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horanghaejamjam · 2 years ago

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Vampire Kisses - {WJH}

↪ Summary: He is the head of the Wen family, the highest ranking family of vampires in the country. You are a mere human sold to them for the purpose of being his mate and bride. Jun is determined to win your heart before you wed, and perhaps a few playful kisses are the key to doing that.

↪ Pairings: Vampire lord Jun x Human female reader

↪ Rating: M 18+

↪ Genre: Vampire Au / Slight rivals to lovers / Smut / Fluff

↪ Word Count: 16.3k

↪ Warnings/Contents: Smut, Blood and blood drinking, Biting, Jun being super flirty and teasing, Arranged marriage, Virgin!reader, Unprotected sex, Body Worship, Oral (male receiving), Praise, Soft bondage (Jun ties/blindfolds reader with silk), Fingering, Talks about impregnation. Mostly just very fluffy and soft with Jun being whipped for reader.

↪ Side Notes: My first post of 2023! This also turned out way longer than I was expecting so I guess I got carried away lol. A few of the other svt members also make cameos in this story. It is implied that reader is younger than Jun.

↪ Huge thank you to the lovely @xiubaek-13 for betaing and editing this fic for me!

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Growing up, your mom always told you stories about marriage and weddings. How a woman's wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, a once in a lifetime moment. Ever since the first story, you dreamed about the day you would get that moment, planning your dream wedding down to the very last detail. As a child, you imagined a royal ceremony in a grand castle, wearing the most beautiful and lavish dress you could ever imagine. Your husband would be royalty for sure, a man who would love and cherish you for as long as you both shall live. You would be happy together, have the perfect family, and live beautifully in your life of luxury. Looking back at those memories, you realized that you should have been careful about what you wished for. You were getting that wedding you always wanted, but it would not be under your terms. The other thing you learned young was that the world you lived in was not simple, in fact one may consider it the merging of two separate worlds. Two dominant races ran this world and fought for power, similar enough to coexist but different enough to segregate them to keep the world in balance.

For centuries, humans were the dominant race on Earth. The knowledge of others existed, but their numbers were far too small to be considered a challenge, so humans called the shots. Then, overtime, vampires became a much more prominent presence, easily taking over and claiming areas for themselves. Regions quickly became divided as vampires took control of certain areas, forcing humans to either fight back or surrender to the change. This caused a conflict for many years until leaders on both sides met and finally came to an agreement. They would coexist and operate together, with humans during the day and vampires at night. The agreement was sealed with a marriage of the royal families that united both sides. From that moment forward, it had become customary for the most powerful vampire families to marry one of their kin to a human as a way to honor the unity. The marriage would be sealed by the vampire claiming their spouse by taking their blood on their wedding day, and from there the human could choose if they wished to stay that way or transition to a vampire by drinking the blood of their mate.

You were born a human, raised in a lower class family who often struggled to make ends meet. You were an only child, and your parents did the best they could to make sure you had everything you needed growing up. You did your best in school and worked a part time job at a local bakery. Overall, you felt that you were pretty average but nothing special, especially not someone that any royal family would set their eyes on. Hell, you never even recalled meeting a vampire so you couldn’t imagine you would catch one's attention, but somehow you did.

Your whole world changed on the night of your 23rd birthday, being awoken to a knock at your door. Standing there, dressed in a black and red suit with a devilish smile, was one of the most ethereal beings you had ever laid your eyes on. He was tall, with piercing eyes and an almost dark aura to him, his fangs undeniably poking out against his lip as he smiled. You didn’t know what you expected vampires to look like, but it certainly was not this. He bowed and introduced himself as Mingyu, the head servant of the Wen family. He then explained that they had been observing you for quite some time and wanted to ask for your hand in marriage to their eldest son. You had been too stunned to speak, staring at Mingyu as if he had two heads while your parents argued against the idea. You had wanted to refuse also, not wanting to marry someone you had never met, let alone a vampire. However, they had promised protection and financial stability for you and your family as long as you stayed mated to him and provided an eventual heir to the bloodline. As much as you hated the idea, you knew deep down that it was what was best for your family, and so you said yes and prepared to move into the Wen family estate, where you now resided.

You had been living here for a few years now and never found adjusting any easier. Your wedding to Wen Junhui was set to take place within the next month, falling on the first full moon after your birthday. You didn’t quite understand how everything worked but you remember Mingyu explaining to you that this would be the time where the energy was highest and you were both at your prime. There was a chance for mating bonds to go wrong so this was the best chance of eliminating that risk. You had tried to ask what happened when it went wrong but all Mingyu did was pat your head and tell you not to worry about it.

That time had been spent allowing you to learn about the family and adjust to what your new life would be. Mr. and Mrs. Wen had met you almost immediately upon your arrival, giving you a once over before welcoming you with open arms. You learned a lot about the family, and about vampires in general from them, helping you to adjust more to your new life. Mr. Wen was born into the family and had been around for many hundred, if not almost a thousand years despite the fact that he didn’t even look 50. Mrs. Wen had been a human when she married into the family, making the decision to transition and stay with her husband when she was in her late 20s. Though she had also explained that she had only been turned after her 30th birthday so she was, technically, significantly younger than her husband. This made you question how age worked with vampires, especially the aging. All you were told was the brief explanation that aging was slower and it took many years for them to age the way a human would in one or two. There was also something about blood slowing down the process but you decided to tune that part out for your own sanity.

You were also informed about the family line, and how the head of the family would change every couple hundred years to keep up with the changing times, though the original head will often stick around for a while before moving on. The family had two known sons, with Jun being the oldest and only bred vampire which gave him the title by birth right. In human years, he would have just turned 26 making him a few years your senior, when in reality he was slowly nearing 300 years old which was the prime age for a vampire, if not still a bit young. He also had a younger brother, Minghao, who was a transitioned vampire. The human born son of one of the servants that Mr. Wen took in and claimed as his own child. The two brothers, despite not being blood related, were very close and did almost everything together. They had been traveling together at that time, so you hadn’t been able to meet either until a while later.

It had been during dinner (or breakfast for the family), when the two brothers finally returned. Polar opposites in style and personality, but both striking in their own way. Minghao was more delicate but striking in his features, jet black hair falling over his face in messy locks and dressed in an all black trench coat that hid most of his frame. He did not speak much around you, but when he did his voice was soft and his words were sharp and to the point, he had almost reminded you of one of your highschool professors. He acknowledged you briefly with a calm smile before excusing himself to his study, leaving you to finally turn and acknowledge your soon to be husband.

You would have been lying if you said Junhui wasn’t one of the most gorgeous men you’d ever seen. Immediately you could tell he was taller and had a larger build than his younger brother. His gaze was softer but still had an alluring touch to it, almost as if he looked bored. His hair was longer, practically touching his shoulders with a striking blonde color. Most of it was slicked back but a few strands fell in front of his eyes. He had been wearing a slick black button down with the top three buttons undone, tucked into fitted pants that suited him nicely. You were immediately attracted to, if not very intimidated by the man standing in front of you, even when he gave you a gentle smile and sat beside you. “Y/N,” he had muttered softly, taking your hand and kissing it, “I am so happy to finally meet you.” His voice was soft, and even a bit higher pitched than you had been expecting, and he seemed more than eager to get to know you.

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From that moment forward, it seemed like Junhui, or Jun as he preferred you to call him, would not leave you alone. He was always following you around, attempting to talk to you or get you to acknowledge him. Whether it be genuine questions, teasing you over the smallest things, or even flirty advances, it seemed that no matter where you went Jun was there. You gave into him occasionally, but for the most part you found his presence to be quite annoying. Yeah you knew you were being forced to marry him but you hadn’t expected him to be all over you the second you met him. You figured, or more like hoped, that the two of you would stay acquaintances at most and just keep the formalities when his family was around, but it seemed like Jun had different ideas.

You tried your best to tolerate him, but as your wedding drew closer you found the whole thing weighing on you more and more. The situation became too real for your liking and suddenly you were questioning if this was really a good idea. You were marrying a complete stranger, someone who was infatuated with you but you wanted nothing to do with. You were expected to spend your life with this man and eventually have children with him and you didn’t know him, let alone love him. The thought alone made your skin crawl, trying to suppress the thoughts of what would happen on your wedding night, all for the family to stay in power. Unfortunately there was no way for you to change your mind, knowing that your family would suffer if you tried to back out was the only thing keeping you from running away. Instead you developed a new routine, sleeping through the night while they were up and taking advantage of the daytime to sneak out and enjoy the last few days of your freedom. Today was no exception, with you waking up early and pacing around your room, waiting for the day to arrive so you could sneak out and meet up with your friends.

Looking out the window, you saw the sun slowly starting to peak out over the horizon, just enough to paint the sky with a purple hue. Within the next hour or so it would be light out and, if your calculations were correct, the family would be asleep by then. Mr and Mrs Wen specifically were likely already in bed by now, the older vampires having no desire to wait for the sun. They were much more sensitive to the light as you had learned, keeping their curtains drawn hours before the sun even thought of rising. They were easy to sneak around, often following the same schedule so you knew where they would be at what time. Minghao was a bit trickier, the man not following a set schedule and often staying up way past when his peers had gone to bed. However, you also learned that he was a bit of a recluse, preferring to stay in his room or study whenever possible. Even when he did catch you, he seemed to either understand your feelings or not care enough to stop you, simply giving you a nod and a knowing look as you made your way out the door. You made a mental note to thank him one of these days for not stopping you or ratting you out to his parents.

Jun, on the other hand, was not as easy as his family. You weren’t sure if he liked the thrill of being up when it was day or he just didn’t trust you but he would be up for hours before finally resting. Sometimes you found him in his study working on who knows what and other times you had run into him chatting with one of the servants in the kitchen as if that was a normal occurrence for him. Well, technically it was, but that didn’t mean you liked it any more. Day time was the only time you ever had to yourself, enjoying the quiet and freedom before you would be forced to adapt to the nightlife. Though it seemed your soon to be husband didn’t like the idea of leaving you alone, always knowing where you were and sneaking up on you like the two of you were playing a twisted game of hide and seek.

“Enjoying the view Sweetheart?” speak of the devil, you nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard his voice behind you. You hadn’t even heard him enter your room so you had no idea how long he had been there. Jun chuckled at your obvious shock as he walked up behind you, reaching out to close the curtain before the rays of the sun could peak out and threaten him. Glancing at him over your shoulder, you saw that he had ditched his usual suit and jewels for his pajamas, a simple white shirt and baggy pants, giving you hope that this visit would be short.

“I thought you would be in bed,” you muttered as you turned to face him fully.

“Without saying goodnight?” he questioned, “I would never! You should know that by now.” He hummed in thought for a moment as he glanced down at you, bottom lip finding its way between his teeth, “Though judging by the way you’re dressed I’m assuming you’re staying up again. I don’t understand why though, it’s so lonely when everyone's asleep isn’t it?”

“I like being alone, and I’m not ready to give up my life just yet for the sake of your family,” you argued, making the male wince as if your words burned him.

“You really don’t like me do you?” he asked, or more like whined which made you roll your eyes. Surely the fact that an all powerful vampire such as himself was pouting at you like a kicked puppy was pitiful. Still, it seemed to have a bit of an effect on you as you sighed softly.

“It’s not that I don’t like you,” you started to explain, “I mean come on we’re practically strangers and I’m supposed to give myself up to you completely in a few weeks time, do you really expect me to be happy about that?” You watched Juns eyes shift around the room for a moment, clicking his tongue as he processed what you said. His slender frame leaned against the support of your bed with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked back at you.

“We wouldn’t be strangers if you gave me a chance you know?” he pointed out. You opened your mouth to argue but he cut you off with a single lift of his finger, “From the moment I came home to you I’ve been trying to get close to you and every time you push me away. I like to think I’m a patient man Y/N but your actions hurt me you know? So do tell me how am I supposed to get close to you when you constantly keep me at arm's length?” You froze, eyes widening and mouth hanging slightly open as you tried to defend yourself. Even though you knew that Jun was right, the prideful part of you didn’t want to admit that fact. Just like you didn’t want to admit that you were too scared to let him get close to you. You weren’t sure if Jun read your mind, or he was just that observant, but you were snapped out of your little daze when you heard him chuckle. “So that’s how you want to play it then? You want to keep me as a stranger despite everything?”

“Is there something so wrong with that?” you challenged, mirroring his position. Juns eyes scaled your form for a moment before sighing and glancing away.

“I am trying you know,” he argued, “I wouldn’t have chosen you to be my bride if I didn’t see something special in you and you won’t even let me prove myself to you. That’s quite cold hearted you know.” You paused for a moment at his confession, not realizing he was the one who chose you but also never seeing him this sincere before.

“What do you mean you chose me? You never even met me before that night?” you questioned, though it seemed Jun was back to his normal self as he merely clicked his tongue.

“That is a story for another time my dear, you still haven’t answered my question?” he urged. Jun adjusted slightly and hardened his gaze as he looked back at you, making you feel tiny compared to him. You bit the tip of your tongue as you tried to think of a way out of this but it was clear he wasn’t leaving without an answer.

“I guess I don’t know what I want,” you admitted sheepishly. Jun hummed in thought and you could have sworn you saw a smirk ghost across his lips before he was hardening his gaze again.

“Well, let's think about it this way then, I want to get you close to me and you are afraid of opening up and letting me do that correct?” you wanted to protest but he shook his head, “It’s a yes or no question Y/N.”

“I suppose,” you whispered, though it seemed he heard you anyway.

“Well clearly neither of us are going to get what we want with how things are now, so why don’t we try something new? If you are willing to put that hard front of yours aside for a minute I have a deal for you,” he proposed, effectively catching you off guard.

“What kind of deal exactly?”

“It’s a simple deal really,” he assured, “one that I think both of us will benefit from. How it works is you give me a chance every day to win your heart. If I succeed, I get to give you a kiss. If I fail, that's a day you get to go out.” Your eyes widened as you processed his words. It seemed like it would be easy for you given how you avoided him thus far, but you knew this also meant he would be trying harder to win your attention. “Of course,” he continued after a moment, “this means you will also have to adapt to my schedule in order to be fair, but I’m sure you’d have just as much fun in the night life.” You nodded and took a moment to think it over, having the sinking feeling that there was more to this agreement than he was letting on.

“What’s the catch?” you asked.

“There’s no catch, it’s as straightforward as I can possibly make it. Our wedding is in three weeks, yes? That gives me ample time to prove myself to you, and if I don’t that’s more free time for you before you end up stuck with me, no?” The more you thought about it, the more you realized he had a point.

“I suppose you’re right, but why are you so insistent on this deal?“ Jun let out an almost annoyed chuckle, but his expression didn’t falter.

“We are destined to be together, you know. Not only is this a chance to be close to you but it’s also a fun build up to the main event where I finally get to kiss you where I want.” His words made you internally cringe, shaking your head to regain your composure.

“This is a terrible idea!” you finally exclaimed, causing Jun to scoff.

“What’s the matter, doll? Are you afraid you’ll fall in love with me?” he raised his eyebrow in a teasing manner. You were sure if you tried to roll your eyes any harder, they would end up stuck in the back of your head.

“I highly doubt I’d ever fall in love with you,” Jun visibly deflated a bit at your words, but regained his composure before you could fully process it.

“Then there’s nothing for you to lose, might as well humor me and prove me wrong no?” It was getting increasingly harder to argue with him, and at this point you just wanted him to go to bed and leave you alone so you reluctantly gave in.

“Okay, fine, you have yourself a deal,” you muttered, “are you happy now?”

“Once you finalize the deal, yes I will be,” Jun agreed, standing up and walking over to you with his arm outstretched, offering his hand to you. You gave him a look of ‘Are you serious?’ before groaning and reaching out to shake his hand. His skin was cool at first, but quickly warmed up with your heat and you also took note of how soft his hand was. He firmly gripped your hand for a moment with a smile before letting go and slipping his hands into the pockets of his pajama pants. “Alright we have a deal, try not to have too much fun out there darling, tomorrow night is when the fun starts,” with that he turned and left your room, the door closing behind him with a gentle click. You stared at the spot he just stood for a minute before sighing and collapsing back down on your bed. Your head spun as you processed the mess you just got yourself into, suddenly no longer feeling like going out.

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The first week following your agreement went by painfully slow. Most of it was you trying miserably to adjust to the nocturnal life, meaning you were way too tired to acknowledge any of Juns advances. He didn’t seem to mind too much though, giving you space and allowing you to enjoy your victory, though you only left the house maybe once the whole time. The rest of the time you were busy staring off into space or reading whatever book you could get your hands on in the study to keep from passing out. Minghao had actually been a great help during this time, giving you story suggestions and even suggesting a certain tea he drank often that could help you stay awake. He also introduced you to Wonwoo, another one of the prominent workers at the manor. Wonwoo had spent most of his life as a scholar so he showed you all the best stories both hardcover and digital. You also learned he had quite a knack for video games and showed you how to access them on one of the computers in the main study. After that, you found it very easy to stay up during the hours of the night, something Jun immediately took notice of.

“Good Morning Starlight,” you jumped at the sound of his voice as you stepped into the kitchen, turning to see Jun perched up against the counter. He wasn’t as dressed up as he normally was, wearing only a thin shirt and leather pants with the familiar family jewels adorning his fingers and ears. His hair also wasn’t slicked back like it normally was, merely brushed to keep his bangs out of his eyes. He also didn’t appear to have any makeup on, the familiar black shadow from his eyes all but gone. You hated how attractive he looked even when he didn’t seem to be trying. Though the main thing that caught your attention was his lips, stained red from the thick red liquid he was swirling in a glass. Every few moments he would sip at it as if the drink were a fine red wine, though you knew better than to try and trick yourself. “It’s cows blood, don’t worry,” he muttered when he noticed your hesitation, “we only really need to drink blood maybe once or twice a week to keep up our strength. The supply is donated to us from the local butcher and lasts quite a while. We never feed from humans, unless they offer themselves to us of course.” You blinked a bit as you processed his explanation, again watching the liquid slosh around as he spun the glass between his fingers.

“I take it you don’t get offers very often?” you questioned, not really sure you wanted to know the answer.

“You’d be surprised,” he responded, “a lot of humans get curious. They come to us asking just for just a quick bite, allowing them to know the sensation. There’s a rumor going around that a bite from a vampire can be quite pleasurable and they want to know if it’s true so they basically throw themselves at us. It’s kind of funny if you ask me.” You raised an eyebrow at him as he answered the question, addressing the topic like it was the most simple thing in the world. Though you also noticed the underlying tone in his voice when he mentioned pleasure, knowing immediately what he was implying.

