Sooyoung waited for the Ice Princess’s eyes to open, which they did slowly, adapting to the rays of light that penetrated the thin, faded curtains. Jessica stretched, yawning, but stopped when Sooyoung winced. She gazed at Sooyoung thoughtfully, her eyes fixed on those brown veins sticking out of his wrist. Her lingering gaze travelled up Sooyoung’s weak and emaciated body to his pale face. He smiled, sending warmth all over her body and temporarily forgetting her true intentions. She made his way towards him, wading through her fort of pillows and her blanket. She faltered as pain shot up her arm, and she whimpered as he winced again. Sooyoung seemed to understand that Jessica was moving towards him and went to her instead. His fingers brushed at her hair lightly as he in front of her. The bed creaked a little under both of their weight and Sooyoung grinned sheepishly.

“Sooyoung…this, everything,” Jessica gestured at her entire self. “I…I want to give it to you.”

Sooyoung frowned, turning away. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…I want to feed you,” Jessica pulled at her collar, exposing the milky-white patch of skin that sent Sooyoung’s mind in an uncontrollable state of frenzy.

Sooyoung tried to turn away, but found himself staring at the slender neck. Before he could stop himself, he advanced towards her, his nose skimming the creamy surface of her neck. Jessica felt his cold breath on her neck and shivered. She was absolutely certain and adamant on feeding Sooyoung, but somehow, her instincts were telling her to run. Still, she remained still.

Sooyoung then pulled back, leaving her disappointed. “Stop, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Jessica gently held his hands and placed them on her lap. He avoided her eyes and fought the urge to just sink his teeth into her flesh. His gums were aching already, and his eyes were darkening to the colour of congealed blood, the colour of bloodlust. His canines lengthened and he tilted his head back in pleasurable pain, slightly.

“You have to. You’re weak now. Anything could happen to you,” Jessica insisted.

“No, stop,” he said weakly. “You don’t understand. I can’t feed on you, without killing you.”

There was a pause as Jessica thought of those words carefully. Jessica’s face remained cool and blank, infuriating Sooyoung.

“I feed on your flesh, not blood, Jessica. I can survive without blood, but not without flesh.”

“Well, then do it,” Jessica only said simply.

“Jessica!” Sooyoung pushed her hands away, regretting it when both of them flinched at the sudden burst of pain.

Sooyoung stood far away from Jessica, cramming himself in the farthest corner of the room. When Jessica didn’t move from the bed, Sooyoung breathed a sigh of relief. He decided to leave, not wanting to be tempted to do something he would regret a few hundred years later. As he opened the door, he heard rustling and looked back as he felt the abrupt urge to cry. Jessica had somehow managed to slip herself under the covers and was now burying her head in the pillow. Sooyoung felt the raw pain of rejection and the shame that burned at his cold cheeks. Gently shutting the door, he climbed onto the bed quietly and the blonde’s hair.

“Jessica, I’m sorry,” Sooyoung felt remorseful; he wasn’t supposed to make her cry.

Jessica didn’t reply and pretended not to hear him.

“Would it make you feel better if I leave?” Sooyoung then stopped her hair and proceeded to the door, feeling disappointed when Jessica didn’t stop him.

The door swung open, but Sooyoung still wasn’t able to feel or hear Jessica’s objection to his departure. Silently, with guilt eating at his frozen heart, he took it as a sign for him to leave.

Taeyeon was casually walking on the snow-covered pavement, his boots crunching in the snow while Tiffany was hugging her coat tighter to herself, her teeth chattering in the cold. Her nose was red from the cold and her hands felt numb. Rubbing them together, she breathed on them and slipped them in her coat pocket. Taeyeon watched from the side as Tiffany warmed herself up.

“So, princess, do you have any idea where we’re going?” Taeyeon said, his breath forming white mist in the dry air.

The shops were only starting to open and sleepy, red-nosed shopkeepers appeared from the back, turning on the heater and turning the hanging placard from a ‘closed’ sign to an ‘open’ sign. Mistletoes and wreaths decorated the glass doors with Christmas specials and offers, but Taeyeon barely spared them a glance.

“I don’t know. It’s snowing. Somewhere warm, maybe?” Tiffany was busy hugging her coat to herself. She shot him a disbelieving glance. “Aren’t you cold? You’re not even dressed for winter.”

Taeyeon shrugged absentmindedly, as if he had not given his attire much thought. Taeyeon’s grey shirt was freshly pressed and free of any wrinkles or creases and Tiffany wondered if his mother did the ironing and the pressing for him. Taeyeon chuckled darkly by her side, apparently whimsically amused at something.

“What?”

“You’re staring at my shirt as if you’re wondering if my mother did it for me,” Taeyeon stifled a laugh.

“Well, she did, didn’t she?” Tiffany crossed her arms.

Taeyeon pursed his lips as if he was looking for the right words to say. He walked on, the soles of his boots grinding at the melting snow.

“My mother’s dead. She died a long time ago,” Taeyeon said matter-of-factly.

Tiffany’s expression morphed into that of shock. She looked down, her eyes scanning the pavement.

“I’m sorry.”

“Glad to hear it.”

The conversation lapsed into silence that both Tiffany and Taeyeon were uncomfortable with. Tiffany snuck glances at Taeyeon while Taeyeon only looked ahead, not even sparing a glance at his ‘princess’. As a form of apology, Tiffany hooked her arms with his. He froze momentarily, shocked at the sudden contact between them. Tiffany leaned into Taeyeon’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth radiating from him. She looked up at him to see him smiling, and twinkling, lively onyx eyes gazed back down into hers.

Readers’ Note:

TaeNy’s date isn’t over yet! What’d you think I should make them do? And yes, it’s Christmas, knowing that Christmas really is coming, I’ll just add a little of that. And Jessica finally confessed! For real! What about Sooyoung? How do you think he’ll react? As you guys know, our giant shikshin can’t love. Heheh…tricky, tricky. Forget Christmas…I wrote this during Christmas, so forgive me, readers.

Thank you for reading!

Yours Faithfully
Jazzign