Snow drifted down from the black sky. It was a new moon tonight, but Luhan could see every snowflake that sank down in the air. His hair was a forest of white clinging to the tips of his thick chocolate hair. He shook his head once and didn't feel the bite of ice as some snow fell onto the back of his neck, between the collar of his thin coat and the short tuffs of hair kissing the nape of his neck. The wind howled and fell silent in angry bursts of air. Luhan knew how many hours he had until the sun came back up, and even Yixing would be asleep at this time. But Luhan was a creature of the night. He wouldn't tire until the earliest hours of the day, and that wouldn't be for a while.

He had plenty of time to run.

As much distance as possible, Luhan thought, between Yixing and himself before the the dimmest glow of sunlight peeked over the horizon. Before then he would have to find a place to stay, a place shrouded in darkness, where he could hide until dark smothered the sun again. Then he would go out again, running in the darkness. That was his life now.

But he hadn't drunk for many days now, and the thirst would be upon him soon. If he didn't sate himself tonight, perhaps he would rise a monster the next, unable to take control of his body.

It would be a disaster.

---

Luhan was thirsty, that much he knew. There was a dim haze to his mind, dulling his thoughts until there was only the desire to satisfy that thirst. He gnawed on the palm of his hand, watching as the blood welled up from the holes his canines punched through his skin before it healed. He hungrily lapped up the precious crimson liquid and experienced a blissful sensation for a short while. But this was his own blood, and it would not sustain him at all. He needed something else.

The door cracked open and a tall young man stuck his head in. "Hey Luhan, you okay? You've been in there for a while."

Luhan turned his head towards the door and heard a shark intake of breath. He realized what it must have looked like to Yifan. The room was pitch-black and his eyes were glowing red with bloodlust.

Yifan's thoughts were racing. He'd never had to deal with this side of Luhan before. Yixing had told him what to do though. What had he said? Break contact, slowly. Talk to him gently. And if he lunges for you, get as far away from him as possible.

Yifan slowly extracted his head from the room and began to pull the door closed. "Alright Luhan, I'm going to leave now..."

But before he could close the door completely, Luhan rushed across the room in a blur of movement and yanked the door back open, pulling Yifan into the room along with it. Yifan stumbled, but Luhan shoved him onto his bed before he could fall, grasping his shoulders and sinking his canines into Yifan's neck. He eagerly, biting down more harshly as Yifan thrashed in his arms, relishing in the lifeblood that could cure his thirst for another few days.

"No, Luhan, stop!" Yifan yelled, struggling vainly against a creature who was far more powerful that he could ever be.

Luhan heard, but his brain refused to allow guilt to pause his feeding. Whatever the consequences were, he could deal with them after the bloodbag was drained. And when Yifan started screaming for Yixing, his throat was so clogged with his own blood his screams died down into gargles and his ragged breaths came in spurts of crimson.

Luhan was so lost in pleasure he didn't hear when Yixing shouted his older brother's name or when he slammed the door open an instant later. It was when his lover shouted his own name that his brain unclouded and he returned to reality.

Trembling slightly, Luhan slowly loosened his vice-like grip on Yifan's shoulders and let the man fall onto the stained bedsheets. He lifted his eyes to Yixing's, and Yixing saw as the red diffused from his pupils. Luhan sat numbly on his bed, his now brown eyes locked on Yixing's.

Yixing breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to Yifan. "Gege! Gege, are you alright?"

He kept shaking Yifan with no response.

After a long pause, Luhan said softly, "He will be okay."

Yixing looked up, and Luhan dropped his gaze to his lap.

"He will?" The relief was obvious in Yixing's voice.

Luhan's eyes rose to meet Yixing's, and he gave a curt nod. Then his gaze fell once again to his lap. "He won't die of bloodloss. I didn't take enough blood to kill him. But..." He hesitated.

Yixing reached over to tilt Luhan's chin up and make eye contact. "Tell me," he said softly but firmly.

"Yifan... He won't be human when he wakes up. He'll be like me... a monster," Luhan admitted, an apology shining in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Yixing." He glanced down at his hands. "I'm so sorry."

Yixing ran a hand through his hair and forced a smile. "Luhan..."

Luhan angrily pressed his face into his hands, hating himself for the way his nose flared with the proximity of Yifan's blood on his hands. "Yifan... I'm so sorry."

Yixing separated Luhan's hands from his face and cupped his cheek. "Luhan, it's not your fault. Yifan-ge will be fine."

He used his thumb to brush a bit of Yifan's blood from the edge of Luhan's lips.

"Look at me," Yixing commanded.

Luhan did.

"I love you, Luhan."

Luhan drew in a large breath. "I know, Yixing... I know. And I love you too." He let out the breath. "But I can't. I can't live like this, so close to you. What happened today, what I did to Yifan, it should never have happened. And I can't bear the thought," his voice cracked, "of this happening - to you. I can't control it."

Luhan pulled Yixing close and pressed his lips against Yixing's for a short second, then pulled away. He slid off what had been his shared bed with Yixing for the past few months and started towards the door.