“Does it taste different then?” you asked, and this time it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Is this really something you’re interested in or are you just trying to make conversation?” when you shrugged he chuckled, “well in a way yes it does. I can’t really describe it to you but the different proteins and types change the flavor.” He quickly finished his drink and set the glass to the side, wiping his lips with his sleeve. “I’m flattered you’re actually taking interest in me though, it means a lot,” he teased as he walked over to you, “enough about me though, I’m guessing you’re hungry right? How about I get you breakfast and then we go through a walk around the manor.” You nodded softly and he smiled, patting your shoulder and motioning for you to take a seat. Jun hummed softly as he roamed around the kitchen, grabbing an assortment of different items and setting them down in front of you before taking a seat himself.

“Did you just grab the whole kitchen?” you asked, slowly beginning to pick at the food in front of you.

“I’m not too sure what you like so figured I’d just grab what we had. You’re also the only one who requires food to survive so we don’t have much at the moment,” he confessed.

“You mean to tell me you guys only drink blood?” you exclaimed, making him laugh.

“No of course not,” he replied with a chuckle, “we still like to drink and have meals but it’s just for the fun and taste of it. We don’t really get any sustenance from meals like this.” To prove his point he snatched a grape from one of the bowls in front of you, rolling it between his fingers before popping it delicately into his mouth. You hummed in thought as you copied his action, letting the flavors rest on your tongue for a moment before grabbing a roll. There was a silence that fell over the both of you, you focused on eating and Jun watching you intently. Normally this would make you shy away from him but something about this reaction was oddly domestic and quite comfortable. You tried not to overthink this change though, telling yourself you were just used to his presence now that you had spent a week with him.

“You said you wanted to go for a walk after this?” you remembered as you finished up your breakfast, “doesn’t that seem kind of boring though?” Jun tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at you which made you shrug, “I mean, I’ve pretty much seen everything here already so what’s the point?” This made him chuckle a bit, leaning back in his chair without taking his eyes off of you.

“I can assure you that you haven’t seen everything, so I figured I’d show you a few fun places you haven’t seen yet,” he explained.

“Places like what?” you asked.

“Well for starters, do you really expect to stay in a guest room after we’re married?” he answered your question with one of his own, “we’re going to be sharing a lot so I figured I’d show you where you’d be staying after. There are also a few special places that are technically for family only but I don’t think they will mind if I show you a bit early.” You had to admit, now you were intrigued to find out what was being hidden from you. Jun noticed and smiled at your eagerness, standing up and walking over to where you were still seated, “Once you finish eating I’d recommend grabbing a jacket, it gets a bit chilly at this time. I’ll meet you by the staircase when you’re ready.” With that he patted your shoulder softly and exited the room. You turned your head just enough to watch him leave before sighing and returning your attention to the food.

“He’s planning something, I just know it,” you mutter to yourself, finishing the roll you had been snacking on and putting everything back where you thought it belonged. With that out of the way you ran upstairs to your room and rummaged through your closet for something warm you could put on. It wasn’t that cold in the manor itself so you didn't want to wear anything too heavy, but you assumed based on what Jun said that you would end up outside at some point so you wanted to be prepared. It took a minute for you to finally just settle on a sweater that you could throw over your top, thick enough to keep you warm but not enough to make you overheat.

When you left your room you saw Jun standing by the staircase as promised, though his back was turned to you as he conversed with two individuals you had never seen before. Two other males, one dressed in all black with his hair slicked back and the other in all white with his hair down, almost as long as Juns but not quite. They dressed like polar opposites yet seemed like they belonged together as you watched them talk with your fiance. They were laughing at something, the one in all white even reaching out to hit at Juns arm. You were curious as to what they were talking about, but didn’t want to be rude and interrupt so you stayed put. The other male noticed you after a second, pointing in your direction which made Jun turn to face you.

“Ah there you are, don’t be shy come and join us,” he urged you over. You stayed put for a moment before doing as you were told, silently walking to stand beside Jun with a shy smile. “Y/N meet Joshua and Jeonghan, they have been close friends of the family since even before I was born,” he introduced you, both males bowing their heads to you.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Joshua greeted, “though I’m sure we’ll get to know each other very soon.”

“We work very closely with Jun and his family so we were summoned in to help with the wedding, specifically to help you,” Jeonghan explained. You shrunk a little bit in realization, nodding and forcing a smile so as to not be rude.

“Ah I see, then I guess we will get close won’t we?” you muttered.

“I hope so, it would be nice to have a friend that’s normal,” Joshua teased.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jun whined, “I am normal!”

“Suuure you are,” Jeonghan stated with amusement. The three went back and forth for a minute which made you laugh softly, finding the interaction similar to you and your friends. It didn’t last long though as Jun quickly regained himself, clearing his throat and placing his hand on your shoulder.

“Anyways, I promised this one I’d show her around so we should probably get on that, I’ll see you too before bed though,” with that he was guiding you past the two males, pausing only long enough for you to wave goodbye.

“They seem fun,” you commented as you walked with Jun down the hall.

“They’re a pain but I love them,” Jun agreed, “everyone here is like a big family if you haven’t noticed already.” In reality you had noticed, having seen the way the family interacted with each other and their staff. Of course there was mutual respect but it never seemed like a boss and employee type situation, more like a friendship if anything.

“Is that because of how long everyone's been here?” you asked.

“Perhaps that may be part of it but I wouldn’t say that’s the reason,” Jun replied, “We may all work together but everyone here has a different story for how they got here. For certain people like Joshua and Jeonghan our families ran together so we were raised together. Then you have people like Mingyu or Wonwoo who came from lower class families and grew to bond with us. Or, on the complete opposite side you have my brother, we’re not related by blood and he was born a human but we took him in and I love him just as much as I would if he were born into the family.” Jun paused for a moment before shaking his head with a soft laugh, “I’m rambling now but my point is that it doesn’t matter where you come from or how long you’ve been around someone, it’s all about the bond you build with them.” You sighed as you processed his words, casting your gaze down to the floor. He talked about bonding with someone as if it was the easiest thing in the world and yet here you were, making things more difficult by avoiding him. You never cared about getting to know him before so why did you feel so guilty all of the sudden? If Jun noticed your shift in mood he didn’t say anything, continuing to walk a bit before stopping in front of a door.

“Enough of that though, I’m here to show you what your life will look like with me. This should be an exciting moment,” he gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze and opened the door, gently nudging you inside. You couldn’t help but gasp as you walked in and looked around the room. Juns bedroom was nearly twice the size of yours, the walls mostly the same white color as the rest of the manor but with red accents that gave it an almost romantic glow. The wall opposite you had large window like doors that opened to a small balcony overlooking the outside of the manor, dark red curtains pulled back to let the moonlight seep into the room. The light hit his bed perfectly, centered in the middle of the room like a centerpiece. Delicately carved wooden frames accented with the same red curtains and satin sheets in the same color. The walls were decorated with a few paintings, one of Jun, another of the family, and the last you couldn’t quite make out but the rest was bare. Cautiously you stepped further into the room, feeling the soft rug tickle at your ankles as you walked to the bed, Jun stayed quiet as he watched you. His figure leaned against the doorway with an amused grin as he watched you explore, touching things so gently as if you were worried they would break.

“Don’t be shy,” he spoke up after a moment, “this will be your room soon enough so don’t be afraid to get used to it.” He closed the door and walked over to where you were, falling back onto the bed and laying with his back against the headboard so he could watch you.

“This room is amazing,” you said in awe, moving away from his bed and walking over to the balcony.

“It’s a bit old fashioned for my taste but it is nice,” Jun remarked.

“Old fashioned?” you asked, to which he nodded softly.

“This original manor was built by my great grandfather when he was elected into power,” Jun explained, “my grandfather and dad made a few changes to the decor to match the changing times but a lot of it is still the same as when it was first built.” Vampire age was still a concept you were confused by, but given how old Mr. Wen was you could only assume the manor was over a couple thousand years old, which was shocking because it looked brand new. “If you’re wondering why it’s in such good condition, it’s gradually rebuilt and redecorated whenever a new head takes over,” he added. You couldn’t help but scoff a bit at how easily he seemed to read your mind, or maybe he was just that used to these questions.

“So do you plan on renovating when you take over?” you asked, brushing your hands across the curtain.

“I have a few ideas, I won’t change much but it would be nice to modernize everything a bit,” he explained, “it would be nice to have a TV in here don’t you think? Maybe a few more computers since I’ve noticed a lot of people here like playing games.” He glanced over at you as he said this, making you smile shyly.

“There was nothing else to do and Wonwoo showed me how to play so...” he cut you off before you could finish explaining.

“It doesn’t bother me at all, I want you to be comfortable here,” he promised. You nodded and glanced back outside, having to focus to see outside through your own reflection. Your fingers brushed against the cool railing, searching for the handle to open the door when you heard footsteps behind you. You could almost feel Jun press against you as he reached up to undo the latch and swing the doors open. “It may be a bit high for you to reach,” he teased, patting your head and brushing past you to walk onto the balcony. You quickly followed, shivering a bit at the cold. The balcony wasn’t large, just big enough for the two of you to stand on it comfortably. Over the railing you could see out into the back gardens, a vast maze of different flowers and other plants illuminated by the moon. In the middle stood what appeared to be a fountain, though you couldn’t make out its shape, and in the distance you thought you spotted a greenhouse. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

“It is,” you agreed, looking at the vast array of flowers, “I didn’t even know we had a back garden.”

“There’s only really one way to access it and it’s kind of hidden by the study so it makes sense you didn’t know,” Jun said with a chuckle, “do you want to see it up close?” You eagerly nodded, an action he repeated with a smile, “Alright then, shall we?” He gestured for you to go back into the room, closing the door behind him before offering his arm to you. You hesitated slightly but gave in and wrapped your arm around his, allowing him to guide you out of his room and down the hall. The general study was a place you were familiar with, a large room decorated with multiple wooden desks and bookshelves. The main room branched off into two smaller studies, one that Minghao used as a personal art studio and the other that belonged to Jun, though you’d never seen the older brother use his.

Jun led you through the room to a back area that had previously been concealed by one of the large bookshelves. Had he not led you right to it, you wouldn’t have even noticed that it was there.

“Wow this is hidden,” you commented, Jun nodding and letting go of your arm to open the door.

“There’s quite a few rare plants out here with very special properties. We keep the entrance hidden from guests to keep people from abusing them,” he explained as he opened the door and nudged you through. This time you were prepared for the chill that attacked you as you stepped outside, pulling your sweater closer to your body. Almost immediately your senses picked up on the scents of the various flowers surrounding you. It was almost overpowering but you found it quite pleasurable. Jun wrapped his arm around your shoulders and led you through the rows of flowers and into the clearing. You stopped a few times to glance at certain ones that caught your eye, careful not to get too close and ruin them. Jun didn’t have the best knowledge of all the flowers, but he told you the brief information he did know, such as names or where they were from. You had to give him credit for trying, making it clear that he was trying to impress you, and perhaps it was working.

When you finally made it to the middle of the garden you gasped. You hadn’t been able to make out the full view from the balcony but now you could see everything. The area was outlined with various shrubs and trees that blocked it off from the rest of the garden, though there was an opening that allowed the moon to shine through. There were a few benches nestled into the corner, and in the middle was the fountain you saw earlier. Carved marble base leading up to the silhouette of an angel, the vase she was holding being the part of the fountain that water spilled out of in addition to small jets around the base.

“This is beautiful,” you mused, walking over to take a seat on the fountain. There were a few stray water drops that sprayed you but you paid no mind, closing your eyes and listening to the sound of the water. Jun stayed in his spot the whole time, smiling to himself as he watched you, enjoying the first peaceful moment between the two of you.

“It really is, isn’t it?” he agreed, though he wasn’t exactly talking about the fountain. He couldn’t stop his eyes from trailing across your frame, taking in every detail while you were peacefully unaware of what he was doing. Eventually he got tired of watching you though, moving to take a seat beside you. Your eyes opened as you felt his leg brush against yours, glancing over to see Jun looking up at the sky. Now it was your turn to admire him, taking note of the way his long hair framed his face, and how he seemed to glow under the moonlight. You wondered, if he hadn’t been immortal, would he still be this beautiful? “Like what you see?” he asked without looking away from his spot, making you shy away from him.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you tried to argue, “I was just enjoying the view of the garden.”

“I take it I am part of the garden then? You’ve been staring at me for at least the past five minutes.”

“Does my staring bother you?” you questioned.

“No not at all,” he assured, finally looking down at you, “in fact I actually find it quite comforting. It means that there’s at least some part of you that’s drawn to me.” You wanted to argue but opted against it, knowing there was no winning with Jun. He smirked at you before glancing at the sky one last time, “Damn, time really does fly by fast doesn’t it. The sun should be coming up soon.”

“Wow already?” you exclaimed, glancing up but not seeing any sign of the sky getting brighter.

“You learn new tricks to tell time when you need to avoid the sun,” he said, “I’d rather go in early than be caught off guard otherwise I would take you to see the greenhouse. If you’re impressed by this I can imagine what you’ll think of it.”

“What happens if you stay out in the sun?” you asked, causing him to side eye you for a moment.

“We don’t burst into flames or anything if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said with a slight hint of amusement, “It does burn us pretty badly though, like think of the feeling you’d get if you kept your hand on a hot stove or even a flame. For purebloods like myself, if we didn’t get inside within a few hours we would likely succumb to the heat and burn. Though some half bred vampires aren’t fully developed so they can go out if they wish.” You let out a soft “oh” before looking away, not even wanting to imagine that pain. Jun gave your shoulder an assuring pat and urged you to look at him, “Don’t worry about me though, I don’t plan on letting myself get hurt anytime soon,” he smiled softly at you, squeezing your shoulder until you smiled back, “there we go I like it better when you smile. You’re more than welcome to stay out here if you wish, but I really should get inside before the sun comes up.” He squeezed your shoulder one last time and was about to get up before he stopped himself, “Oh but before I go, I do believe I get a prize for today, no?” You were confused and about to ask what he meant before remembering the deal you made with him.

“Alright I guess you do win for today,” you gave in. Jun smiled and grabbed your hand, playing with your fingers for a moment before placing a soft kiss on the back of your palm. His lips were soft and slightly cooler in texture, much like the rest of him, but you couldn’t help feeling your body heat up at the contact.

“One of hopefully many,” Jun whispered, his breath and lips tickling your skin, “until tomorrow my love.” He placed your hand back into your lap and stood up, adjusting his shirt as he walked out of the garden, slow enough for you to follow if you wished but not pressuring you. You watched him leave before returning your attention to the fountain with a sigh, glancing down at your reflection in the water. Without Jun beside you, it suddenly felt much colder, the breeze blowing the water onto you like a harsh mist. Still you didn’t move for quite a while, even as the sun rose and you felt exhaustion creep into you, you didn’t want to move. You hated how lonely it suddenly felt without Jun beside you, and you hated the way your hand still tingled where he kissed you. Though you told yourself it was just being flustered and touch starved. Jun was still a stranger to you, and there was no way you could ever see yourself falling for a vampire. You kept telling yourself that as you finally stood up and slowly made your way inside, even as you changed and tucked yourself into bed the words repeated.

You could never fall in love with Wen Junhui.

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Unfortunately for you, fate seemed to have other ideas for what you wanted. Jun, encouraged by getting his first kiss, seemed to only up his game as the days went by. Meal dates, going for walks, performing a song for you, even taking you out into town to give you an idea of what the nightlife was like. You quickly learned that things didn’t operate much differently when vampires were running things and most were more than welcoming to you. Jun had taken you to all of his favorite stops, including his favorite restaurant and an arcade he went to with his friends a lot growing up. You also learned a lot more about him during that time. Jun explained to you how his family line is actually from China and they weren’t always as powerful. The Wen name grew with his great grandfather, who had moved in search of business opportunities and ended up in the right place at the right time. Because of their heritage, the family was in charge of many international affairs. You also learned that Jun was multilingual, practically begging for him to say something to you in Chinese when you heard that. Lastly you learned that Jun was a man of many talents, especially when it came to singing or dancing. It felt like you were meeting him for the first time, and every time you learned something new about him you found yourself falling for him more. No matter how hard you tried to deny it, or to distance yourself from him, he always made his way back with a kiss right before the sun rose. After your hand it was your wrist, then the top of your head, then your forehead, and, most recently, your cheek. Every kiss made you tingle and crave more of him, as if there was some type of love potion on his lips that he applied to you with each one. You supposed that wasn’t entirely out of the question but you doubted that Jun would be desperate enough to try a stunt like that.

Not everyday was a victory for Jun though, there had been a few where you weren’t in the mood for his antics or something happened that pulled his attention away from you. Those days he would sigh and tell you to enjoy your night out with a semi forced smile, making sure you knew to call him if something went wrong. You tried to enjoy going out alone those days, and to be fair you did have fun exploring the new shops that were usually closed in the day, but you always felt slightly guilty. Every time you left you saw Juns disappointed expression in your mind and you ended up dragging yourself back to the manor way earlier than you intended. Most of the time he would be busy with something work or wedding related and wouldn’t realize you were home until much later. One time, however, you caught him working in his study, smiling at your presence and inviting you to sit with him as he worked. You ended up staying there for hours talking about whatever came to mind.

Unfortunately, there was a new issue presenting itself that threatened to drive a wedge between the two of you. That issue being the fact that your wedding was now only a few days away. Meaning that not only was Jun being dragged away, but you were as well. The realization of everything happening weighed on you like a million bricks and suddenly it felt like you were back to where you started when you first moved in. You were nervous, on edge, and it seemed like all progress being made with Jun was starting to go backwards. You never saw him anymore, and when you did he was too busy to acknowledge you. The most you ever got was a hello or him telling you how gorgeous you looked before he was being dragged off again to who knows where.

You didn’t even know why the distance upset you so much when not even two weeks ago all you wanted was for him to leave you alone. You did your best to convince yourself that you were just lonely without him, occupying your time by hanging out with any servant you could find or even Minghao. The younger vampire was clearly put off by your sudden attachment to him, but he allowed you to keep him company anyways. You would read with him or sit in his study/studio with him while he worked on a new painting until Jun or a worker came to find you. Minghao definitely wasn’t one for words but you learned quickly that he was good with advice and listening. Whenever he saw that frustrated look on your face he would offer you a glass of tea or wine and listen to you as you vented your frustrations. Depending on your mood he would either then offer you advice or distract you with something else like picking out colors for the wedding. You also quickly learned the younger vampire had quite the eye for color and fashion, so much so that you swear he lit up when you asked him to help you with your wedding dress.

