Jonghyun soon becomes a regular fixture in their house, and although Kibum was the one to have found him, he’s grown close enough to the both of them that he’s perfectly comfortable coming over to hang out even when Kibum is not at home.

How Jonghyun managed to wriggle his way out of skateboarding Kibum knows not, and dares not bring up for fear of re-awakening Taemin’s interest, but he’s come home several times now to find them getting along well enough without him. Sometimes they watch movies and once or twice Kibum has come upon Jonghyun teaching Taemin how to use software and apps to compose. Whatever the reason for their closeness, Kibum is glad for it.

Their closeness, however, doesn’t impede Taemin’s ability to be an utter sometimes. It’s become Taemin’s favourite thing to turn himself invisible, sneak up on Jonghyun and run his tongue against the back of the man’s neck when he’s least expecting it.

After hearing him shriek for the third time in a day – and Jonghyun can scream quite loudly – Kibum catches Taemin around his middle, pins him to the floor and sits on him.

“That’s enough,” he warns.

“You’re no fun at all,” Taemin complains. His eyes dull from neon green to moss.

“Enough.”

A pout forms on Taemin’s fair face and, without thinking, Kibum leans down to kiss it away. Taemin responds by adding tongue to what had been intended to be an innocent kiss, and when they break apart Jonghyun is watching them with both confusion and lust in his face.

“So… uh, do vampires not believe in the whole thing?”

“?” Taemin asks, confused. His eyes and hair brighten again, and Kibum can sense a preparation for more mischief in him.

“Aren’t you brothers?”

“Only in a loose sense of the word,” Kibum explains. “We weren’t born to the same parents, even if you take into consideration our entry into the vampire world.”

Thankfully, Jonghyun doesn’t press further. Taemin doesn’t give him much of a chance to, because he looks up at Jonghyun and asks “Would you like to kiss me?”

“Yes.” Jonghyun’s characteristic bashfulness has disappeared, and he leans forward to lock lips with an equally eager Taemin. Kibum can’t quite believe that Taemin has managed to beat him to the punch; not after he’s made his attraction to the human obvious. Did Jonghyun really fail to notice? 

When he clears his throat, Taemin breaks the kiss with a knowing smile. He’s glowing; golden hair reflecting the sunlight streaming through Kibum’s windows.

“Key-hyung is jealous,” he says.

“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” There is something almost predatory in Jonghyun’s tone, but his hands are careful as he cups them around Kibum’s face. “Come here.”

It turns out that Kibum’s fantasies of kissing Jonghyun do no justice to the actual event.

They don’t end up sleeping together that day, but Kibum knows it will happen soon. All three of them want it.  

When he brought Jonghyun home, Kibum liked him, but he had no idea just how close they would grow. He finds himself lying awake sometimes, wondering how painful their separation would be when they finally leave this town. He wonders whether it would be preferable to leave Jonghyun behind, or to stay with him or take him somehow, and live their days together until death claimed Jonghyun’s human body for its own. He finds himself veering dangerously close to considering whether he should turn Jonghyun and that’s when he starts worrying about how Taemin will take all of this.

That fear comes to fruition when, on a rainy day, he steps into his house to find it reeking of blood.

Of Jonghyun’s blood.

Without wasting time for thought, Kibum dashes up the stairs, following the scent to where it is strongest.

The first thing he sees is Jonghyun’s blood-covered body laid out on his bed, looking paler than Kibum has ever seen in him in life; looking like he’s been drained of every last drop of blood.

It’s only once Kibum manages to come to overcome the shock of seeing Jonghyun dead and drained that he notices Taemin, huddled on the floor at the foot of the bed; he’s curled into a ball and is rocking back and forth, whimpering.

“Taeminnie?” Kibum gets on his knees in front of Taemin and gently pries his arms away.

Taemin is covered in blood too. His face, his mouth, is bloody like Kibum hasn’t seen in a long time now, and Kibum knows by the smell that it is Jonghyun’s blood. He’s afraid to ask Taemin what happened because it seems like the answer is clear enough.

“Key-hyung,” Taemin sobs, hands coming up to grip Kibum’s arms. “Key-hyung, I don’t know what to do.”

Tears run freely down his cheeks and drip red off his chin. His eyes and skin are blue, sea-like, and that’s how Kibum can tell that he’s feeling lost and scared.

“It’s okay,” he forces himself to say. “I’m here now.”

“I’m sorry,” Taemin cries, burrowing into Kibum’s arms. Kibum lets him, his hair and tries not to notice the way even Taemin’s clothes are wet with blood. “I’m so sorry.”

“What happened?”

