always there lingering in the background. Not that he was complaining, the man was good looking with sharp features. But Joni wasted no time in warning Lucien about Minato. Apparently he was an ex member of the club, the blonde chalking it up to a disagreement between the two members. She didn’t go into specifics, just that Lucien needed to stay away.
“Is he part vampire or something? I guess I’m just not really understanding.” Lucien sounded apprehensive as he sheathed his weapon.
“He might as well be,” The blonde answered bitterly. “I’m just looking out for you and the club. It’s my job as the leader.”
That conversation led nowhere, much to Lucien’s disappointment. Helsie took notice of the growing tension in the air because of the topic and suggested they all go to a boba tea place she knew of nearby. He let the two girls go on ahead, excusing himself with a fake homework assignment that was due the next morning. As soon as he watched the two girls disappear out of view, he made his way in the opposite direction. While he was fighting vampires he had spotted Minato out of the corner of his eye so that’s where he was heading. But it was as if the guy had just disappeared into thin air. Maybe he was actually a vampire. Lucien chuckled at that thought. He decided to give up on looking for the guy after circling the same block for almost 20 minutes now. A group of ladies sitting down at a nearby cafe looked just about ready to call the police on him. Curiosity did kill the cat. He didn’t even know why he was going out of his way to look for Minato. He hadn’t even spoken to him once and Lucien never went out of his way to talk to someone before either. Maybe he was just feeling guilty after seeing the kicked-puppy look on his face and didn’t want the guy to feel left out. Or maybe he was just acting out of his own impulse. The raven-haired guy was attractive. He'd give him that. In the end, the satisfaction of proving Joni wrong about Minato seemed to be the most reasonable motive. Lucien’s rounds of deliberation then ended as soon as his head hit the pillow that night.
He found his way in one morning during Intro to Photography. The professor had assigned a two-student project and everyone was allowed to pick their own partner. Lucien practically jumped up out of his seat to get into the seat next to Minato’s. Not literally, it was more of an awkward shuffle. But he knew this was his chance after seeing the raven-haired stare absentmindedly out of the window while other students paired up. Clearly, he was as disinterested in the project as Lucien was and made no effort to find a partner.
“Hey, looks like we’re both without a partner.” Lucien spoke up to grab Minato’s attention, who almost looked startled.
“Oh uh, yeah I guess we are..”
There was a long and uncomfortable pause in the air as the two stared at each other, as if one was waiting for the other to suggest pairing up. Lucien quickly saved the situation by clearing his throat.
“Well we could pair up! Obviously if you want to.” He suggested, stuttering slightly indicating his clear anxiety.
“Sure, that’d be-”
“Great! Oh- here’s my number. J..Just to coordinate our plans for the project of course!” Lucien stammered, cutting Minato off.
He searched around in his bag for a pen and paper, but all he could find was an old receipt and a chewed up pen that looked just about ready to explode any second now. His face was a light shade of pink from embarrassment as he wrote the 10 digits down. Lucien’s hand trembled slightly as he handed Minato the receipt with his number on the back.
“See you!”
Without even giving Minato a chance to respond, he quickly walked out of the classroom. Well, that was easier than Minato had anticipated. He had been trying to figure out how he was going to approach Lucien for days now. Considering the fact that Lucien hung around Joni and Helsie, it would have been hard to even look in his direction without Joni sending him a look like she wanted him dead in the back of her trunk. But now he had his number and wasted no time putting it into his phone. It was slightly hard to read with the shaky writing and ink smudges, but he managed and sent a text,
“Hi, it’s Minato,” to let Lucien know it was him.
He couldn’t help but flip the small crumpled paper over, skimming through the itemized list of things Lucien had bought. Cigarettes, chips (nacho-flavored), and… Minato furrowed his brows together. A box of pads? Not that it was weird to be buying them. Minato was the one being nosey and looking through his receipt afterall. He probably had a girlfriend or sister or something and picked up a box. Internally, he was hoping for the latter. His train of thought was interrupted by a notification from his phone. Lucien.
“Hey! :) I'm pretty busy tomorrow but I'm free this weekend to get started on our project. How does 5 pm at my dorm on Friday sound?”