That was exactly what the two of you were doing now, with the assistance of Joshua and Jeonghan. You had been standing in the middle of your room modeling every style, color, and fabric known to man. Jeonghan and Joshua seemed happy with most of the designs, but Minghao still hadn’t found anything he had liked.

“This one’s too long.”

“This one's too short.”

“Neckline on this one isn’t flattering.”

“The dress shape hides your figure too much.”

“This color doesn’t match your complexion at all.”

“This color is cute but the style is all wrong.”

By what easily felt like the millionth try on, you were frustrated and about ready to throw a pillow at Minghao. The male in question was humming softly to himself as he circled around you, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

“Hao, is all of this really necessary?” you whined, struggling to stand up straight as you felt something poking your side.

“Of course it is!” he replied, “you want to look perfect for your wedding right? We should not settle for anything less than perfect.” He circled around you one more time before shaking his head, “We’re getting closer but no this one is still off, next.” You couldn’t help but groan, half tempted to slam your head into the nearest wall when Joshua spoke up.

“I think that’s the last one we have right now and I think Y/N is getting tired,” he stated softly. Minghao sighed and shook his head, muttering something under his breath as Joshua spoke again.

“How about we just sit down and discuss what we did and didn’t like about all of them, so you can narrow down the list and we can find something.” You had half the mind to run over and kiss Joshua for the idea, nodding eagerly when Minghao glanced at you.

“Very well,” he agreed, “go get changed Y/N and we can discuss this, we need to get this done soon so we can find the dress before the wedding day.” You wanted to roll your eyes at the mention of the wedding. Honestly you didn’t care for your dream wedding at this point, you felt like you weren’t getting a say in much and you were so stressed that you just wanted everything to be over.

Nonetheless, you sat down with all three boys and discussed your ideas until you had designed a dress that everyone agreed on. It would be slightly form fitting to flatter your figure, but also allow you to move around freely, with a neckline that was not modest but not too revealing either. The same red, white, and black color scheme that the rest of the family seemed to love, and a few lace accents to make it elegant. You would decide on your accessories and veil later, but Minghao seemed satisfied with the design and ran off to get working, Joshua and Jeonghan hesitantly following after apologizing to you for the younger's attitude.

Exhausted and beyond frustrated, you found yourself leaving your room and going to the one place you knew people would leave you alone, the garden. Tucking yourself away on one of the farthest benches, you sighed and buried your head in your knees. The sound of the fountain and the wind rustling the leaves brought you great comfort as you tried to clear your mind. No more stress about the wedding, no more stress about Jun, no more stress about anything. Why couldn’t your life just go back to the way it was before? Why did you have to be stuck here, getting married to a vampire to help your family? Even worse, why were you actually starting to fall in love with him? Why couldn’t you have just stayed strangers and just used the wedding for show? Part of you wished you never met Jun until your wedding day, then all of this would have been significantly easier.

“There you are,” lifting your head, you locked eyes with the one man who occupied your mind. Jun looked exhausted, his shirt messily unbuttoned under his vest which also wasn’t fastened properly. His eyeshadow was smudged, making it look like he hadn’t slept in years, and his hair was messy as if he just rolled out of bed. He was a mess, and yet you still found him unbelievably gorgeous. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he confessed as he sat down beside you, “Jeonghan told me you were in a pretty bad mood earlier.”

“I suppose you could stay that,” you muttered, “what about you though, you look like a mess.”

“Thanks I tried my best,” he replied sarcastically, though his expression quickly softened, “I just have a lot to do, that's all. My parents have been preparing me for the wedding and taking over the family so I guess I’ve been stretched pretty thin.”

“So I’ve noticed,” you whispered to yourself, Jun heard it though as you felt his arm wrap around you.

“Awe don’t tell me my sweet girl missed me?” he teased, “I’m sorry I haven’t been giving you much attention, will you ever forgive me.”

“Shut up!” you groaned as you nudged him off of you, “who said I missed you?”

“Your actions are worth a million words, you know?” he pointed out. When you didn't respond he huffed and leaned closer as if telling you a secret, “Also you should know that word gets around quickly in this family.” It took you a second to realize what he meant, internally groaning as you realized his brother probably told him everything.

“Remind me to kill Minghao next time I see him,” you hissed which made Jun laugh.

“You can’t kill what’s already dead My Love. Also don’t be mad at him, he’s only trying to help.” You bit your bottom lip and cast your gaze down, watching the grass sway beneath your feet for a moment. Jun quickly dropped the teasing and cleared his throat, tapping your shoulder to get your attention, “Seriously though Y/N, I know I haven’t been around much recently and I’m sorry. I can’t make up for that but I am here now so talk to me, what’s bothering you?” You debated answering for a moment, gnawing at your lip and curling up more. Jun waited patiently for you to collect your thoughts, not taking his gaze off of you as you finally sat up properly and looked at him.

“It’s stupid but this isn’t what I wanted,” you confessed, “I always dreamed about having this royal and lavish wedding and now I’m getting it but not how I wanted. I don’t know anything about how vampire weddings work and I haven’t gotten a single say in anything. I didn’t get to choose who I marry, when, how, hell I barely even got a say in my own dress. It hurts even worse because I’ve been so confused about my feelings for you and now I don’t know what to do.” You took a deep breath after speaking, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of you. Jun stayed silent for a second, his occasional blinking the only sign that he hadn’t completely frozen. Then, before you had time to react, he was pulling you against him in a tight hug. You gasped, needing a moment to process the contact before giving in and hugging him back. Your arms wrapped tightly around his waist and your head buried into his chest, ignoring the lack of a heartbeat and instead focusing on his scent. Of course you had been close to Jun before but not like this. His scent was very floral, but there was also a hint that reminded you of herbal tea, it was refreshing and very much him.

“I’m sorry,” Jun muttered into your hair, pulling away from you just enough so that he could look at you, “this is all my fault. I’m the one that dragged you here, and I’m the one that kept you in the dark. I should have told you everything from the beginning.”

“Can you tell me now?” you asked, looking up at him.

“What do you want to know?” he answered you with his own question.

“Everything, why did you choose me? Also what is going to happen at our wedding and what happens after? I want to know so I can prepare.” Jun exhaled harshly but nodded, keeping one hand on your arm while the other moved to run through his still messy hair.

“Well to start, I chose you because I saw something special in you. Families like mine always married off their next in line to a human, that’s an agreement to keep things fair on both sides. I am the oldest son and so I knew when the time came I would need to find someone to marry, my parents knew this too so they often sent me out during the day. I was disguised of course and protected from the sun, so I think I did a good job blending in. You probably don’t even remember that you’ve met me before, I stopped by your work one day with a friend. I don’t know why but something about you was different, special, I knew that exact moment that you were the one. So I asked my friend to get to know you and everything he told me only proved to me that I made the right decision.” You tried your hardest to remember ever getting close to someone that would know Jun, or even when you saw him before but your mind was coming up blank.

“What was your friend's name?” you asked, desperate to know who it was he was talking about.

“Kwon Soonyoung, but he often had people call him Hoshi,” your eyes widened at the name, recognizing it as one of your old coworkers. He started working there about a month after you and you two became friends almost immediately, you had no idea that he had any connection to someone like Jun.

“Him, really?” you asked.

“What, didn’t expect that I could befriend a human?” he questioned.

“No no not that it’s just, how did I have no idea?” Jun smiled and patted your head playfully, laughing as it messed up your hair.

“You not knowing means he did his job well, but yeah I learned about you through him, and then when I was told it was time, I sent Mingyu to get you. The timing wasn’t the best though as Hao and I had to return back to China to deal with a few personal matters, which is why you spent the first year with just my parents,” he explained. You were both silent for a moment as you processed the information, then Jun spoke again, “as for the wedding, it will probably be a bit different than you’re expecting. Everything will still happen that does at a normal wedding, but there is also the business element and the mating ritual that goes along with it. All our friends and family will be there, but so will the main political powers on both sides to ensure that the wedding is official, so it may be a bit more crowded than you’re used to. Though it is your wedding as much as it is mine so if you would like to join me in planning things I would love to have you with me.” You nodded and smiled, glad he was giving you the chance to be involved, though your smile quickly dropped as you remembered the mating part.

“What exactly is the mating ritual?” you asked, albeit a bit hesitant. Jun sighed, almost looking like he didn’t want you to ask.

“Divorce isn’t really a thing in our life,” he started, “so vampires are known to ‘mate’ for life I guess you could say. When we marry the bond between us is shared by a blood exchange, it will keep me connected to you, allow me to know what you’re feeling and be close to you even if not physically.”

“A blood exchange, that means that...” you trailed off.

“I will have to bite you,” he answered your question for you, “but it will be quick I promise and you can choose where you want me to do it.”

“Will it hurt?”

“It shouldn’t, remember I said most people even say it’s pleasurable. You’ll feel a little prick and then after that it should just feel warm,” he explained.

“I don’t have to drink your blood though, right?” you asked.

“Not unless you want to become a vampire yourself,” he responded with a chuckle, “but you don’t have to decide that now.” You nodded softly, looking down and feeling your cheeks heat up as another question entered your mind.

“Umm, what about the wedding night?” you immediately regretted the question as you saw a mischievous glint in Juns eye.

“Why are you that excited for what’s going to happen?” when he saw you blush harder he snickered and patted your shoulder, “relax Qinqin I’m just teasing you. Eventually my parents are going to expect an heir to the Wen family, but if you’re not ready on our wedding night we can just share a drink and relax.”

“What if I am ready?” you asked yourself outloud, not really thinking about it until you saw Juns expression.

“Are you ready?” he pushed, you quickly felt shy and looked away, but he placed his fingers under your chin to make you look at him.

“Yes? No? I mean...I don’t know I don’t even know how I feel about you,” you confessed. Jun hummed in thought and you could have sworn you saw him blushing a bit himself.

“I think you do know and you’re lying to yourself,” he whispered. Your eyes widened as he drew slightly closer, barely inches away from you. His dark eyes were blown and piercing as they stared at you, your own glancing down on his lips then back at his eyes. “Just admit it Y/N,” he whispered, “I won, you’re falling for me.” Your breath hitched, wanting to turn away but feeling like you were frozen in place. Jun huffed and leaned forward, placing a kiss to the side of your lips, just enough to tease you. Your eyes fluttered for a moment at the contact before opening again and looking up at him in confusion. “That’s how I know you do feel something for me,” he pointed out, placing another kiss to your forehead before pulling away, “don’t worry my dear, you’ll get the real thing in a few days, just be patient.” You didn’t know whether you wanted to hit him at that moment or pull him close to you and kiss him. He didn’t give you the option though as he was standing up and excusing himself, letting you know that he would be in his room if you needed company. You whined to yourself as you were quickly up on your feet and rushing after him, not wanting to be alone just yet.

“I’ll get you back for that Wen Jun!”

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You definitely took Jun up on his offer to join him in wedding planning, getting a say in everything from the decor to the catering. You also got a glance into the life Jun lived, watching as he handled different affairs and communicated with different workers. It was honestly endearing watching him in his element, though you did your best to stay out of his way. Whenever he wasn’t too busy though you guys were enjoying your time together, oftentimes with him having his arm around you while you looked at decor ideas for the manor or holding your hand as you organized seating for the wedding. That domestic feeling returned and this time you didn’t fight it, actually finding yourself excited for your wedding.

It felt like only a minute before the day in question came, you were woken up early when Minghao, Joshua, and Mrs. Wen burst into your room. The sun hadn’t even set completely, as you could see the rays poking out through a crack in your curtains. Minghao quickly rushed to pull them fully closed though as Mrs. Wen placed a tray with fruit and tea on your nightstand.

“Rise and shine my dear,” she urged, “it’s time to get you ready for your big day!”

“Already?” you asked, rubbing the sleep from your eyes, “it’s so early.”

“Yes but there’s a lot to do,” the older woman reminded, “we need to get you fed and dressed, do your hair and makeup, and then get the final preparations ready. Our guests will start arriving in a few hours so we need to make sure everything is done now.” You groaned softly but nodded, taking the tea from the tray and sipping at it as you woke up, Mrs. Wen fretting over your health and complexing as Minghao and Joshua focused on getting your dress. “You look a little pale my dear, do you need anything? I can go get you some medicine.”

“I’m fine I promise, just a bit nervous,” you assured.

“Mom, relax, I’m sure you remember how nervous you were when you got married,” Minghao argued, making a few last minute adjustments on your dress.

“You shouldn’t listen to everything your father says, you weren’t even there,” the woman argued, though Minghao only giggled as he focused on his work. You also laughed a bit at the family's banter before finally giving in and getting out of bed.

“Alright what do you need me to do?” you asked.

“You go wash up and then I’ll help you get dressed, just call when you’re ready for me. Then the boys and I will help make sure everything is in place and do your hair and makeup. By then it should be almost time to start so you can rest,” Mrs. Wen explained. You nodded and made your way to the bathroom, quickly showering and brushing your teeth before calling for help with your dress. It was simple enough that you were mostly able to get it on yourself, but you still needed help with the zipper and the layers. You couldn’t help but look at yourself in the mirror as the older woman helped you out, tearing up at the sight of you in the dress. You hadn’t been the most fond of the idea at first, but seeing yourself in it made you realize how gorgeous it actually was. It seemed your soon to be mother in law agreed as she stared at you in awe. “You look gorgeous Darling,” she praised, adjusting the bodice and allowing you to glance at yourself.

“Thank you, I feel gorgeous,” you agreed. She clapped in excitement before helping you back out to your room where the two males were waiting. Minghao was holding various sewing supplies and Joshua was holding your veil and a few other accessories. Behind them on the bed was a kit which you assumed was for your hair and makeup. Both males smiled as they saw you, Minghao clapping softly as he walked over to you.

“I told you this would be perfect,” he boasted, getting a gentle whack on the back of his head from his mom. He didn’t acknowledge it though as he looked over you to see if there were any needed adjustments. “I’m sorry if this is awkward to ask but,” he said nervously, “but have you decided where you want your…mating bite to be?” The room went awkwardly silent, you stiffening and looking at him which made him rub the back of his neck. “I’m only asking to know if I need to adjust the dress at all so Jun can access it, that’s all.” The room went silent again, all the attention on you as they waited for a reaction.

“It’s fine if you don’t know yet,” Mrs. Wen assured but you shook your head.

“No no it’s fine,” you promised, “I guess I haven’t really thought about it, what would you suggest?”

“Well,” she trailed off as she thought about it, “I personally chose my neck, it’s a bit more intimate than your wrist but it would be easier for him to reach and the mark is easier to hide.” You nodded, placing your finger on your pulse point as you thought about it.

“If you want to consider both options I was bitten on my wrist when I turned,” Minghao said, showing you his wrist where you could clearly see the scar, “it doesn’t hurt but it does feel tingly and if he bites your wrist it may take a bit longer.” You reached out to gently grab the male's wrist, which he allowed, tracing your thumb over the two bite marks then letting him go.

“I guess I’ll go with my neck, it seems easier,” you decided.

“Good choice,” Joshua muttered from his spot on the bed. Minghao nodded and moved to adjust your sleeve, pinning it down a bit so that your neck was exposed.

“That should stay put,” he commented, “all you have to do when it’s time is tilt your head back a bit.” He mimicked the action and you nodded in understanding, not wanting to question how he knew what to do.

“Now then,” Mrs Wen quickly spoke up, “we still have a lot to do, go ahead and have a seat and we’ll finish getting you ready.”

The next three hours were spent making sure everything was absolutely perfect, eventually Minghao had to excuse himself to help Jun and get ready himself but Joshua and Mrs. Wen stayed with you to keep you company. Apparently there was also a moment where Jun tried to sneak in and see you but he was promptly dragged away. To pass the time the two told you stories about the past, specifically stories they knew would embarrass Jun. Moments like him dancing around with his arms behind his back, failing miserably at sports, or just randomly running up to a mirror and saying how handsome he was before running away. Every story made you laugh more as you imagined the Jun you knew doing all these things. Before long you got a knock on your door, one of the female staff poking her head to let you know it was time. Joshua quickly took his leave after giving you a reassuring smile, leaving you with Mrs. Wen. The woman glanced at you to silently ask if you were ready, handing you your bouquet before linking your arms and leading you out of your room and to the stairs.

The manor was set up so that the main room was turned into a ballroom type setting, all of the guests sitting with their backs towards you. At the front of the room, stood by the now decorated front door, was Jun. He was wearing a perfectly pressed white shirt under a black vest with red accents and a matching red tie. His makeup was sharp but toned back a bit, enough to make his eyes look piercing and his lips stand out more. His shoulder length hair was also slicked back, the top layer tied up in a half ponytail. Minghao, Joshua, and Wonwoo were standing behind him, all dressed up in matching suits. At the announcement of your arrival, all the guests immediately turned to face you. Many of them were faces you didn’t recognize, but you could see your close friends and family towards the front, all smiling up at you. Mrs. Wen gave your arm a gentle squeeze before walking you down the stairs and towards the front, your eyes locking onto Juns from behind your veil. He couldn’t see you properly yet, but you swore you’d be able to see his smile from a mile away.

Mrs. Wen bowed her head to the officiant before handing you over to her son and moving to take her seat beside her husband. Jun took your flowers and handed them to Joshua behind him, lifting your veil and running a finger across your cheek.

“You look breathtaking,” he whispered.

“So do you,” you replied. He chuckled softly and grabbed your hand, both of you turning to face the officiant. The majority of the ceremony went by in a blur for you, mainly because you were more focused on the way Jun was looking at you and the way he was holding your hand. Your warmth seeped into him and warmed his skin, and you could feel his thumb rubbing on the back of your palm. You only snapped back into reality when it was time for the rings, Jun slipping a black band with his family's crest engraved on it onto your ring finger, you doing the same for him. With that the officiant closed their book with a satisfied smile.

“It is my honor to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Wen, you may claim your bride.” Jun could no longer hide the mischievous glint in his eye as he looked at you.

“Finally the moment I’ve been waiting for,” he whispered.

