Flickers - written by Primadonna_Angel

Word Count: 1972

In which Tao is a sad, quiet boy, and Yixing is his vampire protector who enjoys embracing him, telling Tao that he is loved, and promising his safety forever.

There are many things that I hate. I hate insects. I cannot stand loud noises. Clowns creep me out. I hate talking to people. I hate going out in crowds. My lists go on and on. Because of these things, I tend to keep to myself. Well...that and a few other things. Namely, trusting people has only led to my own misery. I find that if I distance myself from people, they can't hurt me. Besides, my mind is a black hole of awful memories and nightmares. And my heart...only someone from the depths of hell could get close enough without falling victim to the bleak and utter darkness that resides within it.

No, I wasn't always like this. Once, a long time ago, I was happy. My world was bright, brilliant colours filling it completely. I had a father, and a mother; I was surrounded by friends. What I didn't know was that my family was hiding a vicious secret. They were Hunters. People who tracked down and killed the creatures that only appeared on the screens of movie theatres and left devastation in the hearts of millions of people as they graced the pages of novels written throughout the ages. I'm not ashamed to say that, yes, I was once among those numbers. That is, until those creatures in the books made themselves known to me as entirely real and not at all like we normal people believed. The weres weren't nice, vampires didn't sparkle, fairies were vicious little things with gnashing teeth and poisoned, spiked heels. I'll never forget the day I was suddenly into the reality that was to become my life.

I was eight. My nanny and I had gone to see a movie. I was excited to get home and tell my parents about it. They were supposed to be coming back from their business trip and were going to meet us at the house. I didn't at all expect to see the mansion in flames. I didn't expect to see a werewolf launching itself at me. I didn't expect to see my nanny raise a gun that shot out a flash of what looked like lightning, nor did I expect to see her go down in the same instant from a kick to the neck given by a fairy. I was frightened, frozen; so scared I couldn't make a sound. All I remember next was seeing another werewolf making its way towards me, a blur of black, and then red eyes. I will admit, grudgingly, that I passed out.

I awoke hours later. Or days? I'm not very sure of the timeline. When I did wake again, however, it was in a small cottage, tucked away in the woods. I was disoriented at best, or, at worst (more truthfully), completely out of it. At any rate, I was alive; that much I knew. What I didn't know was where I was. Looking around, the house was clean - small, but very clean. There was a small clavier in the corner. It looked ancient, but the ivory keys and polished wood gleamed in the small rays of sunlight shining through the slightly opened window. I could hear humming faintly.

“You're awake, I see.” A voice sounded. I jumped, looking towards the door I hadn't noticed opening. Did it open? It had to have opened. People couldn't just walk through doors. (Or so my little eight year old mind thought.) The voice was...familiar? It felt like I had heard it before. The soft face of the teenage-looking boy that stood in front of me, a basket of what looked like vegetables resting on his arm, seemed vaguely familiar as well. But try as I may, I couldn't identify where I had seen him before.

Warily, I watched him cross the room and deposit the basket on a table that had gone unnoticed.

“Are you hungry, Zitao?” he asked. I blinked in confusion, nodding dumbly. How do you know my name? I certainly hadn't gave it to him.

He laughed slightly and turned to the small kitchen area as he started pumping water into an old fashioned sink. “You don't remember me, do you Taozi?”

I shook my head, despite him not being able to see me. “N-no.” I stuttered out. “W-who are you? Why a-am I he-here?”

He paused in his motions, retrieving the vegetables from the table before washing them gently in the sink, then answered. “I am a friend. I saved you. My name is Zhang Yixing. I'm 19 and I am a vampire.”

I laughed. Hysterically. “Vamp-vampire? They don't exist!” I exclaimed, my eight year old knowledge of the world giving me confidence that I now know to be completely baseless.

To his credit, Yixing merely nodded and continued about his actions, moving with an eery grace around the kitchen, attending to this and that all at once as he prepared food for me. It never once occurred to me that he was only cooking for one. (In my defense, I was eight. I couldn't be expected to notice these things.)

As he finished, he turned to me and said, quite bluntly, “Your parents are dead. Your house is ash. Your caretaker is missing, most likely kidnapped by the unseelie court. If you see her again, she will not be the same. I could find your next of kin if you desire. But are you prepared to relive what you experienced a few short hours ago? Your other option is to remain here, with me. I will protect you, as I have all of your life. From the time you were born to that of now. It is your choice.”

