#count dracula x reader fic

[6lostgirl6]

Can you please do a Dracula fic for me where it is modern times and you are Dracula’s mate. He sees you and immediately knows what/who you are to him. He goes about trying to court you but he does it in the same way you would way back when. You find it cute and sweet, seeing as how most guys put minimal effort in and just wanna get in your pants. Basically you guys fall in love and he tells you what/who he is, you obviously accept it, and maybe ends with you asking him to turn you. Which he’s obviously gonna do.

Thank you. 🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️

Chivalry Is Undead

Pairing: Modern!Vladislaus Dracula x Fem!Reader

TW: Dracula haunted by your death, blood mention, dead bodies mentioned, reincarnation, mentions of past life, Dracula hissing at you, turning.

There was only one moment in time in which Vladislaus Dracula was able to find a sense of true happiness in his life. This was the time he felt like he was truly a human being rather than a monster, a tyrant. The time in which he still had you, his long lost wife.

Now, centuries later, he was considering taking a trip across the world to ease the pain of losing the only thing he had ever truly loved and felt that he could never recover from. The trip from Romania to America was rough, staying in the cargo hold of a boat until they reached land. By the time he was able to step out, the entire crew was lifeless and drained of all blood.

A few days after he arrived in the city, he decided to explore the area and get to know the city a little better.

It was impossible not to notice how out of place the vampire Lord stood in the crowd. He was dressed in clothes that would remind people of the Victorian era. It didn’t help that he was the only one to carry an umbrella during the day without a sign of rain. However, he also caught the attention of multiple women, none of which interested him. His beloved wife held a special place in his heart, there was no room for any other.

After walking for a while, he was suddenly hit with a very peculiar scent in the air. Dracula paused in his steps, his eyes widening as he took in the sweet aroma. His undead heart would have skipped a beat if he were human.

He could smell the scent of his beloved.

He hastened his steps, effortlessly pushing through the crowd as he did so. He wasn't going to let any disgusting human get in the way of him finding his lost love. He paused again, standing in the spot where the sweet aroma was at its strongest.

Suddenly, he widened his eyes in shock as he looked across the busy street and a rare smile appeared on his face. His pupils began to dilate as he stared across the street. There you were, standing near the crosswalk with a device in your hand that he remembered was a cellphone.

He couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than you; the exact image of the beloved he lost so long ago. The sensation of moving towards you itched in his body. He was tempted to forget about the traffic in front of him and just appear before you. It was your touch, your presence, and your entire being that once soothed his tyrannical soul. He missed you and desperately wanted you back in his arms and that is exactly what he'll do.

You were watching something on your phone, waiting for the pedestrian signal to change so you and a small crowd of people could cross the road. Soon, the pedestrian signal turned green, allowing you and the small crowd to begin walking across safely. After crossing the road, you went to walk down the sidewalk when you suddenly bumped into what seemed like a brick wall, causing you to drop your phone. 

With the stranger's quick reflexes, he was able to grab your phone before it could land on the pavement.

“Apologies, Miss...” He said, his voice was deep with a Romanian accent, handing out the device towards you.

"Thank you so much." You said with a sheepish smile, taking your phone back from the handsome stranger. "I'm really sorry, I should have been paying better attention."

Damn, even her voice is the same...

He waved his hand towards you dismissing your apology with a friendly smile. "No, do not apologize, the fault is mine. Might I ask your name?" He asked with curiosity.

You found him awfully charming and you gave your name out instantly. "What's your name?" You asked, just as curious about the handsome stranger. In that moment, the stranger took your hand not holding your phone and pressed a kiss upon your knuckles. You felt your heart skip a beat. 

“What a gorgeous name…” He muttered, staring into your eyes. 

Dracula’s keen hearing was able to sense your nervousness and your immediate attraction to him. His mind was hazy and fangs aching to make their claim upon your delicate throat. To claim you as his mate so he would never lose you again. "You may call me Vlad, my dear, I have traveled all the way from Transylvania for sight-seeing." 

“You’ve come a long way…” You uttered, your gazes were still locked on one another, unable to break the connection between you both. 

“I have, but I believe the agonizing trip was well-worth it, to see true beauty such as yourself.” He commented, smirking a little when he noticed the warmth flooding your cheeks. “I was exploring the city, but it would be lovely to have someone like you accompanying me. Would you like that?” 

Your eyes softened, giving a smile from his charm, he was quite different from the other men you would see around the city. It warmed your heart to have a man show genuine interest in you and want to merely spend time with you. “I would love that.” 

Dracula felt relieved as his eyes softened from your acceptance. He held his arm out and you quickly wrapped your arm around his own, elbows linked together. It was very old-fashioned you can admit, but you couldn’t help but prefer it. However, you couldn’t place it, but the gesture was oddly familiar, as if he’s done this with you before. 

Your relationship with Vlad has been going well for a few months now and you are happier than you have ever been. Since becoming his unofficial tour guide, you have spent almost every day with him. You have even been on a few dates with him, unable to resist his sweet nature and silver tongue. Dates that consisted of fine restaurants and extravagant tours of the city that you had never had the opportunity to experience before. However, you noticed that Vlad was very vague when it came to specifics about himself. In particular, he was not interested in discussing his past, his finances, or his methods of obtaining them and his need for carrying an umbrella everywhere. When you asked him why, he mentioned it was because he had a rare skin condition that would become irritated if exposed to direct sunlight.

Despite his mysterious behavior, you still found him extremely charming and you noticed that you were starting to grow intense feelings for him. However, as your relationship developed and your feelings grew, you began having dreams, strange dreams. More like nightmares because you would always dream about ancient times where you and Vlad were once married where the dream would end with your impending doom, you were never given details of your ultimate demise.

You never bothered to tell Vlad, not wanting to push him away or make him think you were crazy because you dreamt that you were his wife in some past life, you never wanted to ruin your chances with him. For instance, you were going on another date with him tonight, deciding that you both would meet each other in an extravagant park that was quite a distance from the city.

After getting into your car and making the drive away from the city, you arrived in the parking lot near the entrance of the park. Glancing outside your window, you turned off the engine before stepping out onto the concrete. It was just after dusk and the skies were starting to become darker as the minutes moved on. After locking your car, you headed over to the entrance and looked around. 

Part of you disliked Vlad not having a cellphone, due to him hating technology, but you had no way of getting a hold of him should you ever needed him or his location. Checking the time on your phone, you sighed as you were about to put it away. You were becoming a little anxious that you might have been stood up.

“Looking for something?” A pleasant voice whispered in your ear, thick Romanian accent sending shivers down your spine. 

You jolted slightly, gasping as you turned towards the person. Standing behind you with an amused smirk was Vlad, seemingly entertained by your reaction. You rolled your eyes and playfully smacked his arm, knowing that it wouldn’t hurt him. “You scared me!” You exclaimed, a teasing smile plastered on your face. 

“I apologize, my sweet.” Vlad replied, staring intently into your eyes. He thought it was delectable how scared you became, even if it only lasted for a meer moment. He was dressed in black with a thick overcoat. “It’s rude to scare the lady that captured my heart.” He continued, reaching out to take your hand in his own. He couldn’t resist touching you.

You felt your cheeks grow a little warm, gripping his hand as you both entered the park, enjoying the scenery. However, you were still a little distracted from the dreams you’ve been having. Usually, you were able to ignore it until you went home where you could reflect after your dates with Vlad. Now though, your mind was constantly replaying the dreams in a loop. You didn't notice how distant you became the more the date went on, getting lost in your own head.

Dracula noticed you were more quiet than usual, opting to replying in short answers or needing him to repeat himself. Dracula may have been old, but he understood when someone is thinking about something, something very important.

He stopped you both when you appeared next to a fountain, turning towards you and taking both of your hands in his own. "What bothers you so, my sweet?" He asked, concern evident in his gaze.

"I'm sorry..." You muttered, a little embarrassed from your behavior. "I've just been thinking about some things."

"Like what? Does something trouble you?" He questioned, squeezing your hands. Everything was feeling very familiar again, and you were starting to feel a little weird.

"I've been having...strange dreams lately. Dreams that seem very real and like I've been there before. But it's impossible, right? Dreaming about something that's never happened?" You explained, but it only left you asking questions.

Dracula swore his heart jumped to his throat. Could this mean you were starting to remember your past life with him? Was his mere presence and time spent with you the answer to getting you back?

"What do you dream about?" He stepped closer, his gaze refusing to leave your own. "What is it, my sweet?" He was eager to hear your answer.

"It's really stupid, it's like we've met before? The dreams start with us being married during an ancient time and the dream ends with me dying in some way and leaving you behind...the dream never gives me answers though..." You explained, voice low. "But, we were really happy and I woke up crying sometimes."

"It's because it was real..." Dracula replied, his eyes soft and if he could, tears would have been gathering in his own eyes. "It was real, my sweet..."

"But that's impossible, Vlad." You stated, a little confused from his reaction. "Past lives don't exist and even if you were alive during that time, you would be dead right now."

Dracula sighed, before looking around. He didn't sense anyone else in the vicinity, meaning that the both of you were completely alone. For once in his immortal life; he felt nervous, nervous for your reaction.

"Come, my sweet," Leading you by the hand, you both walked over to the fountain, sitting down on the stone structure. "There is something we must discuss."

"Vlad...this isn't because of my dreams, right? It's okay if you think it's weird..." You started before Vlad politely cut you off, showing his hand.

"My darling, the dreams you've been experiencing are very much real. Centuries ago, you were the love of my life and we were once married. My pride, arrogance, and selfish desires caused me to lose you forever. However..." He gripped your hand tightly. "I have you once more, in this life. I've been given a second chance at happiness my darling, with you." He explained, he didn't want to beat around the bush.

You stared at him, slightly in shock from his explanation. Your mind was going a mile a minute, and crazy as you may seem, part of you believed him. However, the logical part of your mind screamed at you to wake up. If it were true, how is Vlad here?

"Then how are you even alive, Vlad?" You questioned, looking into his eyes.

"Because...I am a monster, my darling." He hesitated before continuing, "I am Count Vladislaus Dracula and I am a vampire."

"W-What?" You asked, standing up and backing away a little. Not allowing you to escape from him again, Dracula stood up and closed the distance between you both once more. He towered over you, his intense gaze staring into your own. "Vlad, that's not-"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true." He stated, grabbing your hand.

"Vlad, this is such a stupid j-"

Suddenly, Vlad appeared in front of your face, hissing down at you with glowing eyes, fangs protruding from his gums and jaw slightly unhinged like a snake. His face was monstrous and for the first time, you were scared of him. You screamed in fear, struggling to remove yourself from his grip as he wrapped his arm around your waist, gripping your wrist with his other hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The monstrous face of Vlad returned to normal, pulling you close as tears gathered in your eyes, trying hard not to sob into his chest. He felt horrible that he had to show you this way, but he didn't know how else to convince you he was telling the truth. "You needed to see, darling, I'm sorry for scaring you." He caressed your hair.

You sniffled, your face pressed against his chest as Vlad continued caressing you, trying to calm you down. His monstrous face tormented your mind, however your heart was screaming that you needed to hear him out.

"M-My dreams..." You pulled away slightly, looking up at him as he moved a free hand to caress your cheek, wiping away stray tears from your skin. "W-We were really married...?"

He gave you a small smile, before nodding his head. "Yes, my sweet, but now we are given a second chance. This time, I will do everything in my power to protect you and keep you with me forever." He promised.

"But you can't..." You replied sadly. Vlad was a vampire, an immortal creature that would continue living for many more centuries, while you could die at any moment. You felt your heart breaking, knowing that even though you had a second chance, you would still lose him.

Unless...

"Unless you change me..." You mentioned, causing Vlad to look into your eyes with an unreadable expression. However, you didn't realize how much Dracula wanted to sink his teeth into your throat and change you right this second. However, he maintained himself as you continued speaking.

"Is that what you want, my darling?" He asked, pulling you close as his other hand moved to cup your other cheek. "Do you wish to become mine eternally?"

"Yes." You answered, wrapping your around his neck which made him want to purr from your affectionate touch. "Yes, I want to become your wife once more."

Without another word and breaking your gazes, he wrapped an arm around your waist before dipping you slightly. From this position, all you could see was the face of your former lover and the stars above.

"Your wish is my command." He uttered, before leaning down, which made you close your eyes instinctively.

You were bracing yourself, awaiting for the pain that would engulf you when Vlad would sink his fangs into your neck. The pain that would ultimately change your life forever. However, that never happened as you felt the man of your literal dreams pressing his lips against your own. You gasped slightly, the kiss between you two quickly becoming passionate.

Dracula couldn't hold back the pleased growl rumbling from his chest. The ability to finally have you in his arms again and tasting your sweetness through the kiss almost made him lose control. However, he wanted to make the change romantic and less painful.

Behind your closed eyes, more memories were revealed like a record player and you felt tears swell into your eyes once more. You remembered everything and your heart shattered, knowing how much pain your husband has been through since your departure.

Reluctantly, Dracula pulled away from the kiss, staring down at you with a pleased smile. Your heart was frantically beating against your chest and the way you were staring up at him made him feel an intense longing. "Are you ready, my darling?"

"Always for you, my king." You uttered in Romanian, your eyes full of devotion locking onto his own.

Dracula's instincts were going mayhem as his eyes widened, hearing those sweet Romanian words fall from your lips, uttering a name that you once called him centuries ago. He missed you so much, and he finally found you, he finally had his beloved wife once more.

"My queen..." He replied in Romanian, smirking down at you as his fangs extended.

Next thing you knew, was the excruciating pain in your neck as the love of your life sunk his fangs deep within your throat before you lost consciousness.

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@prettywhenibleed @ghoulgeousimmaculate @britany1997 @scaramantica

[serene-sun]

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖞 𝕺𝖓 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕸𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖎𝖓, 𝕻𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕽𝖎𝖉𝖌𝖊 𝖁𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖌𝖊

Summary: After a multitude of wrong doings at your catholic church, you and four other nuns are sent on a mysterious transfer to a ministry nobody dares speak of. On behalf of the Count Copia, you are welcomed after a suspenseful journey. Author Note: This is the first chapter to my new series based on some of my favorite movies like Dracula, The Phantom Of The Opera and Labyrinth. You might even get some references to some others as well as a few ghost lyrics. This is going to be a build up to smut, and this will be a romance one obviously but beware this is major corruption kink coming your way. If you need some help, the ghoul in this chapter is Aether, and half of this is quite literally the exact script of Dracula. You can even look it up and see! Please enjoy, all feedback in my inbox is greatly appreciated.

Chapter one of my new series, “𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝕲𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝕱𝖚𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖆𝖑 𝕺𝖋 𝕾𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖘”

In a Coach in the Carpathian Mountains, a young woman reads to four passengers from a travel brochure.

“Among the rugged peaks that frown down on the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age.” The woman is knocked from her seat by a bump in the dirt rural road.

“I say, driver, a bit slower!” Another woman says, her black veil crooked as she shakes in the mobile. 

“No, no! We must reach the mountain before sundown!” The driver says, a crack in his voice as the silent erie sound of the forest starts to swallow all sounds.

‘And why, pray?” One of the female passengers asks, closing the bible in her lap.

“When the sun sets the demons start evoking the mountain side like raging wolves and hyenas, desperate for any vulnerable being to feast upon!” The driver replies as they are enveloped in a cloud of fog, the steep road getting more bumpy.

You held tight onto the rosary in your hands, a charm of Jesus Christ on the cross between your palms as you listen to the man speak.

As the vehicle stops in the center of the small village on the ridge, the passengers eagerly step out of the transport and into the rich moist soil. This is a small village of three homes and one or two inns, mainly farmland and water sources as it fits in a small acre. 

A woman from the nearest inn steps out of the entrance as chickens follow, her hair is in a messy bun and there is soot smudged across her face and clothes with a few patches holes in her dress and apron.

“Oh dear, let me help with your luggage sisters.” She says, wiping her hands on her sides to rid of the grim.

“Oh do not worry madam, we are to arrive up top the mountain by tonight.” you say as she grabs a leathery bag.

“Tonight? But the sun is already half set? The gate keeper, he is afraid. Good fellow, he is. Wants me to ask if you can wait to go on after sunrise.” She says as she sets the luggage back into the trunk.

“Im dearly sorry but im afraid we have specific orders from our adviser to be there by sundown, and I fear we are already late.” You reply, hands still clasped together.

Was what the driver said true? Why would it? Perhaps he was only trying to scare the group of young women.

“And who needs you on the mountain? Who sent you faithful young holy women to the dark abbey?” The innkeeper says in disbelief, she studies the very christian and catholic constant theme on the luggage and clothes.

“Count Copia, I assure you, we are here on holy deeds.” You say, willingly ignoring the description of the abbey, surely it was not truly an unholy place, it was an abbey after all.

‘Count Copia? And to the ministry?” She hides her hands in her apron pockets with her brows knitting.

“Yes.” You nod slowly, unsure of what she means, is he not the holy man they were sent to serve? 

“No, you mustn't go there. We people of the mountains believe at the castle there are devils. Count and his ghouls!  They take the form of wolves and bats, goats and succubi. They leave their coffins at night, and they feed on the blood of the living.” She says, placing her hands on your shoulders and eagerly rushing you inside, “Look at the sun! Its already gone, come we must go indoors.”

“But thats all superstition. Why I…I cant understand why…” You try to reason as the door is slammed shut after the other nuns enter.

“But wait, I mean, just a minute. What im trying to say is that im not afraid. I've explained to the driver that its a matter of holiness and god filled right, We've explained it and we must arrive soon.” You say as she pokes at the fire, letting out a cough into her hand.

“If you must go then take this for your mothers sake,” the innkeeper hands you a small vile of blood, “This will protect you..”

‘W-what is it?” You ask, the other sisters surrounding you in curiosity.

“The blood of christ!” She says, eyes wide with fear.

For a moment you feel the need to call help for the woman, she must be a poor paranoid soul. And there is no way she of all people would have the blood of christ.

The sisters gather back into the small mobile and quickly ride upon the foggy dark mountain as the red piercing sun drowns in the horizon. 

When the car stops in the pitch black court yard, the car hurriedly drives away.

“Wait! Driver! Our luggage!” 

The groups attention is brought back to the stone path to the large entrance doors as it is lined with lit candles that come of flame. The dancing red light illuminates them to follow, you take the lead, as you seem to be the least terrified. 

You push open the large black doors and step into the Obsidian floor of the main castle. Its dark just like outside and candles suddenly egnite.

The nuns look around the room, taking in the shadowed paintings, murals, and stained glass.

A footstep spooks you as the sound comes from a taller man at the top of the main stair case.

“G-Good evening.” You bow your head slightly in respect as you can only make out his shape.

“I am…Count Copia..” He says, thick italian accent in his voice as he begins stepping down the long stairs.

“Its very good to see you. I don't know what happened to the driver and our luggage and…well…with all this..I thought I was in the wrong place.” You say, hoping to not sound rude, but there wasn't a cross in sight and the stained glass showed depictions of devilish things instead of virgin mary and jesus.

“I bid you welcome.” The count says,

Outside the large windows, there the howl of a wolf.

“Listen to them…children of the night. What music they make!” He smiles hauntingly.

The older man starts walking off down a corridor lined with paintings and candles. The hall is painted dark red with black trim. One candle stick is consumed with spider webs, it catches your attention as you follow.

“A spider spinning his web for the unwary fly. The blood…is the life, Ms…” He invited you to say your name.

“Ah of course, My name is Sister _, from the western Catholic church of god.” You say with another pleasing bow.

The man hums, his eyes darkening, “Im sure you will find this part of the ministry more inviting.” He says as he opens the doors to a larger room, it has five beds, dressers, nightstands and even an chest at the foot of every bed. Theres two couches on either side of a coffee table in the center of the room, accompanied with a vase of dead roses, a fire place, and two other chairs of black leather. What is most questionable is why the room is a circle, not one corner.

‘Oh rather! Its quite different from outside. Oh, and the fire! Its so cheerful.” You say with a smile.

“I took the liberty of having your luggage brought up. Allow me.” He says as he takes the groups wool capes, he hangs them on a coat rack.

‘Oh yes, thank you.” One of the sisters says as she sits on the neatly made bed. 

The room is painted a deep purple, black trims and wall designs. The curtains over the large windows were a pitch black, and the beds were of black steel and neatly covered with purple silk sheets and purple cotton. The room was lit with candles and a chandelier.

You pick up the letter on the bed, but you accidentally cut your finger on the sharp note card.

As a droplet of blood rolls down your finger, the man quickly turns away.

“Oh dear im sorry, its just a paper cut, I didn't know you were squeamish.” You apologize as you grab a napkin cloth and hold it.

“The infirmary is on the main hall to the left, I hope you shall never need it.” He says as he holds his hands behind his back.

“Thank you,” You smile.

‘I will have a ghoul take you there, and get a bandage.” He says with a large swallow. 

You tilt your head, “ghoul?” You ask, what is with this odd abbey?

Suddenly, out of the darkness of the room, a masked entity approaches you. His silvery devil mask shines in the candle light, through the slit shines his piercing white eyes, pupils so thin and slit like a snake your unsure if they're even there or if its the shadows playing tricks on you. Hes in a nice suit attire, a skull tie and button up pants. His dark hair is slightly wavy and is cut short at his ear and neck, he has a calming presence and you notice his ears are long and pointed. You take in the fact that this man was not infant human, but rather a demon. 

So the innkeeper was correct? About unholy ghosts here?

He leads you to the infirmary, the walk there is silent as you continue to study his form. He has a spaded tail, and his hands are a pale muted purple and his veins are visible in a lighter white color. The ghoul had long sharp claws too, as well as a thicker build. 

He opened the door to the infirmary, he lets you sit down as he gathers materials to address the minor cut.

As he comes back, he kneels in front of you and takes your hand. The pads of his fingers are rough but smooth, hes very gentle and has a calming affect to him.

You swallow, your afraid to speak.

The ghoul parts his lips, like hes about to speak but doesnt know what to say, “Your heart is racing.” he says, deep voice like a deep cave filled with echos and shadows. Its warm and heart filled, he truly means no harm.

Your hands tremble as you shiver, “w-what?”

‘Ah uh…sorry…I meant that your frightened and there is no need too be.” He quickly blurts out, like he hasn't talked to a stranger in years.,

“This is not what i was expecting..” You say as you start to ease up.

“Nobody does, don't worry, you are safe.” He says as he cleans the wound. 

“This…is not a place of god is it..?” You finally ask as he lets go to cut a piece of gauze to use.

“No. It is not.” He looks into your eyes.

You had the feeling that when your church said they were moving you, that it wasn't because you were the best sister of god there. You had started asking to many questions and you always knew that when they transferred people it was never for the better but to rather rid of the so called delinquents that questioned god. In a way you knew you would be thrown out, but not like this and to the wolves.

“Im sorry…I just…I don't want to die..” you start to tear up, ‘I don't want to burn for eternity.”

The ghoul quickly looks up at you, ‘no no no don't worry,” He chuckles, “Your not going to die here and you wont burn for eternity, I doubt god even knows you exist.” 

Your taken aback some, “But don't you eat people? Kill us for blood? Sacrifices and such?” 

“Your demonology books are far outdated…” He says as he wraps your finger.

“So….you ghouls are…kind?” You say, standing up.

He nods, “yes, everyone here is.”

You look down at your feet, “I apologize, I feel I need to introduce myself and start over.” 

The ghoul stretches his hand out, “You may call me Nameless Ghoul.”

You take his hand, “Im Sister _, I hope we can be friends.”

[free-for-all-fics]

Tanz der Vampire/Dance of the Vampires and Dracula Musical Prompts! These are written with the German productions in mind, but really any adaptation could work. Pls tag me if you’re inspired by any of these ideas and I’d love to read it! ❤️🩸

1. You’re Count Dracula’s daughter/son and Graf von Krolock’s wife/husband. Describe what your immortal life and marriage is like. You may have been addressed as Countess/Count Dracula while you were still unmarried and later Countess/Count von Krolock after your marriage, but as the biological daughter/son of Count Dracula, you’re still technically a Princess/Prince. Your father was a Prince of Wallachia in his mortal life and later became the King of Vampires, after all. You’re vampire royalty; your beauty, charm, family name, etc. made you highly sought after by men and monsters alike. But there was no better a match for you than Graf von Krolock. He’s a handsome and charismatic nobleman with a flair for dramatics. He’s technically lower in status than you, but you don’t care. You love him for reasons far more important than rank, so you’re not too bothered with the fact that you married down.

In all your centuries together, you’ve never for a moment regretted your choice to take him as your husband and eternal mate. Moving from Castle Dracula to Castle Krolock was easy since it immediately felt like home. You’re no stranger to acting as Mistress/Master of the Castle; you loved making Krolock Castle your own and adding your own personal touches, whether it be the interior of the castle or the garden/cemetery outside. Maybe it’s because you wished to have a son or daughter that your husband later turned Herbert and adopted him as yours and his son. If you wanted an heir, he would kidnap anyone of your choosing from a human village and turn them at your request. Herbert may not be yours by blood, but he would be your son in every other sense.

2. Beauty and the Beast AU: You’re Sarah’s sibling and Graf von Krolock is fixated on you instead of her because he believes you to be the reincarnation of his beloved husband/wife/lover. You look and act exactly the same, it’s uncanny. He kidnaps you, maybe half mad with grief and delusional from his centuries of black melancholy and loneliness. While you’re technically a prisoner in his castle, he doesn’t treat you like one. The castle is your home now so he lets you explore freely. You may go anywhere you wish, except for one locked door. That room is forbidden. You can’t leave the castle grounds or go beyond the garden/cemetery. He won’t let you. If he’s not watching you, there’s always another vampire or servant who is.

“What’s the story with the locked room upstairs?”

“It belongs to the late Graf/Grafin. We don’t go in there.”

“It might help me figure out what’s going on if I could take a look inside.”

“Best of luck. That door locked itself up tight the day of his/her funeral. There’s not a key in this world that’ll open it. Many have tried - myself included, I regret to say. If you’re really going to try opening that cursed door, if you’re really going to try breaking in to explore the late Master’s/Mistress’s room, the only advice I can offer you is this: Don’t let the Master catch you. Do you understand? Don’t let him catch you.”

During your captivity, you’re haunted by nightmares of lying dead on a stone bench deep within the castle’s chambers. The chamber can be accessed only through the window, set high in Krolock’s castle wall. A large bat flies in and hovers over the bench, regurgitating blood onto your dormant body. Your corpse starts to interact and bond with the dripped blood. Within seconds, you’re once more resurrected as a vampire. You wake up in a cold sweat from these night terrors. You either wander the castle halls in the dark and get lost, only to later be found by Kukol or Krolock himself. Or the Count is either lingering in your doorway or leering at you from over your bed, watching over you and waiting for you to awaken.

He lets you partake in the annual Dance of the Vampires, a celebration when the undead come to life in the cemetery and the castle again lives its former glory for one night only. He gifts you a beautiful suit/dress and protects you from the other vampires. He’s made it more than clear that only he or Herbert are allowed to dance with you. Are you truly his long lost love reincarnated or has the Count‘s mind succumbed to madness from centuries of existential pessimism? Are you truly a flickering light of hope in his shroud of black melancholy? Whether you remember your past life or not, could you ever find it in your still beating heart to love him despite him being your captor? Would you let him damn your soul and give you his vampire kiss so you can join him in eternity and save him from this inhabitable hell of loneliness?

3. Graf von Krolock was once deeply in love with you, Dracula’s daughter/son. You were his beloved wife/husband and eternal mate, but something happened where you were either killed by vampire hunters or died tragically. Your father was devastated by your untimely death. In his grief, he blamed your husband. Count Dracula and/or Graf von Krolock may have avenged you by hunting down, brutally killing and sucking the blood of the humans that took you away from them, but it didn’t make either vampire feel any better. They were still hollow. Even if your death wasn’t murder and was an accident, they’d still set fire to the villages and instill fear in the humans for what was done to you. Blood was spilled and heads rolled. No man, woman, or child was safe from their wrath.

Your father and husband never reconciled their relationship following your death. No matter how drawn out or excruciatingly painful they made the deaths of the hunters that slayed you or how many centuries passed, nothing could numb the pain your absence brought upon them. Your husband has never remarried; no mortal nor vampire could fill the void you left behind. No matter how beautiful, smart, etc., no one could ever hope to take your place. You were his mate, his one true love. Your old bedroom doubled as your personal study and it was one of your favorite rooms in the entire castle. It’s still exactly as you left it. Torn apart with grief, Krolock either keeps it locked up tight and has Kukol hide the key out of his sight so he’s never tempted to step foot in your room ever again. Or he’s the only one who’s permitted to hold the key and enter. He personally sees to keeping it clean and orderly, free of any dust or signs of decay. You wouldn’t want your favorite room to be neglected and left to rot away with time, so he keeps it pristine for you. He knows you’ll never step foot in this room or his castle again, but cleaning keeps his mind busy and helps him cope with your loss. This room brings back once happy memories of you now marred by tragedy, but it makes him believe for a few fleeting hours that you’ll come home.