“Yeah, me too,” you teased, cupping his cheeks and pulling him down to kiss him. Jun gasped in shock but quickly melted into you, wrapping one arm around your waist and the other cupping your cheek. The room was silent and for a moment it was just the two of you, finally sharing every emotion that you had been hiding from yourselves and each other. Though the moment couldn’t last forever as you had to pull away from each other. Your eyes were glazed over as you looked up at Jun, the male smiling down at you as if you were the most precious thing he’d ever laid his eyes on. Though you remembered that it wasn’t over as you felt him brush your hair away from your neck. You stiffened a bit which he noticed, the hand on your waist rubbing soothing circles into your side.

“Deep breath okay, it’ll be over before you know it,” he promised, “are you ready?” You did what he said and took a deep breath, closing your eyes and leaning your head back like how Minghao had told you.

“I’m ready,” you whispered after a moment, though you didn’t dare open your eyes. Jun didn’t say another word, but you felt his fingers tracing your neck, followed by his lips. You felt him kiss your neck once, then twice, then you felt his fangs poke your skin. You gasped as you felt a sharp prick against your skin, the pain only lasting a second though before you felt a warm tingling sensation. The feeling was hard to place, but it almost felt like your body was going numb despite your senses being heightened. Jun hummed against your neck, sucking for a moment before pulling away and swiping his tongue across the bite. His hand that had been on your shoulder moved to rest against your back to support you.

“How do you feel?” he asked, keeping his grip tight on you just in case you got dizzy. It took a moment for your feelings to return to normal, you relaxing a bit in his arms before opening your eyes and looking up at him.

“I’m okay,” you assured. Jun smiled and nodded, pulling you against him for a moment to kiss the top of your head before turning to face the crowd. The proof of a successful bond had the room erupting into loud clapping and cheer, almost loud enough to be deafening. Jun chuckled a bit as you winced away from the noise, wrapping his arm around you and leading you to the kitchen where a banquet was already prepared.

You stayed beside your husband the whole time, practically hiding behind him as hundreds of people came to greet you. They all congratulated you both and would introduce themselves to you as family friends or business partners or whatever else. You didn’t care enough to remember all of their names, knowing that you likely wouldn’t see them again for a long time. Jun did all the talking for the two of you, allowing you to hide behind him as he made pleasantries with all of the guests. Though you did stray away from him long enough to greet your parents. Your mother was already in tears when she approached you, pulling you into her arms and crying about how grown up you were. It took everything in your power not to cry yourself as you embraced her, promising that you were fine and happy with Jun. You stayed holding her for a moment, letting go to hug your dad before deciding that it would be best for them to go. Every other human guest had excused themselves at this point and you knew your parents would be working again in the morning so you bid them goodnight with one last hug and a kiss from your mother. After they left you returned back to Jun, the male glancing over at you with a smile before returning his attention to his guests. It was fine at first, and you tried to interact with as many guests as possible, but after about an hour of still meeting new people you quickly got bored. Not only did you want to get away from the crowd but you were also desperate to finally be alone with your husband. It finally got to a point where you decided to take matters into your own hand, tugging at Juns arm to get his attention.

“As nice as this is, I would love to go get used to my new bedroom now,” you whispered when he finally looked at you. Jun immediately caught on to what you were implying, smirking down at you and licking his lips.

“You’re a scandalous little thing aren’t you?” he teased, but still he quickly excused the both of you for the night. He used the excuse that you were tired and still getting used to the change in schedule to anyone who asked as he escorted you out of the kitchen and up the stairs. No one even gave you a second glance as you followed Jun into his room, quietly closing and locking the door behind you.

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The second the door locked you were all over Jun, gripping his vest and smashing your lips together in a desperate kiss. The male eagerly returned the kiss, removing your veil so he could tangle his hands into your hair. Your tongues battled each other, lips remaining locked as you started exploring each other's bodies. Your hands made quick work of undoing his vest while he fumbled with unzipping your dress. You pulled away once you felt him pull the zipper down, his lips attacking your neck as he pulled your dress down your body. Due to the shape of the dress you had opted not to wear a bra underneath exposing your breasts to the cool air once your dress was off. Jun took advantage of this, gripping at your breasts and pinching your nipples between his fingers. You moaned softly at the feeling, growing louder as you felt his fangs graze against your neck, kicking your dress off as he pulled you close to him.

“You have no idea how good you taste,” he muttered against your neck, “it’s almost addicting.”

“You can have another taste if you want,” you gasped out, he paused long enough to glance up at you, making sure you were serious. You smiled and ran your fingers through his hair as a silent confirmation. Jun took the hint and trailed his lips back to where he originally bit you, running his tongue across the area once before biting down again. This time you moaned at the sting, tightening your grip on his hair and throwing your head back as the same warm feeling returned. This time Jun groaned into your neck, sucking harder and pressing your bodies together. His hands gripped at your hips desperately, grinding them against his own as he continued sucking at your neck. Though he pulled away out of fear of making you dizzy. Jun placed one last kiss on your neck before lifting his head and licking his lips.

“Yep, very addicting indeed,” he groaned. You took a deep breath and chuckled softly, pulling away from him slightly so you could loosen his tie. Jun watched in amusement as you undid his tie and the first few buttons of his shirt, pushing him back until he fell back on the bed.

“I think it’s my turn to have a taste,” you cooed. Jun leaned back and watched in amusement as you climbed on the bed to straddle him. He grunted softly as you trailed kisses down his neck and chest, slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt as you went. You had known Jun was slightly muscular but you hadn’t realized how much until now as you felt the outline of his muscles.

“Like what you see?” he teased once he realized you stopped your actions.

“A lot actually,” you teased back, Jun chuckled and licked his lips as you trailed more kisses down his stomach until you reached his belt. You made quick work of undoing the belt and popping open his button. Jun lifted his hips just enough to allow you to pull his pants and boxers down, revealing his already semi hard length. You could already tell his length was more than you expected and suddenly you were frozen. In fact, you actually had no idea what you were doing so seeing him exposed for you was a lot to handle. Jun noticed this and adjusted a bit to look up at you. “Are you okay doll?” he asked, reaching a hand out to stroke your cheek.

“Yeah I just…I don’t really know what to do,” you confessed. Jun had to keep himself from chuckling at your adorableness.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he told you.

“No I want to!” you whined.

“Very well, want me to tell you what to do then?” he asked, to which you nodded, “okay then, grip it gently and start by stroking it.” You hesitantly did as you were told, Jun immediately gasping and falling back against the bed at your touch. You stroked him softly for a minute, feeling him twitch in your hand and rubbing at his tip for a second before gaining your confidence back and leaning down to place kitten licks along his head. Jun twitched at the contact, groaning softly and throwing his head back as you licked across his length before finally taking his tip into your mouth. “There you go, just like that,” he urged. His hand that had been on your cheek returned to grip softly at your hair, tugging it softly and brushing it out of your face so he could see you. You looked up to meet his gaze and moaned softly at the sight of him. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly opened as he panted, his muscles were tensing from the pleasure and his hair was now out of its bond and falling messily into his face. His grip on your hair tightened more as you took him deeper, an audible groan leaving his throat, “Good girl, treating me so well.” The praise got to you and had you rubbing your thighs together, taking him as deep as you could and using your hand to stroke what wouldn’t fit in your mouth. You continued your actions for a few more minutes, enjoying the way Juns groans got louder and more desperate, but he quickly tugged on your hair to pull you away. “As good as your mouth feels baby girl, I’m getting close and I would rather finish inside you.” You felt your cheeks heat up at his comment but you nodded and allowed him to flip you both over.

Jun took a moment to rid himself of his shirt as you got comfortable on the bed. He stepped away for a moment to grab something from the dresser before returning to you, with something hidden behind his back. “You trust me right?” he asked as he crawled on the bed with you.

“Of course,” you replied with a soft smile. Jun returned the action and gently pushed you to lay down fully.

“Good, now relax and put your hands above your head,” you immediately did as you were told, feeling the smooth silk run over your wrists before tightening around them. “Is that too tight?” he asked, watching you shake your head and nodding as he carefully tied your wrists to the headboard. He tugged on the knot for a moment to make sure it was sturdy before grabbing another silk tie and draping it over your eyes. “Still doing okay?’ he asked as he tied the silk behind your head.

“Yeah I’m fine,” you assured, squirming softly at your now loss of vision.

“Good, just let me know if it gets uncomfortable,” with that his hands were back to roaming your body. His large hands kneaded your breasts before moving down to play with your hips and thighs. You continued to squirm and moan at the contact, tugging lightly on your restraints. “You are so gorgeous,” he whispered, trailing kisses from your neck down to your breasts, “I always knew you were beautiful but your body is so perfect.” He placed kisses along your breasts before taking one of your nipples into his mouth. You shivered as you felt his fangs brush against your skin, his tongue swirling around your nipple as he sucked softly. Soft moans left you as he continued, gripping into your thighs as he switched to the other nipple.

“Jun,” you whined out, making him hum against your skin.

“Yeah baby? Do you need something?” there was a teasing edge to his voice that made you whine more.

“More, please touch me,” you begged. He chuckled softly and removed himself from your breasts.

“As you wish,” he muttered, one of his hands left your thigh to run a finger across your clothed core. You shivered at the feeling, grinding your hip into his hand to get more friction. “Shit, you are so wet for me,” he groaned as he pressed his finger harder against you.

“Stop teasing me please!” you whined, desperate to feel more of his touch.

“Fine, fine, because you’re being so good to me,” he agreed, slipping your panties off and spreading your thighs so he could get access to you. His finger trailed against your slit, gathering your wetness before pressing his finger into you. You moaned and squirmed softly, not used to the intrusion. “Just relax,” Jun cooed, “it’ll feel weird at first but I promise it’ll be worth it.” You nodded and did your best to relax, squirming and gasping as you felt his finger move inside of you. Jun pressed a kiss to your thigh as he continued, curling his finger and making you whine as he hit that special spot inside of you. “Found it,” he muttered, continuing to hit that spot and watching as you squirmed and moaned at the feeling. Slowly he urged another finger into you, curling them and making a scissoring motion to help stretch you out. The sting burned a bit but that was quickly washed out by the pleasure he was bringing you, constantly hitting your G spot and his thumb moving to rub at your clit. “How are you feeling Y/N?” he asked, not slowing down his motion.

“So good, it feels so good!” you moaned out, arching your back and pulling at your restraints.

“Good,” Jun muttered as he pulled his fingers out, “are you ready for more then?” You didn’t hesitate to nod, practically shaking in anticipation as you felt him line up with your entrance. You arched your back and groaned as you felt him slowly enter you, his hands gripping your waist and soft pants leaving him. Jun stilled once he bottomed out, kissing you and muttering praises while massaging your hips to distract you from the pain. It took a moment to adjust to the stretch, but the second you felt it fade you were nodding at him to continue. His thrusts started off slow, simply letting you get used to the feeling before picking up the pace. You couldn’t hold back your moans as you felt him inside you, wrapping your legs around him to hold him closer to you. Juns grip on you tightened and he groaned as his thrusts continued. “You are so tight, you feel so good,” he grunted as his head dropped to rest against your neck. With each thrust you felt a tightening in your stomach, whining and squirming more as you realized you wouldn’t last much longer.

“Jun I’m gonna..” you couldn’t find your words as you lost your breath. Jun seemed to understand though as you felt him nod against your neck. Without slowing his thrusts, he reached up with one hand and undid your blindfold, brushing your hair out of your eyes as you blinked up at him.

“Go ahead and cum for me baby,” he groaned, that was the approval you needed to finally let go. You tightened around Jun and arched your back with a soft cry as your orgasm washed over you. Jun slowed down for a moment before continuing his movements, making you whimper from overstimulation. “Hold on for me just a little bit longer okay?” he urged, “I won’t last much longer. You’re going to be good for me though right? You’re going to let me give you my heir?” You couldn’t verbally reply, simply nodding and whining. Jun thrusted a few more times before stilling inside of you, a low groan left him as he reached his climax.

You both panted softly as you came down from your high, Jun carefully pulling out and leaving gentle kisses across your face and neck. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he untied you, massaging the soft red marks on your wrists as you sighed.

“That was amazing,” you gasped out, staring up at Jun with a tired smile, “but I’m exhausted now.” He smiled and laughed softly, kissing your head as he climbed off the bed.

“You stay here, I’m going to grab something to clean up with and then we can rest okay?” you gave him a hum of confirmation and closed your eyes. Jun disappeared into the bathroom for a moment before returning with a wet cloth. He hovered over you and gently wiped down your neck and chest before folding it and gently pressing it against your core. You sighed at the cool feeling against your sore body, letting Jun clean you with no hesitation. Once you were clean he quickly cleaned himself off before setting the rag aside and crawling into bed with you. You immediately crawled under the covers and snuggled up against Jun, with your head on his chest and his arm over you. “You’ll probably be pretty sore tomorrow, so if you want to stay in bed I’m not opposed,” he mused, chuckling when you weakly hit his chest.

“We’ll see,” you muttered, “right now though I just want to sleep.”

“As you wish,” he agreed, kissing your head as he snuggled up with you.

“I love your kisses by the way,” you whispered, placing a kiss on his heart before closing your eyes.

“I’m glad,” he hummed, “it took a lot of effort for me to get them, you know?”

“I know, and you will still need that effort,” you teased, hearing him scoff.

“We’ll see about that,” he placed one last kiss on your head before closing his eyes, “rest well my love.”

“Goodnight Qinqin.”

At this point it was safe to say, you had fallen in love with Wen Junhui.

↪ Vampire Kisses Release Taglist: @eli-ljkh @foxdaisy @honeyhuii @kpxpseoul @knucklesdeepmingi @kmoon @woohoney @kimsabinaskzlover @meowjunhui @blizzardfluffykpop @d-noona

↪ Authors Notes: Qinqin means dear one or kiss

Also I’ve been considering doing a spinoff of this story where reader ends up with Minghao instead of Jun, would anyone be interested in that?

837 notes · View notes

horanghaejamjam · 1 year ago

Text

Candlelight Dances - {XMH}

↪ Summary: It was a relationship that was destined to fail. He couldn’t betray his family and you were set to marry his brother. Despite this, fate had odd ways of working and you found yourself willing to do anything to be with Minghao, even if only for a night.

↪ Pairings: Vampire Prince Minghao x Reader

↪ Rating: M 18+

↪ Genre: Vampire Au / Forbidden Lovers / Smut / Fluff / Slight Angst

↪ Word Count: 18.1k

↪ Warnings/Contents: While the reader uses gender neutral terms, it is implied that they wear dresses and appear feminine. Vampire themes including biting, and blood drinking, Forbidden relationship, Mentions of arranged/forced marriage. Smut (minors dni), Unprotected sex, Switch!Hao and Switch!Reader (Mainly dom Hao), Semi public sex, Teasing with a paintbrush, Slight Primal/Prey aspects, Pet Names (Dove, Angel, Darling), Use of clothing as restraint, Nipple play, Oral (male receiving)

↪ Side Notes: If you saw this story before it is a repost! Tumblr ran into an issue with the other one and half of it basically disappeared so I had to repost it. Sorry for the spam y'all istg tumblr hates me.

This is a spinoff of my story Vampire Kisses with slight changes. While this can be read as a standalone there are some references to the other story. Also huge shoutout to the wonderful @xiubaek-13 for once again agreeing to beta read for me. I appreciate your input so much my dear.

This is also officially the longest story I've ever written. Words cannot describe my love for Minghao

↪ Click here to see my other Seventeen stories

↪ Click here for other kpop masterlists

↪ Click here to join my fic taglist

When you were younger, you never believed in the thought of love at first sight. You heard stories from friends and family, but you never believed that it could truly happen. Afterall, love was a very strong emotion, and you felt there was no way anyone could feel that without truly knowing who someone was. That value stuck with you into adulthood, and even more so when you found out about your arranged marriage. You were set to be wed to the first heir of a very influential vampire politician, a requirement by law to keep things balanced between humans and vampires. You had agreed, knowing your family would benefit from the union greatly, but it didn’t mean you were actually happy about it. You were doing this strictly for business, agreeing to marry a man you had never even seen before. How were you supposed to feel anything towards someone you knew nothing about? Little did you know that you would start questioning yourself the moment you moved into the Wen family manor. Before you knew it, you were falling head over heels, not for your fiancé, but for his younger brother.

The moment you first met Minghao was vividly engraved in your mind, replaying like a movie scene on rewind. You had just begun to settle in and get used to the family when he and his brother, Junhui, had returned from a business matter. Minghao was, without a doubt, the most gorgeous being you had ever laid eyes on. From his long black hair that was tied back to show his sharp yet dark eyes, to his tall and slender figure dressed elegantly in a floor length coat. Even with the majority of his body hidden, you could already tell the rest of him was just as delicate and precise as his facial features. It gave him a mysterious aura which, combined with the confidence that radiated off his being, would normally intimidate you. In this case, however, it made him all the more alluring and you swore you felt your heart stop when he smiled kindly in your direction. You knew you were supposed to pay attention to Jun at that moment, but you couldn’t help your eyes from wandering back over to Minghao.

From that moment forward, you found yourself seeking out the younger vampire's company whenever you could. At first it was just brief conversations in the hallway, then it was going for walks around the manor, until finally you found yourself sneaking out before the sun even went down to see him in his study. You learned a lot about him in that short amount of time, and by now you knew his schedule like the back of your hand. As the second son of the Wen family, he didn’t have as many obligations as his brother did. Most of his endeavors required assisting his family in diplomatic matters with a few side tasks here and there. When those were done, he preferred to spend his time working alone in his private study. He was usually up long before the rest of his family, already staining his clothes with paint before the sun even began to set. When you questioned him about it he simply said the daylight wasn’t a concern for him and he preferred the silence that daylight offered. He was always a man of few words so he didn’t really explain much more than that despite your curiosity. You decided not to question his strange schedule too much since it allowed you to spend more time with him without his family stealing your attention.

You learned very quickly that Minghao had quite the eye for art and fashion, and he was extremely talented with a paintbrush. There were many nights where you found yourself curled up on the armchair he kept in the corner, watching quietly while he worked on his latest masterpiece. Occasionally he would glance back at you or ask your opinion of his work, but most of the time the two of you remained in comfortable silence until he decided to call it a night. Other nights you two would sit together and share a drink, simply talking about whatever came to mind at that moment. Minghao definitely enjoyed your presence, and you found yourself seeking his the longer you stayed with him.