"You can!" Yixing threw his arms around his lover from behind. "And you will! I trust you."

"You trust me..." Luhan clasped his hands around Yixing's lovingly. "But I can't trust myself."

Luhan carefully separated Yixing's hands and took a single step out of his embrace. Yixing reached for him, but Luhan was already at the door, back turned to him.

"I'm a monster, Yixing."

And Luhan darted off with the speed of replenished blood in his veins. Yixing followed Luhan to the front door, arriving far too late to stop him.

"I don't care how far you run, I will always find you!" Yixing shouted into the night, tears streaming down his face. "You may be fast, but you only have night to run, and I have day and night to catch up!"

Luhan heard, and those words played over and over in his mind like a broken record as he ran, through small woods and backyards, across bridges and highways, further away from Yixing with each step he took.

---

Luhan didn't know how long he strode through the small forest, basking in the soft glow of starlight upon his face and losing his mind to numbness with every stride. Gradually, his mind ceased to reflect within and permitted his senses to search without. Almost immediately he detected what his body needed and drew in the scent. He knew his eyes would be glowing a deep red that would have unsettled Yixing, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He prepared himself to lunge as soon as his target was close enough.

"Luhan!"

Once again, that voice cleared Luhan's mind from its numbing haze.

"Yixing?!" Luhan cried in disbelief.

Yixing ran into Luhan with an embrace strong enough to knock him back a step. "Luhan. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

Against better thought, Luhan hugged him back affectionately. "It's been so long... I think I have an idea."

Yixing tightened his hold and planted a sweet kiss on Luhan's lips before hooking his chin on Luhan's shoulder. "So long..."

They stayed in that position for a long while, snowing falling gently around them, until Luhan shifted his head.

"Yixing," Luhan murmured into the other's ear. Yixing squirmed in his arms as Luhan's breath warmed the side of his neck. "What are you doing here?"

Yixing turned his head to gaze into Luhan's deep brown eyes.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

---

Luhan was in pain. Fire was all he could feel. Flames burning along many parts of his body, reducing his skin to ashes and turning the flesh beneath a bloody vermilion. And a flame deep within the pits of his stomach, harboring a dark desire. He laid there, too weak to move, each small twitch he made sending new waves of pain through his body. He must have lain there for hours, until the light dimmed and the flames on his body finally sputtered out.

"Hey."

Luhan heard the light, clear voice close to his head and opened his eyes to soft brown ones, peering at him with concern.

"Hey, are you alright?" Those worried eyes glanced down his body.

Luhan could only imagine how he looked. Fire had ravished his body for hours. What was left of his skin would be a charred, black mess. Rivulets of blood ran through the ash of his skin, and in some parts, white bone shone through the gore. But something in his head told him his injuries were nothing that couldn't be fixed. He instantly realized what he needed.

"Blood..." Luhan croaked. "I need blood."

The man leaning over him chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I'd say you do. You certainly have lost plenty of that..."

The stranger reached inside the pack beside him and took out a blood bag. Luhan's eyes, glowing dimly, locked on the dark liquid, and he used his last remaining strength to grab the bag from the man's hand and bring it to his mouth. The man let out a small gasp when he saw Luhan's canines slide out from his mouth and pierce the blood bag. Luhan gulped down the precious liquid and moaned. He could already feel parts of his flesh knitting itself back together.

"More?" the man inquired.

Luhan nodded gratefully. He drank the rest of the man's blood supply, two more bags, and although it wasn't enough to heal him completely, he could control his instinct to attack his savior.

The man helped him to his feet and half carried, half dragged Luhan to his home.

Along the way, Luhan learned the name of the stranger, Yixing, and that he had been volunteering at a blood drive before heading back to his home within walking distance. He had seen the bright orange glow of the flames burning Luhan's body and had gone to check it out.

Luhan was lying in Yixing's bed when he sat up and uttered his fifth word that night. "Yixing..."

Yixing, in a chair beside his bed, looked up from his book. "Huh?"

"I'm dangerous," Luhan told him.

"Yes," Yixing acknowledged with a nod. "I know."

Luhan sank back down into the pillows. "I shouldn't be here."

Yixing closed his book and set it aside. "Maybe you think that. But you should, and you are."

"You don't know what I'm capable of."

Yixing grinned. "No, maybe not. But I know what you're not capable of. And right now, you're not capable of doing much of anything. So I'll take care of you for now, and maybe you can show me what you're capable of when you get better."

There was a short pause. Then Luhan pointed out, "you don't even know my name."

"True." Yixing nodded and smiled. "But you can tell me later. For now, just rest, and don't worry about me. Let me take care of you, and you just focus on regaining your strength."

Luhan knew it would be futile to keep arguing, so he sighed and closed his eyes. Yixing picked his book back up and continued reading.

After a long while, Yixing thought the man in his bed had drifted off and was asleep. But Luhan, eyes still closed, opened his mouth and proved him wrong.

"Luhan," he said.

Yixing smiled. "Luhan," he repeated.

And Luhan let sleep overtake him.

---

"Of course." Luhan nodded slowly.