That was a pretty fast response. Was he waiting for him to text him? Minato didn’t want to get his hopes up, but everything seemed to be going in his favor lately. So he smiled as he texted back.
“Sounds good, See you then.” He pocketed his phone.
Minato stood at Lucien’s dorm at 5 pm sharp with his notebook and camera for their project in hand. Maybe he had also brought a bag of nacho-flavored chips in his bag too, but that was neither here nor there. He felt nervous to go inside, but knew he couldn’t stand there any longer before he started to look like an actual stalker to other students passing by in the hall. He knocked on the door and Lucien opened up shortly after.
“You’re here! Come in, come in. Sorry if it’s a mess in here.”
Minato thanked him as he stepped inside, looking around. It was one of the bigger dorms on campus that housed up to 10 people, usually for students who couldn’t afford the regular dorms on campus. This looked to be no different as there was some clutter around, but not enough to the point he couldn’t move. It made Minato feel guilty that Lucien was living in these conditions.
“Not at all. My dorm’s not any better.” He reassured with a chuckle, earning a smile from the red head in return.
“Are you hungry at all? I was just about to make some instant noodles.”
“I actually brought something for us to snack on, I wasn’t sure if you’d like these but..”
His voice trailed off as he pulled out the bag of chips from his bag. A complete lie. He knew he liked them after seeing them on the receipt, he just didn’t want Lucien to know he read through it. The smile that widened on Lucien’s face was worth more than the $5 he spent on that bag of chips.
“I love those! And it’s even my favorite brand!”
Lucien seemed excited now and before Minato knew it, he had grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him to his room. He almost forgot where he was for a minute, too caught up in the feeling of Lucien’s hand intertwined with his own. It felt warm and he didn’t want to let go. He was brought back to reality when his hand felt cold again. Lucien had walked away from him to grab his own camera and notebook, sitting down onto his bed. He patted the spot beside himself for Minato to come sit. It almost felt wrong for him to be sitting on his bed considering the amount of times Minato had imagined way different scenarios about being in this bed specifically with Lucien. Nonetheless, he sat down and the two got to work.
Oh, Minato definitely read the receipt. How else would he have known he loved those chips? Lucien’s paranoia was right almost 90% of the time, already being worried that he was going to read through it. So he also had to have seen the pads he had bought for his period coming up. He couldn’t worry about that right now though. Besides, he didn’t seem like he was judging him for it anyways. The red head was more so flattered that he had actually bought him those chips just because he saw it on the receipt. It only made him more interested in Minato and Lucien wanted to know more than just about his involvement with the High Stakes Club.
A few hours had passed since the two started working and Lucien suggested they take a well-deserved break for the time being. Lucien was absentmindedly snacking on the bag of chips while he silently deliberated on how to strike up a conversation with Minato. It wasn’t just like he could outright ask why Joni hated his guts or something similarly personal. As much as his mind was reeling for the answers, he didn’t want to bring up such a sour topic. If only there was some way that he could-
“So, how is it being a member of the High Stakes Club?”
Lucien’s train of thought was brought to a very abrupt stop when he heard the other man’s question. Was he reading his mind? Lucien looked over at Minato and studied his face to find that out.
“It’s cool! Definitely cool. Joni and Helsie are super nice. Didn’t really think my last year of college I’d be hunting vampires but…”
The red haired continued rambling on about missions and boba tea runs while Minato looked like he was hanging on every word of Lucien’s run-on sentences.
“And Joni did tell me to stay away from you but I don’t really see why, you seem really nice and-”
Lucien, with wide eyes, immediately stopped himself there. His pale cheeks turned into a light shade of pink as he looked away from the raven haired, ashamed of himself. Him and his big mouth.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Oh- No no, it’s okay I promise…”
Minato tried to reassure Lucien with a smile as he saw the hurt puppy look on his face. He scrambled internally, trying to think of something else to say to make this conversation less uncomfortable.
“Can I ask what, exactly, did she tell you?”
Lucien shifted uncomfortably in his spot on the bed before eventually meeting Minato’s eyes again.
“She was pretty vague to be honest. Said you were dangerous and she’d never go on another mission with you again even if it meant killing the last vampire… Sorry, now that I’m saying this out loud it’s pretty harsh.”