If anyone asked, you would lie and say that Minghao was helping you with your anxiety about the upcoming wedding. Not exactly a lie, but not quite the truth either. While his presence did relieve your worries, you also found that your heart beat for him in a way it never would for Jun. You wanted to be close to him, to talk with him, hear his voice, touch him, and be with him any chance you could. You couldn’t ignore the way his touch lingered on your skin, or the way his voice soothed you like a soft lullaby you would never tire of hearing. The way you could stare at him for hours, saying nothing but feeling that his presence said enough. There was still so much to learn about him, and yet you felt like you had known him for years. Your own personal mystery that you could unravel at your own pace if only you had the freedom to do so. Every time you were together, it was your own little paradise, and one you dreaded leaving every time the sun threatened to peek through his curtains. It was wrong, and you knew it, but sooner or later you would need to face the obvious truth: you were madly in love with Minghao.

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“I had a feeling that I would find you here,” your head shot up from its spot between your knees to see the man that was currently occupying your thoughts. Minghao stood a few feet away from you, his familiar black coat flowing slightly in the breeze. He was standing under one of the many trees that lined the manors garden, the leaves shielding him from the few sun rays that started to peek over the horizon. You had been sitting tucked away behind the fountain, back pressed against the cool marble as you waited for the sun to rise, assuming that no one would follow you out. It seems you underestimated the youngest vampire though, since he was now staring down at you from his spot leaning against the tree, expression blank and his arms crossed over his chest.

“What are you doing out here?” you asked as you scrambled to sit up, “the sun…”

“The sun is about to rise I know,” Minghao cut you off, “don’t worry I don’t plan on being out here long.” He picked himself up and walked over to where you were sitting, running a gloved hand through the water rushing out of the fountain before taking a seat beside you. “You startled everyone by running out earlier you know, I was going to wait for you to come back but after a while I got worried.”

“I’m sorry for running out like that, I didn't mean to scare you,” you muttered, “I guess I just got overwhelmed with all the sudden wedding planning.” The planning you were referring to being dress fitting and decorating that had been forced onto you when Jun got too busy. Minghao had volunteered to help you out given how much you two had bonded over design. It had seemed like a good idea at first, but you quickly became frustrated with the constant back and forth. That, combined with your mixed feelings for Minghao and the fact that he was helping prepare you to marry his brother created too much tension and before you knew it, you were rushing out the door and finding refuge in the garden.

“That’s probably my fault,” Minghao sighed, resting a hand on your shoulder, “I was the one who got a bit too invested.” The leather of his glove felt much too thick against you, almost like a cruel reminder of the distance between you. You knew it was your own fault for falling in love with him when you were engaged to his brother, but if anything that made it harder on you. You were falling victim to your own feelings and there was nothing you can do about it.

“It’s not your fault,” you groaned, “it’s mine.” Minghao didn’t respond but the tightening grip on your shoulder let you know that he was listening. “This whole wedding has been really hard for me and I guess my emotions just got the best of me and I got overwhelmed,” you explained. Minghao hummed softly before pulling his hand away and sitting a bit straighter, the light splash from the fountain becoming a bit much for him to handle as you watched him wipe the back of his neck. You felt the soft mist as well, but if anything it was a welcome sensation that helped to calm your nerves.

“Still I’m sure my pestering didn’t help so for that I apologize. I know this can’t be easy on you and it’s a lot to get used to, I just wanted to try and make it a bit easier.” You quickly shook your head at his apology.

“Hao stop, nothing anyone does will make this easy on me.” You flinched as your words came out harsher than you intended, but if Minghao noticed he didn’t comment on it.

“Why is that do you think?” he asked, causing you to sigh. You couldn’t tell if he genuinely had no idea how you felt or if he did and just didn’t want to admit it.

“It’s complicated,” you muttered, “even if I wanted to tell you I probably couldn’t.” This time your words seemed to affect Minghao as you watched him frown slightly. He turned his head away and opened his mouth as if to say something but you cut him off.

“It’s getting pretty bright out you know, aren’t you worried about the sun?” You looked up at the sky to see it was much lighter than before. Minghao mirrored your actions with a hand shielding his eyes, only to shrug slightly.

“It’s not too bright out yet, I’ll be fine. I’m not as sensitive to the sun as my brother, remember?” he reminded.

“I thought you just meant you preferred the brightness,” you confessed, “you never really explained that.”

“What fun is it if I tell you everything right away?” Minghao teased, only to stiffen up a bit when you frowned at him, “But if you really want to know I am a halfblood vampire. Unlike my brother who was born a vampire, I was born a human and turned into a vampire when I got older. My body is still semi human because of this so I am not as sensitive to things like the sun. It will still hurt but nothing I can’t manage.” You were a bit caught off guard by his sudden honesty, but figured it was better to take advantage of it rather than question him.

“I didn’t realize halfbloods were a thing, I thought you all were the same,” you confessed, “so does that technically make you, you know?”

“Adopted?” Minghao asked with a slight giggle, “You don’t have to be shy, I won't bite, but yes I am. My birth parents were humans who worked at the manor, and my current family took me in after they passed away.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you sympathized.

“Don’t be. That was many years ago and I barely remember them, these guys have always felt more like my family and I would do anything for them.”

“I guess in that way we are the same,” you mused, “I mean I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my family.” Minghao sighed beside you, running a hand through his hair.

“I know this situation isn’t the most ideal for you, but I encourage you to at least open up a bit. You are already part of the family to us, you just need to see that.” Minghao’s words echoed through your mind almost teasingly, a painful reminder of the situation you dragged yourself into. Family, that is all Minghao would ever see you as, his family. The woman who would soon marry his brother and be his sister, when you couldn’t help but wish he was the one you were marrying. You wanted nothing more than to confess that to him, have it where the wedding dress he was designing was for him and not for Jun, but you knew that couldn’t happen. You had made an agreement and you knew the political importance of your wedding. Jun was the heir of the Wen family and was required to marry a born human to keep a power balance between humans and vampires. You probably weren’t the first choice, but you were a young woman with no current political ties so to the Wens you were the perfect candidate. Minghao may still have the status of being related to the Wen family, but in terms of power he was still the bottom of the totem pole. It was something he seemed to enjoy since he had more freedom, but you couldn't help but wonder what would be different if you were allowed to choose which brother you would marry.

“Can I ask you something?” hearing Minghao hum in reply you moved to face him properly, “You’re the second in command when Jun takes over right? So does that mean you’ll be in an arranged marriage as well?” His eyes widened slightly as your question caught him off guard, but that expression quickly changed into a smirk.

“Why would you want to know something like that?” he teased, giggling slightly as you stuttered to try to come up with an explanation, “I’m just teasing Y/N relax. The marriage rule only applies to the head of the family. Honestly the rule doesn’t make much sense to me personally but it’s just how things run around here.”

“So it doesn’t apply to you then?” you clarify.

“No it doesn’t, I have no plans of taking over the family so I can marry whoever I want.” He locks eyes with you when he says that and you could have sworn you felt his demeanor change before he was clearing his throat and standing up. “I’d love to stay and talk more but I would prefer not to stay in the heat,” he explained. Most of his body was covered in his usual black attire, but you could see his cheeks and neck turning more red than normal. You quickly realized that the sun had fully emerged while you were talking and was probably taking its toll on the young vampire.

“Sorry I shouldn’t have kept you outside so long,” you quickly apologized.

“Don’t be, it was my decision to come after you,” Minghao assured, reaching out to pat your head softly, “I just don’t like the heat, and besides I do have a few things to finish before bed so I should really get back to work. I will see you later tonight Y/N,” and with that he was walking back to the manor, leaving you standing alone in the garden. You half debated running after him but decided against it, sitting back against the fountain and taking advantage of the daylight to be alone with your thoughts.

You stayed out in the garden for what you assumed was a few more hours before eventually retiring back to your room. Closing and locking the door behind you, you quickly washed yourself off and got changed into more comfortable clothes before crawling into bed. You were actively trying to adjust to the nocturnal life living with vampires, and to do so you were taking more naps during the day. At first the sunlight had made it impossible to fall asleep, but eventually you got used to it with the help of blackout curtains that you often kept closed. With the comfortable darkness surrounding you, it didn’t take long for you to fall asleep, the conversation with Minghao still running through your mind.

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You woke up a few hours later to a soft knocking at your door. Groaning softly, you sat up and rubbed at your eyes before carefully slipping out of bed and walking over to the door. To say you were shocked to see Minghao standing at the door was an understatement. His coat had been discarded, exposing a white button up that he had partly undone and the sleeves rolled up to expose his arms. His hair was tied back as usual and his hands were covered in various colors of paint, letting you know that he’d probably been working this whole time. You couldn’t deny how attractive he looked like this, managing to look elegant even when he was supposed to be a mess. Meanwhile you literally had just rolled out of bed and probably looked like that, making you want to shy away from the young vampire's gaze.

“Sorry did I wake you?” he asked, taking in your appearance.

“Not at all,” you lied with a soft yawn, “I’m honestly surprised that you’re not asleep at this time though.”

“I got carried away with my work,” he admitted with a shy smile. You mirrored said smile as you saw him rub at the back of his neck, some of the still drying paint on his skin rubbing off onto his collar. This was a side of Minghao you didn’t get to see very often and it was honestly adorable.

“I can see that,” you teased, making him giggle, “and I’m guessing that you’re not here to take a break?”

“You know me too well, I just wanted to show you something real quick if you are not too busy?” Minghao offered. Truth be told you were still exhausted from being suddenly woken up, but you weren’t about to turn him down, not when your time together had been cut short recently.

“Not at all, just give me a second to get changed,” you said, already starting to close the door to your room when he stops you.

“Don’t worry we won’t take too long so you can go back to sleep right after,” he assured, taking another moment to glance over you, “besides, the outfit really suits you.” You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but you still felt your cheeks heat up at the comment. Minghao noticed and laughed again, making you playfully slap at him.

“Stop teasing me!” you whined.

“I’m not, I swear!” he mused with another laugh.

“Like hell you’re not!” you exclaimed with another hit at him. Minghao stepped back this time and grabbed your wrist before you could touch him.

“Alright alright I’m sorry, but seriously are you coming with me or no?” He was still holding onto your wrist, gently tugging you away from the door and out into the hall before you even agreed. You gave in almost immediately, letting him tug you out fully before closing the door behind you.

“Yes I’m coming, lead the way.” You agreed. Minghao hummed softly and dragged you down the hall and into the library before finally letting go of your wrist. You briefly mourned the loss of his touch but continued to follow him through the many bookshelves until you made it to a familiar door hidden in the corner of the room. The wooden frame was darker than the others and carved with an intricate design of leaves and vines meeting a blooming flower at the very top. The design was carved by Minghao himself, as was his name that was carved and painted perfectly in the middle of the door. Behind the door was Minghaos personal study/studio and the one place in the house he spent a majority of his time in.

The interior was just as beautiful as the exterior, with the same high walls and pristine wooden floors as the rest of the library, save for the fur rug that lay in the middle of the floor. The room was often dark as Minghao preferred working in natural light provided by the glass doors that led out to a mini covered area of the garden. During the night the doors were often open to let the breeze and moonlight in, but right now they were closed and covered by dark red curtains to keep the light out. The only other light was provided by a mini lamp that rested on his desk in the middle of the room. The only other furniture aside from his desk and chair was the leather armchair that was tucked into the corner right behind it. Normally that chair was covered in various art supplies or clothing articles he was working on, but since you started spending more time with him that space was now left open for you. His art supplies had a new home in an organized pile by the double doors or on his desk, save for the canvas he had currently displayed in the middle of the room. You walked into the room before Minghao and made your way over to the canvas, which is what you assumed Minghao wanted to show you.

The painting was clearly in the early stages, mostly just a blend of color and shapes at the moment. However, you could clearly make out the outline of what you assumed would be a couple. The male figure was just a pencil outline at the moment but the female was more defined. You could make out the black paint strokes as part of a dress and even if it wasn’t anywhere near completion yet you could easily tell the detail going into it.

“I know it isn’t much right now,” Minghao’s voice snapped your attention away from the painting. He had walked over to his desk, leaning against the wood as he looked over your shoulder at his work. “This isn’t my normal style but I’ve been really inspired recently and figured I would try my hand at something new,” he explained.

“It looks great so far, especially for a new style,” you complimented, “though I’m curious what inspired you to make something like this?” Minghao chuckled softly and you looked over just in time to see him shake his head.

“That’s a secret for me to know and you to find out later, I’ll tell you when I’m finished but right now I just wanted your input on it.” He explained. You wanted to groan at him still being secretive but you knew there was no point in arguing with him.

“You really are a mystery, you know that?” you mused, making him laugh again.

“You wouldn’t be the only one to say that,” he commented.

“Seriously though, do you ever get tired of being so secretive?" you asked.

“Not really, it’s just who I am,” he replied, “I’m so used to keeping things to myself, when you see and experience the things I have, it becomes hard to trust other people. You are kind of the odd one out of that equation, that’s why I wanted to show you this first.” You nodded, still not getting the idea of why he wanted to show you this, but realizing it must be important to him.

“You don’t have to show me anything though,” you mumbled, following his movement with your eyes as he moved over to the opposite side of his desk, looking through one of the drawers.

“I want to,” he whispered to himself. He grabbed a pencil and made his way back to the canvas in the center of the room, starting to sketch a few lines into it. His back was covering the piece and you weren’t able to see it, causing you to move closer so you could peek around his frame. You watched for a moment as he tried sketching a few more details on the female's face before giving up and quickly erasing them, careful not to touch the paint. “I have a vision in my head but haven’t been able to properly portray it on paper,” he explained. “This piece is a present for someone so I want it to be perfect.”

“A present?” you echoed, “for who?”

“Someone very important to me, I can’t reveal who they are at this time but just know this needs to be perfect.”

“I see,” you muttered quietly, crossing your arms over your chest, “so that’s why you’ve been so secretive lately.”

“Yes and no,” Minghao muttered, not taking his eyes off of his sketch, “normally I don’t let people see my personal work but you are a bit of an exception, I figured you could help me.”

“Why me though?”

“You ask a lot of questions, you know that?” he responded to your question with one of his own, “because you’re the one person I can trust. This kind of stuff makes me really nervous, you know.”

“Nervous?” you question, poking lightly at his shoulder, “that’s pretty honest for someone who's so mysterious,” you teased. He didn’t look at you but you could hear him try to suppress a soft giggle.

“I’m not trying to be mysterious,” he confessed, “I just haven’t had the time to properly adjust and be myself with the new environment.”

“Well, you’re still young,” you recalled, “especially for a vampire if I remember correctly."

“Exactly, the transition isn’t exactly the easiest process to go through,” he lamented, “I know it was in my best interest but that doesn’t make losing your humanity any easier.” You were silent for a moment, this is the most open he’s ever been with you since you first moved here, and you weren’t even sure if he realized that. Still you wanted to take advantage of this honest side of Minghao, desperate to finally learn more about him.

“Well there’s nothing wrong with being a bit reclusive. It’s a really powerful trait you know.” you smiled, watching him try to sketch out another piece of the canvas.

“I think I just want people to understand that there’s more to me than they think.” Minghao said, gripping his pencil tightly.

“Like what?” you urged, he opened his mouth to say something before quickly closing it. You sighed at the realization you weren’t going to get a genuine answer to that question, “nevermind don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry,” he apologized, “that’s something I need to keep to myself for now. You’ll know when the time is right.”

“If you say so,” you sighed, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Anyways,” Minghao quickly changed the subject, returning your attention to his work, “you never did tell me what you think of the current piece.” You nudged him out of the way slightly to get a better look. Your eyes trailed across the figures on the canvas, feeling an odd sense of familiarity between them but not knowing why.

“It looks great so far, I can’t tell what you’re going for yet because it’s not drawn out but I like the detail I see.” you praised.

“Like I said it is still a work in progress,” he reminded, “but I think I’m starting to notice my vision so thank you.”

“Really, I only said one thing?” you challenged.

“You helped more than you know,” he said, returning to his space in front of the canvas. His hand brushed over your arm as he nudged you to the side, and you could have sworn that you felt it linger there a bit longer than normal. His feather light touch sent tingles down your spine and made you want to reach out to him, but his voice snapped you out of your thoughts. “I really should get back to work and I’m sure you want to go back to bed.” You couldn’t help but let your disappointment show, sighing softly as you nodded and pushed away from him.

“You’re right I should go, sorry for bothering you for so long.” you muttered, staring at the ground as you began walking to the door. You had just put your hand on the doorknob when Minghao called out to you.

“Hey Y/N?”

“Yeah?” you turned around, a bit too eagerly for your liking to see Minghao staring back at you. His bottom lip was trapped between his teeth and he looked almost nervous, refusing to meet your gaze.

“I- you know what nevermind it’s not important, have a good rest.” Just as quickly as he called out for you he was turned back to his work, sketching at the page with a newfound determination. You slumped down a bit, but decided to leave him be, quietly slipping out of the office and leaning against the door once it closed.

“Minghao, why do you have to be so complicated?”

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Unfortunately it seemed you wouldn’t get an answer to your question, as Minghao basically began to avoid you after that day. You weren’t invited to his office anymore, and any time you tried to speak to him he dashed away faster than you could blink. It didn’t help that the Wen family started to insist you be more involved with wedding planning, so the minimal free time you had was now spent working with Jun. You tried to be nice to him, knowing that it wasn’t his fault you were in this mess, but you couldn’t help but get frustrated. You had been so close to finally getting Minghao to open up to you, his words replaying in your mind tirelessly, only to have it ripped away from you painfully. Now you may never get another chance because you were stuck listening to his older brother whine about some decoration for the tables you couldn’t care less about.

“Hey Y/N, are you listening?” you snapped out of your mini sulking session to see Jun staring down at you. His eyes were soft but the frown he wore told you he was worried. If there was one obvious difference you noticed between the vampire brothers, it was that Jun was a thousand times more expressive.

“I wasn’t sorry, what did you say?” you admitted, feeling bad that you ignored him. Instead of answering you though, Jun turned to face his mother instead.

“Would you excuse us for a moment, I think Y/N needs a second to clear their head.” You didn’t hear Mrs. Wens reply but assumed she agreed as Jun quickly took your hand and escorted you out of the dining room.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized as he dragged you out.

“Don’t be, I figured we could both use a break,” he assured, “come on a walk with me, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” You could feel your blood run cold when he said that, immediately assuming the worst. That he knew about you and Minghao and you were about to get in trouble, or that he would call off everything and your family would be stuck with nothing again. “Relax, it's nothing bad, I can hear your heartbeat all the way over here,” Jun teased, smiling back at you to get you to relax a little bit. It worked, if only partially and you took a deep breath as he led you down the hall and into an area of the manor you had never been before.

“Wait where are we going?” you asked, to which he only shook his head.