Yixing broke from their embrace and gestured around them. "I don't know if you'd remember, you were half dead when I found you. But it was here, wasn't it?"

Luhan looked around, realization dawning in his eyes. "It was... I don't know how I got here."

"I don't know either, but I've found you." Yixing grinned ruefully. "I've been following you for months, and you decide to come back to this place."

The corners of Luhan's lips lifted up. "Well this is where my life began."

Yixing pulled Luhan closer and leaned forwards to give him a light peck on the lips. "I'm never letting you go again."

Luhan didn't say anything in response and let Yixing drag him to a small clearing where the constellations shone through a large gap in the trees. But unbeknownst to Yixing, Luhan could still feel the calling of thirst inside him, and he knew he only had a limited amount of time before the bloodlust would transform him.

Yixing laid down on the snow-covered grass and pulled Luhan down beside him to watch the sky together. The position was instantly familiar to Luhan. They had spent so many nights like this, gazing at the stars for lack of other nightly activities. They spent this night together like so many others before, lying beneath the starlight out of reach of the shadows, hands clasped together between them until a thin layer of snow covered the two.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Yixing remarked again.

Luhan brought their clasped hands up and kissed the back of Yixing’s hand. “Me too.”

"Will you stay with me now?"

"Yes," Luhan answered, a bit too soon.

Yixing raised an eyebrow. "Promise."

Luhan paused. "How's Yifan doing?"

"He's fine," Yixing reassured him. "He hasn't done anything even vaguely threatening to me or anyone else. To be honest, he's practically quarantined himself in his room for more time than is probably healthy. But nothing else has changed. Besides you not being there."

Luhan nodded.

"So promise me, Luhan," Yixing insisted.

Luhan shook his head. "I can't do that, Yixing. I really can't. And it's not that I don't want to see you. Anything but that. I can't control it. I can't control the thirst, Yixing, and I can't control myself. I can't let myself hurt you, or even come near to hurting you. So you have to trust me when I say I can't promise you I'll stay. I love you Yixing, there's no denying that, and I wouldn't want to anyways. But I can't bear the thought of being near you, subjecting you to the monster I am."

Luhan sat up and pulled Yixing up with him.

"Thanks for the night," Luhan said. "It'll be unforgettable, as always. Come on, I'll walk you home." Luhan grinned. "I remember the way."

"But will you stay?" Yixing asked, standing up beside Luhan.

Luhan looked at Yixing, affection and love shining in his eyes, along with something more primal from deeper within. "Yes."

It was not what either of them hoped. Luhan feared he would never be able to let go, and Yixing feared he wouldn't be able to convince Luhan to stay.

The walk home was tense. Yixing, usually talkative, was far more reserved, choosing to almost crush Luhan's fingers in a grip that wouldn't let go and take every step as slowly as possible without being too obvious, although Luhan knew what he was doing and, against his rational thought, fully supported it.

The two approached an intersection. Luhan could feel, with every delayed step he took, the thirst that slowly took control of his mind and each beat of Yixing's heart in the warm hand that clutched his.

Luhan slowly drew air into his lungs and forced it out again. Yixing’s heart beat at its steady rate. Luhan could make his lungs work. He could pretend his lungs could function.

But Yixing’s heartbeat?

That Luhan could not replicate. He wasn’t even sure how much blood remained in his veins. He needed to replenish it before it ran out. And the closest solution was right there beside him, holding his hand.

The light turned red, and the walking figure was shone. They had fifteen seconds to cross.

It took them only ten.

At the eleventh second Luhan paused for a moment to think and come to a decision.

At the twelfth second Luhan slid his hand from Yixing's grasp so smoothly he didn't notice it was gone until the thirteenth, when Luhan made it back to the other side.

The last two seconds were wasted in moments of mind-numbing disbelief, and when the cars started through the intersection again, Luhan and Yixing were separated on opposite sides of the road.

"Luhan!" Yixing screamed. "Why?"

"Yixing, I love you," Luhan replied, barely within earshot for Yixing. "But I'm dangerous, and you must accept that. I've walked you back most of the way, so finish it and go home!" He turned to leave.

"No," Yixing muttered, too soft for Luhan to hear even with his enhanced hearing.

But somehow Luhan sensed what Yixing was going to do before he did it.

"No!" Luhan yelled, spinning back around. "Yixing, don't!"

But Yixing did. The snow swirled a bit where Yixing had been before he had lept into the busy intersection. A heartfelt confession of love was lost in the screech of rubber on asphalt and the crunch of metal on bone.

And suddenly the thick scent of metallic blood filled the air. Luhan's nose flared, and his eyes darkened with thirst. What had eluded him for the entire night had just become available. He followed the scent to its source.

For the second and last time in his life, Yixing saw the glint of Luhan's unnaturally long and sharp canines as the man he loved, consumed by thirst, lapped up his spilled blood from the snow and the rest of his lifeforce from his veins. A few moments later, Luhan stood from the scene and left behind the husk of the man he loved, lying unnaturally pale even against the white snow.

The snow swirled faster and settled, and when the sun rose, there was no sign at all of the blood that had been spilled or the monster that had been unleashed.