Even though Lucien felt like he was practically slapping Minato on the face with this information, Minato’s look of concern for the guy never faltered. In fact, he didn’t even look surprised. He just took in the information and nodded before sighing as he spoke.
“I expected that much. I didn’t leave the High Stakes Club on the best of terms.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Lucien prodded.
“I…If you want to of course! No pressure!”
The High Stakes Club had never been gentle in the way it dealt with vampires, but even among hunters, Minato's methods left a bitter taste. Joni couldn't stand him. Minato was well aware of it too. It wasn't because he was effective. She'd admit, through gritted teeth of course, that he was one of the best members they'd ever had. It was the way he enjoyed drawing things out, leaving shredded nests and blood-soaked hallways behind like trophies. To Joni, every hunt should end as quickly and cleanly as possible. Vampires were still living creatures, and cruelty for cruelty's sake only made the hunter look more monstrous than the vampires did. The rest of the Club tried not to dwell on the past, but Joni refused to forget it. She never let Minato forget it either by the way she’d glare daggers at him in the halls and usher the very clueless Helsie along to avoid yet another pointless confrontation.
Minato fell silent after his explanation. The room felt smaller now, the only sounds coming from the occasional crunch of Lucien reaching into the open bag of chips.
"I wasn't always like that," Minato admitted after a long pause.
"At least... I don't think I was." Lucien stayed silent, allowing him the chance to continue.
"The first few hunts I went on, I did everything by the book. Quick kills. Clean kills." Minato’s dislike for the topic of the conversation became visible by the way he was fidgeting, his fingers curling tightly around the camera in his lap.
"Then one night we got to a nest too late and there was a family." His voice flattened in a way that made Lucien’s chest begin to tighten up.
"They made sure that family stayed alive for as long as possible." Minato paused after that, exhaustion written all over his face.
"I stopped believing they deserved mercy after that. And I know Joni thinks I enjoy it.” He let out a quiet laugh that wasn’t convincing in the slightest.
"Maybe she's right. Maybe somewhere along the line I stopped seeing vampires as people. Every time I looked at one... all I could think about was that house."
Lucien just stared at him. It would've been easy to agree with Joni. Easy to call Minato cruel after hearing the stories and his side of the story. Hell, Lucien was an outsider and only recently just joined the club. Minato wouldn’t have blamed him in the slightest for staying away. But instead, he simply asked,
"Did it help?"
Minato blinked, as if he wasn’t expecting that sort of response out of the red haired guy.
"What?"
"Killing them like that." Lucien’s gaze never left Minato’s face.
"Did it make you feel any better?"
For the first time since they'd met, Minato genuinely didn't have an answer. His lips parted before closing again.
"I..."
He'd never thought about it. Every hunt ended the same. Another vampire dead. Another sleepless night. Another excuse to spend hours at the gym trying to wear himself down enough so that he didn't have to think about what he had just done just hours ago.
"No," he whispered eventually.
"I didn't think so."
The silence between them no longer felt tense. It felt comfortable.
"You know," Lucien said with a small smile and soft eyes, "you're a lot different than I expected."
"Oh?"
"I expected someone scary."
"And?"
"I got..." He scratched the back of his neck. "...kind of a dork."
Minato stared at the guy in disbelief. Then, unexpectedly- He laughed. A real laugh, unlike the half-hearted ones he was giving earlier. It caught him off guard as much as it caught Lucien.
"I bring you one bag of chips and suddenly I'm a dork?"
"You memorized my favorite brand of chips just from a receipt."
"No comment."
Lucien laughed too, and before either of them realized it, the tension that had hung over the room since they met had completely disappeared. Suddenly, a buzz interrupted their roars of laughter causing Lucien to reach for his phone. His smile faded.
“Joni. Another vampire sighting.” He mumbled into the air, sounding almost disappointed.
Minato looked out the window at nothing in particular.
“You should go.”
“Aren’t you coming?” Lucien lifted his head away from his phone to look at the man.
“No.”
“They’re going to need help.” Lucien sounded like he was suggesting something out of the question.
“They have Joni.”
“They could still use you” He added with his cheeks puffing up to show his growing frustration.
“They don’t want me.”