“What’s the story with the locked room upstairs?”

“It belongs to the late Graf/Grafin. We don’t go in there. Ever. Only the Master would be allowed to go in and out. It’s best not to ask questions or go poking around.”

“It might help me figure out what’s going on if I could take a look inside.”

“Best of luck. That door locked itself up tight the day of his/her funeral. There’s not a key in this world that’ll open it. The Master likely carries it on him or keeps it somewhere hidden. I wouldn’t even try, if I were you. You’d be dead the second he caught you snooping around in places you weren’t supposed to be.”

To this day, Count Dracula refuses to have anything more to do with Krolock, citing what he believes is your husband’s failure to protect you. They haven’t spoken since the day of your funeral. Dracula is unyielding in his belief that Krolock could’ve or should’ve done more and that your death is your husband’s fault, even if it’s not actually true. You were his only surviving child and heir, and he only wanted the best for you. He didn’t approve of your choice in husband. If you had listened to him and never married Krolock, maybe you’d still be here. But you went against his wishes and married him anyway, and now you’re gone.

The King of all Vampires has held onto his grudge against your husband for centuries and isn’t going to ever let go of it unless, by some miracle, you’re brought back. Speaking of which, a group of humans are spending the night in the abandoned ruins where you supposedly died. They’re here to tell scary stories and urban legends, but get much more than they bargained for after they inadvertently resurrect you with their blood. The first thing you do upon awakening is kill and feed from the humans closest to you. You’re so weak and feel like you’ve been starving for centuries. You can’t be bothered to chase the others while they scream and flee in horror upon realizing you’re more than just a legend. First, you want to find and reunite with your father and husband. What happens next?

4. You’re Graf von Krolock’s beautiful and enchanting daughter, but have no interest in men. While Herbert has fallen in love with Alfred, you’ve been trying to claim Sarah’s heart. Neither you nor your brother understand subtlety; it’s in neither of your vocabularies. You’re both laying your seductions on thick, uncaring if your approach makes Alfred or Sarah feel awkward and uncomfortable. Awww, they’re both so cute! Herbert is very playful and fun. He loves playing games and chases Alfred all over the castle. The poor man is scared half to death as he tries in vain to run away and escape your flamboyant brother. Once Herbert finally catches Alfred, he holds him tightly in his strong embrace and carries him off to his bedroom, where he will read him poetry and tease him all night. He wants to take his sweet time seducing the boy before he bites him. He wants to make love to Alfred first. He wants Alfred to want him, to give in and reciprocate his love.

Meanwhile, you’re obsessed with Sarah and constantly interrupting her many baths to spoil her with extravagant gifts such as a beautiful red dress and matching red boots. You’d love nothing more than to join her in that tub and explore her naked body. You can tell she’s been sheltered her entire life and has never experienced the touch of a man nor a woman. You doubt she’s ever touched herself and would love to show her how to do it. She’s so innocent and naive; you want to corrupt her so bad and show her the sins of the flesh, just as Herbert wants to do with Alfred. But you’ll be patient for now and turn up the vampire charm once she arrives at the Vampire Ball, wearing your gifts. You’ll dance with her all night and you’ll bite her to turn her into your heart’s companion. She’ll be your mate, your lover for all eternity.

Krolock either steps back and lets you and your brother handle it, or he actively encourages you both to pursue your romances but leaves you to bite your lovers yourselves. He’s too wrapped up in the Vampire Ball or his own existential pessimism to watch over you or your brother’s activities. There comes a time when each vampire must turn their first human, and there’s no better time to learn than now. Either way he’s not going to come between his children and their newfound paramours. Despite your differences and his serious disposition, your father loves you and Herbert more than anything. He’s just too fucking exhausted all the time, wrapped up in the festivities or crushed by his own black melancholy. He can’t be bothered to always get involved with your and your brother’s whims or…whatever this is. He’s raised you both well enough over the centuries that he trusts you know what you’re doing.

5. You’re just trying to donate blood but your lovers/husbands, Count Dracula and Graf von Krolock, are acting like total weirdos. They’re both leering over you the whole time and have no concept of personal space. If you have a fear of needles, they’re running their long fingers through your hair and scratching your scalp with their long nails as they kiss your forehead to comfort you. They’re making sure you have plenty of snacks and water so you don’t pass out. But they’re both eager to taste that sweet, sweet blood. You knew you should’ve left them at the castle, but they were stubborn and insisted on coming with you. Bringing vampires to a blood drive is like bringing them to an all-you-can-eat buffet. If they leave your side, it’s because they’re bothering the other nurses trying to take blood, insisting that it shouldn’t be that hard to find a vein. They’re asking inappropriate questions about where the blood is stored and if they could have a bag or two to go. No, they can’t have any blood bags. This blood isn’t for them, it’s for the countless humans that need it. The poor patients and nurses look nervous and probably think the vampires are going to eat them.

You knew being a human and having two vampire lovers/husbands was going to be incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, but they seriously have no chill when it comes to blood. Even after their centuries of vampirism, you have to bribe them to behave with promises of letting them bite and drink from you once you fully recover and your blood replenishes. If your arm wasn’t stiff from having a needle or tube in it, you’d face palm so hard. This is the last time you’re bringing them with you when you donate blood. These Counts are lucky they’re so handsome, charismatic, and amazing lovers in bed. Sometimes you don’t know what you’d do with them otherwise. They love having you sandwiched between them every night so they can lay their heads on your chest and listen to your heartbeat. It’s like music to their ears. They can almost dance to the beat. It’s one of their favorite sounds, apart from the noises you make when they make love to you. Hopefully when they finally turn you into a vampire, life with them will be less chaotic. Spoiler alert: Eternal life with them is even more chaotic than it was when you were mortal.

6. Dracula didn’t kill Van Helsing’s wife, Roseanne. Instead he turned her into a vampire and put her under his thrall, either as revenge against Van Helsing or because he was in love with her too and felt spurned when she decided to marry Abraham.

7. Underworld AU: Roseanne was a vampire and Dracula’s biological daughter. She fell in love with Abraham Van Helsing, a human man. Even though it was against vampire law, she and Van Helsing continued their secret love affair, whether or not he ever knew she was a vampire. They eloped and Roseanne later became pregnant with a Dhampir child. Upon discovering her pregnancy, Dracula killed his own daughter. He loved her, but the abomination growing in her womb was a betrayal of him and the entire vampire race. He did what he had to do to protect the species. Since his wife’s murder, Van Helsing has sworn revenge on Dracula and has dedicated his life to vampire hunting, determined to slay the Vampire King himself.

8. You’re Professor Abronsius’ grandchild and either Krolock or Herbert are in love with you. Instead of Sarah, you’re the one who gets seduced and kidnapped by vampires. Your grandfather is so busy with taking his notes or exploring the Count’s library that he gets easily distracted and sometimes forgets what he’s doing. Wait, why is he in this castle again? Oh yeah! To rescue you from the bloodthirsty vampires. Right, right. He loves you, never doubt that. The moment he realized you were gone, he was desperately searching for you. But it’s no surprise you were kidnapped right from under his nose in the first place. Even if you had kicked and screamed, he was probably deaf to your cries for help, having blocked out all noises. He often forgets the world around him.

When he does finally come to rescue you, he’ll probably ward off the vampires by lecturing and admonishing them. Poor Abronsius never even realizes it, but it’s already too late for you. Krolock or Herbert has already bitten you. By dragging the newly transformed you out of the castle, your grandfather didn't exactly save mankind from the vampire plague. You can’t return home with him. Krolock’s castle is your home now. The Count and/or his son will come after you to bring you back. Your grandfather walks off singing about his "victory” while you’re starving. That young assistant of his looks so appetizing. Just one bite won’t hurt.

9. Count Von Krolock spends a lonely and melancholy life in his old castle in the mountains, in the company of his son Herbert and his servant Koukol. Krolock has never been the same ever since he lost you, the love of his mortal and/or immortal life, to an unforeseen tragedy. Your untimely demise was so long ago that the Count has lost track of time and can no longer remember when exactly you died. Your body has since been laid to rest in a beautiful mausoleum near his castle cemetery. He’s given you only the best. The most beautiful coffin/casket, flowers from his garden, etc. The epitaph on your grave has worn down with time and is practically illegible. But he still remembers the words he had lovingly engraved underneath your name. Ever since your death, The numbness and loneliness of his existence is interrupted only at the annual Dance of the Vampires when the undead come to life in the cemetery and the castle lives again, for one night, its former glory.

You’re not a vampire, but you rise from your grave with the rest of the undead. For one night only, your body is magically restored and you become flesh. You’re just as beautiful as you were the last time Krolock saw you alive, before you were taken from him. Your voice is the same, your hair is the same, your scent is the same, etc. You and your beloved Count make the most out of the few hours you have together. You dance the night away in each other’s arms before the Count escorts you back to your beautiful resting place. He holds your hand as he helps you climb back into your coffin/casket and gives you one final kiss before you return to your annual slumber. He closes the lid just before the night ends. Just before sunrise, your body decays once more. He can never bear to watch you change back. But he can still hear it. It’s just as unbearable, or maybe even worse. He retreats back into the castle before the sun can burn him.

“Until next year, my love.”

[reaveries]

▬  𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲

gif credit to @robpattinsongifs (much higher resolution on their account)

summary: late-night visits from your definitely human boyfriend

pairings: edward cullen x fem!reader

word count: 1.6k (approximately 7 minutes reading time)

a/n:  I’ve had this baby marinating in my drafts since January, when I was going through my bi-annual Twilight Renaissance. I was actually in the middle of writing a RE2R Leon Kennedy fic today and decided to put on a twilight playlist, and then I just knew I had to finish this one. It’s my first *published* non-RDR fic heehee (I have so much in my drafts, it’s insane). Anyways, enjoy (pardners)!

masterlist archive of our own

It’s that dreadful time of year again. 

The sun is making its curtain call as students from the nearby elementary school trip over themselves running home. Little girls and boys have sticky remnants of lunch peeking from the corners of their mouths and the grass is still slick from morning showers. But dusk is impatient in February, and its eagerness is encouraged in a town hidden beneath perpetual overcast nine months out of the year.

The school children ran past her window minutes ago when the sky had been painted brilliant indigo. Now, when she looks up the only thing left to see is her own dark reflection and the warm orange glow from a candle on the sill. Its tall flame stutters, collapsing and rising with the damp breeze. 

A page turns, disrupting the otherwise quiet room. The only other noise that can be heard is a soft pitter of water dripping onto the floorboards from a coat hanging off the closet door. 

She reaches for a mug sitting on the corner of her nightstand and promptly sets it back down upon finding it empty. It returns to its spot atop crumpled receipts and library hold slips belonging to the growing stack of books accumulating dust at her bedside. These books tower over the permanent nightstand residents: lazily discarded beaded necklaces, a sample bottle of floral perfume from Christmas, two little ceramic bunnies purchased from an antique mall in Port Angeles last summer, car keys, and drugstore chapstick. It might be worth convincing her to let go of some of these post-object permanence discoveries, but that is a matter for another time.

In a desperate attempt to comprehend the words she’s reading, she rolls onto her back and extends her arms straight in the air so the book hovers a foot from her face—a change of perspective to freshen the mind.

It does not help. 

No matter how much she shifts or squints, the antiquated prose remains stubbornly uninviting. She can’t fathom why anyone would willingly subject themselves to something so archaic and convoluted and furthermore, recommend it as one of their favorite novels.

With a huff, she adjusts the headphones at her ears, hoping the music will clear her mind. But despite her best efforts, the book slowly drifts closer to her chest and her eyelids grow heavier as the music lulls her into a dreamless sleep. 

When she wakes to cold fingers grazing her jaw it’s impossible to tell whether she’d fallen asleep or if she just blinked. The weight of the headphones gently disappears as they’re pulled off and set down on the nightstand. She grumbles incoherently and stretches out her legs, not unlike a cat after a long, difficult day of lounging around. Her eyes begrudgingly flutter open and immediately find him only inches away. He’s watching her, peering down with a twinkle in his amber-colored eyes.

“Edward…” she whispers.

“Dracula,” he says, eyebrows raised as he makes the observation. “I thought you didn’t like Gothics.”

She reaches a finger into the book on her chest and folds the page over before tossing it carelessly into the sea of knitted and quilted blankets at the foot of the bed. With the haze of sleep still clouding her eyes, she smiles sheepishly up at him.

“I’m trying.”

He chuckles lightly and brings his hand to her hair again, brushing stray strands off her forehead and tucking them behind her ears before leaning down to place a chaste kiss above her eyes. Though his lips are soft, the icy touch of his skin sends a shiver down her spine. He’s always cold; a result of his anemia, he says. However, the downpour that's dampened his hair and clothes to his skin has chilled him even more so.

In an effort to sit up, she raises herself onto her elbows and catches a glimpse of the bright red digital numbers on her bedside clock.

“You’re late, you know,” she chides, watching him settle uncomfortably at the head of the bed. He sinks down among the pillows, their plushness contrasting humorously with the stiffness of his demeanor. He reaches behind his back and tugs free a stuffed rabbit lodged between him and the headboard, then sets it down softly beside himself.

“I had to make a quick stop. I hope you can forgive me,” he says in a hushed voice, so as not to make too much noise in the resting house. His eyes flit towards the nightstand and she follows them to see a new item sitting amongst the disorder. A tall styrofoam cup with steam rising thinly from the lid. Coffee. 

The mug she just finished sits right beside it. She’d considered brewing more but that was before being rendered unconscious by Bram Stoker nearly an hour ago. Her heart swells at his thoughtfulness, but a more pressing question comes to mind before she can voice her gratitude.

“How did you even climb up here with that?” She asks, reaching for the cup with both hands.

“I’m very…agile.” There’s a look in his eyes that tells her there’s more to it, but she chooses to ignore it for now with a shake of her head.

The taste is immediately harsh, significantly more bitter than how she makes it herself. Any trace of a smile dissipates and is replaced with a pronounced look of disgust.

“Good God, Edward,” she exclaims. “Decaf? What did I ever do to you?”

He laughs and takes it from her hands, leaving her still reeling from the unexpected taste. “As much as I love staying up with you, you need sleep,” he says, a hint of sternness in his voice. “You didn’t get any last night and you don’t hide it well.”

He says the last part sweetly, tilting his head to the side and following her motions with his eyes, watching her pick up the stuffed rabbit by its cotton paw.

“Don’t hide it well?” She repeats, the indignation in her voice contrasting with the softness of the toy as she raises it high into the air and brings it down against his chest with a soft thud. “Well maybe I wouldn’t have to hide anything if you—weren’t—keeping—me—up—all—night!”

With every word, the rabbit hits his forearms poorly attempting to shield himself from the blows. Edward grins as she attacks him, the soft toy barely making a sound against his arms. He watches as her hair falls across her face in the midst of the unrelenting attack, the warm glow of the candle casting a soft halo around her.

But then, his amusement fades as he sees the exhaustion in her eyes. 

He gently takes the rabbit from her and sets it aside before grabbing her arm mid-swing and pulling her into his chest. She sighs heavily and surrenders, relaxing against him. "I’m sorry," he whispers, his lips brushing against her hair. “I’ll let you rest tonight.”

Despite his tender words, a residual half-baked frustration lingers inside her. “How did you manage to stay awake in class?” she mumbles into his sweater, the words muffled. “I mean, you didn’t get any sleep either.”

He chuckles, as if privy to some inside joke.

“Well, someone had to take your notes for you,” he says, his fingers trailing through her hair in a soothing motion. “And besides, you looked so peaceful drooling away.” 

She looks up at him, a hint of a drowsy smile playing at the corners of her lips. “I did not drool,” she insists.

He grins down at her, his eyes alight with fondness. “Of course not.”

She groans and buries her head into his chest, to which he responds by encircling his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

“I’m never falling asleep in front of you again,” she grumbles.

His chest rumbles beneath her cheek as he laughs. “Alright, angel.”

He shifts his hand from the crown of her head to the curve of her back, tracing languid circles over the fabric of her t-shirt as the room fills with a comfortable silence. The rain outside grows heavier, tapping against the glass with a more insistent force. Her body is warm against his and he can feel the steady thumping of her heartbeat as if it's his own. A few minutes slip by, and he senses her breathing even out and deepen. Without disturbing her, he reaches for a nearby blanket and drapes it over her, then turns his gaze to the candle on the windowsill.

“Sweet dreams,” he whispers, as the dwindling flame fades out of focus. 

This is his favorite part of the day.

Vague arrays of soft, muted hues and shapes swirl around in his vision, overtaking the warm surroundings of her bedroom. They morph into recognizable figures after some time, and he can hear them speaking when he focuses. For the most part, they sound as if he’s underwater and they’re conversing on the shore. But every now and then, a clear phrase emerges.

Suddenly, the floating shapes assimilate into a figure resembling him and he realizes what this dream is. It’s a recurring one he’s particularly fond of. He settles in and pulls her closer as the scene ebbs between reality and distortions of the unconscious mind. 

He can’t remember how he used to pass the night hours before he met her. Books, records, films--looking back, they feel hollow compared to nights spent like this. Part of him hopes he’ll never know what it's like to want for this. But these dreams, and her thoughts in the waking hours, assure him he won’t ever have to find out.

[ellastone-olsen]

The Legend of Sleepy Valley - Wanda Maximoff (part 1)

★Pairing: Vampire!Wanda Maximoff x f!reader

Summary: no one had ever seen the family members living in the huge estate nearby. maybe this is not just the case and they are hiding something. legends surround this place and soon you will find out for yourself where is the truth and where is the lies. this is the first time a vampire will not kill her victim.

★Warnings: NSFW 18+ (in future parts), dark au, blood, stalking, mentions of murders, nightmares, slowburn

★Word count: 2.6k

★AN: I decided to re-read Dracula and an idea came to me. this is my first series fic and the first part is preparation for the most interesting things. maybe there will be one or two more parts, I don’t know how much my imagination will suffice.

The small village of less than one hundred fifty people could not boast of special wealth, but as they say, human blood is not water, this is the true wealth that these people had. If only they knew about it.

Away from the crowd of dilapidated houses stood the old estate of the Maximoff family, whose history dates back to ancient times. No one could say exactly how long ago they settled, but every generation of people who lived here knew who lived in the ancient “castle” as the locals called it. Family members did not often catch the eye of the village residents, preferring a secluded life without “good neighbors” nearby. All you knew about them was information gleaned from the legends that parents told their children, passing on these terrible stories from generation to generation.

One of them said that it was the Maximoff family that was behind the disappearance and fatal diseases of ordinary peasants who lived in these parts. If someone’s livestock died, it means that people’s turn will soon come. No one could explain exactly how they were involved in this, which is why they were legends. Some said that all the troubles began with the arrival of the first ancestor - Konstantin Maximoff. As soon as this man set foot on the dead, poor soil of these regions, terrible things began to happen.

But who are you to believe in stupid old legends? Now is not the time when people rely on fairy tales. This was the age of computer technology and the Internet, so you could read horror stories on Google. It’s a shame that the stories turned out to be true, what’s even worse is that you learned this from your own experience.

“Why did you kill me? Why did you kill me?" You looked in horror at the doorway in which stood a man... no, a child, judging by his height, about 7 years old, but his face was not visible. Only glowing beady pupils and a dark silhouette, that’s what you could make out in the pitch darkness of the tiny room. “I didn’t do it, I didn’t kill you.” You tried to move, but it was all in vain. The body froze like a heavy marble stone. The brain was already awake, but the limbs were stuck to the mattress of the bed. Heart beat out a fast, ragged rhythm, threatening to jump out through ribs. No one would come to the rescue, you knew. “Why why did you kill me.” The hallucination repeated these words like a prayer in the temple of the Lord God, to which you were ready to go any minute. What to do, what to do, probably the same as always. Scream.

An eardrum-breaking screech escaped from your chest, maybe someone will hear it? But absolutely everything that happened was only in your head. Together with the scream, flashing flashes began to hit eyes, a good sign that the method was working. If anyone had heard the screeching, they would probably have gone deaf.

You suddenly sit up in bed, breathing as if you had run a marathon and won. It was all over, but the fear remained. Sleep paralysis was never limited only to the state of paralysis itself; even after them, anxiety was with you, sticking to the subcortex of consciousness like soft molasses. You turned on the light in the room and picked up the phone. The clock showed 3:42 am, if you are lucky, within an hour you will fall asleep again. Your finger clicked on the messenger icon and you entered a chat created specifically for communication between people living in your village and surrounding area.

Your eyes quickly scanned hundreds of messages and ads for old junk when photos of the scene caught your attention. It was talking about another cattle killing of one of your neighbors. People, as always, wrote that these were wolves or pumas, which often live in these parts. At least the claw marks were definitely not left by a human. A terrible bloody mess, what more can you say. Soon panic will sweep the village again, because everyone knows that this will be followed by the death of one of the residents. Damn it, sitting at home all day long again was the first thing your sleepy brain generated. Well, let it be, but you will get some sleep for the first time in the last couple of months.

The phone slowly fell from your hand onto the soft, fresh sheets and your lead-filled eyelids fell into your eyes. Finally the long-awaited dream. You saw your past, but more exaggerated. Winter frost, a scarf that covers half of your face and you don’t know where to go. The picture changed and you found yourself on the red carpet, walking towards the door at the end of a hundred-meter corridor. There are white walls and camera flashes all around. You didn't know where you were going, but it seemed like a good place. The door opened revealing a round room with a bunch of people and animals. A ginger cat similar to yours came up to you and you extended your hand to pet him, but the animal grabbed you with its teeth, biting over and over again. The claws passed along your forearm, leaving red droplets of blood, the wonderful dream again became a nightmare and you opened your eyes.

Your room again. The lights were off. It's strange, you didn't seem to turn it off. Perhaps mom woke up and walked past the room. Your gaze could not focus on anything, you looked around, blinked a couple of times and looked into the doorway. Someone was standing there again. A woman with long hair, you would think it was your mother, but she had short shoulder length hair. Again, hallucination is the first thing that came to your mind. You tried to bend your leg to make sure that this was the case, but the movement was easy and you sat down in fear. The figure was still standing in place and eyes accustomed to the darkness could discern clothing in the form of a knee-length dress, boots and a jacket, it seems? The head of the unknown woman in your room tilted to the side, she was also looking at you. She studied, as if deciding what to do next. It seemed that being noticed was not part of her plans.

"Who are you?" the vocal cords did not produce anything louder than a whisper. And only now did you notice a strange pain in your hand, in the same place where the cat scratched you in your sleep. You grabbed the forearm of your left hand, feeling the moisture under your palm and lifted it to get a better look. You couldn’t see anything in the darkness and you licked your palm to feel the metallic taste. Liquid scarlet blood was streaked and still leaking from the scratches, not deep enough to leave scars.

In response to your action, the stranger loudly sniffed air and seemed to... growl. But people don't know how to make SUCH sounds. “Did you do this?” you extended your palm to her, but instead of answering, the dark figure disappeared outside your bedroom. You wanted to catch up with her, but got tangled in the blanket and fell to the floor, cursing under your breath. When you went into the common room, no one was there anymore. Not a trace of anyone else's presence.

The morning greeted with the rays of the sun, which lay softly on your face. The smell of homemade pancakes wafted from the kitchen, the recently returned birds chirped on the tree branches as if they were wound up.

The phone was still lying next to you and the clock on the screen showed noon. Among hundreds of notifications overnight, you found a message from your friend Lily, which read: “I’ll pick you up at one o’clock in the afternoon.” Well, at least you had an hour to get ready. Surely, after those messages about the murder, your parents would lock you at home, and you wanted to have time to take a walk in the first days of spring.

While you were sitting in the kitchen and looking at one point, while finishing breakfast, your thoughts returned to this night. There was no doubt that the first thing that happened to you was sleep paralysis, but what happened then? How could someone sneak into your family home so silently and without a trace, why did this woman need to watch you, and even more so... You could write off the incident as another nightmare, but your forearm still stung. Raising your hand, you saw scratches that were already covered with a blood crust and were in the process of healing. Oh no, it wasn’t definitely a hallucination. When you got out of bed, the first thing you did was check your room for missing valuables, but everything was there. Apparently the only thing this strange woman touched was you. Today before going to bed you need to check all the locks in the house, all the windows and make an impregnable fortress out of it.

“Are you sure you want to go there?” The question hung in the warm spring air. Your friend was dragging you by the hand to the so-called Sleepy Valley. The children of your village were not allowed to go there, firstly because flocks of sheep usually grazed there, and secondly...

“Y/N, do you know why this place is called that way?.” Of the two of you, you knew more about local folklore, so you easily found the desired legend in the memory archives. The legend of the Sleepy Valley.

“My mother told me that there were always sheep grazing there, but one day a shepherd came into the valley and the whole flock was lying on the grass. It looked like someone had thrown cotton balls around. It looked as if the animals were simply asleep, but when the man approached one of the sheep, he realized that it was dead. They were all dead. Some maniac or animal ripped out the throats of the poor animals. This is where the name comes from.” You finished the story and were walking through the wild forest when you saw an opening. Perhaps there were such stories around this place, but there was no other place for walking cattle in the vicinity.

As the tall trees retreated, a majestic field stretched around, with a herd of fluffy white sheep as usual. Lily pulled you by the arms a little away from the animals to sit on the fresh green grass looking up at the sky. The two of you just lay there and listened to the chirping of tits, voluminous white clouds rushed above you, forming bizarre shapes. Life seemed unreal at that moment.

Only in the forest from where you came out it was watching you. Red eyes scanned everything that was happening, and acute inhuman hearing caught your conversation even at a distance of twenty meters. Your night visitor did not miss the chance to follow the first person whom she, for some reason unknown to her, did not kill during close contact. Wanda was patient, even too patient, and something about you caught her attention that night. Maybe your peace of mind or... No, it’s too early to think about that. In any case, she spent the rest of the night waiting for you to wake up and leave the house.

For so many years that she lived on this sinful earth, the daughter of the Maximoff family could tell a lot from a person’s blood. She drank dozens of people dry and each was unique in their own way, from the first sips one could understand what kind of life a person lived and what it was like, blood for her was a thing in which the essence of human nature was hidden. None of her victims had aroused an iota of interest or compassion in her, until that day.

Once every few months, Wanda’s family could afford such a delicacy as a few people from the village for whom no one would grieve. She liked to stretch out the pleasure and start with cattle, leaving human lives for dessert. Then she decided to watch the future victims and find the most tasty morsel in her opinion; in the end, her choice fell on a young beautiful girl like you. When life is in full swing, taking it away is many times more pleasant and sweeter.

That night, her plans included killing you, drinking to the last drop like everyone else before, but standing right next to you, she froze. Something was wrong. Why were your eyes open but you didn't move? She heard your heart that was ready to jump out, but it was not because of her. It seemed like you saw something that she didn’t see and she became curious. The woman walked into the darkness of the room, to the farthest corner, and watched. So you woke up, jumped out of bed and nervously turned on the light. Wanda sensed your fear, but did not understand what it was connected with.

Waiting for you to fall back into the world of dreams, she turned off the light that was blinding her and came closer, running her sharp nails along your arm to collect a small portion of blood for testing. When the first drops touched her tongue, her pupils dilated, covering the irises of the vampire's red eyes. The blood was saturated with adrenaline and was even sweeter than she expected and your personal taste. There was something about it that she couldn't place, something familiar. She took a closer look at your calm face, noticing what a cute little thing you were in her hands. No, killing you was too great a loss, she turned on her heels to hide as quietly as she appeared, but a rustling was heard behind her.

Wanda stood in the doorway and watched as you woke up for the second time that night. It’s surprising how you didn’t notice her right away, but when she saw your wet, rough tongue running over your palm, licking the scarlet substance, something clicked in her. “Did you do this?” your voice, hoarse from sleep, has long since become a spring deep inside her being. She needed to leave right now if she didn't want to kill you or take you by force.

The woman silently left the house and sat down nearby in the wild raspberry bushes. "She was beautiful, but who the hell was that?" Thoughts were heard in her head, but they were not hers. She heard your thoughts and her eyes widened, remembering what her stepmother told her many decades ago. If her memory did not deceive her, and it did not deceive her, then when sampling a person’s blood, if they arent killed, she will be able to hear all the thoughts associated with her. Then, being a recently converted vampire, Wanda did not attach any importance to this, because she did not think that something would happen that she would not complete the job. Apparently this was very arrogant on her part.

