Lay pursed his lips and knocked on the door gingerly. In his hands, he was holding a box full of cups that he had brought as a housewarming gift. The past couple days had been a bit of a whirlwind for him, and it didn’t help that Tao had been almost entirely absent for most of it. While he was gone, Lay had managed to get some more information on the pledge he was about to make and Soyoung had moved into his apartment building.

To be quite honest, Lay had mixed feelings about the whole thing. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Soyoung around. Actually he was incredibly happy that she lived closer to him now. It meant that he’d be able to see her more often and they could spend more time together. However he realized that her being so close meant that he hypothetically had unbridled access to her, his only blood source. Lay constantly lived on the prayer that he would be able to control himself. He hated to think about how much trouble he was putting Soyoung in.

 The movement of the door in front of him pulled Lay from his thoughts, and he was met with a smiling Soyoung at the door. To his displeasure, before he could even greet her, Lay’s mind focused on the fact that she happened to be wearing an off the shoulder sweater, exposing her smooth pale neck—and giving Lay easy access to the veins that presided there.  His mouth watered at the prospect of tasting her tonight and inwardly he chided himself. No matter how thirsty he was, he needed to stay in control.

Especially tonight. If he was going to pledge himself to her tonight, he couldn’t lose control. Lay didn’t even let himself consider the possibility. Im Soyoung was never to be hurt by anyone, and especially not him.

Forcing himself to focus, Lay smiled down at her and held up the box in his hands, “I brought you a housewarming gift.”

She took the box from his hands and smiled up at him, “Thanks. You know, I’ve needed some new cups. One of my favorite mugs broke yesterday.”

Lay rolled his eyes, remembering Soyoung’s disappointment when she opened one of the boxes he had carried in for her to find that her beloved coffee mug had been broken into pieces. “Oh, well how did that happen?”

“My clumsy boyfriend was helping me move in. He set down one of the boxes too hard and it broke,” Soyoung reminded him.

“Hey, I’m still getting used to this stronger than normal thing.” Lay defended, pulling her into a hug. “And I didn’t break anything else either.”

She snuggled into his chest, “Well, you haven’t crushed me yet, so I think you’re doing alright.” Soyoung pulled away to inspect the cups he had bought her. “I'll go put these in the kitchen. Have a seat, I'll be back.”

Lay gingerly sat on the new sofa that Soyoung's parents had bought her as a housewarming gift.  He drummed his fingers on his thighs and exhaled.

“Do you want some water or anything?” his girlfriend called from the kitchen.

“Ah, no. I probably shouldn't have anything else in my system..since it's the first time.” He followed her with his gaze as she walked back to him.

“That's true,” Soyoung sat beside Lay and turned to him, trying to smile reassuringly, “Are you nervous?”

“I should be the one asking you that,” Lay chuckled.    

“Anything I should know?”

“You’ll become tired soon after, apparently,” Lay said quietly, “Seohyun said that human bodies need time to adjust to the venom. But the tiredness should wear off in a few days.”

Soyoung nodded, “Okay.” The two of them sat in a tense silence before she reached out and took Lay’s hand.

“Hey. I’ll be fine,” she said. Soyoung placed Lay's hand on her  cheek. “We’ll be fine.” Her skin was warm and soft under his fingertips. As she let go of his wrist, Lay's hand involuntarily slid down the side of Soyoung's neck, his thumb the prominent vein there. He could feel the rhythmical palpitations of the rushing blood. His breathing hitched and he quickly moved his hand away.

“Soyoung, we don't have to do this today, if you're not ready. I can find another way if you- ”

Soyoung firmly shook her head, “No, Lay. If we don't do it now, you never will.”

Lay knew she was right. If he could go on surviving on the blood donations from Tao, he would. If it weren't for Soyoung he would have been like the others, taking blood from those who would give it, some willingly and some by force. But if he was to live forever, Soyoung had to be involved somehow. The prospect of eternal life without her was a grim one.

“Look,” Soyoung continued, “I even wore this shirt to make things easier”. She gestured at the cowl-necked sweater that she was wearing.

Lay exhaled sharply, remembering how appetizing she had looked to him at the door.  Shaking the thought off, he replied, “I...noticed.”

“You need this,” Soyoung said softly and brushed the few stray hairs off of Lay's forehead, “I trust you, and I love you.” She paused, searching his eyes, “I know you're not going to hurt me. Because you love me too.”