“It was… we were walking outside and… and there was a car,” Taemin makes a pained sound. “And we didn’t see, I didn’t see and the car drove off and I didn’t know what else to do.”

From this semi-coherent explanation, Kibum gathers two things; first, that his worst fears are unfounded, and second, that Taemin had, without thinking, done what he did to save Jonghyun.

“It’s okay,” Kibum repeats again, although it most certainly is not. He wipes the tears still running from Taemin’s eyes. “It’s okay, we can handle this. I’m not angry with you.”

With encouragement, Taemin finally stands up on shaky legs. Kibum digs through his drawers for clean clothes and gives Taemin a sweater and jeans to change into, and ushers him into the shared bathroom that connects their bedrooms.

With Taemin out of the way, Kibum finally gets a proper look at Jonghyun. He’s breathing, faintly, but Kibum can see that his ribcage looks crushed. Whatever damage the accident has caused will be repaired when Jonghyun regains consciousness and drinks his maker’s blood.

The thought makes Kibum sick; sick that Jonghyun, who in their months together has never once voiced a desire to be like them, is now doomed to this kind of life and also because Taemin has no idea what it is like to be bitten. The playful nips, though they sometimes draw blood, Kibum gives him when they have are nothing compared to the bite of a thirsty newborn.  

Taemin comes out of the bathroom, his eyes and skin having changed from stormy sea blue to a lighter sky blue. He’s still scared but less so, and Kibum is reminded that he has to take care of this situation.

Jinki is going to kill them all.

“We… we have to move him somewhere. And clean the house.”

Taemin nods. “He stays on campus, right?”

It’s lucky that Jonghyun has a room all to himself, Kibum thinks. They can hide him there while waiting for the change, and Kibum is powerful enough to conjure up a glamour to hide them while transporting Jonghyun there.

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll take Jonghyun to his room. You need to burn everything that has blood on it. Don’t do it in the house, take it outside and burn everything, your clothes, my sheets. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Taemin’s hair changes to fiery red.

“Good boy.”

Kibum takes Jonghyun to his dorm, doing his best not to jostle the still fragile human. It occurs to him that he should kill Jonghyun now, to let fate and nature take their course instead of condemning Jonghyun to a life he never asked for. Like Taemin, he can’t bring himself to let go of Jonghyun. Instead, he lays him in his bed and covers him with his blanket. He takes time that he doesn’t have to wipe the drying blood off Jonghyun’s body.

“I’ll come back soon, okay?” With a final kiss pressed to Jonghyun’s cold forehead, Kibum leaves.

Back home, Taemin has done an admirable job of cleaning. Kibum can’t smell blood anywhere, but one look at Taemin’s colours fading from one shade to another, instead of flashing back and forth brightly, makes it clear that something is terribly wrong. If Kibum can see it, Jinki definitely will too.

“It’s okay, babe,” Kibum says, hoping to reassure himself as well as Taemin. “We’ll figure this out.”

That night, when Kibum senses that Jinki is close, he drags Taemin up to his room and pushes him down on the bed.

“Play along,” he instructs, hastily pulling Taemin’s t-shirt and jeans off. His own t-shirt follows soon after.

Under him, Taemin is shaking with fear, but he does as instructed. He kisses Kibum with a desperation Kibum hasn’t tasted before and pulls him down so that every inch of their bared bodies are pressed together.

“I’m home!” Jinki says downstairs.

Taemin’s eyes go black.

“I love you,” Kibum whispers against Taemin’s lips. “I love you and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Taemin’s eyes turn hazel, warm and full of affection; it takes a beat before Kibum realises that Taemin is mirroring what he can see in him. "Sweet baby," he murmurs, and Taemin pulls him down for a kiss just in time for Jinki to push the room door open. “Guys, did you see the red moon outs-?”

Jinki stops mid-sentence and groans when he understands what they're doing. “Really?”

“You’re welcome to join us,” Kibum says. He doesn't know where he finds the courage to be sassy in the face of death, but he's not going to question it right now. 

“For ’s sake,” Jinki grumbles. He shuts the door behind him and Kibum hears his footsteps on the stairs.

With a breath of relief, he moves to get off Taemin, but the younger locks his legs around Kibum’s waist. “Don’t go,” he begs, pressing little kisses on Kibum’s face. “Don’t stop, hyung, please.”

Kibum has never been able to say no to Taemin.

The next morning, Kibum keeps Taemin in bed with him until Jinki leaves for work. He coos loving words at Taemin until the younger falls asleep again, and only then does he leave to check on Jonghyun.

Jonghyun’s room is empty.

~~~

yay, second chapter up!

stay tuned for part three tomorrow, and as always, let me know what you think in the comments. 

also, to all those who left comments, thank you so much :)