But since this has happened, why not entertain yourself for the first time in the last two hundred and ninety-seven years. From that moment on, she had her own personal human.

Part 2?

[hungermakesmonsters]

(Once Bitten) Twice Shy

Chapter Two

Plot summary : Desperate to get away from your controlling family, you take a job in New York as a wealthy vampire's blood source. A million dollars awaits if you can make it through a year, but life with Billy Russo is not going to be as simple as you think.

Pairing : Billy Russo x Reader

Story Rating : R  Chapter Rating : PG

Warnings : [This is a fic for 18+ only, minors DNI] This whole story will deal with dark and smutty themes. All chapters will contain mentions of blood. Please check the warnings on each chapter if you choose to follow this story. 

Word Count : 4.3k

A/N : Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't read The Picture of Dorian Gray (though can I really spoil a book that's over 130 years old? idk).

CHAPTER ONE

Chapter Two

This is going to be fun.

That was what he’d told you, and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since. You hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. 

As you laid in bed that night, you wondered where he was, you wondered what he was doing. What had he meant when he told you that he liked you? Did you even want to be liked by him? The more you thought about it, the more you realised just how strange the conversation had been. At the time it felt like he was taking a measure of you, trying to understand you, but not necessarily trying to know you.

At the time you’d felt like you were on the back foot, too shocked by his sudden appearance to really learn anything about him.

But, again, you had to wonder if that was something you really wanted. After all, he was a vampire and there was still so much that you didn’t know about their world and the way that they lived.

You fell asleep that night thinking about his dark eyes and the way he’d looked as he’d sipped your blood.

The next morning you woke with a start, realising that you'd forgotten to set an alarm the night before and you’d overslept. Not that you had any reason to wake up before midday, but you were certain that if you didn’t find a way to keep some sort of structure in your life over the next year, you were going to lose your mind.

So, you got up and got breakfast before spending half an hour on the treadmill, taking a slow walk, imagining you were on your way to the Met. Every day you were going to imagine a new place you’d be able to see in the city once your contract was over. After your walk and a quick shower, you got dressed and headed out into the main penthouse. 

You weren’t surprised that he wasn’t out there - because, of course he wasn’t, it was the middle of the afternoon - but you still felt... something. Disappointment? No, loneliness. 

For a few seconds your eyes caught on his door before you headed into the library.

The next few hours were spent going through his books and his record collection, looking for something, anything, that might tell you a little more about him. But you didn’t know what you were looking for, and there was no way of telling which of the books, if any, held any real sort of value to him. Dorian Gray, you guessed, had to mean something because he’d noticed it was missing from the shelf, but there was everything from the classics to more recent books, spanning almost every genre you could think to name.

(Though you did have to wonder if he’d purchased Dracula before or after being turned.)

Your search for clues seemed fruitless; you couldn’t even begin to guess his age from his record collection. There was everything from classical music to records that you knew were only released last year. Everything was too eclectic. Normally eclectic was something that you liked, you hated the idea of being stuck with only one genre or type or music or book, but it was frustrating how little you’d been able to discover.   

What made it worse, you came to realise, was that he’d been able to read you as easily as he might read one of his books. He’d only had to look at you to understand that you’d taken this job to get away from something.

But you weren’t going to let your mind wander to thoughts of home.

That evening you sat and waited on the sofa realising for the first time that you could get an amazing view of the sun setting over Central Park and the city from there. You’d brought the battered copy of Dorian Gray with you, but every time you tried to focus on it, you found yourself distracted by the view.

To your disappointment, the clock struck 9pm and Mr Russo still hadn’t appeared, so you made your way back to your room.

It was silly to feel disappointed, but you weren’t used to feeling so completely alone. Back home there had always been someone around, even when you wanted nothing more than to be alone. And, the rest of the time, you’d had social media to slake your thirst for connection and companionship. Now there was nothing but the walls of the penthouse, TV and Mr Russo’s collection of books.

The next day passed similarly; you got up, you had a little walk on the treadmill before showering, then you picked out your outfit for the day.Then you headed to the library and started to make you through Mr Russo’s vinyl collection, listening to some of the albums that grabbed your attention, keeping the volume down in case the vampire was sleeping in his rooms.

That was the thing that was really starting to bother you - you didn’t even know if he was home. There was no way of telling if he was just beyond the door to his room, or if he was even in the city. Not knowing just made the loneliness more acute.

That evening, after you’d eaten and drawn blood, you found yourself on the sofa again watching the sunset, his book on your lap and a couple of the muffins you’d made, sitting on a plate on the table. Sugar seemed to help after drawing blood, though you weren’t sure you’d ever get used to it.

“Making yourself at home, I see,” his voice pierced the silence so suddenly that you started.

You turned from the window quickly, to find him standing by his door, smiling and very obviously impressed with himself.

“How long have you been stood there?” Not even trying to disguise the shock or annoyance in your tone. 

He didn’t answer, instead he started towards the kitchen, grabbing himself a glass before retrieving today’s blood from the fridge. 

“It’s quite the view,” he stated, his back to you, “I suppose someone should appreciate it.”

“You mean you don’t?” Curious. Why bother having a penthouse like this if he didn’t care about the view?

“Looking at the sunset isn’t exactly enjoyable for vampires,” he shrugged, turning and making his way towards the sofa.

“I thought the windows made the sunlight safe for you?” Or maybe you were just being stupid. You hated how little you know, how little you’d learned before taking the job. And, now, without the internet, you couldn’t even try to learn about it.

“They make it safe, yes,” he stated, sitting down, not directly next to you, but much closer than he had been the first time you met. “But seeing the sun and knowing that I’ll never feel its warmth on my face again, makes it a little unbearable.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

You didn’t expect that to get a laugh.

“You apologise a lot for someone who hasn’t done anything wrong yet.”

Yet? You weren’t sure what that meant, but you didn’t think it wise to ask. As far as you were concerned, you weren’t going to do anything wrong while you were there.

“It’s just how I was raised, I guess,” you shrugged, your gaze dropping to his glass, to your blood.

Mr Russo gave a hum, his gaze still fixed on you, looking right through you. It was enough to make your heart beat a little faster, even though Lissa had warned you about such things, but controlling it was easier said than done. 

“Are you still settling in?” He asked. “I know that all of this can take a while to adjust to.”

“It’s -” you started and stopped, wondering if it was wise to be honest about it, “- a little lonely. I’m not used to going for days without someone to talk to. Normally I’d at least have the dog, but...” you trailed into a sigh, reminding yourself that this was what you agreed to. 

“I see,” he nodded, face offering the slightest slither of sympathy. “I’ll do what I can to help with that.”

Silence fell for a few moments before his eyes dropped to your lap, to the book that you’d started to tightly grip at some point after his sudden appearance. 

“Are you enjoying the book?” He asked and you looked down, noticing how white your knuckles were.

“Yes,” your cheeks started to warm, “very much.”

Your fingers flexed, releasing your grip on the book and, instead, you pressed your hands flat on your lap.

“Have you read it before?”

“No, it’s not -” you paused for a second, trying to think of the best way to explain it to him, “- it’s not the sort of book that was deemed acceptable where I’m from.”

“Ah,” he nodded, still looking very amused by everything, by you. “And you’re reading it now as - what? An act of rebellion against the way you were raised? Or are you just curious to see how bad it is?”

“No, it’s not that,” you answered without hesitation, shrugging, “I always thought it was a stupid rule. People should be allowed to read what they want and draw their own conclusions. That’s the point of art; it means something different to everyone that views it. And I don’t like being told how to feel about things.”

The amusement on his face slowly started to turn to something a little more genuine, something a little more interested. 

“What part are you up to?”

“He’s going to ask Sybil to marry him.”

He gave the slightest of nods. “And what do you think about that?”

It was a strange question, but perhaps that was because you weren’t used to people wanting to know your thoughts or opinions on things. You took a slow breath and he didn’t pressure you, giving you a moment to get your thoughts in order.

“I think it’s a bit soon. He hasn’t really known her very long and he seems more infatuated with who she is when she’s on stage than her as a person, but...”

“But?” He prompted gently.

“If he loves her half as much as he thinks he does, then maybe they could be happy together? It seems like he needs someone who’ll love him, someone who he can love more than himself, and someone who’ll get him away from Lord Henry.” Even though you were perfectly happy with your opinion, you still felt your cheeks warming again.

“You think he needs love?” Another unexpected question.

“Well... doesn’t everyone?”

“Do you think he really deserves it?”

“Does anyone?”

He paused for a second, looking ready to say something before obviously changing his mind. “So, do you believe in love at first sight? Like Dorian falling for Sybil?”

“I -” you faltered, looking down at the book on your lap, trying to escape the dark depths of his eyes for a moment, “- I don’t know. I find it hard to believe in anything I’ve not experienced myself.”

“You’ve never been in love?”

“I’ve never felt love at first sight,” you avoided the question, forcing yourself to look back up. “Have you?”

“No, not at first sight.”

At that, he seemed to relent, falling silent and letting his gaze drift towards the window again, lifting his glass and taking a sip. You reached for a muffin, almost gasping as his cold fingers suddenly wrapped around your wrist and pulled your arm towards him. Your lips parted, ready to ask the obvious question, but it fell dead on your tongue when his thumb ran over the bruising at the crook of your arm from drawing blood. He stared at it for a second before his eyes returned to yours.

“Do I need Lissa to come and help you draw blood in future?” He asked, and you couldn’t tell if he was concerned or annoyed.

“No, it’s fine,” you gave a gentle tug against his grip, but he didn’t let go. “I just bruise easily. I didn’t even notice it.” 

His fingers tightened a fraction.

“While you’re here, you’re my responsibility. I hope you understand that.”

“That’s not -” but he wasn’t finished.

“If anything was to happen to you, it would be my fault. I need to know that you’ll be more careful in future.” There was an edge to his words, something that made your stomach knot. Did he think that you were incompetent, that you couldn’t do the job? Or was he just worried  that he’d be blamed if something happened to you?

“I’ll be more careful,” you told him but, still, he kept hold of your arm, thumb hovering just above the bruising, a ghost of a touch that made your heart race.

“I might be your employer, but you should understand just how much power you have in this arrangement,” his voice turned almost soft as he let you go. Before you could even think to ask what he meant, he’d drained his glass, placed it down on the coffee table and was heading towards the elevator. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, Mr Russo,” the words tumbled out of your mouth almost automatically, not sure what else you were supposed to say.

“You can call me Billy,” he told you as the elevator doors slid open and he stepped inside.

And, then, he was gone.

Again, he’d left you with more questions than you ever thought you’d get answers to. You wanted to feel frustrated, annoyed even, at the way he breezed in and out of conversations, as if you were a plaything, just there for him when he was bored, but all you could think about was his touch.

His hand had been so cold, like death’s icy grip and, when you looked down, you found your arm was covered in goosebumps.

Tomorrow, he’d said. He was going to see you again tomorrow. (Probably because you’d complained about being lonely.) Perhaps you’d be able to learn a little bit more about him, perhaps you’d be able to ask him what he meant when he told you that you had power here.

Before returning to your rooms for the night, you took a moment to move his empty glass from the table, rinsing it out in the sink and returning it to the cupboard where it belonged. The rest of the evening was spent trying to concentrate on reading, in part because you were invested in the book, but mostly because you wanted to have something to talk with him about tomorrow.

But, again, you found yourself distracted; by the conversation you’d had, by the things he’d said and the way he’d looked when he said them and, most of all, by the way his touch had felt on your arm.

It was silly. Ridiculous. You put it down to being trapped indoors for the last ten days and you having spoken to all of two people in that time. It wasn’t him. He could have been anyone and you’d no doubt have felt the same way. You were just starved for human contact.

(Only Billy Russo wasn’t human, was he?)

You kept thinking about his dark eyes and the way he laughed, the subtle way his lips curled up when he found something you said amusing. There was no shame in admitting that he was pretty. 

Pretty in a way that would never fade or alter. Just like Dorian Gray.

Though, as you continued to read, you realised that that comparison certainly wasn’t flattering.

The next day passed much the same as the days before it and, as the hours ticked by, you found yourself almost looking forward to seeing him. Though you didn’t allow yourself to feel excitement, in case he disappointed you by not appearing. You stayed in your rooms until it was almost sunset.

He was already there waiting for you when you stepped out into the penthouse proper, today's blood in one hand, a pack of cookies in the other, and the book wedged under your arm.

“Oh,” you stopped so abruptly you almost fell over your own feet.

“Good evening,” he grinned.

“Good evening, Mr Russo,” you replied, still not moving.

“Billy,” he reminded you. “If we’re going to be living together for a year, you might as well call me Billy.”

“Billy,” you repeated, nodding before looking down. “I have your - I mean, I’ve got today’s -” you struggled, eyes fixed on the sealed bottle of blood in your hand, fresh and still warm.

You could feel your cheeks start to heat, not sure what the protocol was in this situation.

“I’ll take that now,” he said but didn’t move.

For a moment more, you remained frozen, feeling utterly ridiculous - and you were certain that he was enjoying watching your confusion.

“Okay, I’ll - I’ll put this in a glass for you,” he didn’t object, so you made your way to the kitchen and set about pouring him a drink.

It was hard not to feel a little horrified - this seemed as close to offering him a vein as you ever hoped to get - but you forced down the discomfort.

“I hope the long sleeves aren’t to cover up more bruises,” he said softly when you finally approached the sofa and took a seat, near him but with enough space that another person would have fit between you.

“No, Mr - Billy. It’s just been cold today.”

“Oh, I can’t say that I noticed...” because of course he hadn’t. “The thermostat is in the library, change the temperature whenever you need to.”

You handed him the glass, a shudder running up your spine when his cold fingers seemed to deliberately graze yours. Your breath caught as you watched him lift the glass to his lips, his eyes closed as your blood touched his lips and you heard the softest sound from the back of his throat. Butterflies filled your stomach and your eyes fixed on the window, watching the sky slowly turn from blue to a progressively darkening pinkish-orange hue.

Billy lowered his glass and remained silent, his eyes following yours to the window, allowing the silence to linger until you chose to break it.

“I thought you didn’t like watching the sunset?” You asked, not daring to look his way.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen one and even longer since I had someone to watch it with,” he shrugged. “I thought I’d give it another go.”

“So, the others, the ones before me -”

“I don’t think they cared to notice it,” he cut you off. There was something clipped about his tone, something that told you he didn’t want to talk about them. His attention turned to the book and the packet of cookies resting on your lap. “Were you planning on reading?”

“Yes, or - I don’t know, maybe..." you sighed, finally allowing yourself to look at him. He gave you a questioning look, wanting you to elaborate. “You didn’t warn me about Sybil.”

“I didn’t want to spoil it for you,” a hint of amusement slipped into his tone. “Are you disappointed that they didn’t get their happily-ever-after?”

You looked at him for a moment and quickly found yourself feeling a little annoyed at the implication that you had expected it to be that easy, that you were some hopeless romantic looking for a happy ending in the most ridiculous of places.

“I’m not some naive child. I don’t know what I expected - not a happily-ever-after, but I definitely didn’t expect that,” you tried to explain. “I didn’t expect him to be so... so cruel to her.”

“She let him down, embarrassed him in front of his friends,” Billy offered, almost like he was defending it, “he was disappointed.”

“Disappointed that she no longer needed to act to feel wanted and loved, because she thought she’d finally found that with him?” You answer back, unable to keep yourself from noticing the way the glow of the sunset made his features seem softer. “He showed her what real love could feel like, then he snatched it away from her. It was cruel.”

“You’re right,” he conceded before hesitating a moment. “Maybe I should warn you that he doesn’t get any better. There is no redemption for Dorian Gray.”

“Oh,” At that you felt yourself deflate a little, an odd feeling of disappointment gnawing at your guts. While you’d told him that you weren’t some naive child, hearing that Dorian wasn’t going to get better made you almost want to give up entirely.

Again, he seemed to find some enjoyment in your simple disappointment - something that was starting to get to you.

“I take it you’re used to reading... happier stories?” He asked and you offered a shrug. “Heroes and romance and happily ever afters?”

“Books have always been an escape for me. So, yeah, I like things that I know will end well.” You answered and, for a second, you could have sworn his smile turned a little softer. “Why do you even like this book?” You dared to ask, wanting to understand why anyone could find enjoyment in such misery.

“I think you’d need to finish the book before we could have that conversation,” was all he offered before lifting his glass and, again, you heard that soft sound as he drank. Your heart started to beat a little faster. Billy carefully licked his lips, like he couldn’t bear the thought of letting a single drop go to waste. The corner of his mouth curled with amusement again. “Are you sure I’m not your first vampire?”

Your lips parted and, for a moment you couldn’t force the words past the lump in your throat. You couldn’t tell if he was teasing or if he really wanted to know, just like you couldn’t tell if it was his intention to make you feel small. But he did make you feel small, he made you feel like you didn’t understand the world you’d found yourself in; like you didn’t understand vampires or the job you’d agreed to, and like you were too naive to understand his taste in literature.

“No. You’re not,” you answered tersely, trying to hold back your annoyance. “You’re just the first one that I’ve let drink my blood.”

“Good,” he replied without hesitation, seeming to completely ignore your change of demeanour.  

“Good?” What was that supposed to mean?

He shifted, turning so he could face you properly, his foot knocking against yours as he did. 

“Good,” he repeated, the corners of his lips still pulling upwards. “If anyone else had tasted your blood, I doubt they would have been willing to let you go so easily.” He licked his lips and your heart continued to stutter in your chest. His eyes closed for a moment, concentrating on the sound before muttering; “like a hummingbird...”

You didn’t dare move, even though every fibre of your being was screaming at you to pull away when his hand reached for you, fingertips ghosting down your cheek to your neck coming to rest above your rapidly pulsing carotid artery. Frozen, you sat there, his hand on your neck and his dark eyes seeming to stare right into your soul.

Does my blood really taste that good? You wondered.

“It does,” he answered and you realised that you’d spoken the question aloud. 

Something prickled in the back of your mind, a warning you’d been given a long time ago, about how some vampires could trick you and control you, how they could bend you to their will. But, you couldn’t tell if that was what this was, or if you were allowing this because you wanted it, because you wanted to understand. Regardless, you didn’t move. Even as he licked his lips. Even as he leaned closer. 

“What does it taste like?” You heard the question but it took you a few seconds to realise that it had come from your mouth.

“Like sunlight and innocence,” he muttered softly, “sweet, like warm honey. Like life...”

Closer and closer, the cold press of his fingers on your neck sending a shiver down your spine, and a heat in your belly. Your thighs gently pressed together. He made it sound so wonderful, so romantic, like it wasn’t some strange and sordid thing. He made you feel special, made you feel things that you weren’t sure you’d ever felt before.

Before you could even consider the possibilities of what might happen next, he was pulling away from you, and you very quickly returned to your senses, taking an uncomfortable breath.

“What -” you started to ask, needing to know if he’d done something to you, if he’d been trying to control you, but he was already on his feet draining the last of your blood from the glass.

“I’m afraid I won’t have time for one of our little talks tomorrow. I have a meeting just after sunset,” he explained and your eyes followed him as he first moved to the kitchen to put his glass in the sink, then started towards the elevator. He paused once he’d hit the call button. “Keep reading the book. I’m intrigued to know what you’ll think of the ending.”

“Yes, Mr Russo,” the words tumbled clumsily from your mouth, an automatic response to the man who was your employer, wanting to regain some sense of propriety.

“Billy,” he countered. “Goodnight, little hummingbird.”

The doors slid shut and you were alone again.

You didn’t move for at least a minute, your head spinning. A hand rose to your neck touching where he had touched you, your skin still feeling cold and prickled with goosebumps. Looking down, you realised that your thighs were still clenched together.

Gathering the book and the untouched packet of cookies, you quickly made your way back to your bedroom, locking the door behind you.

End Note : Thank you so much for the wonderful response to the first chapter of this story! I hope this lives up to expectations. I'm already really enjoying writing this one. Also, sorry as always that I'm constantly so slow at responding to comments, I'm trying to get better at that

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters! If tagging doesn't work for some reason (aka Tumblr being dumb) I post most Fridays around 7:30 gmt.

Tag List:

@lincerad @vxnity713 @readerinsertsaremyguiltypleasure @dreadfulxives18 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @vaguekayla @thdcre @rensolodriver @house-husband-of-castlemurdock @snowkestrel @danzer8705 @noortsshift @aoi-targaryen @tortilla-chips-and-allioli

[yoongihan]

Not Friends - HJS - OneShot

(i've had the above gif for so long, i have no idea who the creator is. credit to them and if they see this and wish me to take it down, please let me know. i thought the effects of the banner were pretty cool)

pairing: jisung x female reader

genre: angst, coming of age, fluff, romance, friendships

romantic trope: boy next door (inspiration from this reel)

word count: ~8k

rating: T

warnings: language, kissing, arguing, mostly the trials of middle and high school, drinking underage (nothing too excessive), sneaking out, abandoned places, mc is stubborn af

there is mention briefly toward the end of something that might be triggering, it is not praised or belabored. it's something characters disagree with, i'm choosing not to list it as it is a bit of a spoiler. if you are concerned, please message me off anon and i will let you know what it is.

a/n: fic #3 in skz as romantic tropes collab with @jl-micasea-fics. i have to admit, this is kinda a weird one. not really sure what people will think. however, it seems hella fitting to post jisung's story after getting so much of him lately (the song '13' is beautiful) and his curly long hair might be my death. hugs to you readers, you have been so lovely.

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There isn’t a time where you don’t remember Han Jisung being there. He’s always just there. 

His family moved into the house next door when you were only a year old (so you’ve been told, it’s not like you have any memories of that time) and he was a year old. Your moms started talking over the small fence that lay between your two backyards, so somewhere in your infantile mind, there is an image of one chubby-cheeked Jisung, probably falling over from his seated position then crying loudly because his balance was always circumspect, especially during the dreaded middle school years.

So when in school, someone asked if you knew Han Jisung, you said yes. 

Friends?

No. Not friends.

Boyfriend?

No, ew. He’s just the boy next door.

Yes, you hung out with him when you were both infants and toddlers. When school started, you were sometimes in the same class, but not always. He tended to keep to himself during recess and you had enough trouble trying to find friends who were interested in the same things you were. 

Namely, vampires.

Perhaps expecting other six and seven year olds to be as fascinated by vampires was asking a bit too much. But you were listening to Dracula, a radio performance, at six years old (begs the question of why your parents didn’t do anything, but they weren’t around at that very moment) so why weren’t other kids interested?

Well, they weren’t. 

Maybe your parents thought you’d grow out of it. Most kids grow out of things; horses, wanting to be a fireman, superheroes, etc. 

So many times that your parents tried offering you Barbies and My Little Ponies, on which you painted fangs and blood on.

But you don’t grow out of it. And no one grows into it.

Jisung himself seems to integrate okay into middle school. He finds Felix and Seungmin, and the three of them pal around, playing video games and probably other things that you were and are unaware of.

“You’re going to join the dance team?”

You’re in your backyard, attempting to weed the garden because if you do, your mother might not get as mad about you failing your math test. Jisung comes out to let out his dog, Bbama, and the two of you, though again not friends, aren’t unfriendly; so you chat. 

“Felix wants to,” Jisung explains as Bbama comes to the fence to press his nose to your waiting fingers. “And well, he likes when we do things all together.”

You eye him with skepticism. “Can you dance?”

You’re both newly turned thirteen and puberty is a bitch. Jisung is all limbs, and you’re sure you resemble an egg in physique and color. 

“No. But they aren’t expecting Lord of the Dance or anything.”

Jisung getting sassy with you isn’t new. Though quiet a lot of the time, when it’s only the two of you, he seems to be braver. 

“They want us to do extracurriculars, you know, to get ready for high school.”

“Yeah?”

“So, what about you?”

“What about me?” What you just pulled up out of the ground is definitely not a weed, so you plop it back in and cover it up with dirt. Hopefully, your mom won’t notice. 

“You should join the dance team too!”

You look up at him before watching Bbama run in circles behind him. “No.”

“Maybe robotics?”

“No way.”

“Art club?”

“Jisung, you’ve seen my stick figures.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“What I want to do doesn’t have a club or team, okay?”

You can hear his soft sigh as you dig out an actual weed this time. 

“Vampires?”

You bristle at the implications. “I’m just…” You huff and sit back in your kneeled position. “There are too many accounts for it to be fiction, okay?”

“But what do you do with that?” He asks just as softly. “I mean, if they are real, they want to drink your blood and kill you. So like…you should avoid.”

“Do they? Or is that just Dracula and other novels telling us that?”

He points out a weed you’ve missed. You grumble, but grab and pull. 

“Kids at school–”

“I don’t care what kids at school say or think, Jisung.” 

“Yes, you do. We all do.” He swallows. “You think it doesn’t hurt when they make fun of my braces or glasses, or the fact that I can’t walk without running into something?”

You wince. Jisung isn’t a friend, but he’s familiar. He’s annoying as most boys are, but he isn’t mean. Not usually. You and he have had fights over the years, but most were when you were little and toys were involved. 

“You shouldn’t care what they think.”

“But I do.” 

“That’s why you’re joining the dance team, and I’m going to work on the ultimate vampire hunter kit.”

“Where are you going to get holy water?”

“Amazon.”

He sighs again, calling Bbama to go back inside. “I’m joining the team because Felix is my friend and it matters to him. That’s what friends do.” When he stops at the back door, he calls back. “Seungmin is really good at math if you need help for the next test.”

You don’t answer, not for the first time considering how you don’t have friends. There are some kids you sit with at lunch, but they mostly congregate together because there is strength in numbers, not because there’s any common interests or amiability. 

–

~Ninth grade~

You wonder if maybe you should have tried out for softball or something because each pebble you throw at Jisung’s window actually hits 75% of the time. Who knew you had great aim?

The window opens and he looks down and you can see more than hear his heavy sigh.

“Why don’t you just message me?”

“I don’t have your number.” Why would you?

There’s another heavy sigh and he disappears into his room after closing the window. Your cell phone vibrates in your back pocket. You pull it out.

>> now you have it.

<< can i borrow your car?

>> what?

The back door opens and he comes out in pajama pants and a huge sweatshirt. He’s shoved on his glasses and his hair is tufted in chunks. 

Was he really asleep at 11pm?

“You wanna borrow my truck?”

You nod, tugging on your scarf, a bit too tightly wrapped. “I’ll be careful. It’ll be back in the driveway by the time you wake up in the morning. I could probably hotwire it if I studied for a bit, but I figure, I could just ask.”

He runs a hand through his hair, eyes unfocused. “Why?”

“I don’t have a car.” Your parents don’t think you’re responsible enough to have a car. Something about still living in fantasy, blah blah blah. 

“I know…” He looks both annoyed and amused at the same time. “Why do you need it tonight?”

“Oh. I need to check out a place. There’s been rumor of vampiric activity.”

He actually takes a step back. “You’re going vampire hunting. Tonight. In my truck.”

“Yes.” I hold out my hand. “If you’ll give me your keys.”

“Do you even have your permit yet?”

You drop your arm. “No, but I’ve practiced.”

He turns and stares at his house. 

“So…Jisung…is that a no?”

“If I say no, will you hotwire it?”

“I mean, maybe.”

There’s a lot of muttered curses before he turns back around. “Yes, but I’m going with you. I’m driving.”

“What? No. No way.”

He walks right up, a foot away from me. “You let me go, drive, and you come to see the dance team at halftime; or you’re shit out of luck, Van Helsing.” 

You open your mouth to tell him where he can stick it, but then don’t. You actually need his vehicle. The area that online people have had sightings and encounters is only an hour away and this was the only night that your parents had wine before dinner which would definitely keep them so deeply asleep that you can get away with a nightly venture. 

And maybe it would be fun to watch Jisung, Seungmin and Felix perform. Not that you’d ever admit that.

“Yeah. Okay. But you have to do what I say, okay?”

He nods. “Give me like five.”

An hour and a half later, he shifts next to you as you hold a position in a cluster of trees. “Like…I don’t think they’re here.”

“Shh,” you hush him, half-heartedly hitting his arm. “They don’t billboard-announce it.” You move quickly and as quietly as you can toward the old abandoned cabin.

“Pretty sure it’s just serial killers who do that.”

You spin around to glare at him, but he’s grinning at you. You’re irked, but you can’t help but smile. It’s a little fun to have someone with you.

“Are we really going in there?”

You hand him a flask and move again to another gathering of foliage. 