The words left Minato's mouth so matter-of-factly that it almost caught Lucien off guard. There wasn't any bitterness behind his words. No subtle hint of resentment either. Just acceptance. As if he'd repeated that sentence to himself enough times over the past year that he'd started believing it. Lucien stared at him for a moment. The confidence and composure Minato described to have had in battle, it suddenly felt like nothing more than a mask. He was a fraud. He wasn't looking at one of the strongest vampire hunters he'd ever met, he was looking at someone who genuinely believed he no longer had a place anywhere. Something about that thought made Lucien's chest hurt.
“I do.” The words just seemed to slip loosely from his mouth before he could stop them. It caused both of them to freeze.
“What?”
“I want you there.”
Somehow, the cracks in his phone became more interesting than Minato’s eyes were to him just moments ago as he did his best to avoid his gaze.
“I..I mean you really don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m not forcing you…” His voice trailed off.
“But I’d feel better if you came.”
The silence that followed that statement felt like an eternity to Lucien. Minato simply stared at him. Nobody had ever said anything like that to him before. Not after he left the High Stakes Club and certainly not after Joni had made it abundantly clear that he was no longer welcome. Somewhere along the way, he'd convinced himself that it was easier not to expect anything from anyone. He'd never really wanted anything for himself anyway. That was just how he'd always lived. He trained until his muscles burned, went to class, hunted vampires, and if someone needed help, he'd give it without a second thought. Wanting things for himself had always felt so selfish. So he never asked for anything, never expected kindness and certainly never imagined someone would choose to spend time with him simply because they wanted to. Yet here Lucien was, looking at him as though his presence actually mattered. As though he wasn't just the hunter the High Stakes Club had left behind. The feeling settled somewhere deep in Minato's chest, unfamiliar and almost frightening. It tightened in a way no workout ever had, and before he could stop himself, he realized there was finally something he wanted for himself. He wanted to believe Lucien meant every word.
"...I know we've only really known each other for, what..." Lucien chuckled sheepishly. "A week? Maybe two?"
Minato couldn't help the small smile that started to grow on his face.
"About that."
"So, maybe this is weird."
"A little."
"But..." Lucien sighed. "You don't seem like the person everyone keeps telling me you are."
Minato's smile wavered slightly at that.
"You've barely talked to me."
"I know."
"And you still think that?"
Lucien nodded without hesitation.
"I do."
"Fine."
Lucien blinked. "Huh?"
"I'll come."
The walk to the abandoned church was mostly quiet. Lucien had tried making conversation a few times, asking Minato what year he was in, if he'd always lived around here, and even what kind of music he listened to. Unsurprisingly, they had a lot more in common than Lucien expected. Their playlists were almost identical, minus the fact that Minato listened to significantly more instrumental music while he worked out. Other than that, their conversations were short, usually ending after Minato answered whatever question Lucien had asked before another silence settled between them. Oddly enough, Lucien didn't mind it. Usually silence made him feel like he had said something weird or offended someone without realizing it. He had a bad habit of overthinking every conversation he'd ever had. With Minato though, it didn't feel awkward. It wasn't like they were struggling to think of something to say. The silence just sort of happened. It was nice. His train of thought was interrupted by his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"We're here," he mumbled after glancing down at the notification.
Flashing red and blue lights illuminated the abandoned church sitting on the corner, police officers already taping off the area as civilians tried talking over one another to explain what had just happened.
"There were at least eight of them!"
"No, there were way more than that!"
"I swear one of them was as tall as the doorway!"
Lucien wasn't exactly sure how trustworthy that last statement was considering the woman saying it looked about ready to pass out, but eight vampires alone was enough to make him nervous. More than eight? That wasn't exactly ideal. He glanced over at Minato. Or, maybe he shouldn't have. It almost felt like he was looking at a completely different person. The nervous college student who had gotten embarrassed over a bag of chips was gone. Minato's shoulders had straightened, his expression unreadable as he stared at the church. Even the way he carried himself had changed. It wasn't cocky or overconfident. If anything, he looked focused. Like someone flipping a switch. Lucien suddenly understood why Joni used to say Minato was one of the strongest hunters she'd ever worked with. Before he could say anything, Joni noticed them.
