• EIGHT •

March 12th

In the course of a single night there were things witnessed that Xiumin would never, ever forget no matter how hard he tried. Namely flashes of teeth and claws, and disorientating snippets of hanging flesh and exposed innards. Even looking at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror when it was all over and sunlight was just beginning to wearily fill his room was terrifying. His hair was a greasy black with matted with blood, pale flesh a dot to dot of jagged edges and small missing slices, even the wide eyes he was taking it all in with no longer seemed to be his own and instead belonged to that crazed man who tore bodies apart and littered his living room floor with the chunks.

Xiumin couldn't remember sleeping that much, even though he had no other visitors throughout the duration of the entire night he didn't quite trust it enough to allow himself to properly sleep. He knew he had to force himself to eat and to keep drinking though, hoping it would be enough to keep his body going with the possibility of blood loss ever looming over him. The entire night seemed to fade away out of his mind, he truly had no idea how he'd managed to spend the last twelve hours slipping in and out of consciousness and in between pathetic meals, none of it seemed real still.

But the shock of seeing Chen in his apartment with two strangers next to him, that had seemingly appeared without a single sound was enough to shock his numbed mind into a dizzying spin once more. Not forgetting the glimmering vortex that was flickering in and out of existence behind the three intruders before finally disappearing, and that too was sending him reeling with another sudden spike of adrenaline. Stuck on a roller coaster of panic that his poor heart and body couldn't tolerate another dip and rise of. "Who- What..."

With everything that had happened that night Xiumin couldn't force his body to obey him nor could he fight to stop his immediate instincts, so with shaking breaths he realised he had already raised both guns, one trained on Chen on the floor and the other on the two men stood next to his 'boyfriend'. He was proud to say that his hands didn't even tremble as vague recognition coursed through him, holding the gun and fingers curling around the trigger with a solid grip and even heartbeat. The ringing and pressure in his ears was making him feel like he was underwater for a moment in a peaceful and muffled silence, but he could still see their mouths moving, not having even noticed him yet. "...Chen?"

In that mere millisecond the air in the room changed, and Xiumin had never felt fear like it in his life. Chen's body seemed to blur despite how the world around them slowly considerably, starting to feel worryingly similar to how the movies depict it when you're about to die, when they slow everything down and zoom in on your hopeless gaze as the inevitable act occurs. That the air surrounding you would turn thick like jello and you couldn't move a single muscle, unable to drag any air in either to then force out a scream. The Earth jolting to a halt as it stopped spinning all for you, to prolong your demise and force you to watch every excruciating detail as it unfolded.

All he could focus on was Chen's pained face, twisted in a raging hunger, his mouth so wide and with those thin fangs too it only served to instill pure terror in him. The whites of his eyes were now completely black instead, making the red iris glow and leave lingering, blazing trails as he abruptly jolted from side to side with each step. Only it wasn't a step, Chen was lunging wildly in a desperate attempt to get to Xiumin as quickly as possible and then it just finally clicked that something was wrong. The movement of Chen's body, the gape of his jaw almost like that of a snakes, and the beacon of evil that his eyes had become were no longer human.

In the exact second that Xiumin had realised all of this, suddenly the gun pointing at Chen felt like the heaviest thing in the world, that if he tipped the muzzle down by a mere centimeter to aim it more squarely at the moving figure, it would make his body teeter as if it were perched on a ledge. And the last thing that he wanted to discover was what might be at the end of that fall, but it seemed he wasn't destined to discover that, he really was supposed to die. There was a sudden snap of movement, a deafening cracking of floorboards snapping under the immense pressure and then a body, flickering like a faulty light, stuttered into existence a mere foot or so in front of Xiumin. It was the stranger, driving his feet so hard into the ground the flooring gave way, but he remained silent and unfazed, arms still reaching out to twist into the fabric of Chen's shirt to launch him over both their heads.

It was entirely bizarre to watch, it looked so effortless, just a slight flick of the strangers wrist sent Chen flying back down his corridor, sailing over his head entirely. The body immediately vanished once more, just blipped out of existence, and from the sudden shift of air behind him ghosting over his nape Xiumin knew that the stranger had now appeared behind him. Before he could even drive himself forwards to duck out of whatever sneak attack was coming his way the slightly smaller other male, paler too- with eyes kind of like Chen's, was dragging Xiumin forwards and then behind himself.

"Jongin keep him down! Jongdae you need to snap out of it! He needs you!"

"What's going on-" Xiumin genuinely felt choked tears consuming his vision at the violence of his breath catching in his throat upon hearing that horrid noise. He'd never heard something so deafening and animalistic come from a human, it practically vibrated within his skull and sent him reeling. And it was coming from Chen, every time he stood and tried to charge towards Xiumin again the stranger would throw him back down until finally Chen seemingly began to tire. Still howling in anguish the whole time.