“Are we drinking?” he whispers once he’s followed successfully. He’s still skinny as a rail, but still provides a little warmth at your back. 

“No, you dummy, it’s got holy water. It’s to protect yourself.” 

“Oh.” You can almost hear his smile. “Thanks.”

It takes a few more minutes of covert movement before you get to the house. You circle it, looking for any tell-tale signs of vampiric activity (corpses or animal remains, displaced or unusual soil, etc), but there’s nothing except overgrown weeds and some tricycle that has been taken over by said overgrown weeds. 

You test the back door. 

“Shouldn’t we get a flashlight?”

“And announce our arrival?”

“They can hear better than us, don’t you think they’d already know, with how you nearly tripped over that root before the gate?”

Yeah, that was embarrassing. You glare at him again. 

“How do you know all that stuff? About their hearing?”

He rolls his eyes and rewraps his scarf around his neck. “I’ve known you all my life. I listen…duh?”

You shake your head and enter the run-down cabin. As you test the rotted wooden floors, making sure to tell Jisung to step where you step, you think about that. There’s no reason why Jisung would just know how good a vampire’s hearing is rumored to be. Unless he listened to you, and remembered.

That sticks with you, even as you find that the abandoned cabin is full of dust, cobwebs, questionable wallpaper choices, with no sign of life…or unlife. 

He never says anything like ‘I told you so’ on the drive back, nearly four and a half hours after the initial request of his car. 

“That was kind of fun,” he says, sneezing when you both get out of his dented-in-weird-places truck. 

“You screamed three times and squeezed my arm so tight, it’s gonna bruise.”

“Those weren’t screams. They were….yelps. Exclamations of surprise.”

You can’t help but smile at him. “Sure.”

He tugs his beanie so it covers his ears. “I’ll do it again with you, if only so you don’t steal my truck.”

“Maybe…” You don’t promise anything. Yes, it was nice to have someone with you, but you don’t put your faith into it. Jisung is on the dance team, goes to pc cafes to game, and actually hangs out with his friends. You do just this. 

You know you’re the weird one here. 

“Maybe I’ll finally get my own car.”

“You could get a job.” He offers, leaning against the grill of his truck. 

“At fifteen?” 

He shrugs. “You could babysit?”

The both of you start laughing at the mere idea of you being in charge of vulnerable little humans. 

“I mean, you could.”

“The world is a better place without me protecting a toddler from the electric outlet.” 

He shrugs and shoves his hands into his coat pockets before pulling out the flask. “I dunno. You protected me pretty well.” He yawns. 

“Go sleep.” You take the flask back. “Thanks.”

He nods, already looking like he might fall asleep leaning against his SUV like that. “Not going to say ‘any time’. Maybe once and awhile.”

You press your lips together to stop smiling at him. “Sure. Night.” 

–

Jisung reminds you of your promise to watch the dance team at one game’s halftime, so you show up to a basketball game, sit and watch a sport that makes the people around you yell at the referees, the other team, and the home team with such passion that you think you must have something wrong with you because you do not get it.

But the half ends, and most people get up to grab concessions or hit the bathrooms while the co-ed dance team comes out in black and red outfits. You find Felix easy enough in the crowd, his vibrant blonde hair bouncing as he finds his position, talking excitedly to another dancer. Seungmin with his characteristic nonchalant expression is behind Felix, seeming unbothered that there’s an audience in front of him, waiting to judge and assess him.

Jisung is near the end of the second line, bouncing on the balls of his feet as everyone gets into place. He glanced up at the crowd, eyes scanning. He sees you because your eyes lock and you give a little wave of ‘see, I came’. You think he smiles, but you are on the top row of bleachers, off to the far side. 

The dancers all drop their heads when the music starts. Felix leads off and the rest fall into sync with him. You try and watch the group as a whole, impressed with how they move together, how the choreography seems like a mix of hip hop and contemporary.

It’s honestly pretty good for a high school group. You have YouTube and you’ve seen the occasional viral embarrassing dance rendition of whatever hit song is popular. 

Your eyes fall on Jisung the most. He’s the only one you know on your side of the gym (most of the time, there are a few formation changes). 

For being all limbs (though admittedly, he’s less like a stretched-out stick figure these days), Jisung is a good dancer. He’s on beat with his moves, and it doesn’t look horribly awkward.

You’re surprised. 

The song isn’t more than maybe two minutes and the applause at the end of it is not the same as the passionate yelling of spectators for some ‘bogus call, ref’. You clap though because you are impressed, and because if you had friends, you think it would be Jisung and his two compatriots. 

You start to head out of the gym into the lobby to go home; you are not sitting through more yelling at where an orange ball travels to. You’re almost home free, but you hear your name and turn to see Jisung running up to you. He’s grinning, face flushed, hair ruffled. 

“Thanks!”

“I mean, I promised.” You glance around to see schoolmates watching the two of you conversing and you wonder if Jisung worries about it. Because if you were less on the fringes (you’re not going to call Jisung popular, but he’s not ignored), you might worry about who you’re seen with. 

“Did I do okay?”

His question interrupts your musing on high school hierarchies, and you look at him in shock. 

“I…I don’t know anything about dance, Jisung.”

He nods. “But you are honest. Sometimes painfully. So, tell me. What did you think?” He crosses his arms and waits. You blink a few times, your mind going back over the memory of their performance, him specifically. 

“I think you��re good. I didn’t see any obvious mistakes or like you didn’t fit in.”

“But?”

It’s unnerving how he seems to know that you have more thoughts, even when you weren’t completely aware of them yourself. 

“I think you can extend more?” You swallow, lifting your arms so they stretch out. “Like your arms don’t go out all the way and I think it looks better when you do?” You shrug and drop your arms. “Also, your shoulders are up when you dance. Makes you look tense.” 

He nods a few times before smiling. “See, I knew you’d be honest.” He drops his arms from his chest. “Thanks…Are you leaving?”

You nod emphatically. “I cannot handle the screaming any longer.”

He laughs. “Yeah, fair.” He watches you for one more second. “We’re gonna go out for burgers and shakes later…you can come?”

“We?”

“The dance team mostly, I think.”

You’re already shaking your head. “Uh, thanks, but no thanks.” You start to walk backward, a little on edge being this close to Jisung and how he kinda sparkles all sweaty and red-faced. “I’ll see ya.”

He waves as you practically trip to get out of there.

–

~Tenth grade~

He warned you. He said that with both sets of parents going for a weekend trip together that he might have a party. You didn’t care because you had homework and research to do, and a party with Seungmin, Felix, and Jisung didn’t seem that concerning.

Since when did sophomore Jisung know enough people to have a rager? Because that’s what it sounds like next door right now.

You look through the kitchen window. There’s a lot of people, bodies silhouetted in the windows of his house, people in the backyard. Music loud and pumping. 

He invited you. You could go over.

You sigh and look in the refrigerator. There’s a six pack of beer. You could bring it over. Your father would probably just think that he’d already finished it. Or maybe he’d be thrilled that you snuck alcohol like a normal teenager. 

That’s what you’ll do. Just bring the six pack over, say hi to Jisung and remind him that the rest of your neighbors might not be as tolerant of the noise level.

And to be careful. 

You tug slightly on your turtleneck as you walk over. It’s not cold enough to warrant it, but it’s night time and you aren’t stupid.

Easy access to arteries is a dumb move.

You decide to step over the fence between the backyards, hearing a few ‘who is that?’ comments as you do from the outdoor party-goers. You will stay thirty minutes. That’s enough to get the high school party experience, right?

You see Felix the moment you walk in the back doors. He is sitting on a counter laughing at something someone is saying. He sees you, eyes light up and he slides off the counter to come greet you. 

He’s so bright sometimes he makes your eyes hurt.

“You came! Jisung said you wouldn’t!” There’s a hug, enthusiastic on his end, less so on yours. No one dislikes Felix; it’s impossible, but he’s definitely good in small doses for you. “You brought beer?”

You nod and he takes it from you, leaving your hands empty with nothing to do.

“Come, come, have a drink.”

“Uh, I just brought that and wanted to say hi to Jisung.”

He hands you a bottle of something pink with a peach on the label before gesturing toward the middle of the house. “I think he’s in there somewhere.”

Did you mention you don’t love yelling?

The music and the din of human voices is a lot to your head, so you sip the drink to find it’s not too gross and the cold of it is welcome amidst the heat of bodies. You enter into the sea of people, some dancing, most talking, a few touching in ways that makes your skin crawl.

Seungmin bumps into you and greets you with the same apathy that makes you always think that you and he might be good friends if either of you tried. 

“Where’s Jisung?” you ask, wincing as you have to yell it to be heard.

Seungmin smiles and it makes you question everything. Because it’s too wicked to just be a smile brought by an innocuous question or even alcohol. 

“I think he’s over by the stairs. You should definitely say hi.”

If Felix is too bright to take in more than just a bit at a time, you’re more wary of Seungmin. You kinda hope you never see him smile again. It’s too unsettling.

You nod and move on through the house, avoiding touching people as much as possible because they smell of liquor and sweat and so many pheromones. 

It takes a few minutes to get to the stairs, but you do find Jisung who is staring into the crowd that is writhing in the living room. You quietly sidle up behind him (him unaware) to see what he’s seeing.

Ahhh. 

“Mi-sun, huh?”

He jumps and turns, almost knocking heads with you. You step back to give him space. He says your name, eyes wide and then quite delighted. He hugs you.

He hugs you.

Jisung doesn’t hug you. That’s not a thing between next door neighbors. But you can smell the mix of fruit juice and rum on him, so you think that it’s probably not surprising that intoxicated Jisung is affectionate. 

He is friends with Felix after all. 

You pat his back during the hug, but he doesn’t let go quickly. You feel his nose brush the fabric covering your neck before he draws back. 

“You’re here.”

You shrug, a little undone by how damn smiley he is. “I’m here.” You wait but he’s still staring and smiling at you, so you look away, pointing back toward the crowd. “You like Mi-sun?”

He follows your hand then looks back at you. “Uh, I mean…she’s pretty?” His brow is furrowed in confusion. “Why?”

“You were staring at her.”

“No, I wasn’t.” There’s a pout added to his words, so you just shrug because why would you debate this.

“I just came to bring some beer and say hi,” you tell him. 

“What?”

God, do you have to yell everything?

“Come on,” he says when you shake your head. “We’ll go upstairs.” He takes your hand and leads you. You are so dumbfounded that you follow, half-stumbling up after him. 

He leads you to a room and hits the lights before pulling you in and shutting the door. You look around.

“There’s no way this is your room.” You have very vague recollections of his bedroom from when you two were in elementary. 

“It’s my brother’s.” His older brother is already in college. “Why isn’t it mine?” He plops on the edge of the bed and lays down. 

“Doesn’t feel like yours.” You assume that his room looks different from when you were kids, but maybe there are still Alvin and the Chipmunks sheets. 

“Valid.” He sighs. “There are so many people here.”

You sit next to him. “Yeah. I was gonna warn you that I think Mrs. Park has looked out her blinds at least three times.”

Another sigh as he looks up at the ceiling. “Fuck. I really thought it’d be like ten people.” He sits up and looks over at you. “You’re drinking.”

You look at the wine cooler and offer it to him. “I think I had three sips.”

He takes it and drinks it, eyes on you when his mouth touches the rim of the bottle. You tilt your head to the side, then decide not to ask about it. 

“So…a high school party…is it as great as the movies told us?” you ask, looking at his brother’s swimming trophies decorating one set of shelves. 

“Dunno. It’s my first legit party.”

“Same.” You doubt birthday parties from third grade when Doyung had to invite the entire class counted as ‘real’ parties. 

“It’s not horrible,” he says before saying your name. You turn to look at him to find that he’s only a few inches away. 

“What are you doing?”

“Can I kiss you?”

You freeze before jumping off the bed. “What?”

He makes a face before looking at the half-drunk bottle in his hands. “I know it’s weird, but it’s my first party. This’d be my first kiss.”

“There is probably someone down there who’d do that for you,” you stammer, trying not to look at his lips because that’s what the word ‘kiss’ has done to your brain. “I think Felix would.”

Jisung laughs before grinning at you. “He probably would, but…” he trails off, looking at you. 

“But…” You cross your arms, so he doesn’t think you are interested. Then it hits you. “Wait, is this because I always tell you the truth? Like you want to make sure you don’t suck? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never kissed anyone.”

“Okay, maybe there’s some of that…” That shouldn’t be as disappointing as it is to you, but he continues, “But also…” he swallows nervously. “I want to kiss you.”

Your brain has stopped computing. 

“You…want to kiss me?” You are surprised you can even speak. “Why?”

He cocks his head to the side. “Why wouldn’t I?”

You move back to sit on the bed, a foot or two between you and him. “I…” You meet his gaze. “How drunk are you?”

He shrugs with an embarrassed smile. “Two drinks? I mean, I won’t lie, I definitely probably wouldn’t have asked you if I was fully sober, but I’m not…impaired or anything.” He scoots a little closer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I might cry about it later, but–” He laughs when you punch his arm with no force. 

It’s hard not to stare at him. Whether it’s the alcohol or something else that makes his eyes all sparkly, he’s turning into someone quite pretty. His nose still doesn’t quite fit his face and he’s more of a toothpick than human. 

But he’s pretty.

And probably the only person you know who you could kiss and not be worried as much about the aftermath. Maybe growing up with him just means he isn’t so scary.

Maybe it just means that he’s safe.

“Okay.”

His eyes widen at your admission. “Yeah? Oh. Okay.” He turns more toward you. “So, you have to be honest. I really have a lot of overcome in the romance department, but I think being a good kisser could like be my chance to outweigh the rest of it.”

You laugh, you can’t help it. “You’re pretty great as is, Jisung.”

His mouth parts, eyes boring into yours. “Thanks.”

You shake your head at the near mesmerizing effect of his big brown eyes. “Rules though.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Hands nowhere that bikini covers .” Even saying it outloud makes you cringe, but you really have no desire to find out if you like being groped or not. 

“Uhhhh, same?” He covers his hands over his chest like the cups of a bikini top and you giggle because he’s funny and cute and you’re going to kiss him. You lean closer. His eyes drop to your mouth, his hands falling from his chest to the mattress. “Anything else?” his voice is pitched high and you wonder if your voice does something to give away your nerves too. 

“I don’t think so?” Yeah, your voice doesn’t quite sound normal. 

He reaches out, one hand touching your cheek while the other rests on your thigh. He lets out a shuddery breath. 

“Soft,” he whispers before his eyes close which reminds you that you should close your eyes, too. You feel his lips brush yours hesitantly before settling with a bit more confidence. His hand cups your face as his mouth moves. 

It’s nice. It’s interesting.

He draws back, but his hands linger. Eyes open, and he gazes at you. 

“Okay?”

You nod, curious because you feel like it should be more. You aren’t sheltered. You’ve seen kisses on screen, in real life, but it’s not like you’ve studied. Kissing for any length of time requires movement. So you move.

You press your mouth to his, hands pushed down on the mattress as you edge ever closer. His index finger traces the shell of your ear when you open your mouth so your tongue can touch the seam of his lips. You feel him visibly jolt, but he gives you no time to question or apologize for that as he returns it. 

Oh…ohhhhh.

As his tongue slides along yours, his hand on your thigh clenches. It’s like a chain reaction; his hand on your leg draws you more to him, your hands finding his waist and hips. He makes a sound that spurs on his tongue so much that you pull back.

“No.”

His eyes flutter open. “What?”

“I mean,” you feel dazed yourself. “Not so much tongue.” You brush back his hair when his hand drops to your shoulder. “No lizards.”

He winces. “Sorry.” The flush on his cheeks catches your attention and you lean in to kiss the heated skin. His breath catches. 

“What about me?” you ask, fascinated at the give of his cheeks. You press another kiss. “Any tips?”

“No.” It’s more of a groan and you raise your eyes to his. “You…you’re very good.” He doesn’t elaborate, but kisses you again. You feel the intrusion of his tongue, but it’s slower…like he’s savoring. 

It’s so much better. 

You’re unaware of much beyond the kissing, your hands having a mind of their own as one slips under his t-shirt to trace the slope of his back. You’re not quite conscious of maneuvering him so he’s lying back on the bed and you are straddling him on your knees, reluctant to break away from his mouth. You do though, you draw away and look down at him; his swollen lips, red and shiny. His dark eyes and flushed skin. How his fingers wrap around your waist, gripping tightly. 

“Better?” he questions, breathless.

“Much.” One more kiss, this one soft and he whines when you pull away again. “I think you’ll be just fine, Jisung.”

He sits up as you move off of him. Reality comes back, your brain returning to its normal functioning. You stay on the edge of the bed, staring anywhere but at him. 

He fills the space next to you, so quiet. He says your name, and you dare to glance over. 

You kiss him again, the urge strong. He cradles your face in his hands, kissing you back. It’s more sweet than heated.

There’s a loud crash sounding from downstairs, and he jerks away before looking at you with wide eyes. 

“Shit.”

“You better go.”

He glances at the door then back at you, his hands leaving your face. “Yeah…are you going home?”

“Yeah. I think…I think I should.” You miss his hands already.

You both stand and you slide your hands into the back pockets of your jeans. He reaches out to touch where your neck is covered by your shirt. You freeze, staring at him. He shrugs, not saying anything. 

“I’ll…I’ll see ya.” He disappears through the door, shutting it behind him. You don’t move for a minute, trying to feel like you have control over your body before you leave. 

As you make your way through the party-goers, you’re almost out the back door when you hear someone (Seungmin you think) holler “Cops on their way!”

It’s a mad dash that you make in front of the departing crowd. You step back over the fence, hurrying into your house before watching the people and the cars all race off. You wait several more minutes once everything has gone quiet to realize that the cops aren’t coming. 

Pretty effective way to end a party, though.

Your phone vibrates.

Night.

—

If you had friends, especially female friends, you might have talked to them about it. Might have discussed the whys and hows and what to do now of it all. But you don’t think your mom is the right person to tell about the party at the Han’s house, and the few kids in high school you do interact with aren’t exactly interested in anything about your life. Your conversations consist of retelling what assignments someone missed and how high school is hell. 

You definitely don’t talk to Jisung about it. 

When you see him at school the following Monday, he smiles at you, but is distracted by one of his dance team members. You maintain the status quo which is little engagement with anyone at school, even Jisung. 

What is there to talk about? It was a kiss (several) and just two neighbors experimenting. It’s not anything else.

It definitely doesn’t mean you like Jisung or anything.

It’s two months later that you see him talking with Mi-sun by the lockers, her hand on his arm that you reiterate to yourself that you don’t like him.

Because that would be stupid. 

—

~Twelfth Grade~

High school is hell, but you weather it well enough. You pass your classes, you get a decent score on the SAT even though you think university is a pointless experience. It appeases your parents that you do apply and do accept going to a school in state, but farther away than you’ve ever been. 

You’ve been working a part-time job at a bookstore for the last two years, finally earning enough for a used car. Which means you don’t text your neighbor for any late night excursions. Even though he’s asked at least twice. 

He’s easy to avoid if you try. 

But not at the graduation bonfire. It’s tradition. The powers-that-be in your small town look the other way when the graduated seniors set up a party on the outskirts, in the woods. Bonfire, drinks, very little food and somehow it’s okay as long as no one drives home. 

You go because you’re curious. You’ve been to maybe three parties since Jisung’s because it makes your parents less annoying when you do ‘normal’ teen things. You haven’t stopped your research and exploring, but you hide it better. 

It’s the last high school thing you’ll ever have, so you go. 

It’s not about Jisung.

But you do see him once you grab a beer to keep your hands occupied. He’s laughing with Seungmin and Felix and other schoolmates that you know by sight. You know that he did date Mi-sun for probably a good year or so because even though you are a nobody in your school, it’s small enough that dating rumors and truths get to everyone, even the outsiders. 

You force yourself to look away from him when he smiles because it’s still bright and happy and it hurts. 

The bonfire crackles and burns bright in front of you as you fiddle with your open bottle. 

“Hey, you came!”

Apparently he saw you too.

You force a smile to your lips. “Hey Jisung.”

He steps in next to you, clinking your bottle with his. “Happy ‘we’re done with this hellhole’!” He seems a little intoxicated, giddy from the ceremony of the day. 

“Sure.”

He turns to you. “Your mom said you were going to Southern?”

“Yeah. And you’re going to State with Seungmin and Felix.” You take a sip and make a face. 

“Yeah.” There’s a pause. “Guess we won’t be neighbors.” 

Why does he have to sound bummed about it? What does he care?

“Yep.”

“What does an aspiring vampire-ologist major in?” His smile hasn’t faded, but you realize that you’re just not in the mood for his teasing. Even if he’s one of the only people who’s never mocked you for your life-long preoccupation.

“What do you major in when you just do everything your friends do?” 

You can see him still in the corner of your eye. The smile drops, the easy and open manner closes off. 

“What?”

You turn to him, angry for reasons you can never tell him because it’s probably not his fault that you went and developed a crush on the boy next door, but you convince yourself if he hadn’t kissed you, you wouldn’t be like this. 

You wouldn’t like Han Jisung.

“Just curious if going to college with your best friends from high school is such a good idea. I mean, will you ever figure out what you actually want to do if you keep following them?”

The bonfire paints flickering light over his face, shadowing the entirety of his expression. But you can see enough. 

You’ve hurt him. You’re not friends but you never wanted to hurt him. 

“At least I don’t live in a fantasy because I refuse to deal with the real world and actually interacting with humans. I don’t prefer mythological creatures over actual people.” He spits out words like they’ve been festering inside for far too long. “At least people know I exist.”

He holds your gaze, your glare for as long as it takes you to let his words settle in your mind. It’s a direct hit. And only he knows you well enough to do it so keenly.

You hate that you just now realize how well he knows you. 

“Have a nice life, Jisung.” You toss your bottle into the bonfire, watching the mini explosion with disinterest before walking away. 

—

~First Year at University~

When you see Jisung in his backyard during winter break, you pause in your thoughts about going out to look at the stars. You haven’t spoken to him since graduation night. You saw him load up his truck and leave about three days before you left for your college. There has been no contact in any way. You almost made a profile to see if he posted on tiktok or instagram or anything, but school takes over as it always does, and you don’t want to feel weak. 

Even if you wish you could apologize. 

You don’t go back home until winter break. Your parents check in with you, but you’re convinced that they’re just grateful that you’re finally out of the house. As the semester wears on, you don’t blame them. 

It’s three days before Christmas when you see Jisung in the backyard with Bbama. You were about to walk out, look up at the stars and soak in the wintry quiet. You hesitate in seeing your neighbor, wondering if you can actually do this. 

You go out anyway.

In a tufted beanie and big puffy jacket, Jisung spins around at the noise of the sliding doors opening. Even from this distance, with the back door lights illuminating, you can see his eyes widen.

You wave. “Hey Jisung.”

His shoulders drop in relief. “Hey.”

You walk over to the fence, pulling tighter on the hood of your sweatshirt. You squat down to pet Bbama over the fence. 

“So…” you begin, looking up as your neighbor walks over. “How was college?”

He half-smiles and squats down too, eyes on Bbama. “Is it strange to say life-changing?”

You stare at him as he rubs Bbama’s hindquarters. You need to know. You need to know if getting away from home, from the drama of high school, from everything of before also irrevocably altered him and the journey he thought he was on. 

“No,” you say. He looks at you then and seems to understand that there’s a lot you’re not saying. “Wanna tell me about it?”

The half-smile stretches into a full one. “Yeah, okay.”

He drives you both out to the woods, to a very large clearing so you both can lie in the bed of his truck and stare up at the stars, unpolluted by light. He throws a blanket over you before adjusting an old hoodie under his head for a makeshift pillow.

“I’m sorry.”

You still look at the stars, but you can feel his gaze. 

“You are?”

“For what I said at the bonfire. I was…” One of the reasons you never apologized was that you weren’t sure how to without revealing how angry you were and that the source of your anger was your silly crush on him. “I was angry and I took it out on you. I’ve always thought your friendship with Seungmin and Felix was really nice.”

He lets out a soft breath. “You could have been friends with them too.”

You snort. “Yeah, I wasn’t really about that.”

He chuckles. “I’m sorry too. For saying what I did about you living in fantasy and–”

“I don’t think you were entirely wrong,” you interrupt. “I think there was some element of avoiding life.”

“Did you have to take Psych 101 too this semester?”

You laugh, turning your head to look at him. He’s looking up at the sky, giving you a picture-perfect view of his profile.

He’s grown even more, in just five months. 

“I did.”

“Me too. So, I think you weren’t completely wrong either. About me.” He moves and sits up, leaning back against the cab of the truck. You do the same, wrapping the blanket around you. “It’s easier to be what others what you to be than to figure out what you really want.”

You’re both quiet for a few minutes, hearing the wind whistle through the bare and needled trees. 

“Did you? Did you figure out what you want?”

He nods. “I…I started writing.”

“Writing?”

In your peripheral, you can see him swallow nervously. 

“What kind of writing?”

“Lyrics. Music. Poetry.” He turns toward you. “I had to take a writing class to get it out the way and only one was available…poetry. I shouldn’t have even gotten into it, it’s a 300 level…a total glitch, but it was so good and I liked it so much and–” He cuts himself off, looking away and even though it’s dark you can tell he’s blushing. “I think I’m pretty good at it.”

“Are you going to like…be a song-writer?”

“Maybe? I’m taking two music production classes next semester. It might be awful. I might be awful at it.”

“But you might not be.”

He looks back at you and does that half-smile again. “Yeah. I might not be.”

“That’s really awesome, Jisung.” You reach out and squeeze his arm, which really is just you squeezing the puffy jacket. “I’m happy you found that.”

“What about you? You made it sound like…like college was life-changing for you too.”

You take a deep breath.

“Still researching?”

“No.”

If you were in a drama, he would have gasped with such a reveal. But it’s just quiet. Cold and quiet. 

“Why not?”

“Because they’re not real.”

Maybe that’s when a gasp would happen. 

“I…um, really?”

You laugh at how he’s trying to sound surprised. 

“I mean I noticed you aren’t covering your neck like you usually do at night, but–” 

You shouldn’t be surprised that he noticed that.

“I know. I know. I was so adamant about them being real. And who knows? Maybe they do exist. They’re just really good at hiding.” You sober up. “There was this flyer-poster thingy on the bulletin boards and on the community website for extracurriculars and clubs and stuff. It said something like “Find out about real vampires’ or whatever. I thought maybe I’d found others like me.”

You look back up at the sky.

“But you didn’t.”

“No. It wasn’t a big group. In some tiny classroom in the history building. The person who spoke was an activist.” You feel your voice break. “About sex-trafficking.”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah. And like, went on about the statistics, and how it happens here, not in some country a million miles away. I almost cried in the meeting. These kids, people our age and younger are being enslaved and assulated on the daily and…” You trail off. “I mean, we’ve all heard about it before, just something about then, that moment. Here I was, trying to write a manifesto about some fictional character trope and there were children out there, being…” You press your lips together and take another deep breath. “It was eye-opening.”

“I can imagine.”

You swallow your emotions a little, wondering if you would ever become jaded when you thought about it. 

“Anyway. I finally picked my major. I’m doing sociology and criminal justice. I don’t know what that means really, except…”

“I think that means you know what matters to you.” 

You turn to him. “Yeah. I guess so.”

He smiles. “Well, my lyric-writing turn feels really underwhelming right now.”

You laugh and lightly punch his shoulder. “I bet your words are really wonderful. Thoughtful. Powerful.”

He cocks his head to the side. “You don’t know that.”

“Well, no, I don’t. But you were always a good friend to me…You’re really empathetic which I bet comes out in your writing.”

“I think that’s the first time you’ve admitted that we’re friends.”

You huff and punch him again before crossing your arms to look back out into the dark night. “Whatever.”

“I think your obstinacy will serve you well in what you wanna do, Van Helsing.” 

You smile at the nickname. 

“Hey.”

You turn again toward him. He’s moved closer. 

“I’m excited for you.”

You can’t help but soak in his warmth from being closer and that smile of his. “Thanks. I’m terrified.”

“I think that’s good. I’ve never seen you scared.”

“I’ve seen you scared.”

He makes a face. “Well, that’s what I get for having a girl like you next door.” He meets your eyes for a couple seconds. “I’m sorry too.”

“About?”

“The party at my house.” 

You can actually feel your heart speed up. 

“We were kids.”

“But I liked you.” He shrugs. “And I got to kiss you but did nothing about it. Which feels both dumb and spineless. You didn’t seem to be interested so I just kinda decided to not bring it up again.”

You can’t take looking at him in the eyes for this, so you stare at the trees in the distance. “You liked me?”

