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Roman hummed happily as he dusted the shelves in the living room of his apartment.
It was a nice place, not too big but certainly not too small either, though he'd felt so incredibly lonely since his roommate Remy had moved out for greener pastures up in New York, where there was supposedly a more thrilling nightlife than the quieter city Roman had made his home in. It might be further south - with slightly shorter nights - but Roman just couldn't bear to part with it.
That loneliness, however, had left him in search of a new roommate.
Now he couldn't have just any roommate. Roman had a few too many quirks and eccentricities to give his second bedroom to just anyone. The fact that he wouldn't tolerate garlic in his kitchen nor did he particularly like having salt nearby, that he had removed all the mirrors bar the one in the bathroom, which he usually kept covered, and that the curtains remained closed during the day no matter what usually tripped up hopeful tenants anyway.
You see, Roman wasn't human. And Roman was hoping to find a similarly non-human roommate.
Finding a fellow vampire to live with was difficult, though. Not only did he need to figure out territory issues if he was to find a vampire roommate, he'd need to make sure he wouldn't have a local coven knocking on his door too. He'd also need to figure out how to communicate 'I'm looking for a vampire roommate' without... telling anyone that vampires were real.
It sucked that Roman didn't really have any vampire friends beyond his old roommate, or he'd just invite them to come and live with him. He didn't even really need them to pay rent, it was just an added bonus.
As it was, though, Roman did not have any vampire friends who would be interested in being his roommate, so instead he listed his apartment on a website he knew to be more often frequented by supernatural folks - Witching Hour Househunters - added a link on his Facebook and posted about it on his incredibly empty Instagram he wasn’t fully sure how to use and waited.
He hoped the posts and the descriptions of the room would include enough hints to entice a local vampire in need of a new place to live. He'd laid out his rules - no garlic, no salt, no mirrors, no open curtains, no guests without warning, no impromptu dinners - and crossed his fingers whilst he waited for any kind of response.
Roman got a few interested parties. Two of them were clearly human, and were off-put immediately after being told that viewings would take place between 10pm and midnight. The third person who'd been interested did get to a viewing, but they didn't get into the apartment before the two of them clocked each other as Vampire and Werewolf. Roman had narrowly avoided a fight, and the werewolf had left with a snide comment about how there should be a 'no dogs allowed' rule in the listing.
It had been an annoying side comment, meant to get under his skin, but Roman had done it anyway. It would ensure no werewolves would accidentally pick up his listing, if nothing else.
And then he got a message the next day from someone who'd clearly just made a profile on the website in order to send a message considering the entire profile was blank.
The message read 'Hi - saw you didn't allow dogs, are cats okay? Or is it an all pets thing?"
Roman smiled to himself as he typed back, "Cats are more than welcome, are you interested?"
"Could be." The response came. Roman glanced at the time, almost three in the morning, more evidence in favour, "It's kinda make or break though, would it be annoying to ask if there'd be space to put in a mini fridge in the room that'd be mine? I've got one already obviously I just gotta know if there's somewhere to put it?"
And then another message not seconds later, "I don't mean to bother, obviously, I can bring a tape measure and work it out myself if I view the place, it'd just be cool to know in advance."
Roman hummed to himself, pushing himself off of his couch and putting his glass of blood-red wine down on the coffee table before heading along to the spare bedroom to survey it. The fact that this potential new tenant needed space for a mini fridge was making Roman even more optimistic about the fact that they could be a vampire. Call Roman hopeful, but he really did think this person could be the one!
He took a few more pictures of the room - the space beside the bed, behind the door and next to the dresser as options for a location, all with accessible plug sockets - and sent them over to the mysterious stranger who was supposedly interested in his room.
----
Two days and a lot more talking later, Virgil had been scheduled in for a viewing. He'd learned a lot about his potential future roommate. Virgil had a pet cat named Toothless, who supposedly loved to bite people. Roman thought it was a little ironic, Virgil thought it was hilarious for some reason Roman didn't understand. Virgil was also a fan of Disney, though he referenced a lot of more modern titles that Roman wasn't particularly familiar with after he'd stopped visiting cinemas in the 90s.
Virgil was absolutely a night owl. He worked the night shift at some bar further downtown, which Roman figured was probably a convenient way to feed if he were to run low on supplied blood too. They'd exchanged social media, not that Roman used his very much, so they could keep talking even if the roommate situation didn't work out, since Virgil had deemed him 'pretty cool' and thus worthy of befriending.
When Roman had mentioned the time for the viewings, Virgil had expressed pure relief at not having to go out in the middle of the day for a house viewing for once. Roman shared his sentiment, most certainly.