“Patience little one, you’ll see in a second.” The two of you continued walking for a moment before stopping at a large set of double doors. Opening them revealed a large, mainly empty ballroom. The floors seemed newly polished and the only furniture visible was the grand piano that rested elegantly in the corner. The rest of the room was open, clearly giving the space for people to dance and mingle. The room was lined with multiple floor length windows, the curtains currently pulled back to allow moonlight to flood through. The only other light source you could point out were the candle holders that also lined the walls, though they were currently empty which left the moon to light up the room.

“Wow, I didn’t know this room existed,” you mused, stepping into the middle and twirling around so you could take in everything.

“We usually keep this room closed off unless we need it for parties,” Jun explained as he closed the doors behind him, “however Hao and I used to come in here a lot when we were younger.” He took your curious glance as a sign to continue, walking over to where the piano was, “We both grew up in this house so as kids we loved playing in here. Then once we got older and he joined the family we would just use this space to talk or think. I even tried teaching him to play the piano once but he wasn’t a big fan.” A few skillful presses of the keys sent a beautiful melody echoing through the room, answering your unspoken question of if Jun could really play the piano. It was at this moment you realized you had never really taken interest in the heir to the Wen family, so focused on trying to keep Minghao’s attention.

“I didn’t know you could play the piano,” you commented, making him chuckle slightly.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, though I just figured you weren’t interested since you spend all your time with my brother.” Your eyes widened at his comment, quickly stuttering to try and think of an explanation, only for Jun to silence you with a wave of his hand, “relax darling I’m just messing with you. I’ve known there was something between the two of you since the first week you got here, you’re not exactly the best at sneaking around here you know. ”

“Wait, you’re not mad?” you asked in shock, making him shrug.

“Why would I be?”

“Because I’m engaged to you?” you reminded, as if there was any possibility that he had forgotten that fact.

“True but I’m not dumb you know, I know that this marriage is only for political reasons. Now if we were marrying out of love I would have been mad but you can’t force someone to love you if they never did to begin with.”

“Well when you put it that way it just makes me feel bad.” you whined.

“You can’t control your feelings Y/N, if you love Minghao just tell me,” Jun pushed, “the truth is going to come out sooner or later anyways.” You wanted to deny it for the sake of keeping things civil but you knew there was no point, Jun had already seen through you.

“Fine you caught me, I love him,” you confessed, “so what? It doesn’t change anything does it?” You could see Juns expression fall and he sighed as he took a seat on the bench in front of the piano, still facing you but with his hands propping up his head.

“Part of me wants to say that it does but honestly I don’t know,” he confessed, “this tradition has been around ever since my family came into power. As the heir to the family I have to marry a human in order to keep things balanced and vampires are like swans, we mate for life. I don’t want to force you into a loveless marriage but I am also obligated to go through with this for the sake of my family.” He noticed the way your expression fell with each word, having to bite his tongue from saying something that may upset you more. “I’m sorry if there was a way for me to end this and let you be with him I would do it.”

“It’s not your fault,” you assured him, “if anything it’s mine for getting too close to him in the first place. Besides, even if you could put a stop to the marriage it wouldn’t change much.”

“What makes you think that?” he asked. You paused for a moment and debated answering, since they were brothers after all and you didn’t want to risk him telling Minghao how you felt. However, your thoughts have been consuming you recently and this may be the only time you would have someone to talk to about it.

“I don’t think he feels the same way,” you confessed, “something changed recently and now he won’t even look at me, it’s like we’re complete strangers and I don’t understand why.” Jun remained silent, raising an eyebrow for you to continue, which you hesitantly did, “I thought we were getting closer. There was one night where he finally started to open up to me, talking about how hard things were and this painting he was working on. However when he went to ask me something he just kind of shut down and asked me to leave, and I haven’t heard from him since.” Jun didn’t say anything for a moment, taking the time to truly process your words. You watched his lips slowly curve up into a smile before he started laughing.

“You really are a bit naive, you know that?” he teased, cutting you off before you could ask what that was supposed to mean, “Y/N you know as well as I do that Hao is a bit of a mystery. His heart is in the right place but he doesn’t always know how to express that properly so he gets shy. You just have to be patient and slowly break down his walls, because trust me he’s the sweetest guy I know once you get through to him.”

“Well of course you’d say that, you’re his brother.” you said with a soft laugh.

“Yes but before I was his brother I was his best friend and I’ve been in the same situation you are in currently. I want to say we were 16 or 17 when I finally got him to open up to me. Not to dissuade you though because I’m pretty sure you managed to make more progress than I have in only a few weeks.”

“You really think that?” you asked, wanting to believe him but also still being unsure of yourself.

“I know it,” Jun assured, standing up and making his way over to you, “look Y/N I don’t want to get your hopes up about anything because neither of us can go against our family. That being said, I think you owe it to both yourself and Hao to be honest with him about how you feel.”

“I want to, I really do, but what good will it do if we can’t be together?” you confessed. Jun smiled sadly at you and reached out to squeeze your shoulder.

“Like I said, no promises, but there may be a few strings we can pull so everything works out,” he whispered, almost as if he was telling you a forbidden secret. In all honesty, he probably was as he was basically confessing to willingly trying to go behind his parents backs. It wasn’t something you had time to question however, as Jun squeezed your shoulder one last time before walking past you to the doors. “I have to get back before mom gets too suspicious, but you’re welcome to stay here and think about what I said. I’ll tell her that you were tired and went to bed early.”

“Thank you Jun.” you called out, looking back at him over your shoulder.

“Don’t thank me just yet,” he warned, “also do me a favor and make sure the room is still clean when you leave, my family will have my head if we let it get messed up.” With that he left you alone, letting the door click softly behind him. You let your gaze fall onto the piano bench for a moment, where he had been sitting, before turning your attention to one of the large windows. It looked almost like a door and you could see a small balcony behind it, much like the one in Minghao’s study. The thoughts of Minghao and what Jun said flooded your thoughts as you moved towards the window on autopilot. Your fingers traced gently over the frame before finding the latch and undoing it to let the glass pane swing open. The soft breeze tickled your face as you pushed the door open enough to slip past and make your way out onto the balcony. Despite the soft breeze, the night air was warm, a contrast to the cool marble railing that you leaned against. Unlike the study, this view reached out to the front of the manor, allowing you to view the main courtyard and the road that lay just beyond the large gates. In the distance you could see the lights from the city, the place you used to call home before your arrangement with the Wen family. Bittersweet memories they were, as when you first moved in you found yourself longing to go back home to your friends and family. You hadn’t spoken to any of them in months, and likely wouldn’t until your wedding day, so you hoped they were alright. At the same time though, you had slowly grown used to living in the manor, so now it was the city that felt foreign to you. Even when you did go out, it was usually at night and accompanied by one of the staff or family friends. One wouldn’t think a city run by vampires would be much different than that of humans but they would be mistaken. Most of the shops were the same with a few minor adjustments, but the atmosphere felt significantly different. You didn’t know how to describe it, but the world of vampires felt more polished in a sense. At first you were worried you would never get used to it, but now you didn’t want to leave it.

“It’s quite the view isn’t it?” whipping your head around, you were shocked to see Minghao standing behind you. His body leaned against the wall with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. His hair was down for once, allowing you to really see how long it was. His bangs were pushed out of his face but a few strands rested in front of his eyes, the rest tickling his neck as the wind pushed it back, though if you had to guess it was almost to his shoulders. You couldn’t help but mentally curse this man for looking more beautiful every time you saw him.

“Hao,” you muttered as you finally got control of yourself, “what are you doing here?”

“Ran into Jun in the hallway, he told me I could find you here.” he explained.

“Were you looking for me?” you asked, albeit a bit too eagerly.

“Actually I was,” he confessed, “I feel like I owe you an apology, I know I’ve been acting pretty strange recently and I didn’t want you thinking it was your fault.” Those words came as both a relief and a surprise to you. At the same time though, you couldn’t help but worry that he was only doing this because Jun ratted you out.

“Jun didn’t set you up to this, did he?” you asked, making him huff a bit.

“Darling he didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, so no I came after you myself.” You couldn’t help but blush at the nickname, something Minghao clearly noticed. You were about to ask what exactly Jun told him when he turned to look back inside the ballroom, “Come inside with me for a minute, I want to show you something.” To say you were confused would be an understatement, especially since the way he was acting was pretty out of character for him. Still you didn’t say anything as you followed him back inside, making sure to close and lock the door behind you. Minghao motioned for you to stand in the middle of the room as he grabbed a small box from his coat pocket, which you quickly realized was a box of matches. “This used to be my favorite room in the whole house,” he explained, lighting one of the candles before putting the match out and trailing the wall to light the rest, moving quickly but cautiously. “As the decades go by the house has become more and more modern to fit the changing times. This is the only room that has remained perfectly untouched since its construction,” he explained, “I don’t mind the modern touch of course, but there is something so elegant and romantic about a candlelit ballroom don’t you think?”

“It is rather beautiful, I can only imagine how extravagant the events hosted here are.” you commented, taking your eyes off of Minghao to glance across the room once again.

“There are not many as we save it for the most important milestones but they definitely are something,” Minghao agreed, setting the last candle back into its holder. The room was now lit with a soft glow, the shadows dancing as the flames flickered softly. “I’ve been around for a few but one in particular will always be my fondest memory.” he continued.

“Oh, what would that be?” you asked.

“For my parents the day I was turned and initiated into the family was a big deal,” he explained, undoing his coat and walking over to the piano, “they threw a large ball for me in this room to celebrate, almost like a coming of age ceremony I guess. It wasn’t the easiest transition for me so that celebration meant a lot to me and I will never forget the first dance I had on this ballroom floor.” He paused for a minute to lay his coat down on the bench, revealing a maroon red sweater he had tucked into his usual black pants. You had never seen Minghao in any color other than black and white, and the contrast of the red against the rest of him was striking. “The first dance was with my mother,” he continued as he brushed his hands across the piano keys, “all eyes were on us as a special song played, I still remember the melody like it was yesterday.” Minghao lightly pressed on a few of the keys, the melody sounding quite familiar to the one Jun played earlier, only this time it kept playing when he pulled his hand away. The song continued as if someone was playing the piano, a distinct melody that made Minghao smile as he walked away. You weren’t sure whether to be in awe of the song or shocked by the seemingly magic piano. “What, never seen a self playing piano before?” Minghao teased when he noticed your expression.

“Evidently not,” you exclaimed, “how on Earth is it even doing that?”

“Simple mind trick,” Minghao explained as if it was nothing, “all I have to do is focus on the song and it’ll do what I want.”

“So what, you’ve been able to move things with your mind this whole time?” you questioned, wondering why you never knew of this ability until now.

“Yes and no, I wouldn’t even begin to know how to explain it but that’s beside the point,” he brushed it off again as he walked back over to you, “do you know how to dance?” The question took you by surprise, looking at him as if he just asked you what the meaning of life was.

“Come again?”

“It’s a yes or no question dear, do you know how to dance?” Minghao repeated, smiling a bit as you nodded your head.

“A little bit but I haven’t danced with anyone for years.” you confessed.

“Don’t worry little dove, I will lead the way,” he said with a smirk, extending his hand to you with a soft bow, “may I have this dance?” You were really starting to question if this is the same Minghao you had spoken to a few days prior. His whole demeanor was different and there was an air of confidence to him that you had never seen before. It was like a switch was flipped inside of him and now he was finally opening up and showing you his true self, which you had to assume was Juns doing. Still, you didn’t want to throw away this chance with him so you quickly took his hand and allowed him to guide you into a steady waltz.

It was a bit rough for you at first, not remembering the moves and getting stiff every time you misstepped which only made Minghao laugh. “Just relax, feel the moment.” he repeated each time until he finally felt you do so. You closed your eyes and focused on the song playing as Minghao guided your movements, until you were both in perfect sync with each other. Minghao hummed softly to the melody as he pulled you closer, wrapping his arm around your waist and pressing your body into his chest as your dance turned into simple swaying. Almost out of instinct, you leaned further into him and rested your head on his shoulder, taking in the sweet scent of roses and a hint of red wine that radiated off of him. Even through the sweater you could feel him, the way his body was cooler but seemed to take in the warmth from your touch. How his own heart wasn’t beating but you could feel your own pulse through his touch, as if he was molding to you. Minghao didn’t push you away, instead he welcomed the almost embrace as you two swayed together, taking in your own scent and closing his eyes. By this point the music had stopped but neither of you seemed to care. This is the closest he had ever been to you, and sadly it was the closest he would probably ever be.

“I’ve never been this close with anyone outside of my family.” he confessed after a moment, his voice nearly a whisper. Your eyes opened at his words, but you didn’t dare to pull away from him.

“So why me then?” you asked, almost afraid of hearing the answer.

“You’re special,” he confessed, “you make me discover parts of myself and feel things that I didn’t know existed. I didn’t know how to handle it, I couldn’t even bring myself to tell you because I was so scared and confused. That’s why I shut you out, because I had hoped if I did that these feelings would go away and things would go back to normal.”

“But they didn’t.” you said, not having to ask since this moment was proof enough.

“No they didn’t,” he agreed, “and then Jun came into my room and told me what you said, and how you felt and I knew I had to say something, I couldn’t have you getting the wrong idea.” He pulled away from you just enough so that he could look down at you, his eyes carrying every unspoken emotion he was feeling. You were positive that you looked no different, wondering if you were dreaming. Not even a day ago you would have been positive that Minghao hated you, and yet now he was here holding you and looking at you like you were his whole world. It almost felt like too much for you to handle. “Y/N?” he said, getting your attention, “that day in my study, what I wanted to tell you was-’

“You don’t have to say it Minghao, I already know.” you cut him off. He opened his mouth to protest but you cut him off again this time by grabbing his collar and pulling him down so your lips connected. He let out a surprised yelp at the action nearly backing away until he processed what was happening. You reached up to run your hand through his hair just as he relaxed and began to kiss you back, his arm tightening around your waist as the other reached up to cup your cheek. His touch was cold, but you ignored that in favor of focusing on how soft his skin was. His hair glided easily through your fingers and you heard him giggle as you played with the ends, tickling him slightly. His kisses were just as soft, but you could still feel the passion behind them, especially as his fangs poked out to graze at your lower lip. The sensation made you gasp and that was when Minghao finally pulled away, allowing you a moment to catch your breath. He had a shy smile on his face and you were positive he would be blushing if he could, while you felt like you could melt on the spot from how hot your face was.

“That was definitely unexpected.” he said with a shy giggle.

“Did you not like it?” you asked, almost afraid that you went too far.

“No no, I loved it,” he promised, stroking your cheek with his thumb, “I just never expected you to react that way.” You leaned into his touch and closed your eyes, wanting to savor the moment for as long as possible.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since I first met you,” you confessed, “I love you Minghao, I would want nothing more than to spend every day like this with you.” You had expected him to reciprocate your feelings since you had assumed that’s where this night was leading, but instead you were met with silence. Minghao didn’t say anything which made you open your eyes again. His expression had fallen and he looked almost defeated.

“I had a feeling you would say that.” he whispered, slowly letting go and backing away from you. You tried to reach back out for him but he avoided your touch.

“Hao, what’s wrong?” you asked, your heart pounding as you mentally begged him to come back, not to pull away from you again. You finally had him, you didn’t want to let go of him now, you wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I’m so sorry Y/N,” he apologized, turning his gaze to the floor so he wouldn’t have to face you, “this may have been a mistake.”

“What do you mean by mistake?” you practically shouted, unable to hide the pain in your voice, “what the hell were these last few hours then, everything you just said? You can’t honestly tell me that you didn’t feel anything this whole time!”

“What? Of course I felt something I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” he tried to defend, his voice raising a pitch despite his calm composure. “Look I’m sorry but I can’t let this go any further, if my parents found out about this then…”

“That’s what this is about?” you cut him off, “you can’t be honest with your feelings because of some stupid tradition with your parents? Who cares what they think, Minghao? It’s just a stupid wedding. I'm sure they can find someone else if they really needed to.”

“I care, Y/N!” he exclaimed, “to you this may not seem like a big deal but to me it is. I owe my life to my family because if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even be here talking to you right now. You think it’s easy for me to sit here and be a bystander watching you give yourself to my brother when I would give anything to be in his place? I love you I really do, but I can’t betray my family like this, not after everything they’ve done for me.” By the time he finished talking he was stiff, shoulders bouncing as if he was out of breath and his eyes had an unfamiliar red tint to them. You took a few steps back, having never seen him this worked up before. Normally you would have been over the moon to hear Minghao say he loved you, but now it felt like a knife stabbing into your heart. By this point you were crying, tears streaming freely down your cheeks that you didn’t bother to hide. The sight pained Minghao, and he wanted nothing more than to reach out and brush them away, but he knew he shouldn’t.

“You know,” you finally spoke after a moment, “if you really loved me you would put your pride aside and actually fight for me instead of shutting me out like everyone else.” It was cruel to say that and you knew it, but you were hurting and you wanted him to feel the same pain you were, if not more. Minghaos jaw tightened at your words, refusing to look at you as he regained his composure.

“And here I thought you would be different.” he muttered to himself, but you were able to hear him clearly. His words didn’t have time to process before the room went cold and dark. As quickly as he had appeared, Minghao was gone, the sudden gust of wind and slamming of the door the only indication that he had even been there. You looked up at the candles, watching the smoke rise up from them before falling to your knees and sobbing. You felt suddenly trapped in the large room, suffocated by the darkness as you hugged yourself and continued to cry, not caring if anyone heard you. You wanted to scream and beg for Minghao to come back but you couldn’t, he was gone and now you were positive that he wasn’t coming back.

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Sure enough, you didn’t see Minghao for nearly a month after that night. You knew he was there, as you overheard the staff speak about him and could hear him working in his study any time you passed by. A few times you had knocked on the door, apologizing through the wood and begging for him to let you in, but he never answered. It was evident he was avoiding you, and while you wanted to be mad at him, you couldn’t lie and say you didn’t miss him.

You weren’t sure if he told Jun what happened, but it was clear the older at least knew something was up judging by the sad smile he gave you whenever he saw you looking around. He never spoke to you directly though, only ever giving you gentle pats on the head or shoulder whenever he walked by you. You were half tempted to ask him if he knew something, but with the wedding only moments away it was impossible to get the oldest son alone. You were starting to feel like you were back to how things were when you first moved in. You were confused, frustrated, and, worst of all, alone. You also started distancing yourself as much as possible, locking yourself in your room whenever you weren’t needed for wedding planning. Mrs. Wen had noticed your behavior and tried asking you once at dinner if everything was alright, but all you could do was tell her you had a lot on your mind and left it at that.