“Of course. So I’m sorry I kinda made it about it being my first time and like, practice when it was definitely more than that. I took your first kiss too.”

“I agreed,” you say softly. “I agreed because it was you.” You reach out and smooth the wrinkles in his forehead from his worry. “I didn’t bring it up either. Even though it mattered.”

He doesn’t look away from you. “Yeah. It mattered.” He links his hand with yours. 

You stare at your connected hands because it’s almost as unfathomable as you pursuing something that wasn’t vampires. 

“Jisung.”

“Hmm?”

“You said you ‘liked’ me. Past tense.”

“I did.”

“Well, I like you.” You force your eyes back to his. “Present tense.”

“Yeah?” If there’s a trace of knowing in his voice and expression, you can forgive him. Because he’s always been perceptive and observant. Maybe your crush wasn’t as unnoticed as you thought. 

“Yeah.” You laugh in self-reproach. “I mean, I think you’re the only thing outside of my research that I even thought about.”

He doesn’t say anything, but he’s grinning, still holding your hand.

“Say something.”

“That’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten.”

You roll your eyes, but don’t move away. “Are you a better kisser now?”

You can see and hear how his breath catches at your question. “Um…I think so. I got really good advice from a friend, once. Not too much tongue.”

“That is a good friend.” You aren’t sure which of you is moving closer to the other, or if both of you are doing it simultaneously, but his lips are definitely nearer. 

“Yeah. I like her.” 

“Still?”

He nods, so close his lips brush yours just from that movement. He lingers, before kissing you more firmly, his other hand coming around to cup your face. 

Maybe you don’t remember it that well, but you think he has improved. His tongue touching yours sends shivers through you that have nothing to do with the cold. But he notices. 

“I better get you home. It’s freezing.”

You protest, and he kisses you on the lips in response before dropping his head and pressing his lips to your neck.

“I wanted to do this that night,” he whispers against your skin, then looks up at you. “Kiss you here.” 

You cup his face in your hands, mouth meeting his, your fingers sliding into his hair. The way he kisses, the changing rhythm; his hands trailing under your hoodie and up your sides; all of it just causes your fingers to tighten in his hair, relishing the silky feel and hearing how he shudders at the slight pull. 

He drags you closer, almost into his lap, but the wind picks up, blowing through the both of you so you simultaneously shiver. He chuckles against your lips. 

“I better take you home. Getting sick on winter break would be the worst.” 

You agree, but not without wrapping around him, kissing again. He eventually draws away, but lets your noses brush.

“The image of you above me, kissing me that night. Seared into my brain for eternity.”

He doesn’t say anything else as he climbs out of the bed of the truck and holds out his hand to help you, but you throw the blanket over his head before climbing out on your own. He’s laughing when he gets into the driver's seat to drive you back. 

When he parks in his driveway, it’s quiet again. And your mind wanders.

“So…what does this mean, exactly?” you ask carefully. 

He takes your hand in his, turning his body toward you, eyes soft and warm. “Means whatever we want it to.”

“We go to different schools.”

“True.”

“We are just now figuring out who we are and what we want to do.”

“Also true.”

You huff at him. “Long distance, even two hours or whatever rarely works.”

His smile grows. “You looked up how long it takes to drive between our schools?”

It’s beyond embarrassing so you pull your hand out of his, and get out of his truck. He follows soon after, wrapping his arms around you in a hug, his mouth pressing against your temple. 

“It’s cute. You’re cute.”

“Whatever.”

He draws back, not letting go, but so you can look at each other. “Two hours is nothing. We drove almost that far to look at an empty house.”

It reminds you again. That he pays attention. That he cares so deeply about his friends that he does stuff with them. Even hunting something that doesn’t exist. 

You kiss him before drawing back to say, “True. Two hours is nothing.”

His answering smile fills you with so much affection, you wonder if it was inevitable; falling for the boy next door. 

---

(c) yoongihan 2024. please do not steal, translate, repost, or whatever. stray kids belong to themselves and all idols used in this piece are just the inspiration for characters and do not in any way reflect the actual humans.

[sectumsempraaa]

Let the Right Girl In

Pairing: loser!Draco Malfoy x fem!reader

Word Count: 3.4k

Based on this request! Thank you :)

TW: use of fake/artificial blood and fangs, kissing

Summary: After months of secretly craving your attention, your friend Draco Malfoy finally finds the courage to overcome his crush-driven nerves by inviting you to the Halloween party of the season at Malfoy Manor. What he doesn’t expect is how quickly you turn it into a date at the suggestion of a seriously iconic couple’s costume.

A/N: There are of course some direct quotes and references from “Dracula” in this fic. It’s all very obvious with just a super basic knowledge of the story. No further research necessary :)

.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Move, you bloody oaf!” Draco yells as he shoves a third year Gryffindor into the nearest wall, hastily making his way down the corridor to Transfiguration class. Any class he shares with you is his favorite, but today is different. Today he’s extra eager to arrive early to grab a seat next to you.

Usually he waits outside the classroom until you’re about 10 feet away, stealing you away from whoever holds your attention at that moment. His confidence glows, but underneath are a thousand nerves, each one sparking like fireworks when you arrive.

Most people can’t get under Draco’s skin, but you aren’t most people. This boy has had eyes for you longer than he’d like to admit, and he’s spent each day of it absolutely craving your attention. In fact, it’s become sort of a game for him. Devising ways to bump into you, manipulating teachers to partner you on projects, whatever it takes to get even just a glint of eye contact, a brushing touch, or a subtle laugh from you.

And the fact is, none of it is for show. The payoff for him is the prolonged, palpable thrill that lingers from even just a fleeting moment with you.

Draco’s parents have decided to host a lavish Halloween party at the manor this year and the minute he caught wind of it, he was dead set on you attending. Hundreds of fancy invites have been created already, yours being the first delivered, of course.

McGonagall gives Draco a curious eye, suspicious of his unusual timeliness. “Class is not yet in session, Mr. Malf-” she stops abruptly, her attention turning to you in the doorway. She looks between the two of you, a knowing smile grows on her face as Draco’s unwavering stare follows your every step. He couldn’t blink if he tried.

“Hi, Draco” you greet him in your soft, bright voice. The sound of his name on your tongue sends a jolt of adrenaline through him, struggling to produce a coherent response.

“Precious, precious Y/L/N,” he responds, his heart quickening as you set your books down next to his own on your desk. He swallows, trying especially hard to maintain his cool facade. “Feel like being neighbors today then?”

You sit down next to him, smoothing your skirt out underneath you while doing so. You scan him up and down, making him wonder… are you… checking him out right now?

“Hmm, well I always did have a thing for the boy next door.” You joke, nudging him with an elbow. Your response alone is enough to break his brain, enough that he has to tell himself you were just playing around. He readjusts his focus, reminding himself of the task at hand.

“Then I suppose it wouldn’t be too difficult for you to find your way over, then?” he asks, extracting the invitation from inside his robe and presenting it to you, your intrigued features quickly relaxing into an excited grin.

The way your hand grazes his while accepting the card could have added years to his life. His gaze worships you, morphing into tunnel vision the longer you inspect the invitation. Your eyes note the black and orange borders and the lovely cursive handwriting that could only belong to Narcissa.

You look up to him, his breath still as he awaits your answer, the anticipation rendering his mind blank.

“Do we get to wear costumes? Or is this one of those classic Malfoy functions that requires classic Malfoy attire?” You inquire, each word drenched in playfulness.

He fucking loves riffing with you and pushing each other’s buttons. As long as you’re talking to him, it doesn’t matter. You could be publicly berating him and he would relish every single second.

“Costumes required, actually. But that won’t be hard for someone who already resembles an angel,” he says, resting his temple on a fist. To this, you break into a fit of laughter. He can’t help but notice the rosy hue developing on your cheeks, the way your eyes crinkle and your nose scrunches.

“An angel?! How positively daft,” you tease, shaking your head. He could have sworn you started to reach for him in your bout of giggling. “No, I’ve got a killer idea.”

He is just dying to know what you have in mind, his thoughts swimming with fantasies of you in his home, all dressed up. But it is quickly cut off by a room full of loud students and a yelling McGonagall, a sigh of frustration emitting from him. He’ll spend the rest of class imagining you in a range of costumes- cat, inmate… bride? Yeah, that’s his favorite one.

He watches you slip the invitation behind the cover of your textbook for protection. You throw him a wink, and it damn nearly kills him.

—

Not a day goes by where he isn’t secretly praying to fast forward to Halloween. Countless times now he’s imagined you meeting his parents, introducing them to his most favorite person. That is, until today.

Lately, Draco’s been deprived of your attention, shying away from fear of bothering you. Honestly, he is still recovering from his flirtatious interaction with you in McGonagall’s class, repeating and analyzing every sentence in his head over and over.

As he’s walking into the Great Hall for breakfast, he approaches the table and notices a book lying where he normally sits. Probably some delinquent student forgetting their belongings behind.

But as he gets closer, he’s hit by a wall of your perfume, a mist of orange blossoms and vanilla filling his senses, indicating your very recent presence. The fragrance causes him to look around for you, a burst of butterflies erupting in his chest as he finds your stare already on him from a few tables over.

You nod in the direction of the book at his place setting, urging him to take a peak. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t hard to break away from your entrancing eye contact, the boy desperate to keep your gaze on him as long as possible.

He manages to glance down, expecting a textbook or something he’s already read. Instead he reads the title aloud, his Slytherin friends listening in as his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“Drac-ula? What is Dracula?” he asks to no one in particular, a hint of attitude in his voice. Pansy giggles, being in on your idea previously. She reaches across the table and opens the cover for him.

“It’s a famous muggle story, you git. A bloody good one, you could say.” She and Blaise smirk to each other in pride of her pun, but it earns no response from Draco. She turns the page for him again, this time revealing an illustration of the pale man with his fangs sunk into the neck of his damsel-like counterpart.

Draco’s eyes grow wide, the realization finally settling in. He jumps as you suddenly appear behind him, talking over his shoulder on your tippy toes with your hands on each of his upper arms.

“You already have half his name, and his personality,” you start, huffing a laugh to yourself. His eyes still linger on the drawing as he turns slightly towards you. “I figured you’d be perfect for the part.”

“And you?” he asks with genuine curiosity, his voice just barely shaking, his features softening at the sight of you. You caught him by surprise and now he’s a melting mess, your glow slowly hypnotizing him.

“Darling, we’re both in that picture.” You respond, throwing him another wink and a playful hiss before walking away with your friends. His brain can barely register this information, requiring a minute to fully process your idea.

Theo pokes fun at Draco as the gang gets up to leave for class. “Dear god, I’ve never seen it this bad. It’s like we’re not even here!” He sneers, snapping his fingers in front of Draco’s face, but to no avail.

Draco whispers to himself while scanning the illustration again, unaware that his housemates are in listening proximity. “It’s a couples costume. She wants to do a couple’s costume… with me.” A small smile forms on his face in the aftermath of your conversation.

“You ought to save that devilish smirk for your upcoming role,” Pansy jokes. He stows the book away in his bag and decides to skip his first class, opting to read the book that made you think of him, instead.

—

Draco stands utterly still, completely in awe, taking a mental picture of the image before him: you, sitting on his bed in his home. His actual real life home. He’s not sure if it’s disbelief or amazement or general arousal but it’s safe to say there’s a healthy mix of each.

You had brought over everything the two of you would need for your costumes, the nature of yours nearly sending him over the edge already. Normally, he’s praying for just a glimpse in his direction in class, but today, there’s no one else here to distract you from him.

“Come here, lovey,” you say, coaxing him over to you as you lay out the makeup and supplies on a small bedside table. He nearly falls over at the nickname, attempting to build his cold walls back up, but the blush on his cheeks says otherwise.

He sits on the edge of his bed facing you, and you notice how unusually quiet he’s been since your arrival. It’s hard for you to imagine the Draco Malfoy being… anxious?

You approach him, leaning slightly between his legs to get a better vantage point of his face. It takes every fiber of his being not to glance down to your cleavage, the Victorian style dress you’re wearing putting it on full display.

You run a hand through his hair, admiring his features as he looks up at you with eyes full of pure adoration. A slight pause has you realizing how truly weird this is- the coldest boy in school, the Slytherin prince himself, inviting you over to the privacy of his house, giving you the grand tour, letting you set up shop in his childhood bedroom.

Most people aren’t even granted permission to speak to him, and yet here you are, finally coming to the conclusion that… you really aren’t ‘most people.’

He let you in.

“Open your mouth, boy.” Your voice sultry, a teasing smile adorning your face as you place a hand under his chin, holding it in place. His body could ignite right now with how hot his skin is from your touch. He’s not sure he was ever prepared for this level of intimacy with you.

He parts his lips, granting you access inside. Suddenly, your fingers are in his mouth, working on attaching a set of fangs to his teeth. Is this real? Is this happening? How are you so comfortable right now while he’s silently screaming inside at your mere presence?

The limits of his self control are being brutally tested, something he didn’t foresee being an issue today. Electricity shoots through his body as the taste of you grazes his tongue. You can’t help but notice how perfect his lips are, how soft and supple they seem.

Your eyes go wide as the fangs click into place, something wild sparking within your stare. He notices and gives you a look tinged with intrigue.

“This may have been a very bad idea,” you joke, a hint of bashfulness lacing your words. “I didn’t realize you’d make such a handsome vampire.”

His grin grows instantly, his confidence rising ever so slightly as you share your vulnerability. His eyes still shine up at you with sheer infatuation as your posture caves in a bit, bringing your faces closer together.

It’s quiet for a moment as he lets you take him in. The weight of his kindness, openness, and hospitality is all starting to make sense. On top of that, there’s something quite serene about seeing him in this environment, one where he’s fully himself. The volume of your voice lowers to a shadow of a whisper as your hands clasp behind his neck.

“I need you to do me a favor, Draco.” It is incredibly difficult to keep his focus on anything but your lips and how little distance there is to his own. But he’ll do anything he can to keep his chance with you alive and well.

“Anything, doll.” He responds, sitting up straighter.

You reach for an item on the table and place it in his hand, his head barely registering anything outside his immediate concentration on you.

“I need you to make me your Mina.” His heart nearly explodes at the request, his every desire begging him to crush his lips onto yours. He looks from the illustration in the open book on the table down to the container of fake blood in his palm, a smirk thrown your way as he understands what’s coming next.

A hand on your waist catches you by surprise, the pressure guiding you to sit down on his thigh. Before you know it, he’s the one towering over you now, his arm secured around your waist to keep you balanced on his lap.

Don’t be fooled, he is still absolutely racked with nerves. But the girl of his dreams is sitting on his lap, and god damnit if he’s going to let this opportunity pass without making the most of it. He can be brave for you.

His hand makes its way towards you, the deep red substance dripping onto your dress. Your hand finds his back, gripping the material of his white ruffled shirt tightly in your fist. “Tilt,” he requests, needing more access to your neck. You do as asked, resting your head on his shoulder to expose more skin.

He wasn’t expecting you to do this, but god he’ll take it. In a swift motion, he lifts your legs over both his thighs now, giving you both maximum stability. The breath from your small laugh into the crook of his neck gives him chills, his eyes closing for a moment to relish it.

The hand around your waist lifts higher to gather your hair, laying it neatly behind your shoulders. The next thing you feel are his fingers dragging their way across the side of your neck, painting your skin with care and intention. Each stroke makes its way lower and lower towards your chest, the thumping of your heart picking up each time you feel him slide over you.

“Mind if I…?” Draco prompts, gesturing the packet of fake blood itself to your neck. “I’m feeling quite committed to the theatrics.” To this, he earns a joking eye roll of approval from you.

You adjust yourself on his lap, causing his hand to slip down around your hips. Whatever it takes to just keep you here forever seems necessary to him. His heart may be racing, his muscles aching from making sure you’re comfortable, but this is all he’s ever wanted.

You are all he’s ever wanted.

You feel the red liquid cascade down your neck to your chest, seeping into your cleavage, some of it staining the bodice of your dress. Just enough to make it look like a real vampire bite, without being excessive.

“You know,” you breathe, lifting your head to meet his stare, your noses practically touching. “There is one way we could make this… really convincing.”

Draco searches your eyes and for the first time, he finds the same unfiltered longing staring back at him. A needy, pulling desire fills the remaining space left between you. Your hand finds its way to the base of his neck, a slight pressure not unlike the one he used on you before.

“If… if you want, I mean.” Your bit of embarrassment lingers on your cheeks. He smiles, repeating his sentiment from earlier while his hand snakes its way underneath your knees, pulling you even closer to him.

“Anything, doll.” He replies, and this time you know he means it in every sense of the word.

Your hand applies the same pressure again, guiding his face to your neck, and from here he needs no further instruction. You feel the soft yet hungry impact of his lips on your neck, sucking on your skin lightly, his eyes closed as the vampire himself does what he does best.

A sigh escapes you, your fingers curling in his hair as his tongue enters the mix. His movements become more fervent as your response intensifies with each kiss. You let out a tiny yelp as you feel the fangs poke your skin, a mix of pain and pleasure enveloping you as his laugh graces your neck.

He quickly pulls back, resting his forehead on yours. “Sorry, love. Got a bit too into character there, didn’t I?” He winks, his head spinning from it all. You glance down to the mess of red displayed on his chin, admiring the work of art.

“No, it was perfect. You’re a spitting image.” You state, nodding to the book’s visual aid you were using to create this look. You both giggle, observing each other up close.

“And you, my Mina.” Draco tucks a stray hair behind your ear, beckoning you to him again. As the fake blood dries on his skin, he takes one last look in your eyes before you decide to be equally dedicated to your role. Your voice lowers to a mutter, your breath entwining with his.

“I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips.” He pulls back at the phrase, the realization hitting him like a vivid flashback.

“Chapter three.” He declares, earning a dropped jaw from you. He really read the damn book.

Within seconds, your lips are on his, his response having won your swelling heart. His hands travel around your waist, exploring every inch of you. His whole world seemingly shatters and mends itself as you get lost in each other.

Your lips dance together in a passionate, breathtaking crescendo. Your tongue slides in, claiming his mouth as his hand lifts up to cup and support your cheek. The urgency calms, settling back into a gentle, tender kiss. A kiss so painfully soft, it acts more as an expression of his intentions with you, pointing to a time where this was all but a day dream to him.

“Shall we?” He asks, gesturing his head towards the door. You smile, reaching for the last bit of his costume: a black velvet cape. You lay it around him, snapping the clasps together in the front.

He dives in for one last kiss, tugging your lower lip with his fictitious fangs, causing your hands to land on his chest.

“You know, I think I’m rather fond of these.” He says as he helps you off his lap back to your feet. He scans you up and down, drinking you in.

“Our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would beg to differ.” You joke, letting him spin you around, hooking an arm through his as you walk to the top of the stairs that lead down to the main hall.

You two make your way down the stairs, the guests turning in your direction in awe as cameras flash and fingers point at the prestigious Malfoy son and the beautiful girl on his arm. Draco stops abruptly on the last stair, giving you a blank, anticipatory look.

“What’s wrong, dear?” You whisper, a shadow of worry following your voice.

“You have to invite me in.” To this, you can barely control your immediate bout of laughter, your hold on him growing tighter the harder you laugh.

When you both finally come down, you release your arm from his, stepping in front of him. The crowd went eerily silent, enticed by your dramatic entrance.

Your black-gloved hand reaches out to his as you both put on a show for the entranced guests. He takes it and kisses the back of your hand, a small smirk displayed for your eyes only.

You oblige to his request, the pitch of your voice lying somewhere between innocence and a dark, desirable knowing.

“Enter freely, and of your own free will, my darling.”

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

[ghostofhyuck]

Drawn to You

Vampire! Zhong Chenle x Human! Reader

Summary: You never thought that Zhong Chenle would like you, heck even go through measures of courting you just to show you that his intentions to you are genuine. Or is it? If you only knew about his real identity. 

Word count: 3.5k

TW: Contains blood, and noncon biting. Read at your own risk.

AN: I skimmed the Dracula plot just for this fic, if inaccuracies occurred, I’m sorry. 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Everyone would think that you’re just a typical college student who studies literature at her local town college. 

“Oh my god, you have another one!?” your friend shrieks as she sees the bouquet of flowers on your desk. 

Except what makes you stand out from the others is that you’re being courted by Zhong Chenle — one of the most popular guys in your college.

Popularity isn’t just by the looks. Sure Chenle is one of the most good-looking guys in your town, but that’s just a small part of his popularity. He came from a family who runs a centennials-old business. The Zhong family are knit-tighted and are old money. They’re highly influential. Chenle being the second son of the Zhong makes him stand out. Aside from that, he studies business while being the captain of the college’s basketball team.

Girls would die to be noticed by him. But Chenle was dubbed as an “ice prince” due to his cold yet cool image. He rarely engages in conversations with anyone aside from his friends, and has been known to turn down confessions coldly. People’s impression of him as someone who’s untouchable. Even in academic projects, he's as formal as he can be. 

You think of him as someone who’s unreachable. You did find him ideal and handsome but not enough to throw yourself on him. 

That’s why you were surprised when one day he striked a conversation with you. You thought of it as merely a coincidence. You were part-timing at your older sister’s book shop when he entered the place. You never thought that the college’s star athlete would find himself going to a book shop. 

You stared at him unknowingly as he scans around the bookshelves that contain poetry books. You watch as he scans the books, finding himself engaged between the pages, and obliviously, you have your gaze lock on him. Everyone’s right. Chenle does have a strong aura that can make everyone turn their heads on him. 

And there, he started asking you questions. Keeping the conversation going on. You were surprised by the way he talks to you, casually. You always thought that he’s a bit cold who thinks highly of himself. That’s why you’re there, quietly flustered as he gives you a small smile before waving goodbye to you. 

That’s not the only thing that happened to you. The next day, the whole school is buzzing as Chenle drives you to school. They were shocked to see Chenle step out of the car and walk towards the passenger seat in which he opens for you. Due to embarrassment, you ran away without even turning around to look at the crowd. 

You knew that day, you'd end up being the talk of the town. The girl who managed to swoon Chenle. There were a lot of stories and gossip running wild as they tried to decipher how you managed to end up in that situation. Even getting strangers to ask you and ask you what’s your deal with him. 

It didn’t stop there. Everyday, you’d go out to your house and see Chenle waiting for you outside. He’s leaning on his car and has every plan of driving you to school. You told him that it’s fine, but he insists. Even during days where you have classes and he doesn’t have, he’ll still drive you to school. 

Then came the gifts. The foods he brings you, and small gifts that he insists that it’s nothing. You tried to ignore it but you knew where it would lead, and you were suspicious of it. 

“Whatever you’re planning, stop it,” you told him one day. 

Chenle glances at you, dribbling the basketball so casually as he throws it to the ring. It went straight to it and you only watched as he caught it. 

“What do you mean?”

“You can be honest with me, if your friends just made a bet to date me or something, you can now tell me because I don’t have any plans of making myself look like a fool,” you explained, letting out a small sigh. “If you’re doing this because you’re bored, find another girl.”

“You got to stop reading romance novels in your past time,” Chenle mocked instead. “I’m not that type of guy yn, if you want, fine I like you.” 

“Stop fooling around —”

“I’m not, and if you find yourself doubting me, it’s okay,” Chenle said with a serious tone. “Because I’ll prove to you that my intentions are genuine.” 

That’s how you ended up being courted by Zhong Chenle. You know that it’s some old-fashioned thing to do but it was Chenle’s decision to do so. He has every plan of making you his. While you’re just there, accepting all things he does to you. 

You bear no feelings for Chenle at first. You found it suspicious that he chose you out of all the girls in your college. But he explains so casually that he’s just drawn to you. Whatever that means. You think. 

But as day passed by, you slowly opened your heart to him. He’s not the ice prince everyone calls. Chenle also has a side that only he opens to you. He’s good with his words, can be straightforward but you’ll find yourself agreeing with him. He also likes teasing you, and you’d come to realize that you’re lucky that you hear his laughter on a daily basis. 

Soon, you find yourself thinking that maybe being courted by Chenle isn’t that bad at all. 

“Hey!” you looked up to see Chenle in front of you. He’s wearing a plain tshirt and jogger pants. Hair still dripping wet indicating that he’s fresh from the post-practice shower. His gym bag slinged on the left side of his shoulder. 

You only smiled at him as you grabbed your backpack and stood up from the bleachers. 

“Should we go now?” you asked, Chenle only nods. He helped you get down from the bleachers and as you two began walking, he grabbed your backpack and wore it on his left arm. You only smile at his gesture but shift to the book you’re reading. 

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing out the small book you’re reading. 

“Oh, it’s Dracula by Bram Stoker,” you answered, showing him the book cover. “It’s for my Gothic Literature class, I’m doing a novel analysis for it.” 

“About vampires?” he asked. 

“Yeah, why not?” you only smiled. “The plot’s interesting plus the writing style is different.” 

“Didn’t like the novel,” Chenle casually said. “There’s a lot of inaccuracies.” 

You raised an eyebrow, “inaccuracies?”

“About vampires.”

You laughed at his comment. “Okay nerd, are you a big fan of vampires? Next thing you’ll say, twilight isn’t an accurate representation of vampires.”

“You’re right actually,” Chenle pointed out. “Vampires can actually be exposed to the sun, it’s just that they’re just more active during night because they’re more connected to the moon rather than the sun.”

“Okay where did you even learn that?” you raised an eyebrow. “What’s next? they can actually eat garlic and can actually touch silver.” 

“Vampires can tolerate garlic, it’s a food preference just like how you don’t like some types of vegetables while they can touch silver but not those silver stakes that are blessed with holy water. That’ll kill them.” 

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not.”

“Then how come you know much about vampires? Wouldn’t be surprised if you’re secretly a vampire.”

But Chenle only laughs at your comment. He swings his arms around you pulling you closer to his stance. “What if I am really a vampire? And then I’m gonna eat you!”

You let out a small shriek as Chenle tickles you on your waist. You squirmed your way out of his touch, and as you catch your breath, you can hear the horrendous laughter from your suitor. 

“You’re such an asshole!” you shouted, playfully kicking his shin in which he was able to dodge it quickly. 

“Sorry, it’s just you’re just too cute!” Chenle squealed, squishing your cheeks before he steals a kiss on your nose. 

“That’s not going to work Zhong Chenle,” you said, sticking out a tongue. 

“Yeah I know, I just want to kiss you,” he smirks. “Come on, let’s just go get some iced coffee for you.” 

-

“Ugh, you reek of her again,” Renjun complained the moment Chenle entered the mansion. 

“Isn’t she sweet?” Chenle proudly said, making his way towards his room while his cousin was just behind his tracks. 

“Not for me,” Renjun pointed out. “She’s too sweet that I’ll get cavities just from a drop of her blood.”

“Well that’s a relief because I have no plans of sharing her to you.” 

The older one only lets out a sigh. “The full moon will be out in a week, if you don’t get the chance to drink from her —”

“Yeah I know, i’ll die from starvation,” Chenle rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry about me, I can handle it.” 

“I just hope you’d do it in a decent way.'' It was the last thing Renjun said before leaving Chenle alone. 

As Renjun’s footsteps started to fade, Chenle could only laugh as he grabbed his phone, revealing a stolen photo of yours. 

“You don’t have to worry about that dear cousin.” 

-

Despite being courted by Chenle for months, you two never really had a proper date. You’re used to him taking you out to eat dinner or lunch just outside your college’s vicinity but the formal ones never really happened. 

So you were surprised when Chenle asks you if you’re free on Sunday night. 

“For what?”

“A date,” he said so casually and yet, it made your heart jump in joy. 

“A date?” 

“Yeah, I mean I’ve been courting you but I never really took you out for a date,” he said. 

“I mean, it’s okay with me but can I ask where?” you asked. 

“I actually wanted to invite you to my place,” Chenle pointed out. “The full moon’s happening tonight and my mother has a garden that’s full of moonflowers. It only blooms during the full moon and I want you to watch it bloom with you.”

“Oh Chenle,” you gasped. Flustered with his words. “That’s sweet of you but I'm scared that I might draw a wrong impression on your family.”

“Oh don’t worry about my family, they already like you,” he brushes it off. “I’ve told them how amazing you are and they couldn’t wait for you to be part of the family.”

You only let out a small chuckle. “Okay, I’ll be happy to watch the moonflower with you.” 

You watched as Chenle’s smile grew bigger to your answer. In a swift second, he gives you a hug and a kiss on the cheeks. “Thanks yn, you’re not going to regret it.”

“Those moonflowers better be worth it.” you teased. 

But you were only welcomed by a small pinch from Chenle. “Of course they will be.” 