He found himself excited for Virgil's arrival as it approached the agreed upon time, which brought him back to his cleaning.
Roman wasn't a stress cleaner, but he did want the house to be nice for the viewing, and he wouldn't allow himself to be judged on anything but his best, which included dust on the mantle. He was just making a few of the finishing touches when there was a knock on his door.
Excited, Roman literally floated over to the door, landing back on the ground - there was still a chance Virgil could be human no matter how unlikely Roman thought it was - to unlock and open the door.
"Hello!" Roman announced happily upon swinging the door open, "Virgil, I presume?"
"That's me," Virgil said, blowing bangs out of his eyes. Roman looked him over quickly. He was pale as the moon herself and his eyes were such a striking ice blue that even Roman - used to unnatural eye colours in the vampire community - found a little unnerving with their unwavering stare. His hair was dyed, a black and purple ombre with two raccoon tails in the front. He had multiple facial piercings too - angel bites and a nose ring being the most immediately noticeable. He must've gotten done before he was turned. It was hard to get piercings as a vampire, but considering the overall... feeling, he had about him, Roman assumed he'd been prepared.
He was wearing a hoodie and had his hands stuffed in the pockets, shifting a little awkwardly on Roman's doormat. He could tell that Virgil was looking him over in the same manner, he hoped what he saw was to his liking, but Virgil made little indication either way.
"Then you're welcome to come inside," Roman said with a bright smile, stepping back to usher Virgil inside. Virgil gave a small smile in return.
"Thanks," He said, before stepping in, "So uh, wow - this place is way fancier than I was expecting from the price..."
"Well- I'll admit, your room isn't particularly furnished," Roman admitted, "I originally bought and furnished this home with a friend, so he took his furniture with him when he moved out. I decided to keep the price low so you'd be able to furnish your room to your liking and live comfortably - I can afford to keep your rent low."
Virgil nodded, looking around at all the trinkets Roman had atop a vintage mahogany shelving unit in the hall, before looking up at the artwork - a depiction of a sunny landscape - that hung where a mirror might normally be installed.
"You're a pretty good decorator then," Virgil said with a shrug, "I wouldn't have expected so many dark colours from looking at you though - classy, sure, but all this black?"
"A lot of that was my previous roommate's influence," Roman admitted, running a hand through his loose hair, "All the red was me, though - oh! Yes, tour! Come through here, this is the living space, and through this arch is the kitchen and dining room, though I don't use them all that much..."
"That's chill, I don't cook much either," Virgil said, "Honestly sounds like we'd get along great - you don't have big parties or anything, right?"
Roman shook his head, "We used to, but since my friend's moved out I'd much rather settle down a little more, if I want a party I'd be more than happy to go out looking for one, otherwise I'm happier here with a book. I may have a friend or two around occasionally, though, is that alright with you?"
Meeting a potential tenant was a little like an interview that went both ways, Roman learned. Every time one of them answered a question, another would be asked. Virgil didn't mind guests as long as he wasn't forced to socialise with them, Roman didn't mind them either. Virgil was moving up here from Florida (Roman didn't envy him) and Roman was originally from Appalachia. He'd learned - through some careful hints and deducted responses, that Virgll didn't have a coven around here and Roman had tried to assure him that he didn't either, which was good for him. He didn't want to be getting into disputes.
Virgil had been a bit wary of the lack of furniture in what would be his room, but Roman had promised that he'd help carry or build anything Virgil needed help with, he was fairly strong. A few times, Roman had caught Virgil asking the same questions he'd already asked. Roman wonedered if he was forgetful, or if he'd been caught out by someone saying one thing and then claiming something else before.
Still, Roman reassured him multiple times that there would be no garlic in the house and that his cat was more than welcome. Vampires, famously, didn't tend to get along with most animals, but cats were somewhat of an exception, he'd found. He'd still been warned that he was a biter - again - and by the end of the viewing Virgil seemed satisfied that Roman wasn't trying to trick him.
Roman had sent him the lease and the contract and told him it was his as long as he signed it within the next two weeks, and he'd temporarily taken the post down on the site. He didn't want to pressure Virgil, of course, but he seemed like the perfect fit, and Roman wanted to give him time to accept or refuse without having to worry about other potential tenants coming along and snapping the place up.
Two days later, Virgil had sent back the signed contract and Roman couldn't have possibly felt more overjoyed.
----
Virgil moved in without a hitch.