Lay sighed. It was either now or never. He let his fangs slide out voluntarily for the first time. He ran his tongue over the new incisors, surprised at their sharpness. His courage faltered, but Soyoung raised his wrist to his mouth, nodding at him to continue. Lay closed his eyes and allowed the fangs to pierce his skin. The action felt counter-intuitive and almost suicidal. Whatever little strength he had left in his body slowly drained out of him. The taste of his own blood seeping into his mouth was not pleasant at all. Lay found his own blood horribly bitter. But then, any other taste would be unpleasant to him compared to Soyoung.

Believing that he had drank a sufficient amount, Lay lowered his hand and gazed at Soyoung.

“Just do it,” She prodded, her voice barely audible.

Lay lightly brushed his lips against hers.

“I love you,” He murmured onto her lips. He could smell the fresh blood that had crept up her cheeks. He pecked a trail of soft kisses down the side of her neck until he reached her vein. Lay could feel her skin tremble lightly against his lips with each pump of her heart. With slow determination, Lay ejected his fangs again. They scraped the surface of Soyoung's skin, not yet piercing through. Lay took one last breath, then carefully sunk his fangs into her skin. Soyoung whimpered slightly and Lay began to retract, but she reached for his hand, holding it firmly, and pulled herself closer to him. He relaxed and allowed his senses to be overcome with her blood. She tasted incredible. His head reeled as her blood rushed through him, causing every fibre of his being to tingle with life.

Lay was jolted out of the ecstasy when he felt Soyoung's grip on his wrist loosen. An internal battle ensued. His thoughts screamed at him to stop, warning him that he would kill her if he continued. It scared him how hard it was for him to obey those thoughts. He wouldn’t kill her, he couldn’t.

Taking one last taste, Lay ran his tongue over the marks he had left on Soyoung's skin, the savoury taste of her blood lingering on his taste buds. Already he could notice the marks healing, looking less gruesome by the second.

Soyoung's head fell against Lay's chest, throwing him into a panic.

“Are-are you okay?” He felt her forehead, noticing the considerably drop in her body temperature.

Lay felt her nod, “I'm  fine, just..tired.” His jaw clenched and he inwardly scolded himself for not stopping sooner.

“You're cold..I think I took too much. We should go to the hospital or- “

Soyoun shushed him gently. “You said I was going…to get sleepy remember?” Her voice was airy, like a child who was drifting out of consciousness and into dreamland. “That’s all that’s happening.” She reassured, “I’m just sleeping.” She mumbled. Lay felt her lashes tickle his neck as her eyes fluttered closed. His shoulders stiffened at the contact. He mused at the irony that he was the one with sensitive nerves in his neck. If the tables were turned, this process would have been near impossible.

With much difficulty, Lay ignored Soyoung’s soft breath on his neck and carried her into her bedroom, laying her down softly. He turned to leave the room when something stopped him.

He didn’t know what it was but there was something in Lay that wouldn’t let him leave. He couldn’t just leave her there,  cold and vulnerable. She was his pledge. Because of that, everything inside him wanted to protect her. The pledge had tied him to her. He knew that even if he left he wouldn’t stop thinking about her. Leaving the apartment, or the room even, would only fill him with anxiety.

It was as if Soyoung was magnetic and Lay was in her field of attraction.He couldn’t leave. He didn’t want to leave.  Lay chuckled nervously to himself. So this is what Tao and Seohyun meant about him being compelled to protect her.

Resigning to his desires, Lay slowly pulled back the covers and laid down next to Soyoung. He reasoned with himself that this was part of his pledge. He stayed that way for a while,  but still the pain in his chest persisted. Sighing, Lay gently pulled her into his arms being careful not to wake her. He listened to the cadence of her breath.

Almost instantly, he felt the uneasiness leave his body. Comfort washed over him and slumber overtook his eyelids. She was safe in his arms now. She was protected.

A/N (beautyfromashes): Hello subbies and new readers! I’m backkk~ Did you guys miss me? :’D I figured that you all deserved a quick update for sticking with us these past few weeks. Tbh, I’ve had this chap written for a while (megs started it and I continued it since I was soo super excited to write this one), but we needed more explanation of what was going on in between.

I hope you all are enjoying the last of summer/back-to-school time (OTL, uni/college for me and megs ;A;) Thanks for reading, we love you all~