When Sunday night arrived, you felt nervous. You tried your best to find the most appropriate dress you can find from your closet. 

With the help of your best friend, the two of you managed to find the most decent yet formal looking dress from your closet. It was a black sleeved dress that hugs your chest area and has an A-line skirt just above the knee. You paired it with short heeled sandals. You let your hair flow, curling the ends and doing light makeup. 

You let out a sigh as you wore the silver cross necklace that your mother gave to you. Adorning it with silver stud earrings to compliment your overall outfit. As the night deepens, you can feel your heart beating fast. The moment you heard the honk from Chenle’s car, you did everything at the last minute and grabbed the small bag that contained your things. 

As you open the gate, Chenle is there, leaning against his car’s hood. He looked exquisite in his black slacks and white sleeved polo, rolled down to ¾’s and two buttons undone. You were in daze, thinking that you indeed scored a good-looking guy as your suitor. 

Chenle glanced at you and did a double take, he was about to approach you when he stopped, you became confused when you noticed the sudden discomfort from his face. 

“Is everything okay?” you asked. 

“Oh I’m fine,” he said. “Your necklace looks nice.” 

You smiled, “really? I got it from my mom.” 

“It’s pretty,” he said looking away. “It’s a shame that I won’t be able to give you my gift.” 

You raised an eyebrow. “A gift?” 

From his back pocket, he grabs something and shows it to you. Your eyes wide at the silver necklace that’s adorned with a topaz trinket. 

“It’s beautiful,” you said, touching the topaz. 

“It’s from my mom,” Chenle answered. “I was hoping if you could —”

“Of course! I’ll be happy,” you only smiled. 

Chenle watched as you took off the cross necklace, he could only sigh internally as you placed it inside your bag. He then carefully places the necklace around your necklace. Clasping the lock before grazing his finger against your nape. 

“It’s beautiful,” you said once again. 

“Should we get going?” he asked, making you nod. 

The Zhong Mansion can be found on the outskirts of the town. It just sinked into you just how far Chenle drives just so he can pick you up. The gesture makes your feelings for him deepen. You watched as you trailed off to a more secluded part, turning left towards a dark road that seems endless to you. 

You would eye Chenle from time to time but it didn’t budge him, he kept on driving until you passed by huge bamboo stalks, swaying slightly against the wind. And from there, you noticed how there’s a few lantern lights from afar. You guessed that that’s Chenle’s place. 

After minutes of driving on the endless road, you found yourself in front of a white steel gate. Chenle honks for a few seconds before the gate opens slowly and from there, your jaw drops. 

A white mansion rests idly on a small hill. Chenle drove further until you two reached the entrance of the house. There, he shuts off the engine while you remain frozen from where you are sitting. You flinched as you felt his hands holding yours. 

“Nervous?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Your house is huge.” 

“I know,” Chenle only said. “Let’s go inside? Everyone’s waiting for us.”

Your worries disappeared when you were welcomed by warm hugs and laughter. There were only a few people and just like Chenle said, it was an exclusive party. They keep their life private, away from the prying eyes of the public. Only a few guests are allowed and you’re just lucky that they agreed to invite you over. 

Chenle introduced you one by one to his family, and just like what he said, they seem to like you. You only smile as they give you handshakes or hugs. You found it incredibly fascinating how they’re so pale and seem ageless. You guessed that that’s what happens to rich people. 

“Finally glad to meet you,” you turned around to see a guy around your age. He’s wearing a black sheer blouse that’s tucked in his black slacks. He’s insanely pale and pretty as he gracefully took a sip from the red wine that he’s holding. 

“And you are?” you asked while waiting for Chenle who went out to get you some food. 

“Renjun, Chenle’s cousin,” he introduced. “Care for some?” 

You only stare at the wine he’s holding and you shake your head gently. “Sorry, I don’t drink red wine.”

Renjun laughs, “who says it’s red wine?”

“Then what is it?”

He brings the glass closer to you, “why don’t you find out?”

You stared at him for a second, an innocent smile forming on his lips. You raise an eyebrow before accepting it when Chenle grabs your hands. 

“Chenle —”

“Auntie is looking for you Renjun-ge,” Chenle said with a cold tone. 

But Renjun wasn’t fazed by his cousin’s words. “Alrighty then, see you later yn,” he gives you a wink before leaving you two. 

Chenle lets go of your hand. You ignored the way it hurt you, Chenle placed the plates full of food in front of you and sat next to you. 

“Sorry about that, Renjun tends to be a prankster,” Chenle apologized. His hands make their way to your wrist as he lightly presses it. 

“It’s fine, I get it,” you assured. “What’s in that drink by the way?”

“Alcohol but not wine,” Chenle answered. 

You let it be. Giving him a sign that it’s fine now and you two can start digging in. The whole night, you two enjoyed mingling with his family. Dancing to the music and even talking to his parents. They were lovely people, despite the enormous teasing that you got from them for being the first girl Chenle has brought, you couldn’t help but feel at home with them. 

“It’s almost eleven,” Chenle pointed out. “Should we go see the moonflowers?”

“What about your family?” he asked. 

“I know a perfect spot to watch it, come on,” you weren’t able to say yes when he tugs you away. 

You two walked towards the backyard of their property. A wide grassfield that's a field with nothing but tall trees and wildflowers. You only hold on to Chenle as he finds the route towards the garden of moonflowers.

“Wow,” you mumbled as you two reached the garden. Chenle finds the marbled bench that’s beside a pillar where the moonflower vines crawled. You looked at the white buds, they’re twitching as the full moon slowly rises, gray clouds acting like a curtain opening slowly the bright gleam of the moon. 

You sat there in awe, watching the moonflower bloom slowly and beautifully. Your eyes widen in amazement because it’s the first time you have witnessed a flower bloom, let alone in the middle of the night. 

“This is amazing,” you only mumbled. “I’m so glad that you brought me here. Thank you Chenle.” 

“I’m happy too,” he smiles. 

Silently, you gaze on his eyes. That’s when you noticed how his eyes weren’t in the shade of black, more of a unique reddish brown. The two of you stared at each other for a second before Chenle leaned on you slowly. 

You couldn’t help but to close your eyes as Chenle’s lips crashed onto yours. It was soft, tasted like cherries, so sweet and addicting that you couldn’t help but to kiss him back. You can feel your heart beating fast, the feeling was something new yet blissful. 

Chenle’s arms trailed around your waist, you couldn’t help but to distinctively wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer as you two kissed each other under the bright moonlight. 

He breaks the kiss, leaving trails on your jaw, going down and down, earning a moan from you as you feel his lips on your neck, somewhere you’re sensitive the most. 

But your eyes widened as you felt something sharp — a deep sting stabbing on your neck. You let out a mute scream as you tried to grasp for air. The stabbed deepens more and as you try to push Chenle away, his grip on your arms tightens. 

“Chenle…w-what?” you stuttered, finally having the courage to speak. You let out a scream as you felt the stab being removed from your neck. As you come face to face with Chenle, you watch as he licks his lips in pleasure, blood dripping from his fangs — something that you were surprised that he had. 

“Fuck you’re so sweet,” he said. “I’ll never get tired of drinking your blood.” 

“What?” it was the only thing you could say. Your mind is turning hazy, feeling the blood dripping out of your neck. You feel pale and weak, watching Chenle cup your cheeks. His eyes turned red fully. 

“You’re driving me crazy yn, your blood is driving me crazy. You don’t know how much I endure taking you in whenever I’m with you,”

The truth was out. You can feel your tears flowing out from your eyes. No wonder he was drawn to you. It was your blood that he’s addicted to. Chenle’s eyes darken and yet, his thumbs swiped the tears away.

“Oh don’t worry dear, I still love you,” he said. “You’re going to be mine anyways.” 

“What do you mean?” you asked, heart beating fast. 

“It’s easy, you’re going to be mine,” Chenle said, resting his forehead on yours. Eyes gazing at you with every dark intention he had in his mind. From there, he smirks. “We’ll share the same blood and drink from it. You’ll be just like us.”

“No!” you shouted, pushing him away but he was just too strong. You struggled your way out of his grip but Chenle was just too strong for your weak body. He pushes you against the marbled bench, trapping you in between his arms. His left hands grabbing both your wrist to stop you from struggling.

“Don’t worry, it’ll just hurt a little,” he assured, gazing his hands on your cheeks. You watch as he leans close to you once again. 

And you could only let out a guttural scream as his fangs deepened on your neck once again.

[captainsophiestark]

The Richmond Vampire

Damon Salvatore x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: TVD/TO

Summary: Damon's come to retrieve his SO for involvement in some Mystic Falls drama, but unfortunately for him, they're not willing to miss their favorite class at Whitmore, which just so happens to be covering vampires.

Word Count: 1,699

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Hey! Babe!"

I stopped short of the door to my lecture hall, letting my classmates go ahead at the sound of my boyfriend's voice from behind me. I turned to find none other than Damon Salvatore heading towards me, weaving through the undergrads with incredible impatience.

"Hey yourself!" I called out to him with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

Damon huffed at the last college student in his way as they wandered past, before turning his attention to me.

"I need your help. We've got... business we need to take care of."

The smile immediately dropped off my face. I'd been dating Damon long enough to know that 'business' was code for some supernatural problem that had somehow managed to follow us out of Mystic Falls. I shook my head.

"No. No way, Day. I have class."

"Oh, come on," he said, rolling his eyes a little before taking a step closer to me, into my space. One of his hands came up to play with the ends of my hair. "Don't tell me I'm gonna have to convince you to cut class with me."

He lowered his voice, teasing and flirting at the same time, but I just put a hand on his chest to stop him moving any further.

"You know I love you, and if it was you in trouble, I'd drop everything to help you in a second. But I'm not missing my favorite class, especially not the lecture I've been waiting for this whole semester, just to involve myself in the latest Scooby Gang drama. Whatever it is, it can wait, like, two hours."

Damon opened his mouth to continue making his case, but I just gave him a smile and a wink, then pulled out of his grasp. I slipped through the door of the classroom before he could stop me and headed for a seat near the front. When I sat down, I wasn't surprised to see Damon following right behind me, settling a moment later in the seat next to mine. I turned to him with a grin.

"Last chance to leave before class starts. I can call you when it's over."

He turned to me with a fake smile I knew well.

"Nope. If you won't leave, I might as well stay here with you. Then we can leave even faster once it's over."

My smile only widened. "Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Damon raised an eyebrow at me, but I was able to avoid answering him as our instructor began class, drawing my attention back to the front. Still, Damon didn't have to wait long to see what I was talking about.

"Alright, everybody, it's time for our much-awaited, headlining lecture for myths and folklore. Today... we're talking about vampires."

Damon didn't even bother to hide a snort, but I just grinned. Despite dating a real vampire, their place in mythology, folklore, and other storytelling had never lost its appeal for me. I loved reading and studying about them in all forms, and I'd taken this class largely for this part of the course. Having a real life vampire sitting next to me for the whole thing could only enhance the experience, as far as I was concerned.

"Everyone's heard a vampire story at least once in their life," the professor continued at the front of the class. "Whether it was Dracula, Anne Rice, or just second-hand knowledge of Twilight, as creatures, they're ingrained in our cultural conscious.

"However, not all vampires are the same. Stakes, crosses, cutting off the heads, garlic. Even whether or not sunlight will kill them, although sparkling is a bit of an outlier. Each myth of the vampire, or a vamprie-adjacent creature, has a slightly different description of exactly what makes a vampire. We even have our own local variety, with the myth of the Richmond Vampire existing for just over a hundred years now."

I leaned over to Damon, getting close enough to whisper in his ear.

"How many of these myths do you think you're responsible for?" I asked.

"All of them," he deadpanned, without even glancing over at me. "Except Edward."

Now it was my turn to snort. Luckily, my professor didn't notice.

"Today begins the unit of our class where we look at the permiation of the folklore not just of vampires, but of all the undead creatures that stalk the night. Is it simply a fascination with death that has led to most cultures telling a tale about some kind of undead creature, or is there something more? Something beyond the legends?"

"What do you think she'd do if you turned in a paper theorizing the vampire myths were mostly created and spread by this group of really old assholes we know?"

"Shh."

"Oh, so you're allowed to make little comments to me but I'm not allowed to make them to you?"

"Yes. That way I can make sure I don't miss anything I want to hear."

I didn't need to look at Damon to know he was rolling his eyes.

My professor continued her lecture, digging in a little on some specific examples of the vampire myth. I took dutiful notes, mostly blocking out the comments from my boyfriend, and eventually he settled for just doodling his own, much more sarcastic notes in the margins of mine. I smiled as he drew a particularly cartoonish fanged vampire. That'd make studying a little more fun in a couple weeks.

Damon managed to sit through the whole hour and a half class with me, all in all with much more patience than I'd been expecting. I should've known he was just waiting for his moment.

After class was dismissed, I quickly packed up, ready to head off with Damon to handle whatever ridiculous drama he'd wanted me to get involved with in the first place. When I stood with my bag, however, I found him heading for my professor at the front of the room. I frowned.

I walked quickly to catch up to Damon, hearing the tail end of his sentence as he shook my professor's hand.

"...incredibly interesting lecture to get to sit in on," Damon said, his voice dripping with charm and a fake smile plastered on his face. "Really, it was outstanding. The vampire myth is just so interesting."

I barely managed to stop myself from laughing out loud. For anyone who didn't know Damon, they'd likely be swayed by his apparently genuine interest, rapt attention, and dazzling smile. I'd seen him flip the switch to manipulative people-person enough that it didn't convince me anymore, although my teacher sure seemed to be falling for it.

"I'm glad you agree. It really is a most fascinating topic. You'd be welcome to sit in on future lectures, if you'd like."

"Thank you! I just might have to take you up on that. You know, I had a friend once who swore she saw a vampire in some small town bar around here."

My professor laughed. "I've heard of small town Bigfoot and Mothman sightings, but small town vampire sightings might be a new one."

"Right? I mean, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but it's a little unbelievable to think a vamprie could be standing right in front of you, isn't it?"

I stepped up to Damon's side and discreetly elbowed him as my professor laughed. He just grinned at me in response.

"Well, it was almost as much of a pleasure talking to you as it was listening to your lecture," Damon said, holding out his hand again for a fairwell shake. My professor took it, and I caught the glint in Damon's eye as he shot the man a wolfish smile. "Take care. Don't let the vampires get you."

He chuckled again, giving both of us a smile as Damon finally dropped his hand.

"I promise, I won't."

Damon hummed and smirked while I fought through the most forced smile of my life as I hustled Damon out of the room, just barely managing to maintain a casual facade. The minute we cleared the classroom door, I turned to my boyfriend with a scowl.

"You laid that on a little thick," I said. Damon just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You're the one who insisted on sitting through that class. I just decided to engage with the lecturer and the content a little more."

I snorted. "Yeah, sure. I take it you enjoyed yourself then?"

Damon grinned. "Very much."

"Should I be changing your name in my contacts to 'The Richmond Vampire'?"

Damon smirked. "That wasn't very subtle."

"Neither was a single word you said to my professor."

He huffed a laugh. "True. Then sure, if you really want to. Just don't ask me to help you test which vampire myths are true and which aren't. You already know real vampires burn in the sun."

"I promise not to use you as a vampire lab rat as long as you promise not to take a bite out of my folklore professor."

"Hmm..."

"Damon."

"Fine. I promise not to bite your folklore professor. At least not this semester."

I rolled my eyes, but decided to let that one pass without comment, at least for now. Damon gave me his real smile as he took my hand, and I sighed as I leaned into him, the two of us heading for the doors to the building together.

"So am I going to be hearing about your vampire mythology theories for the next few weeks?" he mused as we walked. I hummed.

"Probably, yeah. It's part of being there for each other, right? I get involved in your little brother's teen drama, you listen to me talk about vampires like they're not real, and like the Mikaelsons had nothing to do with the global spread of the myth."

"Sounds like a match made in heaven."

"I'll say."

Damon and I shared a smile, and as we reached the doors, he paused long enough to pull me to him for a long kiss. I smiled into it as one of his hands tangled in my hair. Damon could be absolutely ridiculous sometimes, but so could I. At the end of the day, we made a pretty damn good couple as a result of it.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

[onestepbackwards]

Love That Bites Pt. 10

Hi there! Welcome to part 10 of my Dracula x Reader fic! It's a little later than I had hoped, but I hope you enjoy!

Summary: After waking up the next day, you contemplate your situation, trying to find a way to make the best of it. It all starts to come together until you get an unexpected visitor. At least Dracula seems insistent on taking care of you? CW: Injury mention, threats of harm, hints at an abusive situation Word Count: 5224 words! Like my work? Come check me out here: Link every little bit helps me out!

Likes and reblogs appreciated!

Tag List: @onewiththebeanbag, @starrlo0ver, @sleepyendymion, @dame-sunflowers, @sapphicsfordracula, @ursamajor17, @maorizon, @marshmelloe, @tinystarfishgalaxy, @rvautomatic,

First: Here!Last: Here!Next: Here!

Your dreams were surprisingly pleasant that night.

Given the fact you had actually even fallen asleep in your family’s enemy’s castle, it was something you were a bit taken aback by.

The dreams you had were confusing and odd, but almost comforting. Once again, like a few times before, you were in a comforting presence. As if being protected, something you haven’t felt in a long time.

Like something was holding you. Comforting you. Someone was whispering as they held you, too. However, no matter how hard you strained your ears to listen, you could not make out what they were saying.

You couldn’t see, it was as if you were wrapped in a blanket of darkness, but you did not feel worried. It was as if whatever was holding you seemed to scare off any danger that would consider hurting you.

It was arguably the most at ease you had felt in years.

Which is why you were so incredibly confused when you woke up.

“...What…?” you sleepily asked, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

However, you suddenly sat up, realizing you had no idea where you were. Your instincts screamed at you, and you had a moment of panic, before you felt a twinge of pain.

Looking down, you noticed your wrapped up injuries, and suddenly you began to remember just exactly where you were.

You were in Dracula’s castle. Castlevania.

Your heart still thudded in your chest, but you felt yourself beginning to calm down as you remembered everything that had happened.

Dracula was back, alive and presumably well. You had accidentally broken him free from his prison, with your own blood no less.

Good going, you. Bringing back the potential end of humanity while in a manic state!

Sighing, you turned to lay on your side.

What’s done is done.

But… you were surprised.

Dracula had every reason and means to kill you. By all accounts, he should have.

You were technically his greatest living enemy, or at least the living descendant of the clan that killed him over and over again. Your family has foiled his plans for centuries, killing him many, many times.

He had every right to want to kill you.

But he didn’t.

From the moment he was freed from his stony prison, he had done nothing but show you concern. It was incredibly jarring for you. Where his hand should have been sharp and piercing, his touch had been gentle and careful. He had carried you to a guest room and patched you up himself, telling you to rest.

The thought stirred feelings up inside you. When was the last time someone cared enough about you to ask you to rest?

Then he came back, with food for you.

It was more or less broth, sure, but he had taken time to have some made in a castle full of the supernatural, and gave it to you himself.

All while patiently listening to you mumble and talk while still in a frazzled state of mind, and answering a few questions you had.

You don’t remember much after eating. After getting something in your stomach, you remember growing increasingly exhausted, past the point of being able to fight it.

After everything you had been through, you weren’t entirely surprised you crashed.

Though you felt your face grow hot when you realized Dracula must have sat and watched you fall asleep, taking your bowl and tucking you back into the bed.

Some scary vampire hunter you were, when your ‘worst enemy’ was tucking you into bed.

You curled into the covers further, your face no doubt bright red.

Why did the thought of him caring so much please you? Make you feel warm inside? Were you really that desperate for positive affection after all these years, receiving it from the King of Vampires made you blush like a teenager?

“I must still be horribly injured. Easy.”

Deep down, you knew that wasn’t entirely true.

As much as you wanted to ignore it, you can’t deny you had gotten attached to the man when he had been trapped as a statue. It wasn’t healthy, and you knew there was always the possibility he would not have heard you, or would have killed you right away.

You had just been in too deep to stop.

His statue and castle had grown on you. You knew coming back over and over again would have consequences.

But…

Sighing, you pressed your face into the soft pillow.

You were so fucked.

Why did it have to be Dracula though that was taking care of you? Did fate like doing this to you, making you and your family its own personal chew toy? It was beginning to feel increasingly personal at this point.

With a groan, you looked over to the side, seeing your whip on the pillow next to you. Even when Dracula had carried you here, you had never let go of it, having it hang on your hip. Before you slept, you kept it next to your pillow, keeping it close for comfort.

After a moment, you reached for it, and pulled it close to your chest.

You weren’t anticipating any sort of attack, not really. However, your whip had always been a comfort for you, for as long as you could remember. It especially was an emotional crutch for you after your mother passed, being something she used all her life before handing it to you.

Even if you didn’t really have any real or close family anymore, you at least had the whip.

It was funny. Despite being deep in enemy territory, you were inclined to believe you actually didn’t need to use it.

At least, you hoped you wouldn’t have to. You’d keep in on you just in case.

You trusted Dracula’s word, yes, but you didn’t trust all his lackeys. Most of them had free wills of their own, and would probably love to take a shot at you.

In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to set you up later if Dracula tells them they can only attack in self defense. If they can convince everyone you attacked first, then it was free game.

Perhaps it’d be best to keep your phone on you as well, and to keep it charged? You never know when you would need to take photos or a video.

You’d like to think Dracula would at least give you the benefit of the doubt, given he has been rather fair so far. But if several monsters ganged up on you and tried to provide false testimony? You wouldn’t blame the Lord of the Night for taking their side.

Gripping your whip tighter, you scowled.

Funny how you trusted the King of Vampires more than his underlings. Something you never thought you’d think. Maybe you should start a list, with how often you found yourself thinking that?

You stayed in bed a few more moments, before sitting up. Your stitches tugged, and you winced. No doubt you’d need to clean those soon.

Carefully, you swung your legs over the edge of the massive bed, and shakily stood on your feet. Whip loosely in hand, you walked over to a nearby chair.

Dracula had at some point, set your bag on the chair before tending to you. As much as you didn’t want to leave the warmth of the bed, you wanted to grab your phone in case you needed it later.

Gently picking up your bag, you turned around, and totally did not let out a short scream.

Death itself was hovering above the bed, staring down at you.

“U-Uh… Can I… Help you?” You asked, swallowing thickly.

The air had grown unsettling cold, as if the air itself was sapping your heat from your body. Your feet felt like they were stepping on ice from how cold the floor had become, and your heartbeat was pounding in your ears.

You had never encountered Death before, having only read descriptions of it from your ancestors in their journals.

None of the journal’s descriptions could compare to seeing Death in person, while you were critically injured, and very, very vulnerable.

The Deity looked down at you, and you weren’t sure if it was from curiosity, or disdain.

Just how long had Death been in here? Since you got up? Or had it been here the whole time and had been hiding its presence?

The answer didn’t really matter. It was Dracula’s castle, and Death was his most loyal lieutenant. For all you knew, he was assigned to keep an eye on you so you didn't do something stupid. Or, perhaps he wanted you gone. Who was to say?

Shaking, you forced yourself to keep your whip lowered. You were a guest, you reminded yourself.

You would not attack or threaten unless struck first.

Though it was hard to keep that in mind when literally staring Death itself in the face.

Death gripped its scythe tight, before floating close.

Your mouth went dry as you struggled not to panic and fight your instincts.

Not just your hunting instincts, but your survival instincts as well.

After all, it was only natural for any living thing to have such a reaction to seeing Death with their own eyes.

Death’s sockets were empty, besides two small glowing blue and white fires where each eye should be. They seemed to zero in on you.

“Little Belmont…”

Death’s voice felt unnatural, in a way that felt… inhuman. No vocal cords.

It was as if it were a mix of strings on an instrument untuned, while being nothing more than an echo in the wind. Your brain was barely able to grasp it.

It was speaking again, and the chill down your spine felt like someone pouring cold water on top of you.

“Just what are your intentions here? What are your plans with my master?”

Death’s question almost had you shocked out of your stupor.

Plans? What plans?

“Pardon?” you asked, a bit confused. Death looked at you closely, and you tried to ignore how your body was breaking out into a cold sweat.

“What do you intend to do to my master?” he asked. Despite the absurdity of the situation, his question had you thinking.

Just what were your plans? Challenge Dracula to a duel to the death? You wanted to laugh at the idea.

No. You still wanted to see what possibilities are ahead of you. Given Dracula wasn’t hostile towards you, perhaps the future wasn’t too bleak for you.

After a moment, you spoke up.

“I… Have no idea.” you spoke, the words slipping off your tongue. Death was quiet, and you continued speaking.

“If I’m being honest, I hope I don’t have to fight him at all.”

You turned away from Death, and sighed. It was the truth. You didn’t want to fight the Vampire King.

Death was patient, as if sensing your thoughts, waiting for you to continue.

“Not because I’m scared to, no doubt I’d be afraid if I were to fight him to the death. But…”

Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a loud crack of lightning. You swore it was beginning to rain.

“...Ever since I entered this castle months ago, seeing Dracula as a statue, I have not wanted to fight him. If I had to, I wanted to make it an honorable one, not attack him when he could not fight back. Not out of pity, mind you.”

Gripping your whip slightly, you remembered how you felt that day.

“But when was the last time any of my ancestors talked to him? All my family has taught is that he is the ultimate evil to be killed. The journals passed down by my ancestors talk about his desire for destruction and how he would do anything to achieve it. My mother taught me to think otherwise.”

Death seemed interested in what you were saying. At least, you think he was interested. The deity was floating above you, and seemed to give you some space as it stared curiously. You looked it in the eyes.

“My mother taught me to ask questions if I can, that nothing is black and white. She didn’t know if I’d be fighting Dracula or not, but told me to question things. My family only paints one side of the picture, after all.”

It felt kinda weird admitting this to Death itself, you’d admit. However, it was most certainly the truth. Your feelings were very conflicted, and you felt like a broken record at this point with how often you have thought about it, and have stated this fact.

Thankfully, Death was considering your words.

“So you wish to find a common ground? A compromise?”

Death’s voice had gone from feeling like a scratch on a chalkboard, to a weird empty echo. Somehow you were getting the feeling Death had made its voice like that originally on purpose to intimidate you.

You were quiet for a moment.

“Yes. I’d like that.”

Once again, you felt by saying those words, something was stirring inside you. Like signing a contract, or making a vow.

Death tilted its head.

“I see…”

Another part of you was surprised the deity accepted your answer so readily, no longer seemingly cold and accusatory.

Then again, Death was a part of the divine, yes? Perhaps it could see your honesty? How unsure you were about the whole thing?

Death was silent for a while more, though it didn’t feel as if he was about to blast you off the face of the earth, or decapitate you with its scythe.

“How curious…”

Death seemed to study you, and the posture the deity carried seemed less hostile than before. You hoped that was a good thing.

“Young Belmont, honest to a fault, just like the rest of your ilk.”

You tried not to take offense to how he said that.

Death paused, as if considering its words, before speaking once more.

“I can see souls, you know. Belmonts can not hide from me. Your souls have a very distinct glow. Each and every one of them is different, but always have similar features unique to your family.”

Death suddenly leaned in, and gave you what you could only describe as a crooked grin. The air around the specter felt like it was sapping the warmth from your very core.

“Therefore, knowingly lying to me is pointless. So imagine my surprise that you seem to be telling the truth. Perhaps my master was right when he said he saw something special in you. Of course, I had to see for myself if you were going to cause trouble…”

That made sense. No doubt Death had its reservations about you staying in the castle. If you were in his shoes (cloak?), you would probably have checked it out too.

Seemingly satisfied with the conversation, Death hovered away from you.

“For now, I’ll trust your word and my master’s judgment. However, I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Little Belmont.”

The fire in Death’s eyes grew red hot.

“Just know this. If you betray him and his trust, I will personally be the one to devour your soul.”

Swallowing thickly, you nodded.

“Uh… sure thing, sir…”

The fire died down in the deity’s eyes, and he nodded. The room then slowly began to grow darker once more, as if the shadows were reaching out to Death.

“Till we meet again, Belmont.”

With a flash of darkness(?), the deity was gone, and your room began to warm up and brighten.

Slowly, as if in a daze, you walked over to the bed, and fell face first into it. You groaned into the sheets as your wounds throbbed from the sudden pressure, and you tossed your bag to the side.

“Fuck me.” you mumbled, and you felt the tension in your body release as you groaned into the sheets.

Death. You met Death. Death didn’t point at you and obliterate your entire existence.

That was a plus at least.

“My life is a fucking joke, and I’m the damn punchline.”

For some reason, you began to wonder if every Belmont before you felt the same way to various degrees for different reasons.