With that, he set the food on the table and vanished. Literally vanished into thin air. 

(Later I would learn that he had just made himself invisible. At the time, vanishing was all my mind could come up with.)

“Wait!” I called out, feeling abandoned and somewhat flustered. “Come back and explain what you meant by protect me!”

“Tao, think hard. A stable boy. About my age.” Hearing the voice from seemingly nowhere was about as terrifying as it sounds. Not that Yixing's voice was scary; it was just so sudden, and already being on edge didn't help. Having the person that said voice belonged to pop up behind you was even worse. (I have and will continue to deny that I passed out...again.)

Fast-forward to now. I'm eighteen, in my last year of high school, and living with a vampire. 

After I woke up again, Yixing explained to me that he had come to work in the stables at the mansion with revenge in mind. His family had been killed by mine. He was a pure-blooded vampire, and thanks to my family, the last of his line. The unknowing staff had hired the poor boy on the spot, dressed up as he was in ragged clothes. I had been around five at the time. Yixing said that he had planned on killing the only child of the family, me. However, when he saw me, something changed. Something fell into place and suddenly, he could no longer entertain any notion of harming me in any way. All he could think about was protecting me, keeping me safe. The focus of his entire world shifted until everything centered around me. At the time, I didn't understand. But, as I grew older, those words developed a meaning to me.

I still remember the nightmares that I would have when I was younger. Nightmares of that day. Nightmares that taunted me. What if my nanny had been too slow to draw the gun? What if Yixing hadn't showed? What if we had stayed in the house instead of taking an outing? So many terrifying and terrible 'what ifs'. And throughout my screaming and sleepless nights, Yixing was there, calming me and comforting me. Telling me that it was okay and I was safe. He held me as I sobbed; and I was so very thankful.

The day I came home from my first day back in school, I had a black eye. Yixing was... well, not happy. It was all I could do to convince him not to kill the children who had caused it. I was 14. Outwardly, I was upset that he would even consider doing that; but secretly, I was pleased that he cared enough for me that he could lose himself like that. (Especially Yixing, who prided himself on his composure. He'll never admit it, but I'm the only one who can make him lose control.)

“Tao, what are you doing out here?”

I looked up from the desk we had put on the screened-in back porch and smiled softly, putting away my notebook and pen.

“Just writing down my thoughts," I shrugged lightly. "My teacher says I should. I don't talk in classes like everyone else; they're concerned.” I frowned and sighed heavily, picking at the frayed sleeve of my sweater. Yixing sat beside me and pulled me into a tight embrace, kissing my hair gently. I leaned into him, remaining silent.

We stayed like that for hours. His arms felt safe, like home. Here I could be happy; here I could be carefree. Here, I could shed the masks I layered upon myself and be Tao. Just Tao. I didn't have to be the quiet orphan boy. I didn't have to be the sad, distant boy that avoided human contact. In Yixing's arms I was only expected to be me. And I loved that feeling.

“Yixing?” I voiced after a while, breaking the comfortable silence. He made a slight humming noise in acknowledgement. “Tell me again? Please?” He gave a laugh, but didn't question what I meant. 

“I promise you," he said, gently but firm, as he had a million times before. "From now until the end of eternity, I will protect you with everything I have. You are my heart, my soul, my very being. I will protect you until the end of time.”

I smiled and curled into his side, watching the sky fading to pink. “If- if one day I wanted to be like you, would you do it? Turn me I mean.”

He was silent for a while, but I knew he had heard me and would answer eventually. I continued to pick at my sleeve while I waited. After a few minutes I was startled out of my thoughts by Yixing's hands stopping mine from their attack on the helpless material. All he did was sigh, and I looked at him questioningly until he spoke.

“Yes, Taozi. I would. If that is what you wanted, I would do as you asked. Why do you ask me such things?” he wondered, looking slightly pained in his answer. I reached up and ran my thumb along his forehead in an attempt to smooth out the creases his frowning created.

Satisfied that he was safe from wrinkles, I went back to watching the glow fade from the horizon. Quietly, I answered. “I want to make sure that I'm with you forever. I am your heart after all. It's only natural that I want to stay with you.”

He smiled warmly at me and kissed me softly, pulling me closer as the stars began to come out from the their hiding places in the quickly darkening sky.

Yes, there were many things that I hated. But there was one thing that I loved more than anything. And as we watched the stars flickering into sight, I was happy Zhang Yixing was - and would always be - right beside me.