"What the hell is he doing here?" she snapped, pointing directly at Minato.
Lucien instinctively stepped between the two of them.
"I asked him to come."
"You what?"
"We need the help."
"We don't need his help."
Minato let out a quiet sigh, already taking a small step backward.
"I can leave."
"No."
The word slipped out before Lucien had a chance to think about it. He reached over without really realizing what he was doing until his fingers had already wrapped around Minato's wrist. Joni looked between the two of them before letting out the longest sigh Lucien had ever heard.
"...Fine," she finally hissed. "But he follows my orders."
Minato simply nodded at that and didn't argue. To be honest, Lucien wasn't even sure Minato had argued with anyone since they'd met. The old church doors groaned loudly as Helsie pushed them open. The smell hit Lucien almost immediately, making him recoil in disgust. Blood. Rot. Something damp he couldn't quite place. It settled heavily in the air, thick enough that he instinctively covered his nose.
"Ugh... that's disgusting."
"I've smelled worse," Helsie admitted with a shrug.
Lucien wasn't sure if that made him feel better or significantly worse.
"This way," Helsie whispered, tightening her grip around her axe.
The four of them stepped inside, moving carefully through rows of broken pews. Moonlight poured through shattered stained-glass windows, coloring the floor in faded reds and blues that would've looked beautiful if there wasn't dried blood splattered across them. Nobody spoke. Even Helsie had stopped making jokes. The only sounds came from old floorboards creaking underneath their feet and the occasional drip of water somewhere deeper inside the church.
"They're downstairs!" Joni shouted.
Everything happened at once. Vampires came rushing up the basement staircase faster than Lucien could count. One lunged for him before he even had time to process what was happening. He barely managed to raise his spear, metal screeching against sharp claws as the force of the impact sent him stumbling backward. The vampire bared its fangs, preparing to lunge again, but before it could, a blade flashed through the darkness. Its head hit the floor before the rest of its body did. He probably should've been paying more attention to the vampire trying to bite his face off, but he couldn't help it. Minato fought differently than anyone he'd ever seen. There weren't any flashy spins or dramatic flips like you'd see in movies. Every movement looked simple. Efficient. Like he'd repeated the exact same motions so many times his body moved before he even had to think about it. One swing. One step. Another swing. Three vampires hit the ground within seconds.
"...Holy shit," Helsie breathed out.
Joni didn't answer. She simply watched Minato in silence, her expression unreadable. Lucien searched her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking.Her expression was strangely blank, but there was something behind it Lucien couldn't quite figure out. It almost looked like disappointment. The fight dragged on for what felt like forever. Lucien had lost count of how many vampires they'd killed, his breathing growing heavier with every swing of his spear. His arms ached from blocking attacks, sweat beginning to stick strands of red hair to his forehead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Minato force a vampire against one of the church's old stone pillars. The vampire laughed, blood dripping from its mouth.
"You hunters..." it snarled. "You're all the sa-" The sentence never finished.
Minato drove his blade through the vampire's chest. Then again. And again. The vampire had stopped moving after the first strike. The rest were obviously not necessary.
"Minato!" Joni's voice echoed through the church, but he didn't react.
It was as if he hadn't heard her at all. Lucien froze. This was what she'd been trying to tell him. Before anyone could reach Minato, another vampire emerged silently from the shadows behind him, claws already raised.
"Behind you!"
Lucien didn't think, he just acted as his body moved before his mind could. He shoved Minato out of the way just as searing pain ripped across his own shoulder. Sharp claws tore through his shirt and scraped across his skin, forcing a pained hiss through clenched teeth. The vampire barely had a chance to smile before Minato turned around. Lucien had never seen someone's expression change so quickly. For just a split second, the cold, detached hunter disappeared. All that remained was panic. The vampire never even realized what had happened before Minato's blade cut it down. The church fell silent almost immediately afterward, leaving only the sound of Lucien's uneven breathing echoing through the empty church.