Though you’d admit, you think your situation feels like it takes the cake. What Belmont can say they accidentally freed Dracula after growing attached to a statue of him and get lightly warned not to fuck up by Death?

You had a feeling it was probably a pretty slim number.

Taking a deep breath, and letting out a long sigh, you forced yourself to sit up. Sitting now at the edge of the bed, you grabbed your bag and dug around for your phone. Pulling it out, you held it for a moment.

The last thing you wanted right now was to see any ‘concerned’ messages from your fraud of a family. It wouldn’t be the first time they had done so to get you back home and under their thumb again. No doubt guilt tripping you, to threatening you if you didn’t listen.

When you bit the bullet and turned the screen on, you were actually pretty surprised you didn’t see any messages. Not yet anyways.

For all you knew, they were actually giving you a few days before getting pissy about you being gone. You did throw them around a little, so perhaps they were also licking their wounds and their pride.

You’d take any bit of peace you could get.

As you sat there, staring at the screen, a sudden knock was at the door. You let out a yelp, and your phone slipped from your hands. Comically, you tried to catch it, but it merely bounced out of your grip a few times before smacking the floor.

The person waited a moment, before seemingly hesitantly knocking again.

“Come in!” you spoke up, trying to awkwardly reach for your phone from the bed, ignoring the twinge of pain. You glanced up, seeing Dracula entering with what you assumed was another first aid kit. Presumably to check on your wounds.

Looking back down, you try reaching for your phone again.

Just as you almost had it, you nearly jumped when a large, pale hand grabbed your phone for you.

Glancing up, your face was hovering just a few inches away from Dracula’s. All the while, amusement seemed evident in his eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be resting, and not straining your stitches?” He asked. It might have been your imagination playing tricks on you, but it sounded a lot like he was teasing you, rather than him scolding you.

You could practically feel your face blossom red, both from embarrassment, and just from how close he was in general as he teased you.

Sitting up quickly, Dracula rose next to you, and gently handed your phone out to you.

Looking between him and your phone for a moment, you carefully reached out and took it. His hand was cool against your own as he slid it into your hand, and you tried to fight back the shivers that went down your spine.

Just how touched starved were you?

“Thank you. The knock had startled me, and I dropped it. I… Reached for it without thinking.” you finally spoke, trying to get your blushing under control.

Dracula looked you over for a moment. You had a feeling he was still amused by the whole scenario.

“Perhaps it would be wise to remember your wounds ahead of time then.” He spoke, and again, you couldn’t help but feel he was lightly picking on you. His tone wasn’t scolding at all.

Walking over, he sat the medical kit next to you on the bed.

“Now, may I redress your wounds? It isn’t sanitary to keep such injuries in the same wrappings for too long, and I would like to see how well they are healing. The last thing you need is an infection to spring up, and with how far you pushed yourself, I would not be surprised if you were fighting one.”

Someone who actually cared about your injuries? A man after your own heart.

When Dracula barked out a laugh, you jumped, and felt heat rushing to your face once more.

Had you said that out loud?!

“Forgive me, that had caught me off guard. I was not laughing at you, honest.”

Your face was still warm, though you were a bit hypnotized. You must still be a bit out of it if you couldn’t watch your mouth.

His laugh had you feeling as if your brain was stuck in a loading screen.

This just was not fair. How can he be pretty, have a nice voice, and a hot laugh? Life was a game and somehow he had rigged it.

Just from that small interaction, it wasn’t hard to tell Dracula was now in a good mood. Somehow, he seemed a bit lighter, the air around him not as… suffocating? Intense? Drowning?

You weren’t sure what to call it, but hey, if he was in a better mood, that was better for you.

Dracula then tapped the top of the medical box, grabbing your attention while giving you an amused look.

“Now, you still haven’t answered my request. Would you let me redress your wounds? I wish to see if they are healing well, and if any need more attention in case of infection.”

With a sigh, you nodded.

“Yes, of course.”

May as well let him. He did an amazing job yesterday, and you figure he probably knew even more than you when it came to this stuff.

Sure, it hurt your ego a little bit, but you knew it was the truth. You wouldn’t get anywhere fighting him on it.

Though if you were being honest, the fact he still wanted to treat your wounds so much was very… touching.

Dracula didn’t waste any time after you gave him your consent to look over your injuries. He started with your head, once again summoning an orb of some sorts, and having you look at it.

“How is your head faring? Does it ache?”

You winced a bit.

“Yeah, a little. It’s throbbing a little bit. Though it hurts kinda often anyway.”

His eyes flickered to your face, before looking back at the wound.

“I see…”

He gently looked over the knot on your head for another moment, and you didn’t see his eyes narrow at your words.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why does it hurt so often? Migraines?”

Blinking for a moment, you thought as you registered his question. Was he making small talk?

“Ah… Yes? It has for a while, really. Since I was younger, though I started getting more a little over a year ago. I think it’s stress and past injuries.”

Dracula hummed, before pulling away. His face was neutral, though you couldn’t help but feel he didn’t like that answer.

Was it from the fact you had migraines so often? Or something else? You held back from shaking your head, almost unbelieving that Dracula cared that much.

He then kneeled down, hand hovering over your shirt. Dracula’s red eyes flickered to you, and it hit you he was waiting for permission.

“O-Oh, uh, here-”

You went to move your shirt, before his large, cool hand covered your own.

“Easy. I can do it, don’t push yourself.” He told you gently, his hand carefully over your own.

You had to hold back the shock you felt run down your spine from touching his hand.

After a moment, you let go, and he gently began to lift your shirt. You had to suppress the shudder that went through your body at his tenderness, or when his cool hand briefly touched your skin.

Somehow, he still noticed, though seemed to assume you were shuddering from his cool skin touching your own.

“Apologies.” he murmured, gently trying to peel back the wrappings.

“It’s okay… no worries…” you mumbled back, feeling your head swim. His hand actually felt nice against your skin, which was still incredibly warm. It may not have been as feverish as yesterday, but his cool skin still felt nice against your own.

You didn’t want to think too much about that, especially when your head and feelings were seemingly everywhere for some reason.

Now was not the time to have conflicting feelings about your enemy/savior. Why did your head insist on being weird about it?

When Dracula pulled back the wrap, you found yourself gasping when some of your skin tugged, and Dracula gently shushed you. His eyes softened as he looked at your wound, which looked irritated.

“Ah, as I thought. You are fighting an infection. I will clean the wound and help you rebandage it to fight the infection.”

Swallowing thickly at his words and the way he gently held your sides, you nodded.

“Okay.”

‘I trust you.’ The words almost fell off your tongue, before you clamped your jaw shut. Did you really trust Dracula?

That itself was a loaded question in itself, but right at this moment?

You watched as he pulled out some medicine, and began to tenderly tend to the wound on your side.

Perhaps you could trust him to at least genuinely take care of you.

Like last time, his movements were quick and precise, yet surprisingly gentle. When you felt him apply some medicine to a more tender spot and sucked in a breath, he hummed.

“Good. You’re doing well. I’m almost done.”

You didn’t know if you should be horrified or not to learn you seemed to have a thing for being praised while The King of the Night tends to your wounds.

He was faster than yesterday, not having to worry so much about patching you up so much as checking up on you. Throughout the whole time, you inwardly were fighting with yourself in your head as he would praise you for staying still when an injury stung.

Being in a better state of mind, you didn’t have as much of an excuse growing almost hypnotized to his voice.

So when he started asking you questions and making more conversation, you nearly missed what he was saying.

“...Ah, sorry… What…?” you asked, feeling your cheeks burn again, this time more in embarrassment.

His eyes bore into your own, though there wasn’t any sign of anger or annoyance like you were used to seeing from home. More like there was just underlying concern.

“How did you get some of these wounds? Was it… from a hunt?” He asked, seemingly curious. When he saw your eyes widen, he looked back down at your leg, which he was currently tending to.

“You do not have to answer that if you do not wish to, although I will not take offense if it was.”

You were silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer him. As it may, you didn’t exactly want to air out your dirty laundry to Dracula of all people. Why would he care about shit your family has done to you?

…But then again, why should he care about you at all? Here he was… tending to your wounds.

“Personal issues, that’s all.”

You didn’t feel like telling him everything. What would he even do? Try and talk to you to make you feel better? Ask your step family to stop? The idea almost made you want to laugh.

It was pointless anyway. It’s not like Dracula could do anything about your family issues anyway. You even wondered if he would find it amusing how far your clan has fallen from grace.

His eyes flickered to you, and you could practically see the curiosity in his eyes. However, he didn’t speak, simply going back to patching you up.

“I see.”

If only you knew how much Dracula wished to ask you more.

Ever since he had seen you injured, he wanted to destroy whatever had laid its hands on you. At least it wasn’t a random monster he would have to hunt down, though now he had to figure out how to get you to open up.

He couldn’t just go on a warpath without information, after all. Though he had his suspicions.

You telling him it was personal issues only had those suspicions grow.

But this was a step forward. You answered him this time, and gave him means to make deductions. Educated guesses, sure, but he had a starting point.

Right now, he was at least 60% positive it was family or friend related. Presumably family, if he had to make a wager.

You hardly talked about them when he had been a statue, though it was clear from what little you mentioned, you didn’t seem to care for them.

Why was that? What had the Belmont family become? What had they done to you to get your ire?

The only exception seemed to have been your mother, who he figures has passed. A shame, really.

He disliked Belmonts, but you seemed to get your wisdom from her, so she must have been quite the lady.

Dracula had to tread lightly here though. If this was a family matter, it no doubt was messy. As much as he didn’t like to think about it, he knew all too well how badly messy family relationships could end up.

The vampire lord knew he was a powerful player here, considering this was a Belmont of all people. One wrong move on the board could send everything into chaos.

He could lose you, lose your trust, and be thrust back into this needlessly endless struggle between ‘good and evil’.

Bah.

However, he couldn’t not do anything. Your injuries had been horrifying. With how bad they were, and how much you had pushed yourself, you were very lucky to be alive.

There were also the migraines you had mentioned having. He knew they could simply be chronic, but he had a feeling in his stomach that settled like a rock.

Sure, it was just as likely to be from stress from whatever you were dealing with, or from a past injury.

However… He couldn’t help but feel almost anxious. Something wasn’t right.

Hopefully, if he gained more of your trust, you would let him examine you a bit more. He worried that it may not just have been from some injury.

If presumably your family had done this to you, who is to say they weren’t doing more? The feeling in his gut burned, and he had to hold back his eyes from flashing black and red.

A part of him, the darker side to his mind, was snarling. It thrashed, tearing at the edges of his mind wishing to be freed. It was a piece of him that only came out when his wife had passed. A much darker part of his mind that wasn’t human, one that he had to put in effort now to lock away.

That shadow in his mind demanded vengeance. He wouldn’t admit it, not outloud, but he had grown possessive over his Little Belmont. Whoever had hurt you needed to pay. Vlad wouldn’t just let your fire be smothered. He considered you under his protection.

And Dracula was very protective of those he considered his.

[foxilayde]

Where’s My Goddamn Money? [Marc Spector x Fem!Vampire!Reader]

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Blood drinking, lack of consent, groping, nudity, suggestive language. Minors DO NOT INTERACT

Summary: Marc Spector wants his wallet back.

A/N: I wrote this fic a long time ago, but removed it in a fit of angst shortly after posting. I’ve been thinking about Ula recently because of spooky season and wanted to share her with y’all. I hope you love her as much as I do!

“I know you’re here Dracula, you big fucking nerd. Where’s my Goddamn money?!”

Hurried steps and the swish of a crescent-shaped cape accompany the echoing voice of Marc Spector as he descends the slate steps of your abandoned-chapel-turned-temporary-home. Seems ironic to live in the belly of a place so full of crosses, but it reassuringly houses a small family catacomb, and it just might be the last place anyone would think to look for a vampire… unless they knew who they were looking for. And would you look at that, Spector figured it out.

“Took you long enough, Spector.” You sip your wine, curled up on the velvet divan, the ceiling drips steadily above you, and you couldn’t look more like a fucking vampire if you tried. You look like a boudoir photoshoot they’d sell at an alternative gift shop, and if you were able to appear in photographs, you’d consider posing in a calendar for real. Eternal life has it’s disadvantages certainly, but it is easy on the eyes.

“Where’s my fucking money, Ula? I know it was you.”

He stalks closer to you now with a slow intensity. It’s funny; for how rushed he seemed to be making his way down the steps, he appears to have lost some of his impatience upon reaching his destination. The sight of you totally naked in the candlelight on the blood red velvet fainting couch has the desired stunning effect on poor Marc Spector. His steps grow slower, edging closer to you, but scanning his surroundings now with creeping mistrust. Smart boy.

You pick at a button on the sofa and purse your lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Marc.” You smile wickedly at him, taking another sip from your glass.

Marc’s mask dissolves and he flips back his hood to reveal an unamused angular face, inky curls hanging handsomely over his brow. What a tasty looking treat. And so thoughtful. To bring himself all this way.

“My fucking wallet, Ula. Black. Leather. Full of cash. Ring any bells?”

You put an affronted hand on your bare chest, making sure to caress a nipple with your ring finger while you give him a cartoonishly innocent doe-eyed look “Why, whatever could you mean, mister Spector? Are you accusing me of being a thief?”

“You this lonely, huh? You have to take things of mine to lure me down here. You’re obviously not expecting… company.” He shakes his head and gestures to your curled nude form.

“I’m deeply offended, Marc. I assure you, I did not take your wallet.” You set the wine glass down on the lacquered table, next to the flickering candelabra. “Tell you what” You stalk toward him, very slowly as not to frighten him, “You can even search me if it’ll make you feel better.”

Marc gulps and takes one step backwards for every advancing footfall you trod across the damp stone floor. His back eventually reaches a column and he pauses wide eyed allowing you to slowly and carefully close the distance between your bodies.

You thought an avatar might be a little harder to hypnotize, but he was no more of a challenge than any other man. His eyes are effortlessly tractioned by your own and his jaw loosens in wonder as you step between his legs.

He puts up no fight when you grab his hands and place them on your waist. Oh darkness, his hands are warm, warm and sweet like his candied brown eyes. And fuck, the way his panicked heartbeat vibrates through his hot fingers and into the flesh of your ass? The radiance is akin to the memory of sunlight… you can smell he sun on his golden warm skin. Everything in you screams with a bat-shriek to bite into him now, to suck the sweet life out of his sun-kissed neck, with its thick ropes of tense muscle, fatigued from carrying that pretty head around.

He won’t fight now, not while you’re looking at him like this, but you can’t hold his gaze forever… or perhaps you could. You’d wager your hypnotic gaze could theoretically keep him here for as long as his biology could remain stasis without rest and water— but there’s no chance your patience and lust could wait that long. Not while the throbbing vein in his neck, so thick, so appetizing, is inches from your face. You’ve improved upon your restraint in the last few hundred years, but it’s yet to be perfected. And why wait? You don’t want the stupid bird to come looking for him, do you?

Your eyes are heavy on his own when you purr, “search me, Spector.” He nods like a zombie and his hands are rough on your body, zeroing in on the fleshiest part of you— your bare ass, he squeezes and pulls your cheeks apart and his lip curls like a dog when he growls softly. Whether the vocalizations are a demonstration of pleasure or defiance, you don’t care.

“Ooohh,” Your eyes tighten in mirth and you nearly lose the gaze before you widen them again.

“Good boy, Spector.”

You bite your lip, letting your pearly fangs hook on your bottom lip. He’s delightfully obedient to the gaze. You let your long nails scrape along his scalp, scratching him affectionately before you take a handful of his unruly curls in your grasp.

“Such a good boy that I’m going to let you in on a little secret, okay?”

Marc gives no indication that he understood and he continues to stare dumbly into your eyes and pinch and squeeze the softness of your backside in his warm, wide palms.

You huff impatiently and use the reign of his thick strands to nod his head in agreement for him. You smile with satisfaction. “I did take your fucking wallet, Marc.”

Again, no reaction from him, thoroughly caught in the haze and muck of your sticky spell.

“I took it to lure your cute little butt down here so we could have some fun.”

Still silence, hardly a trace of recognition on his dazed face.

You trace a long fingernail down the side of his cheek, poking up the corner of his mouth into a half-smirk. “Gods, I love a man who knows when to shut the fuck up.” You laugh, scraping your nails gently down his neck and down his suit, to the crescent emblemed breast plate. You nearly, very nearly, break the gaze to look at the plate while you tease your fingertips across it. But your gaze is steady.

“But that’s not the secret, Spector. You knew I took it. The secret is this, and I’ll drain you if you ever tell anyone, but the secret—” You pitch your voice down to a breathy whisper, “You know how mortals have to invite a vampire into their home before we are allowed to enter?”

No response, no matter.

“Well, the opposite holds true for mortals entering a vampire home.”

Again, not a flicker of recognition from him, his thumbs are rubbing needy circles at your backside and the closer you step into him, the more pronounced you can feel the pulsing heat between his legs. Fuck, maybe you should drink from him there. It’s been a long time since you feasted on a femoral artery of a man.

“You see, Spector, once you enter a vampire’s lair, you can’t leave without express verbal permission.” You lick your fangs to punctuate your point. “Like a mouse in a glue trap, I could keep you here as long as it pleases me,” you laugh.

You think you see a subtle widening of his eyes, but it could have been a trick of the candle light.

“Oh don’t be scared, Marc. I’m not going to kill you. Not even going to change you. Just going to take a few good mouthfuls of you, and then I’ll let you go.” Your mouth waters at the visual you’ve painted for yourself. Mouthfuls of his thick pulsing blood, straight from the femoral artery. Christ, you need to feed.

“Does that sound good to you, Marc?” His nostrils flare a bit and you grin. “Oh look at you, baby. You’re excited, I can tell.” You place your palm at the inside of his knee and drag it up, up, up, till it’s resting over the booming ventricle at the center of his thick, warm body, it’s playing a quickening beat and you can feel your fangs grow at the temptation of it.

“Eyes on me, baby.” It’s harder to talk the more your throat fills with the analgesic fluid and your fangs thicken and extend. Your tongue gets hard to control in your attempt to swallow the flood of venom that pools in your mouth. You drop to your knees, never breaking eye contact while you kiss his inner thigh. Your lips are right above the searing pulse point he smells like heaven itself. You rip off his stupid loincloth with impatience. Nuzzling your face into his thighs as best you can while still holding his eyes with your own.

Your bare knees sting slightly on the cold wet floor, You grip onto his thighs, nails biting into the grey linen wrapped coverings while you affectionately nip at his clothed inner leg, never breaking the gaze. In your mad craving, you hardly register as a string of venom drips to the floor from your mouth in a debauched display. You admit you can’t remember the last time you went on your knees like this for a warm suck, but Spector looks delicious from this angle, leant back against the cold stone column, legs obediently spread for you. His hands, unable now to “search” and grope you, are balled into fists at his sides.

Your fangs are at full extension and they grow itchy and painful, if you had any patience left you’d have asked Marc to vanish this part of his suit, but he’s likely capable of fuck-all since the gaze kicked in, so you sink your teeth right through the gauze of his leg coverings, hitting that sweet throbbing vein that’s been calling out to you, begging for relief, begging you to slow its rapid pace down.

Your eyes close in relief and ecstasy, and it’s no matter that they do, the damage is done. You don’t have to hold the gaze any longer, your prey is paralyzed. Though, you think briefly you might enjoy it more if he were able to struggle, to vainly wriggle his thick thighs against your predatory hold. He would be so much fun to play with! To wrestle him down, to fight for your meal— for each suck to drag him further and further away from his own strength… but mortals are so fragile, if it weren’t for the gaze, many would perish from a heart attack before you could get to the meal. Only the most unrefined of your kind ever resort to such discourteous practices when feeding.

He tastes so thick and sweet, and so very very warm, much warmer than a neck bite. The heat of his thighs on either side of your head adds to the burning delicacy, the muscles are more tender down here as well… as much as you had fantasized about the ropey texture of his neck under your lips, this holds its own delights. Sure, you can’t taste the sun, salt, and stubble of his neck— but the flesh down here is soft like butter-seared fois gras. Blood syrupy and warm like hot mead. You don’t want to drink too much, but you don’t want to drink too little either. It’s unlikely Marc Spector will be fooled twice and pay you another visit, so you must savor and make this last as long his blood will hold.

When his heartbeat eventually slows to a resting rate, you make an irate little sound against his blood soaked thigh and force your teeth to pull back into your mouth. Fuck, its so painful to do when your lust isn’t slaked, much easier to just drain him… but a promise is a promise.

You nip your finger and squeeze a few drops of your own blood till it pearls on your skin and you swipe the healing blood onto his puncture wounds, effectively sealing him up. It does nothing for the staining though, and the dark red continent is prominent against the light grey of his suit. You wipe your mouth with the back of your hand and smile, rising up to your feet. You step in between his legs and snake your arms around his trim waist, planting a bloody kiss on his dazed mouth. He kisses you back faintly, like one might groggily mouth a kiss in their sleep.

“Mmmm, darling, you tasted even better than I dreamed you would.” You wipe of the stain of blood you transferred to his lips with your thumb and you pout at him.

“Baby is tired, isn’t he?”

Marc blinks slowly at you in response, eyes rolling back in delirium, and he heavily collapses into your embrace. Luckily your senses are heightened from having just fed, so you’re able to support his weight with ease and bring him to rest on the divan. You prop him up comfortably. Poor baby is helplessly unconscious… Perhaps you took a tad too much from him? You climb on top of him, still naked, and straddle his limp form to press your ear to his chest.

Still beating. Strong enough.

You sigh with relief. If he was dying you’d have to change him and then you’d have that fucking bird on your ass for turning his avatar. Nearly 600 years old and you still can’t control your lust to a conscionable level. Just imagine, Spector as a vampire! You laugh at the idea and slap his sleeping chest as if he were the one who came up with the thought. “Ha!” He would make a miserable vampire, he’d never have fun with it. No imagination. He’d be the type to be wracked with guilt at every kill. Sad silly boy. A regular Louie du Pointe du Lac, feeding on cats in shame and writing disconsolate letters to no one with his own blood tears. What a mess he would be!

You prop yourself up in a cobra pose on him, forearms and elbows on his breastplate, laying on him fully, the tops of your feet pointed atop his shins. You shake your head at his handsome face and smooth the curls from his brow. For the first time in a long time you have a whim to sleep for a moment… but you can’t, you haven’t slept in nearly 600 years, so you prop your chin on your fist and stare at the pretty avatar while he sleeps, drinking in his slumber with your eyes, savoring the slow rise and fall of his chest.

You reach under the decorative pillow and pull out a black leather wallet. You grin as you tuck it safely in his belt and you kiss his warm cheek before whispering in his ear, “I grant you permission to leave when you wake, Marc Spector.” You rest your head in the crook of his neck, lips teasing his weak pulse point. You sigh when you close your eyes and pretend that you can dream.

END

[If you enjoyed, please consider a reblog! 😘]

[princesssmars]

trephacard with a witch reader hcs !!

the three vampire slayers maybe found you when hunting down a rogue vampire themselves, arriving at the location of the vamp just to see you walking out with a few scratches on you, ready to go again as soon as your eyes land on alucard.

it was like love at first fight sight. it takes you a bit long to take care of alucard and trevor while fighting, the two men preferring to fight up close. but you're met with a welcome challenge when sypha starts deflecting your moves back at you. the two men are stood in shock when the two of you started complimenting each others tactics mid fight.

trevor was already tired of being the only human in the relationship and it intensifies when you join the relationship sadly.

he sometimes feels left out when the three of you are talking about some old forgotten form of magic or a tome you found in a recent adventure.

but just reassure him that hes amazing and skilled in so much that the rest of you dont know and he'll be fine. throw in a few sweet words too bc i know hes a sucker for words of affirmation even if he likes to act like hes not <3.

including him in your daily witchy behaviors will also go a long way, asking him to be your little helper as you brew a simple remedy for one of the sick kids in the village or coming with you to collect some fresh water for your cauldron that he loves to tease you for.

speaking of sypha she loves having someone who can also do magic like hers to talk to, constantly going over spells, sparring, and talking about your different magical backgrounds.

she loves learning so expect for her to force you to go with her through all of the tomes based on witches and mages in draculas library and the belmont hold. you cant even count on your hands how many times youve pulled all nighters with her and fell asleep on each other with reading a book.

loves using both of yours abilities to wreak playfup havoc, lets say if you have telekinesis she convinces you to move about objects in the middle of the night through random parts of the castle. the amount of times youve heard trevor scream is golden.

(you stopped when he brought up how the castle literally could be haunted by dracula himself, but you only switched up the ways youd prank him.)

alucard was a bit nervous around you after your first encounter, knowing you would be on edge around him seeing as he was a dhampir. but because of his half vamoure status, and also being the son of probably the most renowned vampire ever, hes very wise for being so young, and he lets his expertise come out in different ways, like telling you the history of a dish youre trying to prepare for all four of you or the cultural origins of a tune you were humming.

if you are already super powerful/strong at the time of meeting him then he will gladly play but also actually fight with you whenever youd like, eventually having to move the fights to a clearing a ways away from the castle so you dont break anything.

sometimes alucard doesnt feel like being violent though, so he asks you to join him for patrol/walks around the surrounding forest. sometimes you talk for hours straight and others neither of you said a word, but its perfect either way.

just something short to get out before my full length poly trephacard x witch reader fic comes out soon woopee.

[6lostgirl6]

BESTIE THIS WAS AMAZING AND THE YOU WROTE THE BOYS SO IN CHARACTER!! CARL ISN'T REALLY MY CUP OF TEA BUT YOU MADE ME FALL FOR HIM QUITE A BIT!! I LOVED THIS!!❤️

Night Terrors. . .

(Van Helsing Boys x Reader)

(A/N); Ollo and welcome, friends! I give you VAN HALEN— wait. No. VAN HELSING!! Please note, it's my first time writing for the film AND my first time writing lil imagines! As always, enjoy! ❤

Plot; How they comfort you after having a nightmare

Pairings; Gabriel Van Helsing x Reader (Romantic), Carl x Reader (Romantic), Count Vladislaus Dracula x Reader (Romantic)

Warnings; mature themes, blood, death, angst with fluffity fluff

_________________________________________

Gabriel Van Helsing

The night was quiet save for the sound of the gentle evening breeze rustling the trees, the last embers of the campfire now burning away into nothing.

Dark eyes monitored the small encampment from afar, eyeing the two sleeping bodies with care. Peaceful sleep was hard to come by for one Gabriel Van Helsing.

Horrific nightmares often stole his precious sleep from him. Every night, almost. Both yourself and Carl were oblivious to such things, unable to hear his struggles whilst slumbering within your own little worlds. Some part of Gabriel was grateful for that, not wishing to burden you in particular about such things. You, who had already been through so much.

His gaze fell upon you with a tenderness that you never were allowed to see in your waking hours. Softly, a sigh passed through his nostrils in seeing you sleeping so soundly. As envious as he was, Van Helsing was unable to mask his fondness of you even still.

Your breaths were even, the delicate strands of your hair falling perfectly over the curves of your face. He could barely spy the details in the fading firelight, yet it never failed to put him at ease. You were so beautiful.

With great care in his steps, Gabriel strayed closer to your sleeping form. He almost jumped at Carl's sudden loud snore, glaring at the sleeping friar for a moment before continuing on his way.

Kneeling by you, he gently pulled your blankets up and over your shoulders, no longer having to mask his vulnerabilities and affection for you. You would never know how much you meant to the monster hunter.

From the very beginning, you'd been there. You found him on the steps of the Vatican Church, half dead all those years ago. Not a sister of the church, but a volunteer in servitude of God and the Church for their kindness in taking you in after your family was brutally murdered. They were your family. And you invited Gabriel in with open arms.

You tended to his wounds, nursed him to health, never left his side. Your face was burned into his memory from the very start. No longer wishing to stand idle in the Church, you trained alongside him to become a monster hunter yourself. You followed him everywhere. It was in all this time together, that Gabriel realised he loved you. However, he would leave such things unspoken. Everyone Van Helsing loves, always seems to die.

The warmth of his lips pressed a soft kiss to your temple, swiping your hair behind your ear with one of his callouses. Before standing up, he took notice to a sudden shift in your behaviour. Your head had begun to shift softly, a grimace appearing strongly on your expression.

"No", you breathed out, your feet suddenly kicking from your blanket. Your body began to tremor and thrash slightly, Gabriel dropping fully to his knees beside you.

"(Y/n)", he tried gently to wake you, his eyes clouding over in concern. The realisation hit Gabriel that this was him every night and the thought of you going through the same thing made him sick.