Tonight was one of the nights you were staying locked in your room, curled up on your bed staring out the window when you heard a knock at your door. At first you ignored it, assuming it was one of the staff, until the knocking got more frequent. Groaning, you forced yourself to get off the bed and make your way to the door, opening it to reveal a very frantic Jun.

“About time you opened the door.” he whined, pushing past you and into your room.

“Well hello to you too,” you uttered sarcastically, closing the door again, “I thought you guys needed to be invited in to enter a place?”

“First off, that is an awful stereotype of us, and second of all it’s my house I can enter any room I want,” he pointed out.

“Fair enough I guess, but why are you here?” you asked, crossing your arms.

“You know if I didn’t know better I’d think you hated me,” he whined before straightening up again, “but last time I checked you also wanted my help with Minghao correct?” That got your attention and you immediately perked up.

“Are you saying you actually can help me?” you asked, suddenly hopeful.

“I’m not 100% sure but there’s a chance it will work,” Jun explained, “do you remember when I told you that vampires mate for life?”

“Yeah, why?” you asked, confused as to what he was getting at.

“Well there’s a process for that,” he explained, “I probably should have told you this earlier because it would be part of our wedding, but we claim our mates with a bite that seals our bond. Normally we do this during a certain point called a blood moon because the energy is higher.”

“First off that sounds like something wolves would do, not you guys,” you point out, “secondly yeah knowing that earlier would have been nice.”

“I’m going to ignore the wolf comment for now but yeah I’m sorry for not telling you,” he brushed you off, “but long story short if the mating ceremony is done outside of a blood moon usually that means the bond between us fails. However, if the feelings between a vampire and their mate is strong enough then it can work, and we would never break a mated couple apart.” It was finally starting to click with you what he was saying, a look of realization brushing over your features.

“So what you are saying is that if I end up mating with Minghao, we can call off the wedding?” you questioned, “No offense to you of course.”

“None taken.” Jun assured, “But yes if your bond is strong enough my family will have no choice but to accept it. However, if it doesn’t work then there’s nothing else we can do and it’ll be over.”

“What are the chances of it working?” you asked.

“I’m not sure, I’ve never witnessed it myself, only heard of it.” he confessed. You knew it was a huge risk, but the more you thought about it the more it was a risk you were willing to take. If it meant you had a shot with Minghao, you would have been crazy not to try.

“It’s worth a shot.” you stated, already making your way to the door to go find Minghao.

“Hold up,” Jun stopped you, “you can’t just make him bite you, it doesn't work that way, the emotional bond has to be there as well.” That made you pause for a moment, given the fight you guys had, you didn’t even know if Minghao wanted to be around you anymore.

“Emotional bond, got it,” you repeated with a deep breath, “well, wish me luck I guess.”

“Don’t overthink it Y/N, you got this!” Jun called out after you, but by that point you were already out of the room. You needed to do this now, while you were still determined and not psyching yourself out.

The library seemed much colder than you remembered it to be, though perhaps that was your imagination. The welcoming atmosphere that usually invited you was replaced with a distant sense of dread. It hit you like a splash of ice water and made you freeze for a moment, almost debating turning around and returning to the comfort of your room for the night. However, you were determined to finish what you started, so you took a deep breath before continuing on your path. Almost on autopilot you navigated through various bookshelves and desks until you reached the familiar wooden door. You didn’t bother knocking, inviting yourself in and gently closing the door behind you.

Minghao wasn’t at his desk like he normally was, instead you found him leaning against the wall as he looked out through the floor length window into the garden. His body was turned towards you, but his gaze remained focused on the view before him, giving you the perfect view of the man you loved. His shirt was still tucked in, though the first few buttons were undone and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbow, his cloak having been tossed carelessly onto his chair. One hand was tucked in his pocket while the other was mindlessly twirling a wine glass. His rings shone in the light and casted a reflection on the glass, only covered by the sloshing of the remaining red liquid inside. His expression was as sharp and stoic as ever, but you knew him well enough to know he was hiding something. There was a distance in his eyes, gazing at nothing as he was lost in his own thoughts. His bangs fell into his eyes and cast a shadow over his face, something he normally hated but right now didn’t seem to bother with. He looked just as beautiful as he always did, but you could tell he was hurting and that made your own heart hurt in return.

Minghao knew you were there, he could sense your presence before you even walked into his study. The familiar aura you carried that had once been warm and inviting, but was now a dull blade stabbing at him every time he even thought of getting close to you. You could feel it too, the distance that had torn you apart over the last few weeks, the pain of wanting him to hold you and promise he’ll never leave but knowing he couldn't. You knew that he saw you, his eyes flicking over to you if only for a moment before returning back to the window. He didn’t move or make any effort to acknowledge you, merely pretending like you weren’t there. It hurt to be ignored by him this way, though you figured that you deserved it. Honestly you didn’t know what reaction you had been expecting after what happened, but you weren’t prepared for it to hurt this much. Perhaps coming here was a bad idea after all, that’s what you told yourself with a defeated sigh. You were about to turn and leave when you heard the male clear his throat. Looking back, you watched as Minghao straightened up and finished the rest of his wine before finally speaking.

“What are you doing here?” his voice was cold and emotionless, and you hated the way you flinched at it.

“Hao I-” you froze, not sure what exactly you were supposed to say. He didn’t respond, merely keeping his gaze on you as he moved back to his desk, setting the empty glass to the side as he sat down, resting his chin on his hand. You took a moment to look around the room, realizing how much of a mess it was. His art supplies were carelessly scattered all over the place, and you noticed the painting he was working on had disappeared. Even his desk was a mess of random notes and sketches. You tried to glance at them but he noticed and quickly swiped them out of your view. “What happened to your painting?” you asked, glancing back at the mess where it had once been.

“I lost my muse.” he replied flatly, “You didn’t answer my question.” You hated how cold he was being, but you supposed you deserved it.

“I needed to see you.” you confessed.

“Want to yell at me more? Toss my emotions aside?” he scoffed, though you could hear the pain lingering in his voice.

“No, I came to say I’m sorry, I never should have yelled at you like that. I let my emotions take control and I know that I can’t take back what I said but I need you to know that I didn’t mean it, and I’m sorry.” Your apology took him by surprise, a startled noise getting caught in his throat as he sat up.

“I see,” he muttered softly, “I appreciate the apology, and I am sorry too, what happened that night was my fault. I shouldn’t have let things drag on.” You sighed softly and made your way over to him, kneeling down on the other side of his desk and reaching for his hand. He stiffened up a bit, but didn’t stop you which you took as a positive sign.

“I did mean one thing though, I love you Minghao and I’m not giving up on you.” you said, making him sigh.

“I love you too Angel, I really do, but I told you we can’t let this go further.”

“I know that once the wedding happens it’ll be over, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have right now,” you argued, “one night Minghao, that’s all I’m asking for.” He raised an eyebrow at you, urging you to continue, “I want a redo of the night we spent in the ballroom. I want you to dance with me for real and not pull away from me. After that I will leave you alone but please the least you can do is give me that.” Minghao took a moment to ponder what you were asking, absentmindedly rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb.

“This is dangerous, you do know that right?” he asked after a moment, shaking his head when you nodded, “We could get in a lot of trouble for this.”

“I’ve thought a lot about this, I just can’t let you slip away from me anymore.” you said, determined to make him listen.

“You’re after something aren’t you?” he realized, you didn’t want to give away your intentions but you couldn't help but smirk a bit which was the only response he needed. Another moment of silence passed and for a moment you were worried that he would reject you, but finally you saw him nod his head.

“Fine, this is the least I can do I suppose,” he agreed, “meet me in the ballroom tomorrow at sundown, if you’re not there by the time the sun sets fully I’ll leave.” You couldn’t help but smile at his agreement, squeezing his hand softly before standing up.

“Thank you, I’ll be there I promise!”

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The ballroom felt even bigger than before, but maybe that was due to your nerves. This was your last chance to get Minghao, and if you failed then you would lose him, probably for good. The thought alone was enough to hurt you and it hadn’t even happened yet. Your shoes clicked softly on the polished floor as you stepped inside, glancing around the room. Minghao had definitely been here already, the candles lit, some of the curtains pulled back to cast shadows on the floor from the still setting sun. The piano was even playing already, a new melody that you never heard before. It was beautiful for sure, but also more melancholic than the one that had played when you first danced with Minghao. Speaking of, the vampire in question was nowhere to be seen. Spinning around the room once, then twice, you trailed your eyes over every corner in hopes to see him, but there was nothing. Minghao was nowhere to be seen, and you couldn’t help but deflate a bit at the thought that he left already, despite the fact the sun was still out.

“I was wondering when you would show up,” startled, you twirled around to see him only a few feet behind you, appearing practically out of thin air. He was dressed in all black, even having the shade brushed lightly on his eyes to make them pop. The only color being the jewels that decorated his ears and fingers, twinkling against the candlelight. You were used to seeing Minghao in all black, but something about the way he looked now made him even more beautiful.

“Where did you come from?” you asked, “I swore no one was here when I walked in.”

“Hiding in the shadows is pretty easy, just needed to make sure this wasn’t a trick.”

“Why would I trick you?”

“I know you’ve been talking with my brother,” he replied, “who knows what you two have been up to.” Before you could argue that there was nothing, he was speaking up again, “It doesn’t matter though, you are here now so, shall we?” He offered his hand to you, much like he did the last time and you quickly took it, falling into step with him as you began swaying to the rhythm. It didn’t take long for the dance to pick up, and the two of you were soon gliding across the floor, matching each other's movements perfectly and falling in sync with ease. Minghao seemed a bit stiff at first, being so close to you, but he soon relaxed as the melody from the piano became softer, almost hypnotic. You closed your eyes for a moment and just allowed yourself to feel the music, letting it guide you and him in turn.

The sun gradually set as you two danced, until moonlight replaced it shining through the window, making the flicker of the candles more dramatic. The room felt more romantic without the extra light, more intimate as you willed yourself to get closer to Minghao, wanting to feel him and engrave this moment into your memory. It nearly worked, and for a moment you were at peace, until he spoke up again.

“So, do you want to tell me what this is really about?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, glancing up to meet his gaze, though your eyes quickly fell back to your feet. His expression was soft, and yet his eyes were burning through you like he knew something you didn’t. Judging by his attitude, you wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

“I wasn’t born yesterday Y/N, I know you didn’t drag me here just because you wanted a dance,” he pointed out, “you’re up to something and I want to know what it is.”

“I’m not up to anything, I just want to be with you,” you confessed, “I just want to love you and have you love me in return.”

“You know that I love you, I’ve loved you since the first night we spent together in my study.”

“Then why won’t you show it? I know you’re worried about your family and all of that but does their approval really matter that much. Clearly Jun is okay with us being together and I’m sure your parents would come around to it,” you were basically pleading with him at this point. You didn’t care what the consequences were any more, you just wanted to be near him, hold him, love him the way you knew he deserved. You knew he was holding back and hurting himself in the process and you hated seeing him like this, you just needed him to open up.

“My love, believe me I would do whatever it takes to be with you,” he promised, leaning down to rest his head against yours.

“Then do it,” you urged, “you and I both know there’s a way.” Minghao was confused for a moment, until it finally dawned on him what you were implying.

“Love, you can’t seriously be asking me to-”

“Mate with me,” you cut him off with your answer, “I know the chances of it working are low but if it does then your family would have no choice but to accept us!”

“You do know what you’re asking for right?” Minghao questioned, “this is not a simple process and it could put you under a lot of stress. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Who said you would hurt me? I’ve done my research Hao, I know what I am getting myself into.”

“There are so many ways that this could go wrong,” he argued.

“I know but think about what it would mean if it goes right,” you rebutted, “you do want to be with me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do but I don’t want you to potentially ruin everything for yourself, if it works that means you will be bonded to me forever,” Minghao reminded. As much as he would love for it to work, he knew the risks better than you did and he didn’t want you making a choice that you would regret.

“Hao please,” you pleaded, lifting your arms to cup his face, “what will it take to convince you?” You could see the gears turning in his mind as he melted into your touch, his own hands coming up to rest on top of yours.

“Are you sure this is what you really want?” he asked, almost in a whisper.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Very well,” Minghao agreed, “I’ll make you a deal. I will give you a taste tonight of how that feels and give you time to think about it. If you decide this is what you still want, then we can give it a shot, but know that I can’t promise you it will work.” It wasn’t the exact outcome you were hoping for, but you supposed it was better than having him turn you down completely. “So little dove,” he continued, grabbing one of your wrists and turning his head to press a kiss on your pulse point, “do we have a deal?” You nodded at first, only to sigh when he gave you a stern look stating that he needed a verbal answer.

“If it means you’ll give me a chance then yes, we have a deal.”

“Very well,” Minghao pulled away from you slightly, still holding onto your wrist as he gave it a once over. “You haven’t been bitten by a vampire before, right?” he asked, unable to hide his smirk when you agreed, “the wrist is an easier spot for your first time. I’m only going to do it long enough so you can get a good feeling for it though. It may hurt at first, but after a few seconds it should start to feel almost warm but not in a bad way.” He looked up at you to make sure you understood, stroking your skin with his thumb as you took a second to calm your nerves. Though you weren’t sure if you were nervous because of the new experience or because Minghao was the one doing it.

“I’m ready,” you assured, giving him a confident smile.

“Good, if it hurts or you feel dizzy at all I want you to pull at my hair and I’ll stop,” with that he pulled your wrist towards his mouth. You got a few seconds to prepare as he pressed a light kiss against your pulse point, letting his fangs brush over it before carefully biting down. You gasped at the sensation, tensing up as it felt like you were being stabbed with needles. Minghaos grip on your wrist tightened as you squirmed, keeping you still and looking up at you to make sure you were okay. The pain lasted for a few more seconds before turning into a dull throbbing, and then finally you felt the warm sensation he was talking about. It started at your wrist before flooding through the rest of your body, making you tingle and relax against his touch. You never expected the sensation to be this pleasurable, almost feeling like you were too hot and yet it was a sensation you never wanted to end. Minghao couldn’t help but moan softly at the taste, an action you mimicked as his pleasure only seemed to heighten your experience.

The second you felt your legs go weak was the moment he let you go, brushing his tongue over the newly formed bite mark and wiping his lips with his free hand. He was quick to catch you as you felt yourself lower to the ground, bringing him down with you as he looked at you in concern.

“Are you alright?”

“That was amazing,” you breathed out, “honestly I didn’t want you to stop, that felt way better than I thought it would.” Minghao giggled softly at your confession.

“I didn’t want it to end either, but if I didn’t stop then I’m not sure I would have been able to, your taste is so addicting.” You looked over at him, noticing how his pupils were blown and his lips were parted, fangs still poking out as if he was desperate for more. You weren’t sure if it was because you were coming down from your mini high still, or if it was how attractive he looked, but you couldn’t stop yourself from jumping forward and crashing your lips onto his. The contact clearly caught him off guard and sent both of you crashing to the ground, Minghao on his back with you on top of him. He let out a surprised yelp and for a second you were worried you had hurt him, about to pull away and apologize when he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer to him to deepen the kiss.

You could still taste the remains of your blood on his lips, but the rest of Minghao was so intoxicating that you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You bit on his bottom lip and swiped your tongue across his fangs and the inside of his mouth, careful not to cut yourself. He tried returning the passion in your kiss but you quickly overpowered him and he was left a moaning mess on the floor, desperately gripping onto you as you kissed him like your life depended on it. You adjusted yourself so you were straddling him, grinding your hips down against his when you felt the bulge forming in his trousers. The friction had Minghao whimpering against you, breaking the kiss and throwing his head back as you repeated the action. As you sat up to catch your breath you finally realized the position you found yourself in. The normally calm and composed Minghao was now a shuddering mess beneath you, his hair messy and makeup smeared, his shirt also coming untucked at the front which gave you a peek at his abdomen. All of this coming from a simple bite, and it made you want to ruin the man beneath you. Claim him as yours and see how far you could unravel him until he came undone. You were never one to claim a dominant role in your past relationships, but something about the man beneath you brought out a new found confidence.

“I want you so badly,” you whispered, grabbing his hair and lightly pulling his head back so you could kiss and suck at his neck.

“Then take me,” he pleaded, “Darling I am all yours.” His words were rewarded when you bit down on his neck softly before returning to kiss him again, giving his hair one last tug before letting go and moving your hands beneath you to begin undoing his shirt. You could feel his hands tugging at your own shirt, debating pulling it off before giving up and sliding his hands under the fabric instead. His touch was cold in contrast to your heated skin, sending shivers down your body and making you gasp into his mouth. His fingers expertly traced your skin, gently scratching down your lower back before reaching further up to pinch and tug at your nipples. The sensations had you arching your back, making you grind your hips further into his and making him groan.

“You are so beautiful, you know that?” you asked, pulling away from the kiss to finish undoing his shirt. This was the first time you were ever seeing Minghaos body and he was even more attractive than you had imagined. You knew that he was on the slimmer side, but his body was still toned enough that you could see the outline of his muscles. His skin was soft and unblemished, feeling almost unreal under your touch as you trailed your hands up his body, taking your time to feel him and memorize every curve. Minghao sighed softly at the touch, leaning his head back against the ground and letting his eyes close so he could enjoy the feeling.

“You’re one to talk,” he responded after a moment, giving your nipples another tug which made you squirm above him, “sensitive too I take it.”

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, I’m the one in charge here,” you reminded, sliding down his legs a bit so that you could undo his belt and trousers. Minghao lifted his hips enough to help you slide them down along with his boxers, opting not to take them off all the way since you were desperate to feel him. Minghaos length matched well with the rest of his body, on the longer side but more slender. It seemed you had already gotten him pretty worked up as he was already leaking precum and his tip was red. Minghao gasped and shuddered as you took the base in your hand, giving him a few experimental strokes to get a good feel of him.

“Even this is pretty,” you teased, swiping your thumb across his slit causing him to tense up, “I would love to get a taste of you.”

“As much as I would love that Darling we might want to hurry things up, we are still in the ballroom and I would rather not have anyone walk in on us,” Minghao reminded. You spared a cautionary glance towards the doors, taking a moment to listen for any footsteps. Based on what Jun and Hao had told you, the chances of anyone walking in were slim, but that didn’t mean they were zero. After a moment you decided it was safer not to risk taking too long and sighed.

