Yoongi sighed aloud as he wandered the streets near his home. It was another sleepless night and he couldn’t stay in his lonesome house any longer. A maelstrom of thoughts swirled in his head with no sign of stopping any time soon. He sighed again as he reached into his pocket for his smokes as if on autopilot. A tiny voice in the back of his head guilted him about the unhealthy habit but, at times like this, he didn’t want to do anything that would prolong his life.

Even so, he knew there were people in his life that were counting on him. His dad left while Yoongi was in high school and he had several siblings his income helped feed. Even with two jobs, his mom couldn’t pull it off on her own. With the intention of helping her, he had moved away with the promise of a well paying job. A well paying job that was killing him slowly.

He had been hired as a traveling bedside companion for dying patients. Basically, his job was to make sure those dying didn’t die alone. Often times families were spread out all over the nation so they couldn’t be with their loved ones who were diagnosed with cancers, , failing bodies etc. Yoongi traveled to the homes of the dying, visiting with them, getting to know them as their disease processes worsened, and holding their hands as they breathed their last breathes. It was a lonely job with no daily co-workers and odd hours that kept him separate from the surrounding community.  

A horn blared as a car sped past Yoongi but he didn’t even lift his head in acknowledgement. He wished the car had just hit him. Thoughts of stepping in front of a speeding car crossed his mind from time to time, but he didn’t want the driver to feel guilty for hurting or, hopefully, killing him. Similar thoughts sprang from some deep, dark well inside him too. Sitting down on one of his winter walks and letting the cold put him to sleep forever. Starving himself in the confines of his small apartment. Whatever it would take to separate himself from this world forever. The only thing that stopped him was knowing his family needed him, although some days it only felt as if they needed his money.

Yoongi wandered the streets in silence never noticing the shadow that followed him.

Jimin had been back in town for a week and was enjoying his nightlife to the fullest. He had a tendency to spend his evenings at the bars dancing and feeding as usual but recently he had begun to long for more. He was used to clubbing on his own. With his tight body and disarming smile he was never alone for long. Even so, he wanted true companionship, not just a fleeting moment. And so, he had decided to search for someone special. He decided to search for someone who needed him.

The bars had now been closed for about an hour and so he had decided to take a stroll. The air was too cold for the average person to be out and about at this time of night but no one ever described Jimin as average anything. A smirk crossed his lips at the thought and then stretched into a full fledged grin. “Nope, definitely not average.” The thought caused him to laugh out loud. The sound of feet scuffing along the sidewalk had him ducking into the nearby doorway of a small cafe that had been closed for hours.

Across the street a blond man was walking, head bowed and shoulders hunched. His black leather jacket creaked as he moved to flick a half smoked cigarette into the gutter. “Hey.” he called out, not sure if it was a greeting or a chastisement. It didn’t matter which he intended because the other man didn’t even look at him as he continued on his way. Curious, Jimin silently crossed the street and began to follow the man.

The air that surrounded the man seemed empty. It was as if he wasn’t really there at all. Just a vapor of life lost shrouded by an aura like a black hole. His life was being out of him and it was obvious to Jimin. He had been traveling for so long and had met many, many people but never any like this. “Guess I’m not the only one who’s definitely not average.” he thought, curiosity peaked.

Ahead, he heard a car speeding towards the intersection the man was approaching. Seemingly in his own world, the man walked into the crosswalk, oblivious of the approaching car. He never looked around him, didn’t bother to adjust his speed, just kept going as if nothing in the world could touch him. Meanwhile, the car sped towards him, spotlighting him in its headlights. Jimin shook his head at the man’s complete disregard and stupidity before rushing ahead and lightly lifting him as he rushed him the rest of the way across the street. The car blared its horn at them and Jimin couldn’t help himself from turning towards the car and flipping it off. “Ever hear of brakes, !? Or how about a speed limit!?” he riled at the car inside his head. Meanwhile the man continued his walk, still heedless of the world around him.

“Ok, dude, you’ve got to stop this.” he said aloud as he stepped into the man’s path.

Yoongi jumped in surprise. “Wha…?” he gasped.

Jimin rolled his eyes. “You do realize you were almost hit by a car, right?” Jimin asked dubiously.

“Whatever.” was all the reply he got from the blond man before he brushed past Jimin and continued his lazy stride. Jimin matched strides with the man, now walking beside him. He let the silence stretch for a while, not sure if the blond man was even aware that he was no longer walking alone.

“Listen,” Yoongi surprised the man next to him by suddenly breaking the silence. “I don’t know what you’re doing here but I’m obviously not up for… whatever you’re doing here.”

With a bright eye smile, Jimin slung his arm around the other man’s shoulders. “I’m just out for a walk. Looks to me you are up for what I’m doing here.”

Yoongi eyed the young man next to him, finally look at him for the first time. His dark hair spilled along his head, smooth and bouncing slightly with his blithe stepps. His eyes were squeezed into crescent slits but an inner brightness seemed to seep out between his lashes. His smile seemed contagious but Yoongi fought of the urge to smile along with him. He was too dazzling to look at for long, too radiant to even be in the presence of. Yoongi wrapped himself in the cloak of his loneliness, stopping his stride to turn around and head the direction he had come from.

Jimin watched as the other man took stock of him. A dark, yearning, wistfulness seemed to ease his features for a moment. He appeared so fragile in that moment and Jimin’s heart melted for him. He could see the man’s pain clear as day and he wanted nothing more than to alleviate it for him. The moment passed quickly though and without a word the man blanked his facial features, putting on a stoic mask. He his heel and began to walk away.

“Unacceptable.” Jimin thought to himself shaking his head in denial. “I can’t let you just leave like this.” he stated matter-of-factly to the blond’s hunched back.

“Huh?” Yoongi asked, turning once again towards the other. “Like what? What are you gonna do about it?” he challenged, not expecting an answer.

At the speed of light, Jimin was before him, gripping his shoulders as he searched the blond’s eyes. “I’m going to show you a whole new world.” he confided. “A world with me in it is definitely worth living for.” he promised. Before Yoongi could retort, Jimin opened his mouth in a wide grin. Yoongi watched in surprise as the two upper canines elongated. He was too shocked to do anything, say anything. Jimin grasped a handful of blond hair, yanking the man’s head to the side and striking at his exposed neck. As he drank deep he wiped away the man’s loneliness, his sadness, the weight of the world that was drowning him slowly. When the man was finally empty, he lowered him to the ground and pressed his own slit wrist to the man’s lips, filling him with himself now and forever.