The ride back to campus was long, uncomfortable, and agonizingly quiet. The four were crammed into Helsie’s mom’s mini van she was letting her use for the school year. The only sound that could be heard was the faint singing of a k-pop band that Helsie liked from the radio. Minato didn’t remember the name of the band. Well, couldn’t really be bothered to remember at the moment anyways. Helsie had tried making conversation once or twice, asking if everyone was alright or joking that they had definitely earned some boba after that mission, but after getting nothing more than a few quiet hums from Lucien and complete silence from Joni, she eventually gave up. The blonde kept her eyes fixed on the road, though every so often she'd glance into the rearview mirror toward Minato before quickly looking away again. No one mentioned what had happened inside the church. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence. When they finally arrived on campus, Joni was the first to leave the van and step back into the fresh air, wasting no time in heading off in the opposite direction. Helsie sighed, watching her friend disappear before looking back at the other two. She noticed Lucien clutching his shoulder where blood had begun soaking through his sleeve and gave him a worried look.
"You two go ahead," she said softly. "I'll take care of the mission report."
Lucien nodded, thanking her quietly before stepping out of the car with Minato. The campus health center had already closed by the time the two of them made it back.
"I've got a first aid kit in my dorm," Lucien said, trying to ignore the stinging pain every time he moved his arm.
"It's really not that bad."
"It is."
Lucien glanced over at him. Minato hadn't taken his eyes off the blood slowly spreading across the fabric of his sleeve since they'd left the church.
"Sorry."
Lucien frowned. "For what?"
"You got hurt because of me."
A small laugh escaped Lucien. "I got hurt because I shoved you out of the way."
"You shouldn't have."
"I know."
"Then why did you?"
The question caught Lucien off guard. He couldn't exactly say ‘because I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt.’ They'd only known each other for a couple of weeks. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand and offered a sheepish smile.
"I guess... instinct?"
Minato didn't look convinced, but he didn't press the issue. By the time they reached Lucien's dorm, the events of the evening almost felt like a dream. A really, really, fucked up dream. The abandoned photography project still sat exactly where they'd left it hours earlier, notebooks spread across the bed beside a half-empty bag of nacho-flavored chips. They'd spent so much time talking that they'd barely made any progress before running off to fight vampires. Lucien’s train of thought was then suddenly cut off.
"Sit down."
Lucien blinked. "Huh?"
"I said sit."
Before Lucien had the chance to argue, Minato had already found the small first aid kit tucked beneath the sink. He carried it back over and knelt in front of him.
"I can bandage it myself."
"I know."
"Then why are you doing it?"
Minato was silent as he carefully rolled Lucien's
torn sleeve up over his shoulder, exposing the angry red scratches underneath.
"Because I want to do it."
Lucien didn’t want to argue after that and the room fell quiet again as Minato worked. His movements were careful as he cleaned each scratch with an alcohol wipe before applying ointment. Lucien couldn't help watching him. It was strange. Less than an hour ago, those same hands had been cutting through vampires with frightening precision. Now they trembled ever so slightly while holding a piece of gauze, as if he were terrified of causing Lucien even the smallest bit of pain.
"You know..." Lucien spoke quietly, breaking the silence.
Minato hummed in acknowledgment without looking up.
"I think I understand what Joni was trying to tell me."
That comment made Minato's hands pause.
"I understand why she doesn't want to hunt with you anymore."
For a moment, Lucien wondered if he'd said the wrong thing by the raven haired’s body language.
"But," Minato finally looked up. "I think she's only seeing half of it."
His brows furrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"She sees what happens when you're fighting." Lucien smiled softly at him.
"She doesn't see what happens afterward."
Minato looked away.
"You looked terrified when I got hurt."
"..."
"You weren't angry."
"..."
"You weren't enjoying yourself."
Lucien watched the other man's shoulders sink ever so slightly. As if he were trying to curl into a ball to shrink away from the conversation.
"You looked like you blamed yourself."
A quiet sigh escaped Minato's lips as he finished wrapping the bandage around Lucien's shoulder.
"I always do."
The confession hung heavily between them. Lucien reached over, gently resting his hand on top of Minato's before the raven-haired man could pull it away.
"I don't think you're a monster, Minato."
Minato stared down at their hands for what felt like forever.
"You should."
"I don't."
"You saw me back there."
"I did."
"And you still think that?"
Lucien nodded without a moment's hesitation.
"I do."
