Hyesung's head immediately picked up when he caught a whiff of that familiar smell. The scent of cigarettes, burn ointment and black coffee.

  Already he was being transported to the memories in his head, of warm summer days spent under the shade of trees, and picnics where the drinks always got spilled and random animals would steal the food.

  "Do you really have to smoke right now?" Hyesung scoffed as Eric blew out another puff of the light grey smoke, tendrils swirling and dissipating in the air. Eric looked at Hyesung from where he sat on the checkered red cloth and rolled his eyes playfully before grinning. Instead of grinding the nicotine stick into the ground, he brought it to his lips again and took another breath.

  "Yes." he replied cheekily, holding the cigarette between his fingers and grinning at the Vampire who only rolled his eyes, groaning dramatically and shoving the human's shoulder.

  However, Hyesung wasn't really angry, and secretly smiled to himself. This smile didn't go unnoticed by Eric who continued to grin before leaning over and attacking the pretty man with kisses. 

  "Y-yah! Get off!" the pale man yelled, blushing as much as a Vampire could due to the other's affection. Eric only laughed between the kisses and continued, before he stopped and just stared at Hyesung. Hyesung stared back before Eric closed the gap and kissed him full on the lips.

  Only a second after, Hyesung pushed him off and coughed.

  "Augh..." he groaned as Eric sat back down in his spot. "Now my mouth tastes like smoke because of you." Hyesung glared at the human who only smiled in return and took another drag of the cigarette. 

  A warm summer breeze blew between them, and Eric intertwined his fingers with Hyesung's, only making the other even more flustered. Eric chuckled, the warm noise making Hyesung smile in the slightest although he was still holding hands with the other. Instead of letting go though, he only tightened his hold on the hand, making Eric smile as well, the two of them sitting in the shade until the sun went down.

  He couldn't be here though. Shouldn't be here.

  The pretty man looked around frantically to find out where the human was, in hopes of running away before the other caught sight of him. However, it was too late as he suddenly froze, staring into the warm dark brown eyes of his past lover. 

  Another memory pushed its way to the front of his mind, of another time he had seen those eyes.

  Hyesung smiled happily and forcefully wrapped his arms around Eric.

  "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed over and over, making Eric laugh and grin, wrapping his arms around the other's waist.

  "I'm glad you like it." the human whispered into the crown of Hyesung's head.

  "Like it? I love it!" Eric continued to smile happily at the way Hyesung was acting. Seeing this side of Hyesung was very, very rare. It only happened when he was really happy or grateful, which sometimes didn't happen very often.

  Suddenly, Hyesung's arms wrapped tighter around the middle of Eric's back, and the taller suddenly winced. This didn't go unnoticed by the Vampire who suddenly let go and looked up at the other worriedly.

  "Eric, are you okay?" he asked, the worry evident in his voice. Eric just nodded.

  "Yeah, 'm fine." he muttered with a small smile. However, Hyesung could still notice the pain lacing his words and shook his head.

  "I didn't even hug you that hard, so it can't be because of that." he deduced, making Eric slightly nervous as he continued to speak. "Then what is it? Is there something you're not telling me?" Hyesung watched Eric carefully as the human sweat-dropped, rubbing the back of his neck.

  "Of course not."

  Hyesung could hear the other's pulse speed up, indicating that he was lying.

  "Eric, don't lie to me." he said lowly, stepping forward threateningly, so very different from the way he was before. Eric sheepishly stepped back, looking around awkwardly before sighing, expression becoming solemn. 

  "Okay...fine." he surrendered. Then the human silently motioned for Hyesung to follow him as the two of them walked out of the parking garage of the apartment building. Without a word, they entered the elevator to go up to the 8th floor where Eric's apartment was. As they rode up, Hyesung looked over at Eric who stared at nothing, as if he was thinking deeply.

  Now Hyesung was even more worried, but instead of talking, kept his mouth shut and walked out of the elevator with the other.

  Once they reached Eric's apartment, he put the code in and unlocked the door, gesturing for Hyesung to walk inside. The Vampire did walk in, taking off his shoes as Eric followed and shut the door behind them, locking it.

  Then Eric pushed passed him and walked through the kitchen, down the hallway towards his bedroom.

  "Eric?" Hyesung called after the other, setting his present on the island of the kitchen and walking after the other. When he came to the bedroom door, he was met with the sight of Eric pulling off his coat, before reaching for his t-shirt with both hands. "Eric, what are you doing? I'm not in the mood fo-" His words stopped though as Eric continued to pull his shirt off, revealing a scarred back.

  Burn marks ran up and down it, angry and red. The area covered was at least half of the human's back, and looked painful although it seemed mostly healed.

  "E-Eric..." 

  Hyesung walked up to the other and lightly placed his hand over Eric's left shoulder blade, feather-light touch making him flinch slightly. The way his back stretched made the burns look like they would split and bleed. 

  "This is why, I always ask you to hug me around the waist." Eric mumbled, clutching his shirt to his chest because of shame and embarrassment. Hyesung only continued to study the large wound with a morbid fascination, before he gulped and suddenly turned the other around.

  "How did it happen?" he questioned, and immediately noticed the sad look that filled the human's eyes.

  "It...um...can I just tell you later?" 

  "Uh...yeah, sure..." 

  Hyesung nodded as Eric slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. 

  "Is there...is there anything I can help with?" Hyesung then asked, looking around the room as Eric held his t-shirt in his lap.

  "You don't have to-"

  "I do."

  Eric sighed before pointing to the dresser, and Hyesung swiftly walked over to it.