“Next time then,” you hummed, climbing off of Minghao for a second so you could remove your bottoms then climbing back on top of him. His hands found their way to your hips as you positioned yourself over him, spitting on your hand and using that to coat his length before slowly easing him inside of you. The stretch wasn’t too bad, but it was still enough for you to feel it, causing you to moan as you stilled with him inside of you. Minghao cursed at the feeling and threw his head back, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth in an attempt to be quiet.

“Oh god you feel so good,” he moaned out, tightening his grip on your hips as you gave yourself a second to adjust. It took all of his willpower not to thrust up into you, but he refrained and allowed you to go at your own pace to make sure he was comfortable. It only took a moment for you to get used to him, grinding your hips down on him before starting to lift yourself up and bouncing on him. You went at a teasingly slow pace, almost frustratingly so, but it was worth it to see Minghao tense up in an attempt to not take control and pound into you the way you were sure he wanted to do. “Angel,” he huffed out, “as much as I love this time with you I am dying here, please go faster.”

“Aren’t you already dead?” you teased, but you obliged and sped up your pace anyway, causing the both of you to moan out. Your hands landed on his chest for support and his began roaming your body, making sure to feel every inch of your skin. Eventually he settled for gripping onto your thighs, squeezing at them as you continued to bounce on him. Unfortunately, it was hard for you to keep up the pace as you quickly began to grow tired, movements faltering a bit as you struggled trying to keep going. Minghao quickly noticed and chuckled softly to himself, taking advantage of your exhaustion to grab you and flip you both over so now he was the one on top.

“Alright little dove, now it’s my turn,” he purred, grabbing your hands and pinning them beside your head as he began thrusting into you at an almost inhuman pace. The speed and force had you crying out in pleasure, tightening your grip on his hands and closing your eyes as you lost yourself to the feeling. Minghao pressed his lips to yours again to help keep you quiet, swallowing your moans as he continued the same pace. It wasn’t long before you felt that familiar knot forming in your stomach.

“Hao, I’m close,” you moaned out, pulling away from the kiss.

“Don’t worry Angel, I got you just let go,” he whispered, burying his head in your shoulder as his own moans got louder, signaling that he wasn’t far behind you. With a few more thrusts he was pulling out and releasing over your stomach, biting down on your shoulder to quiet himself. The sensation of his fangs buried into your skin again was enough to send you over the edge, vision going white as your release took over you.

The last thing you remembered was Minghao calling your name and feeling his fingers graze your cheek before you passed out.

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To say you were confused when you woke up in an unfamiliar bed was an understatement. This bed was bigger and much softer, with you tucked in under a black, silk comforter as opposed to the velvet one in your room. You felt dizzy and the side of your neck was throbbing, brushing your fingers over the area, you winced when they touched an evident mark. The same place Minghao had bitten you right before you passed out. Speaking of Minghao, the male in question was nowhere to be seen, the only sign of him being the scent of him that lingered in what you had to guess was his room. Your suspicions were confirmed when you rolled over and saw a note resting on the pillow. You could recognize his handwriting anywhere as you read the note apologizing for going too far and having to leave you alone. It said he needed to attend to a few things but for you to rest and relax and he would be back soon. You couldn’t deny that you were a bit disappointed waking up without him, but at least he didn’t abandon you.

You slowly sat up and pulled the comforter off of you, revealing that you were also wearing one of Haos dress shirts, the fabric doing very little to cover your figure but at least it was something after your own clothes had been ruined in the ballroom. Also it smelled like him which served as a great comfort to you. You couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to overwhelm your senses, and yet you wouldn’t dare pull yourself away from it, almost as if you were drawn to anything that reminded you of him. You shook that thought away though instead deciding to glance around the unfamiliar room. You had only ever seen his study and not his actual room, so you couldn’t help but be curious. Besides, you assumed Minghao was still busy and wouldn’t be back for a while so there would be no harm in looking around as long as you were careful, right?

You carefully slipped out of bed, taking a moment to stretch before making your way to the other side of the room. Most of the lights were off, but the lamp on his bedside was on which provided enough light for you to see clearly. Minghaos room had the same dated touch as the rest of the house, but it was also distinctly his. It had the same off white walls that you recognized from the rest of the rooms, but with more notes of gray and black in the furniture. The floor was hardwood, but there was a large gray rug in the middle that you swore was the softest thing you ever felt. The walls were decorated with various paintings, some of which you recognized as his own while others were likely collected from his trips. There were also various artifacts and statues on the shelves that seemed fragile so you were careful to stay away from those. The windows in the room were smaller, mostly covered though one was open to let a soft breeze into the room. The room was fairly simple, but it also had an elegance to it that had Minghaos name written all over it. The one thing that really caught your attention though, was the black easel that was tucked into the far back corner, facing away from you so you couldn't see what was on the canvas. Unlike his studio, the supplies in his room were neatly organized on little black shelves, all surrounding that one corner. You had seen his work a million times before, but something about this one in particular was calling out to you.

Cautiously, you walked over to the corner, careful not to knock anything over as you carefully turned the canvas around. A familiar outline came into view and you realized why you had been so drawn to the painting, it was the same one that Minghao had shown you back before your fight. You had assumed he had gotten rid of it, but now it was standing right in front of you, and much more detailed than you had remembered. In fact, it looked like he was nearly finished with it. You could clearly make out the details on the two figures, and it dawned on you why your opinion on it mattered so much to Minghao.

“That’s…us,” you muttered, ghosting your fingers lightly over the painting to trace the noticeable figures. He had painted the two of you dancing together, catching small details like your eyes, your hair, the way you smiled at him, everything. You also very quickly recognized the outfit as the dress he had designed and was planning to make you for your wedding. You couldn’t help but get emotional looking at it, wondering how long this had taken for him to do and how long he had been planning it.

“Going through my stuff I see,” you whipped around to see a smug Minghao standing against the door, hands tucked in his pockets as he watched you. You didn’t even know he was back, let alone hear the door open.

“Hey, when did you get back?” you questioned in an attempt to change the subject. It wasn’t like you were doing anything wrong but you still felt awkward getting caught. Not to mention the look he had was enough to make you feel small under his gaze.

“Just now, I got called into a family meeting. I’m surprised you’re awake. I've only been gone an hour or so,” he said.

“I see,” you replied, “how did that go?”

“That’s not important right now,” he brushed you off, “want to explain what you’re doing?”

“You didn’t get rid of the painting,” you stated as if that wasn’t obvious, the response causing Minghao to laugh.

“Of course I didn't, I just needed a more private space to work on it, you know you weren’t supposed to see it yet.”

“But I already have seen it.”

“Were you able to tell it was us back then?” he asked, shaking his head at your moment of realization, “honestly when I started working on it I had planned to confess to you with it but things got a bit complicated so I locked it away in here, and yet here we are.”

“You’re the one that brought me to your room,” you reminded.

“Well what was I supposed to do hm? Leave you passed out and half naked on the ballroom floor?” Minghao teased. You couldn’t help but blush at the memory of what happened only a few hours prior, something Minghao noticed even in the dim lighting.

“You could have taken me to my room if you didn’t want me to get curious,” you teased back.

“I could have but I like having you here, I think I may just keep you here from now on.” He was clearly amused by the situation and as much as you loved the idea of staying with him, there was also a defiant part of you that wanted to push his buttons and mess with him.

“What if I don’t want to stay here?” you questioned, moving over to the door and attempting to push past him. You didn’t even make it a step further before his arm was around your waist, pulling you against his chest.

“You weren’t saying that earlier,” he whispered, “and I’m afraid that’s no longer an option.”

“Well I change my mind,” you muse, clearly not serious as you pull away from him. Minghao lets you go, but you hear him groan as you do.

“This is a dangerous game you are playing, you know that right?” he huffed, tone lowering as he spoke, “if you walk out that door there will be trouble.”

“For me or for you?” you taunt, already opening the door. You weren’t sure what you were expecting but there was a new thrill emerging from the idea of running from him. Would he chase after you? Given the way he was acting it was almost a guarantee and that thought had your mind racing. Also, in a weird way this felt like revenge for all the times he ran from you.

“Darling I’m giving you five seconds, don’t make me chase after you.” Minghaos voice was stern, but you could hear the amusement laced behind it. He was challenging you, he wanted you to run away because he wanted the thrill of chasing after you. Who were you to deny him? Minghao started counting down and you wasted no time in running out the door and down the hall. You paused for a moment, looking around the hall and wondering where you could go where Minghao wouldn’t catch you. The garden would have been your default but you assumed that was too obvious, but you didn’t know a large majority of the house so you weren’t sure where else you could go. Not that you had much time though, as you looked over your shoulder to see Minghao already making his way towards you. He wasn’t running, but his stride was long and you knew he would easily catch up to you if you waited too long. “If I were you my little dove, I would start running,” he called out, causing you to turn and immediately rush down the stairs.

You could briefly hear Minghao yell something after you, but his voice quickly vanished as you put enough distance between yourself and him. Knowing the young vampire though, he probably wasn’t too far behind you and had a few tricks up his sleeve to mess with you. Eventually you decided the library would be your best bet, yeah it was obvious but had enough space for you to hide and potentially run away from Minghao. With that in mind, you crept your way over to the familiar door and snuck inside, careful not to make too much noise. Moving a bit slower to make sure you didn’t run into anything, you tucked yourself into a corner behind one of the bookshelves. You kneeled down and positioned yourself so that you could peek around the shelf. Not that it mattered much as you couldn’t see anything due to the darkness. You couldn’t deny the thrill you got from waiting, wondering how long it would take for him to catch you already knowing he would.

It only took a few moments before the door was opening, light pouring in and showing his shadow before the door was closing again. You covered your mouth and pressed your back into the wall as you heard his footsteps echo through the room. You could hear him hum and giggle softly as he made his way around the shelves, clearly undeterred by the darkness.

“Quite a predictable hiding spot don’t you think?” he called out, voice echoing as he looped around one of the bookshelves, “I’m starting to think you don’t even want to win.” You couldn’t help but huff at that, the sound catching Minghaos attention as he made his way to the corner. You could barely make out his outline as he stalked towards you, giving you enough time to react and slide around to the other side of the shelf. Keeping your movements as silent as possible, you darted past him, heading to the area of the room he had just vacated, hoping to throw him off your trail. Minghao seemed to notice this as you heard him laugh. “Where are you hiding my little dove, I know you’re in here,” he called out, the playfulness in his voice evident.

You pressed yourself against the wall, suppressing a giggle, feeling the adrenaline rushing through your veins. You knew Minghao was a master at this game, but you were determined to outsmart him. Your heart was pounding in your ears as you tried to stay as quiet as possible. The sound of footsteps stopped, a moment of silence followed before his voice rang out again, “Well played Darling, but it's no use, I will find you soon enough. We are linked, you can’t hide.”

You giggled quietly, tiptoeing your way to the door in hopes that you could sneak out past him. It seemed that Minghao was two steps ahead of you though, as the second you went to open the door you found yourself pinned against it. You gasped as your wrists were pinned to the door beside your head, Minghao pressing himself against you so you couldn’t escape.

“Found you,” Minghao purred, flipping you around so you were facing him.

“You did indeed, now what?” you hummed, squirming against him.

“Now,” Minghao breathed, leaning in so your lips were brushing, “I claim what's rightfully mine.” As he connected your lips he pulled you both away from the door, savoring your taste for a second before pulling away and throwing you over his shoulder with what you assumed was inhuman strength. You let out a noise that was a mix between a squeal and a laugh as you were carried back up the stairs and into his room, Minghao kicking the door closed before carefully dropping you onto his bed. “Since we’re alone I can finally take my time with you,” he mused, carefully undoing his shirt and sliding it off his body as he walked around to the other side of the bed. “Stay put,” he ordered when he saw you reach out for him, staying out of your reach as he went through his various drawers looking for something. Before you could ask him what he was doing he had returned with what he needed, crawling onto the bed and setting whatever it was off to the side before pinning you to the bed and kissing you again. His hands made quick work of the shirt you were wearing, practically ripping it off to expose your body to him.

“Beautiful,” he praised, pulling away to admire you before reaching behind him, “do you trust me?”

“Of course,” you whispered back, making him smile and show you the object that was in his hand, a long silk tie that you assumed he got from his closet.

“Good, now be good for me and put your hands over your head,” he ordered, to which you eagerly obeyed. It was a bit of a struggle with the shirt still in the way, but that only seemed to amuse Minghao as he helped you put your arms up, your hands still caught in the sleeves. If anything, this only worked in his favor as he wrapped the fabric around your wrists in a makeshift restraint, finishing his work off with the tie to make sure that you couldn’t easily escape your binds. “Comfortable?” he asked, to which you eagerly nodded, “perfect, now why don’t you do me a favor and close your eyes.” Once again you agreed, squirming with anticipation as you wondered what he had planned.

The realization came a few seconds later as you felt something soft brush along your inner thigh, causing you to gasp. You heard Minghao hum in delight as the sensation brushed along your thigh once again before moving to your hip and up your body, purposefully missing the spots he knew you would be sensitive. Once the bristles tickled your stomach, you recognized the sensation as being one of his paintbrushes. The tip barely grazed your skin as he brushed random patterns all over your body, going down to your thigh before moving back up and lightly brushing around your nipple, causing you to whine and open your eyes.

“Hao,” you whined out, “stop teasing me please.” He ignored you though as he moved the brush up your stomach, swirling it around your nipple. You hated how sensitive you were, reacting to the lightest touch by arching your back and silently pleading him for more.

“I have no idea what you are talking about Darling,” Minghao murmured, “I’m just working on my latest masterpiece.” You whined again as he continued trailing the paintbrush across your body, paying close attention to your nipples but refusing to touch you. You were growing increasingly frustrated at the teasing, rubbing your thighs together and pulling at your hands. You almost succeeded in pulling them out of the shirt when his free hand reached up to grab your wrists. “Nice try Angel, you’re not getting away from me that easy,” he hummed. You exhaled sharply as he set the paintbrush to the side gripping your thigh as he trailed his kisses down your chest, stopping to swirl his tongue over your nipple. You gasped softly and arched your back, giving Minghao better access to your chest. He continued with his actions, flicking your nipple with his tongue before wrapping his lips around it and sucking, making you moan softly.

“So sensitive,” he muttered, grazing the skin lightly with one of his fangs before letting it go and switching to give the other side the same treatment. His one hand stayed pressed against your wrists, keeping them in place as you tried pulling away.

“Minghao please,” you begged, “I need you so badly, please do something!”

“Well since you asked so nicely,” he replied, making quick work of his pants and boxers, kicking them to the side and positioning himself at your entrance. Mimicking your actions from before, he spit on his hand to lubricate himself before slowly pushing into you. You threw your head back against the covers and moaned at the familiar stretch, Minghao groaning softly as he bottomed out. He started out with slow thrusts, just feeling you and letting you get used to him before gradually speeding up until he was thrusting into you with the same inhuman speed as before. You already knew you weren’t going to last very long, already feeling your stomach tighten as you closed your eyes and pulled at your makeshift binds, desperate for something to hold on to.

Minghao noticed this and within seconds your hands were free, allowing you to wrap your arms around his neck and pull him against you. Your nails dug painfully into his shoulders but that only seemed to encourage him as his movement continued and his head fell to your shoulder.

“You are so perfect,” he moaned out, making you shiver as his breath tickled your skin, “I love you so much, I don’t think I could ever be without you.” His words made your heart swell, but you were too gone to acknowledge them at the moment, more focused on your rapidly approaching release.

“Hao,” you whined out, “please, I want you to bite me again.” Your words caused his movements to falter a bit, Minghao raising his head to look at you.

“Darling, are you sure?”

“Please, I’m so close please bite me again!” your wish was granted as he buried his fangs into the already formed bite mark while picking up his pace again. The combined pain and pleasure had you cumming with a silent scream, holding onto him like his life depended on it. Minghao slowed down his pace a bit to help you ride through your orgasm, licking at your neck until you settled down. You took a second to catch your breath before sitting up, having to pause for a moment as your head was spinning. Minghao tried to push you to lay back down but you stopped him, “You didn’t finish.”

“Don’t worry about me Angel, I’m more worried about you,” he assured, but you shook your head and pushed him so he was leaning back on his arms.

“Let me help you, I did say I wanted to taste you.” You leaned down and wrapped your fingers around his length, placing a few experimental kisses on the tip. Minghao tried to protest, telling you that it was fine but his words were cut off when you took him into your mouth. His body tensed and he inhaled sharply as you took as much of him in as possible, careful not to gag as you hollowed out your cheeks and began bobbing your head. You could taste yourself on him, but that quickly faded until all your senses could process was Minghao. The way he tasted, the way he smelled, the way his voice sounded as he moaned out praises and encouragement, the way his body tensed whenever you paused to swipe your tongue over his slit. It was intoxicating and you swore you could stay like this forever. Forever didn’t last very long though, as Minghao grabbed your hair to stop your movements, bucking his hips lightly as he released into your mouth. You couldn’t help but moan at the taste, swallowing as much as you could and licking the rest off of him. Minghao shivered at the overstimulation and quickly pulled you off of him, giving you a quick kiss as a thank you.

“You really are something,” he commented, moving to get into bed and pulling you under the covers with him. You immediately snuggled into his chest, wrapping your arm around his waist as he moved to play with your hair. “You are okay though right?” he asked after a moment, “I’m worried I may have gone overboard.” You hum softly and snuggle further into him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. His presence was comforting, and you could feel your heart beating through him, almost as if it was his own. Minghao felt it as well, feeling like you were an extension of his being. Someone he never wanted to let go of, and at least for now he didn’t have to. He knew what this meant, but it wasn’t something he could bring himself to think about right now, wanting to savor the moment instead.

“Hey Hao?” you ask after a moment, “what about that promise you made earlier?”

“Don’t worry about that right now, we’ll talk about it when you’re rested,” he replied.

“Promise?”

“I promise.” You yawned softly, allowing your eyes to close as you realized how tired you had become. You didn’t want to fall asleep, worried he would be gone by the time you woke up. However, your fight to stay awake was in vain and you quickly gave in, hugging Minghao tightly and pressing one last kiss to his cheek.

“I love you Minghao,” you whispered, “I never want to be apart from you again.”

“I love you too darling,” he responded, “and don’t worry, you won’t.” You two would deal with the aftermath of your actions when you woke up. For now you just wanted to enjoy each other's presence for as long as possible.

Seventeen Taglist: @woo8hao @amethyistheart @exfolitae @lexix001

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