Minato felt his throat tighten. He'd spent so long convincing himself that he didn't need anyone. That wanting people around would only end in disappointment. That he'd stopped allowing himself to want anything at all. It had always been easier to throw himself into training, classes, and hunting vampires than admit there was an emptiness he couldn't fill on his own. But sitting there in Lucien's dorm, with the redhead's hand still resting over his, something inside him shifted. For the first time in years, he found himself wanting something purely for himself. He wanted to believe Lucien. More than that, he wanted Lucien to stay. He wasn't exactly sure when he'd started leaning forward. Maybe it was when their hands had naturally found each other again without either of them really thinking about it. Or maybe it had started weeks ago outside that convenience store when a complete stranger with bright red hair had smiled at him for the first time. Whatever the reason was, by the time Minato realized how close they were sitting, he was already looking into Lucien's eyes. Lucien noticed too.
"Oh..." he laughed quietly, his cheeks turning pink almost immediately.
"Uh..."
Brilliant. He'd had plenty of things he wanted to say on the drive back from the church. Somehow every single one of them had disappeared the second Minato looked at him like that. Neither of them moved. Neither of them looked away either. Lucien could feel his heart beating so loudly that he was half convinced Minato could hear it. He wasn't exactly sure if this was the part where one of them said something romantic. He'd never really gotten this far before. Judging by the way Minato looked equally lost, he hadn't either.
"Can I?" Minato asked so quietly, Lucien almost missed it. Lucien felt himself smile before he even answered.
"I was starting to think I'd have to do it myself."
A nervous laugh escaped Minato as he shook his head.
"You probably would've."
"I definitely would've."
That somehow made the last bit of nervousness disappear. Minato reached up slowly, giving Lucien every chance to pull away. Instead, Lucien leaned into the touch almost without realizing it, closing the small distance between them himself. Their lips met gently, hesitant at first, like they were both still trying to figure out if this was actually happening. It wasn't perfect. Lucien accidentally bumped his nose against Minato's, immediately pulling back with a quiet, embarrassed laugh.
"Sorry."
Minato laughed too.
"I don't think you're supposed to apologize after kissing someone."
"I've never done this before."
"Neither have I."
Lucien blinked.
"Seriously?"
Minato scratched the back of his neck, looking almost as embarrassed as Lucien felt.
"I spent most of college either in class, at the gym, or hunting vampires."
"Right."
"And you?"
Lucien shrugged.
"I spent most of mine transferring schools and pretending I wasn't terrified of talking to people."
"You asked me to be your photography partner."
"I know."
"You gave me your number."
"I know."
"You dragged me into your room."
"I know."
Lucien covered his face with both hands.
"...Can we stop talking about this now?"
Minato couldn't help laughing again. It was warm this time. Easy. Nothing like the strained laughs Lucien had heard from him before.
"I think you're kind of adorable."
Lucien slowly lowered his hands just enough to peek through his fingers.
"You really think so?"
"I do."
Lucien smiled so brightly it almost made Minato forget how exhausted he was. Without really thinking about it, Lucien leaned over and rested his head against Minato's shoulder, being careful of his own injured one. The room fell quiet again, but neither of them felt the need to fill it. The half-finished photography project was still scattered across the bed, notebooks sitting beside the nearly empty bag of nacho-flavored chips that had somehow started all of this. They'd spent the afternoon planning pictures, the evening fighting vampires, and somewhere in between had accidentally fallen for each other.
"We're definitely going to fail this project," Lucien mumbled.
Minato looked over at the untouched camera sitting on the desk and quietly laughed.
"Probably."
"I don't even think we took a single picture today."
"...No."
Another comfortable silence settled between them before Minato gently intertwined his fingers with Lucien's again.
"I don't really care though."
Lucien looked up.
"...Me neither."
For once, Minato didn't find himself thinking about the next vampire hunt or tomorrow's workout. He wasn't thinking about Joni or the High Stakes Club either. The guilt he'd carried around for so long was still there, and he knew it wouldn't disappear overnight. But for the first time in a long time, it didn't feel so heavy. Maybe nothing had really changed. He still had classes in the morning. He still had a photography project due in a few weeks. There would still be vampires to hunt. But now, when he thought about tomorrow, Lucien was part of it. And somehow, that made him look forward to it.