  "There's a bottle, in the top drawer. It's for the..." Eric didn't finish the sentence but Hyesung knew exactly what he was talking about.

  Opening up the top drawer of the dresser, Hyesung pulled out a bottle with a prescription label on it. 'Burn Ointment - apply to affected area and gently rub into skin until all excess is absorbed'.

  Hyesung turned back around and walked towards the bed, climbing on top of it and situating himself behind Eric, opening the bottle. After twisting the cap off, he put the plastic piece on the bedside table before slowly tilting the bottle and pouring some of the thick yellowish liquid into his hand. The smell reminded him of hospitals and nursing homes, with the tiniest tinge of some random plant always being displayed on TV.

  "Tell me if it hurts..." Hyesung mumbled quietly, putting the bottle between his knees and rubbing his hands together before putting them on Eric's back again. He could feel the muscles beneath his palms tense, but slowly the other relaxed as Hyesung went about with his work.

  "Thanks." Eric said quietly, looking back at Hyesung with the barest of smiles. Hyesung smiled back at him softly and nodded, putting more liquid onto his hand and applying it to the rest of the burned area as they sat together in the dimly lit bedroom.

  Although he could dash away any time, with the speed to definitely outrun the other, Hyesung was rooted to his spot on the sidewalk as the human started walking towards him. Faintly in his mind, he could hear the other's thrumming pulse. A pulse that was often slow and sluggish when the two had woken up on the morning.

  For one last time, he was transported to another memory as the other continued to walk to him.

  "Good morning." Hyesung mumbled sleepily, burying his face in Eric's chest as the other held a cup of coffee in his hand. The taller smiled, just as tired as the other as he kissed the top of his head.

  "Good morning, sleep well?"

  "Mm-hm." he hummed, just taking a moment to breathe in a scent that was so...peculiar, yet one that he had come to love.

  Eric smiled softly and, wrapping one arm around the Vampire's waist, he took a drink from his coffee mug. The bitter liquid didn't really do anything to satisfy his taste-buds, but it certainly did wake him up. 

  "Want some?" Eric then asked Hyesung, gesturing to the cup slightly. Turning to face sideways, still leaning his head into Eric's chest, Hyesung grunted and shook his head.

  "God, no. You want me to drink that crap?" he replied with disgust, sticking out his tongue before snuggling into Eric more, like he always did when he was tired in the morning. Eric only chuckled, a deep tone that reverberated in Hyesung's ears and made him smile.

  "Alright then." was the only thing Eric replied with, taking another sip of the hot drink and holding onto Hyesung tightly as the two of them struggled to wake up.

  "Hyesung."

  When Hyesung was broken out of his thoughts, Eric's warm and strong arms were wrapped around him tightly. The taller man buried his face into Hyesung's shoulder, bending over slightly. 

  He was in a tan coat, holding onto a cup of freshly brewed black coffee. On the ground next to them was his cigarette, embers still burning even after he threw it away in order to hug Hyesung. The Vampire could faintly smell that familiar hospital, nursing home related scent coming from Eric's bag where his burn ointment rested with important documents and clothing he had yet to wash.

  "Eric..." Hyesung whispered, too weak to even move as the other continued to hold onto him tightly. 

  "I'm never letting you go. Not again, not ever." Eric said into his shoulder, breath ghosting over his neck, warm and soft. "I love you Hyesung."

  Finally, Eric stood up straight, still holding onto the other as he looked straight into his eyes. Hyesung stared back up into those warm, loving eyes. Eyes he had wanted to see for so long but knew he should stay away from. 

  As Hyesung tried to make sense of everything, the dizzying scent of Eric surrounding him, something wet suddenly dripped down his cheek. 

  Bringing a hand up to his face, Hyesung wiped the wetness away, only to realize he was crying as red stained his fingers now. 

  After staring at his hand, he looked back up at Eric. Seeing the other's face so close again made the tears fall even faster now, and he buried his face in his chest like he had so many times before. 

  "I'm sorry Eric...I'm sorry..." he apologized over and over, broken sobs escaping his throat. 

  "I know. I'm sorry too." Eric replied, nodding his head and smiling softly before wrapping Hyesung up even tighter in his arms. 

  Even though Hyesung cried, he slowly smiled to himself. Eric was back now, and he wouldn't let him run away again. The human was going to make sure Hyesung would stay, even if it killed him. Just the thought of being with Eric again made Hyesung's dead heart flutter. 

  "I love you Eric." Hyesung finally said after a few minutes, sniffles dying down until he stopped crying and pulled his head away from Eric's chest. Red tear marks ran down his cheeks, but all he did was smile up at Eric who did the same looking down at him. 

  "I love you too, Hyesung."

  Bending over, Eric finally pressed his lips to the Vampire's for the first time in forever.

  ( Hyesung still smelled the same, although Eric could only catch the scent faintly. He smelled like lilac fields, cold winter nights and sheet music. The kind of scent that made his human heart beat with such ferocity it might explode, but even then he didn't worry. All he needed was the Vampire by his side, and everything would be alright. )

Was it good? o u o; Sorry if it wasn't. T^T It's kind of random but oh well. Anyways, some explanation as to behind the red tears! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ In the short story in Teeth, a jiang-shi cries blood. So uh, that's why it's described as red. Hyesung's crying the blood he drank I guess? OTL >n< They didn't make it clear as to where exactly that blood came from in the story, unless it's the jiang-shi's own blood but whatever. Besides, I don't even know what exactly a jiang-shi is, but Hyesung's just a normal Vampire in the story. XD lol Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! o u o Thank you for reading this story~