"No!", you protested louder, your brows now creasing further. Sweat began to glisten on your skin, your breaths becoming erratic with your movements.

Grasping your shoulder, Van Helsing called to you once more, firmly, "(Y/n)!". You were suddenly pulled from your unconscious state, grappling onto the strong arm of your best friend. The echoes of your unwelcome dream lingered freshly within your mind, the brunette entering your field of view. "Are you alright?".

Feeling as if your breath had caught in your throat, you felt your emotions overwhelm you all at once. Your eyes stung with tears whilst you sat up, only able to whisper his name in your relief, "Gabriel". The dream hadn't been real; Gabriel was alive.

Your arms reached up, engulfing the larger man in a hug. The hunter's arms floated for a moment, not having the most affectionate upbringing. Yet, after a moment, he found peace and comfortability in wrapping them softly around your form.

Trembling from your sobs, you remained in Gabriel's arms, the brunette almost content to hold onto you. He could only imagine the horrors you'd seen, a sense of dread prickling in his mind. "It's alright", he hushed you, hesitantly reaching up to run his fingers through your hair. "It's alright".

The image of Dracula flashed into your mind, covered in Gabriel's blood. It had been so real to you. You'd already lost your biological family, the feeling of losing Van Helsing as well was too much to bare. He was the man who held your heart, after all.

When your cries died into calmer breaths, the brunette didn't pull away. He was allowing you to do so at your own leisure. "Are you alright?", he repeated, amidst his growing concern.

"Yes", you finally answered him, your throat tight and croaky. Finally breaking your embrace with him, you wiped at your reddened eyes, noting the worry within his own. He had such beautifully coloured gaze. Like the comforting smoothness of chocolate. "It was just a dream".

Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a small flask of alcohol. "Have a sip. It might dull your nerves", he whispered, offering the bottle to you. The liquid was smoky sweet and burned your throat, yet it had a comforting warmth to it as it hit your stomach.

"Thanks". He inclined his head with a short smile. "I'm sorry if I woke you".

"Don't be", he placated you with a gentle tug to his shoulders, sipping from the flask as well. "We all get nightmares".

"Even you?".

"Yes, me", he murmured. "All too often, I'd think. But, nevermind that". Wishing to distance himself, he stood. "Get some more rest, I think we'll both need it—".

"Wait!", you almost shouted, clasping your hand around his larger one. You sent a cautious look to the nearby friar who was still somehow asleep before meeting eyes with the brunette's. His brows creased in confusion. "Will you stay with me?".

Marking the look of terror in your orbs, the monster hunter relented easily to your coaxing. Many nights, he too wished that he had company for comfort. With a silent nod, his hat and jacket were quickly removed. You shuffled over in your bedroll, allowing him to fit in beside you.

Despite how intoxicating it was for the both of you to be so close like this, it felt almost right in a sense. Familiar. "Thank you", you breathed out, Gabriel able to spy the gratitude in your gaze despite the dark.

"Get some sleep", he encouraged softly, offering a smile. "I'm here". Shifting closer to him, your head rested by his broad chest as his arms instinctively fell over you. His gaze monitored your expression, ever content to watch you slip into a slumber. After some silence, you quietly called to him,

"Gabriel?". You recieved a hum in return, beckoning you to continue. Hesitation almost had your throat closing, yet you couldn't allow your best friend to face the fate in your dreams without knowing what truly lies in your heart. "I love you".

For the first time in a long time, his heart was unsteady, thrumming faster within its confines. His silence was tormenting to you, insecurities already playing within your mind. Perhaps you shouldn't have said anything at all??

Tilting your head upwards, his lips seized your own with a dizzying gentleness, his hands burning hot against the skin of your face. Or was that the alcohol? You couldn't be sure.

Breaking down every wall of emotional shielding he'd made for himself, Gabriel finally allowed himself to give in to the wants of his heart. "I love you too". It was spoken beneath his breath, yet you could hear the smile and perhaps the affectionate warmth within his words; as if a burden had also been lifted in some way.

One thing you were both sure about was; when you both would wake the next morning, things would be different, yet better than they had ever been before...

♡ °•° ♡ °•° ♡ °•° ♡ °•° ♡

Carl

"I beg your pardon?", the young friar sputtered, gazing at his best friend incredulously.

"There's not enough room in the castle for all three of us to stay, so you and (Y/n) have to share a room".

"I can't tell if you've noticed", Carl's voice dropped an octave. "But, there's only one bed in each room!".

"You act as if you haven't been dreaming about this for years", Van Helsing teased with a rare and almost lighthearted grin, the blonde's face heating up. "Come on! Here I was thinking you would be happy about this!".

"She's your sister!", Carl hissed. "I can't believe you're happy about this!!". The hunter's eyes rolled amusedly, falling onto your approaching form with a gentle mirth. Anna strayed not too far behind, the two of you already getting along more than soundly in the few hours since your meeting.

"Ready to settle in, Carl?". With just the sound of your voice alone, the blonde's worries and his ability to form coherent sentences had both faded from him.

"Yes, yes", he fumbled, nodding to himself more than anything. "Let's go". Van Helsing's lips pursed to restrain any laughter that threatened to slip and ruin his composure, watching as the both of you journeyed together to your shared room.

"Did they take the bait?", Anna cocked a brow.

"All too well", the brunette replied, irking a smirk from his female counterpart.

"You come here to help me defeat Dracula and yet you also think it's the perfect time to help your sister end up with your friend".

"Is that a problem?". An amused giggle almost left the Valerious in her keen observation of this stranger.

"Van Helsing, monster hunter and matchmaker", Anna mused to herself, earning an unimpressed raised brow from Gabriel. "A curious title".

"Don't push your luck", he warned.

Settling into your shared quarters with the friar had been easy enough. The room was large and extravagant, easily impressing Carl with the study space and yourself with the various arrays of books upon the many shelves.

"Now", the blonde started to ready his bedroll once the time came to slumber. "I can hardly have you sleeping on the floor, so—".

"Carl", you halted him. "This bed is a palace. Just stick to your side and we won't have a problem". The friar found himself unable to argue with you, enamoured by the carefree and playful smile you'd offered him. However, he couldn't help but feel guilty. If you knew how he felt, would you still be so keen to allow him to sleep beside you?

It was no secret to anybody else that Carl loved you, Van Helsing's younger sister. He'd half expected the hunter to hate him for that, much less support the idea and tease him incessantly over it. But, the way Van Helsing saw it; Carl was a good man of faith and hardly able to stand against him should his sister face heartbreak at the blonde's hands, if at all.

Everyone knew, except for you.

In climbing under the thick covers of the bed with the friar, some part of you prayed that Carl's warm presence would ease the fear and pain you often experienced when falling into the world of sleep. However, you found that not even he could keep the horrific dreams away.

You awoke with a gasp, trembling uncontrollably in the early hours of the morning. The moon was shining brightly through the windows of the balcony doors, illuminating the room in a gentle blue glow. You were in a bed; it wasn't real.

You heaved a sigh of relief and exhaustion, your head falling into your hands to feel the wetness of sweat dripping from your face. Tears joined the mixture whilst you desperately wiped at your now swollen eyes. Not even you could remember the last time you slept pleasantly.

Turning your gaze to your counterpart, you were relieved to find him still sleeping. His restful expression was beyond adorable, a wet chuckle leaving you whilst you reached over to brush your fingertips along his cheek. He had light stubble and a soft snore, snuggling into his pillow. How you envied his peacefulness.

Carl had always been a comfort to you, although you'd never admitted it to him. His rambles, his creativity and ideas had all ensnared you. He had such a sense of innocence in comparison to yourself. You had so much blood on your hands, you wondered if you'd even make it to the gates of Saint Peter. You couldn't allow him to follow you into the dark. Not whilst he shone so brightly in comparison to you. So, silent you would have to remain.

Moving yourself from the covers, you hardly noticed Carl's eyes fluttering open. "(Y/n)?", he mumbled tiredly, his brows furrowing in concern.

"Go back to sleep", you hushed him, attempting to leave as to not burden him further. His warm hand upon your own stilled your movements, your head snapping back to him.

You would have preserved the image you saw before you now forever, the air being pulled from your lungs at how beautiful his blue-teal gaze looked in the shining of the moon. It didn't take long for him to spy your tearful eyes, the friar suddenly moving to sit up in his concern. "You've been crying", he fussed. "What's wrong?".

"Carl, it's nothing—", you tried again to release yourself from his grip only for him to squeeze your hand. "Just leave me be". Despite your assurances, his mind was far too quick, already figuring out what ailed you. Carl knew that Gabriel suffered from terrifying nightmares. As his sister, it must've been only natural that you would have the same thing.

"Please", his voice remained steady, his thumb running over your hand. Your eyes met his own glistening with tears and clouded with shame, completely frozen under his gentle gaze. "It's alright", he consoled you. "I know what ails you and you needn't hide it from me". At his kind words, your head dipped away from his whilst hot tears began to leave your eyes. "Look at me, look at me". He coaxed your face gently with his spare hand, wiping at all the tears that fell without a care.

Your fingers wound around the ones that grasped your own, blinking furiously to dismiss the tears of frustration and embarrassment. "I was hoping that you would never see me like this", you wept, entirely ashamed at your lack of composure.

"(Y/n) Van Helsing has emotions, God help us all", he mused with a playful sarcasm, delighting in the small laugh that left you whilst your crying slowly ceased. He even noted that his usual timidness had also dissipated.

With his nimble fingers, he moved the strands of hair that hid your face behind your ears and smiled whilst removing the last of your tears from your face. His focus, that kindness. If only he knew how beautiful he was.

"That's better", Carl hummed with a sense of accomplishment. "Shall I fetch you some water?".

"No, don't trouble yourself", you insisted. "You've done more than enough, Carl. Thank you".

The blonde's lips parted, a kind smile dawning on his features. "You're most welcome". He thoughtfully noted the exhaustion apparent in your features, tugging on your hand to pull you back under the covers. "I think some rest will do us both some good".

"I don't want to sleep", you refused politely, a shudder passing through you at the very thought of another horrific dream.

"Rest doesn't necessarily imply sleep". Moving his pillows closer to your own, Carl invited you to resume your place now alongside him. "Just close your eyes and relax. I'll stay close".

However, it wasn't your pillows you chose to lie upon. You shifted in beside him, instead resting your head upon his chest. His whole form tensed for a few moments, shocked at your decision. But, a tender warmth seemed to consume him whilst your arms encircled him.

Every part of him felt at peace, wishing to savour the moment which would probably never come to pass again. His larger hands worked caresses and circles over your back and arms, content to listen to your rhythmic breaths.

"Tell anyone that I cried and I'll have you", you threatened jokingly, the friar taking to it with a laugh.

"Even if you looked beautiful all the same?". Carl's words had your head lifting from his chest in some form of disbelief. The affection radiating from his halflidded stare was enough to affirm the honesty of his words and speak many more to you.

His callouses brushed over the curve of your cheek, igniting goosebumps across your skin before the warmth of his lips reached your own in a firm, yet gentle touch.

Sharing a smile with the young fri, your head returned to rest upon his beating chest. Accidentally falling asleep in each other's arms some time during the night, you awoke surprised the following morning. For the first time ever, you didn't have any nightmares...

♡ °•° ♡ °•° ♡ °•° ♡ °•° ♡

Count Vladislaus Dracula

The usually quiet castle of Vladislaus Dracula was now encompassed with a thunderous, rhythmic beating. It instilled a sense of terror that usually went unfelt by the Vampire as the deafening sounds reached the unparalleled senses of his hearing. Something, everything was wrong.

For this sound wasn't any drum or song. It was your human heartbeat.

These cold halls were a safe haven for Dracula, always well guarded both in the day and night. And that fact was no exception to you, his cherished human bride.

Never had he heard your heart in such a fearful state, not since that night over three hundred years ago. The night you'd lost your life defending him against Gabriel Van Helsing.

The raven haired male almost shuddered at the thought of it, still remembering the sharp and hurtful details of your death all those hundreds of years ago.

Alike to this current evening, there was a storm baring a cold rain. The thunder cracked open the skies with a deafening ferocity whilst the battle between Dracula and his age-old enemy had ensued.

You had screamed, begged for Dracula's life to be spared, along with your heart which undoubtedly belonged to him.

Gabriel was in love with you at the time, just as much as the Count had been. Always sworn to his sense of duty above all else, Van Helsing had sympathised with your pleas, but refused. He'd insisted that the man you'd fallen for, who had a gentleness, a need to be loved, accepted and wanted, was 'evil'.

So, you took the final blow for him, leaping in between Gabriel's blade and Dracula. In doing so, you had given him the chance to strike down the hunter. However, he was far too late to save the one who truly mattered to him. You.

Whenever you had stood beside him, smiled, held his hand or looked into his gaze, there was never any fear in your eyes or heart. Only the warmth of unconditional love. And perhaps that was what stoked the fire in his soul all those years ago?

Dracula had spent the next few centuries after your untimely demise feeling lost and alone, trying to replace the hollowness within his soul to no avail. Until the fateful night you returned to him many months ago.

Following a whim and the prophetic and vivid dreams you'd had since you were a teen, you'd travelled from your home in London to Romania. It had taken many days and nights, following the whispers of your dreams, but you had found Frankenstein Castle.

It had been a task for Dracula not to crumble to his knees before you, to take you into his arms and immortalise you forever. No, he'd decided to wait out of respect and love for you to give him the words. It had surprised many, but Dracula refused to lose you a second time. The fates had given him a second chance that he would not take lightly.

Despite his confidence in his home, Dracula's sharp eyes travelled the halls for unseen threats that could pose a danger to you, but found nothing in his quick journey to your shared room.

Moving faster than the shadows, he had wasted no time in rushing in, still scanning the darkness of the room. His steps were silent as he strayed closer to where you slept, his usually hardened eyes now soft as they landed on you.

Releasing the human equivalent of a breath through his nostrils, Dracula was relieved to find you weren't harmed. However, the new-found concern he had was completely different from before.

You were gripping the covers with a grimace, your head swaying side to side every so often. Whimpers and quick breaths heaved through your throat as if you were running. It was the one other disadvantage of being human. Nightmares.

With a featherlight precision, the raven haired male sat on the bed beside you. The back of his stone cold hand pressed against your forehead, the skin hot and glistening with sweat. "Oh, My Dear", he murmured, his dark eyes reflecting the worry now blossoming within his very soul. He hadn't realised he had one in the first place, until he met you.

Bringing his hand to cup your cheek, he felt your pulse raging beneath your skin. "(Y/n)", he cooed, attempting to gently lull you from your unconsciousness. His soft touches brought you suddenly from your dreams, a gasp shooting from your throat when your eyes fluttered open. "You are safe, My Love", he hushed you. "I'm here, it's alright".

"Vlad", you huffed in your breathlessness, noting the soothing of his cool touch on your blistering skin. Sitting up, your hands wrapped around your lover's, his hands lifting yours to his lips. Slowly, he pressed cool and sensual touches to your delicate fingers, his brows drawing together when he spied your tearful gaze.

"What ails you, My Beloved?". His voice was calm and gentle like the seas of a nighttime, his larger hands clasping around your own to caress them consistently. One quirk that you discovered early on in your relationship was the fact that your husband loves to play with your fingers and hands, even to self-soothe his own worries. To make sure you were still here.

The crevice of your throat grew tight, your chest fluttering and stomach almost nauseous with the building up of your anxiety. Flashes of your dreams remained fresh within your mind.

You'd seen the Vatican Church in Rome. You'd seen the Priests conspiring with a dark and faceless stranger to kill your husband. Anna Valerious was also prominent in your dreams. It hadn't made sense to you. Not at first.

When you'd seen horrifying flashes of the night you'd perished 300 years ago, it had all come together. The stranger's face was revealed to you. Gabriel Van Helsing. Like yourself, back from the dead. You saw his boat, you saw his array of weapons. He was coming to Transylvania.

"We're in danger", your voice tremored, furthering the confusion and concern Dracula felt. "He's coming for us, Vlad".

"Who is, My Sweet?", his voice remained steady and soft, shifting closer to offer you more comfort from his presence.

"Van Helsing", you whispered, almost too fearful to even speak his name. The shock instantly hit Dracula's dark gaze, his whole form stiffening in a sense of alarm and fury.

"Gabriel is long dead", he attempted to console you with a smile, his callouses tracing over the smoothness of your cheekbone. "It was just a dream, nothing more".

"It wasn't, My Love", you mumbled, offering him a wistful glance with the shaking of your head. "My dreams spoke true".

Sadness clouded the eyes of your husband, knowing already that your dreams were never wrong. He'd only hoped they had been.

"Why can they not just leave us alone?!", he ground out from between his teeth with a sudden white fury. "Why must they scorn my very existence?! Can they not see that I am happy, leaving the world to its endless existence in peace??".

"Vlad, My Love", your voice instantly softened the rage boiling up within him, your hands reaching to cradle his face. His eyes were as tearful as your own, even now, managing the strength to offer you warmth in his smile as he looked upon you. "We speculated that this day may come, when we would be hunted again".

"I will not lose you", he spoke with absolute surity. "Not again. I will not allow him to take everything from me".

"And neither will I". His brows furrowed, silently asking for elaboration. "It's time, Vlad". At your words, his undead heart may have leapt into his throat in both excitement and delight.

"My Love, are you sure?? I am content to—".

"I will not let him rob me of a lifetime with you for a second time. Nor will I allow him to erase everything we have done. It will destroy you all over again".

Dracula only managed a few soft nods. For the first time in his existence, he would not be fighting alone, an unspoken promise lingering between you both. If he would be hellbound, then so shall you be.

Dipping his head, Vlad's lips took your own with a breathtaking softness, firm and sure of the strong tether between you both. Some part of him savoured the warmth of your blood lingering beneath the surface, knowing it would be the last he would feel of it.

___________________________________________

By the coming of the morning, you would be a creature of the night...

Hey readers!! ❤❤ I hope you all enjoyed this set of imagines!! As always, any and all feedback is welcome! So, please - let me know how I went in writing these characters and how to improve, if I can! If you wished to be added to my tagslist, check out my masterlist and let me know what you'd like to be tagged in!

Thank you all for your support!! ❤❤

____________________________________________

TAGLIST; @6lostgirl6

[dani-says-stuff]

✧ Nate Hardy Masterlist ✧

❥ Back to the Control Center

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**Please Note** the reason that some of these fics are tagged medium(?)reader and not medium!reader is simply because I don't really know what else to call it. I am not, under any circumstances, poking fun at mediums or psychics in my writing and I sincerely apologize if it ever comes across this way. I'm basing the readers "abilities" on things I have felt, seen, heard, and experienced myself in real life. If you know of any term that is better suited, let me know

__Oneshots__

Dracula's Castle Nate Hardy x fem!medium(?)reader Word Count: 3.4k Summary: Rather than exploring, you find yourself wrangling the idiots you call your best friends

Villisca Axe Murder House Nate Hardy x fem!medium(?)reader Word Count: 5.2k Summary: You decide to test yourself with the investigation of the gruesome octuple murders. You've yet to decide if that was a horrible idea or not...

__Multi-Parters__

Robert the Doll Nate Hardy x medium(?)reader Word Count: 2.6k Summary: You follow the boys to Key West and visit Robert the Doll Your Very Own Attachment - Part 2 of Robert the Doll Nate Hardy x fem!medium(?)reader Word Count: 1.6k Summary: You notice things in your home quickly become strange after your return from Key West

Madison Seminary, Pt. 2 Nate Hardy x fem!medium(?)reader Word Count: - Part One: 852 - Part Two: ??? Summary: Ahh yes, finally a haunting where the spirits don't hate women

__Requests__

Myrtles Plantation Nate Hardy x fem!medium(?)reader Word Count: 4.1k Type: S&C video !

Chernobyl Nate Hardy x fem!reader Word Count: 1.6k Type: S&C video !

The Art of Distraction Nate Hardy x fem!reader Word Count: 2k Type: spicy !

Disasters to Desires Nate Hardy x fem!reader Word Count: 3k Type: smut !

[pininghermit]

Hiiiii! I love your writing so far and I’m so excited to have found another sub Alucard blog, you have no idea! Could I be able to request a soulmate AU with Alucard? What do you have in mind? 👀

Wait Worth an Eternity (Alucard x Reader)

Pairing: Alucard x Reader

Summary: to the world, the Tagar are a legend or a figment of the past long gone. None in the world have seen or heard of them for ages. None who speak of them, anyway.

Word Count: 2.2k

AN: hey thanks for requesting this awesome fic. I loved writing this and I may have gone a little over board. I hope you like it and look out for a part 2 if you do like it.

"Leave," you whisper into the air, and the darkness behind you vanishes into the nothingness of the night. Yet two remain next to you, lingering as their forms evaporate.

"Are you sure about this?" your brother whispers as his hand reaches to touch your shoulder. The black mist of his vanishing form engulfs both his hand and your shoulder from the barest contact.

"Allow us to wait here for you," your second brother adds as the night remains quiet as ever. "Come on, are you going to ignore us? We came here for emotional support." The swirling darkness continues to surround you with dramatically offended expressions on their concealed faces.

A looming castle stands in front of you, and for a fleeting moment, you wonder if it was a wise choice to walk into something you avoided for so long.

You take in the rotting corpses speared in front of the castle doors that lay carelessly ajar. "Visibly welcoming," Aes, your brother, mutters under his breath. "Leave," you repeat, hoping for your brothers to listen to you for once.

You had to do this yourself. No amount of cowardice would stop you from it anymore. "Alright, we will leave for now, but if there is even an iota of doubt or danger, call for us." Maer, next to Aes, turns to you with his form materializing as he offers you his hand.

"I promise," you take your brother's hand and put all your conviction into your expression. Soon both your brothers leave you alone in the company of Castle Dracula and Belmont library.

The past filters into your conscience as your steps lead you to the withering doors of the unkempt castle.

The Tagar are an ancient race, long gone from the face of the world that monsters, humans, and in-betweens live in. They are people of old who came to life with the first breath of the world.

Many legends of the world speak of them as gods of old. Some call them creatures alike to the fea, for they were winged. Well, some of them were.

But none that live now know what they were. For words did not exist when they did. A race from a time so long ago did not speak similar languages as the current ones who freely roam the world do.

To the world, the Tagar are a legend or a figment of the past long gone. None in the world have seen or heard of them for ages. None who speak of them, anyway.

You are part of the Tagar, a legend from long ago. You have lived through ages of the world forming and deforming itself. In doing so, you watched your people build the society and then leave it for the solitude of peace.

The Tagar held the wisdom of age. With the addition of new races into the world, the oldest saw it as the time for their retreat. They held little love for conquering or coveting what they had built with so much love.

In those long years, you too had been a part of the ones who moved into the veiled world with the oldest of the world resided. Maybe the years had left you with much weariness that you need nothing more than peaceful existence besides your family.

You lived concealed in your mountains, valleys, and plains that the other races held no knowledge of. The world protected its oldest in those hidden places. Away from the newer races of its being.

It was in those uneventful hours of peace that you felt it. A tug. The world that your kind left so long ago called for you again. With a renewed urgency, you found yourself being led to the borders of the ancient magic that kept the Tagar hidden.

That day when you barely held yourself from exposing the existence of your kind, you dreamt of the bond that left you restless the entire day. Flashes of gold, silver, and black filled your vision. Swords, books, and coffins were the figments that revealed themselves as time progressed. Pain, anguish, and grief followed as the years went by. That is how you got to know Adrian, son of Count Dracula and a human healer.

You resisted every pull, every urge. The soulmate your elders spoke of had to wait. You would not burden him with your infinite eternity. You would give him decades free of the bond. He should have every right to be his person before he gets to be yours.

You waited for his quest as a savior to end. You waited for him to experience the world he saved, and witnessed him being chained to the land of his trauma. At that moment, you had wanted nothing more than to rescue him from the loneliness and sorrow of his own thoughts.

But your steps faltered when you saw them: Sumi and Taka. Ignoring the searing bindings of your bond, you stepped back as you observed the happiness that Alucard found next to the other two who entered his life. They were younger, more a part of the world that Adrian lived in. You forced your consciousness to move away from your fated, who remained unaware of your bond.

You slept little to avoid the dreams that would not stop torturing you with visions of him. You dared not look at the sun that shone with the color of his hair or the moon that seemed to reflect his eyes.

The Tagar loved intensely. Most loved once in eternity, and very few of them were granted a fated one. Maybe that is why you felt the bond before Adrian did. You felt it separated by worlds and veils of ancient magic.

You were lost in the motions of forgetting the incomplete fragments of your bond when you felt it—the fleeting end of the other end of the bond. The tug that reminded you of the world foreign to you felt lighter than ever.

That night, you dared to let your dreams guide you into the bond you ignored for long. You found yourself in the unlit halls of Castle Dracula, trashed furniture and floor adorned with broken glass, torn curtains, and rotting food. Among all the ruin lay your mate, Adrian. He lay there alone, bleeding from wounds you could not find with the fleeting form of your dream self.

The world you had wanted to give him by your absence no longer mattered. It wouldn't matter if he faded into the nothingness of grief and betrayal. Only oblivion greeted the ones who turned their backs on the world. You knew it better than any, and you could not fathom that end for him.

So after millennia of hiding, the first of the Tagar ventured into the world that forgot them. You came with your brothers and others who vehemently insisted on escorting you.

Now as you walk the path your soulmate once walked, your heart beats louder than ever. For a moment, you suspect a flying sword to rush your way with how loud your heart beats. Your steps remain sure. And from the periphery of your vision, you observe two rotting corpses that catch your attention. You do not turn to look at them, but a layer of black surrounds them as you move past them. There remains a mystery as all proof of their existence leaves the face of the world. The Tagar, after all, remain most mysterious in their ways.

The huge wooden doors to the castle do not creak as you expect them to, remaining functional as ever despite their age. You walk through silent and dark corridors that you remember but still remain unfamiliar to you. Scouring your memory, you look for clues that could lead you to Adrian.

It is then that you smell it - a cloying stench of death and decay, similar to the one that permeated the graveyard in front of the castle. Death, despite being foreign to the Tagar, remained the most familiar to your fate. It was one of the very first things you felt at the beginning of your visions, a death that reeked of fear, restlessness, but also of peace and relief.

Your anxiety increases with every passing second as you wander through the unknown halls. Rushing through unfamiliar paths of Dracula's castle, you pray to the forgotten gods of the Tagar, hoping that Adrian is still alive.

"Let him not be dead," you plead to anyone who dares listen to you. Not even the wisest of Tagar know of the fate beyond death - it is a truth known only to those who experience it. And you, for once, do not wish for your mate to find that truth.

"Adrian," you allow his name to fall from your lips. For the first time, it is uttered in the world without an ounce of doubt.

"Adrian," a name he does not remember, yet it never before felt more fitting than when he hears it from the echoing recesses of his mind. A voice he does not know, yet a voice he cannot let go.

After months of feeling a lifeless void, Adrian feels the beat of his heart. He feels something snap into place - a scary feeling for someone whose life lay in shambles. He is drunk out of his mind, and his vision remains shaky at best, but even then, he forgets to breathe the first time he lays his eyes on you.

You walk through the halls of his home with feather-light steps. Even in the dark, moonless night, you shine with a light he has never seen before, a glow that seems to mimic ancient stars. You remain put together in your haste, not even a single strand of your hair moves from its place.

"Adrian," you call his name again, and Adrian yearns to answer back. He aches to reply and answer to every call, but his words fail him. He notices your wings tucked behind your back - black like the endless void, yet even tucked away, your wings are majestic. Feathers that look soft at the very sight line your wings. Without a word exchanged between you and him, he knows the long ages you have spent before him.

Past, present, or future, you give him everything without him ever asking. He finds the ease of this fate to be unbelievable. Has it always been this easy? Were you always this close?

With the ease that rivers meet oceans, Adrian finds his head on your lap. Your worried gaze on him, your hands thread through his hair, and he does not suppress the shudder that runs through his entire body. He feels the warmth of your feathers on his cheek. 

You have waited so long, for ages, for this. At that moment, he feels the weight of ages spent waiting for someone, the weariness of a lonely forever. You have loved him without any expectation of reciprocation, and Adrian feels wronged on your part. How did you not think of yourself? Why did you not come and claim him? He would have left; he would have let go of the world if that is what needed to be done for you.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," you repeat and Adrian finds it hard to stop you. His limbs feel heavier than ever. 'Not your fault,' he wants to tell you. His soul screams at him to comfort his fated, who is now sobbing next to him.

He wills his hand to wipe the tears lining your face. 'Don't,' he tries to say but his throat dries up at the sight of you. You hold his hand in yours as you interlace your fingers.