He arrived not long after the sun had set and Roman - who was far better than the sun anyway - had risen. Roman quickly realised that he really didn't own much. He'd arrived in a beaten up car full of boxes that had only taken about half an hour between them to move into the apartment. Roman wondered how new of a vampire poor Virgil must be to not have had the time to accumulate many things. Though, Roman considered, he could just prefer a more minimalist lifestyle.
Roman had of course asked his age, and Virgil had told him he was twenty four, but Roman couldn't help but wonder how old he was on top of that - Roman himself was nearing a hundred and thirty-six. There was no good way to ask before they got the 'we're vampires' conversation out of the way, though.
So the next few days Roman spent dropping all the hints he could think of. He was absolutely certain Virgil was a vampire, but no matter how many things he said, Virgil didn't seem to take the hint that Roman was one too.
And then, about two weeks into living together, Roman woke up just after sunset like always and made his way downstairs to find Virgil cooking.
"Are you having someone over?" Roman asked, full of curiosity as he followed the smell of cooking meat and bread into the kitchen. Virgil was at the stove, looking ever so slightly stressed while juggling a pan of bacon and sausages, another pan with two fried eggs cooking and toast in the toaster. Virgil looked up, clearly startled by his appearance, before giving him a half smile and turning his attention back to the pan.
"No, uh," Virgil said, ducking his head a little, "I... got the urge to cook and I thought it'd be nice to make a proper breakfast for us? You've been real nice to me since I moved in and I haven't really seen you cook at all so I felt like maybe it would be nice? Sorry I didn't even ask what you liked-"
Virgil kept rambling, and Roman was starting to feel just slightly concerned that he'd misread some part of this entire situation.
"You've made food... for both of us?" Roman asked. Vampires can't eat normal food. Roman hadn't had a proper meal in decades after he'd decided that vomiting afterwards wasn't worth the taste anymore. But here Virgil was, making them a meal like they can eat it, "You... can eat that?"
"Uh- yeah? Oh, fuck, are you vegan or something? I'm so sorry dude-" Virgil said quickly, and Roman realised all at once that he'd made a very grave - pun not intended - mistake.
"Oh dear," Roman said, looking over Virgil again, "...You're human, aren't you?"
Virgil stared at him in silence with those unnerving wide eyes for an entire ten seconds - Roman counted - before opening his mouth to speak, closing it, opening it again and eventually just making a confused noise before actually speaking.
"What did you think I was?" Virgil asked eventually, sounding dumbfounded. A particularly aggressive pop of oil from the bacon interrupted the silence and Virgil reached over to turn the heat off for both pans.
"...A vampire," Roman said sheepishly, reaching to run his hand through his currently messy bedhead.
"Why would you think that!" Virgil near yelled, crossing his arms, "Vampires aren't even real, what- Roman please don't tell me you genuinely believe in vampires-"
"Uh," Roman said, not sure how exactly he was supposed to swing this one. "I... do believe in vampires-"
"Roman-"
"Because I am one," Roman interrupted quickly, "And I was trying to find a vampire roommate so there wouldn't be any issues and literally everything you've said and done has made me believe you were also a vampire, you can't have garlic, you don't like mirrors, you're ghostly pale and your eyes- and- and you're practically nocturnal, you always wear perfume, you love all sorts of spooky things, you don't cook-"
"Oh my god," Virgil said slowly, "I've been living with a vampire-"
"...I'm so, so sorry," Roman said, "I mean you no harm, I promise, I never even meant to have a human roommate purely because I didn't want to freak anyone out, and supernatural folk are supposed to be a secret so you absolutely cannot tell anyone-"
"Wait so that weird website where I found your listing-"
"It's... mostly geared towards supernatural beings yes," Roman said, Virgil groaned.
"Well... now I have twice as much breakfast as I'm gonna eat," Virgil huffed, looking back at his cooking.
Roman's eyes widened a little, "...You're not freaking out?"
"Why would I freak out?" Virgil said, "I already knew you were weird, this just explains it. it actually explains like almost everything."
"Hey!"
"Not in a bad way- just- eugh," Virgil shook his head, flicking the gas back on to finish cooking his food, "Just- fuck, shut up."
"I didn't even say anything," Roman said, coming to lean against the counter. "So... does this mean you're alright with the whole vampire thing, then?"
"Yes, it's actually pretty cool, okay?" Virgil said, raising his hands, "Just don't bite me in my sleep and we're chill."
"...Can I bite you some other time?" Roman asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning. Virgil whacked him with a tea towel and he squeaked.
A few minutes later, though, Virgil spoke up where he was plating his breakfast.
"...Maybe."