"Jongdae snap out of it!" the guy in front of him yelled again, eyes still permanently fixated on Chen- well, 'Jongdae' and no matter where Xiumin went he would remain as a protective shield matchijg him step for step. "You've finally got him back! He's back Jongdae, he's right here, and he needs you to snap out of this- I know it's a lot, y'know, not dead, but come on, don't waste this moment!"

"Xiu-..Min, need, I need...need, my- mine, my steorra..." The walls seemingly shook with the depth of the words, only increasing until they hit that rumbling inhuman voice, it was simultaneously raspy and raw, and one of the loudest most penetrating sounds Xiumin had ever heard. Like someone was doing this hissing come whisper directly into his brain. "The bond, Soo, I can't..."

"The bond needs to be voluntary, he has to consent Dae, he won't come near you when you're like this, you need to stop all this before you do something you regret and lose him again," the taller of the two strangers stated calmly, arms out in front of him trying to placate the creature huddled against the ending wall of the corridor. "Come back to us Dae."

A bond? Consent? "What's going on?" Xiumin whispered, placing a tentative hand on his protector's shoulder though it was immediately shrugged off. Their eyes were still fixed on Chen's heaving form, chest rising and falling in rapid succession as fingernails clawed into the wooden flooring.

Kyungsoo grimaced at the humans touch before rolling his shoulder to shake the hand off, praying to god Jongdae didn't clock it or he'd probably turn into a territorial rabid, which was even worse than what they were currently stuck with. "I'll leave it up to him on how much to tell you, it's not my place, I'm sorry- I, I know you want to know, and I know seeing him like this must be confusing, and probably scaring you beyond belief but just hold on for a little longer, give him time, you have no idea how much pain this is causing him."

It was quite possibly the hardest thing Jongdae had ever had to do, to try and reign himself back in with the scent of Xiumin's blood still clinging to nearly every surface. The need to complete the bond was overpowering, the instinct to fulfill the ritual was consuming him. Where the will-power came from to fight against it he would never know, but he was sure it was stemming from that pure joy of knowing that Xiumin was still alive. His brothers were right though, he had to tread carefully, had to keep himself on the tightest leash possible because one wrong move would potentially leave him abandoned forever.

Not that he wanted to pin that type of thing on his boyfriend at all, that wasn't Xiumin's responsibility to have at all. If he wanted to stay in the human world and find someone 'normal' to settle down with then so be it, Jongdae would step back and let it happen. But he wouldn't need to, not if he could help it. Not if he planned these next few moments very carefully because he knew Xiumin, and the one thing his fated detested above all else was being lied to. Ranking pretty evenly with being treated as if he couldn't handle something, so there was very little choice but to launch straight into it.

"First off-" Jesus Christ, Jongdae cleared his throat and hoped he sounded a little more human this time around instead of a rumbling growl. "First off, I love you Xiumin, so much, that will never change, but my real name is Jongdae, Kim Jongdae, and I am a descendant of Stroemig. Everything you have seen tonight has been real, and everything that you saw just now was real too. All those stories about things that go bump in the night- we're them baby, that's us. And that's a portal to a whole different world behind you being held open by my brother back home. You still with me?"

A jerky, and dazed nod was all he got in return and prompted Jongdae to keep going.

"I won't lie, we- we came here expecting to find you dead Min, and it was a real shock to the system to find you alive- I'm so beyond happy that you are but with all this blood I'm having a hard time separating the two things and its messing me up a little. The uh, 'we' consists of myself, and then Kyungsoo in front of you, and Jongin nearest me. They are my, uh, well the closest thing you'd call it is brothers, they're my brothers from back home in Nihternnes, and we, well, we're Nihtweard Xiumin, guardians of the night- baby, we're, in you're langauge we're vampires. Wait, wait! Not quite the way that your human media and legends portray us, but the basic principles are the same. I'll just, uh, give you a minute," Jongdae said as he wearily stood, simultaneously annoyed and thankful for the way that Jongin was immediately shifting to stand guard in front of Xiumin.

"No, no, no way! No this is not happening- off, an-and you! If that's all true then all this time- you've, you can't be, why would you say this- what happened last night, what were they!?"

"I am Min, baby just look at me, I'm not proud of the first impression I've given you but you saw me, you saw the strength my brothers have- you can see the light of the portal, come on baby, what is it you say, if logic cannot prevail then the illogical must be truth?" Jongdae begged.

"You've lost all ing baby privileges right now- just let me ing think for a second about all this, it's been- it's been a long ing day, for- for me, I had to be here all night wondering if I was going to die, and now there's all of this bull," Xiumin snarled but his body language betrayed him as he sunk to the floor, his mind racing a mile a minute as his heart started to pound once more. But this time a cold sweat broke out over his entire body as a panicked flush rose to his cheeks. What the , what the actual , this whole time? Is it true? Could it be true? Everything they'd done together, all they'd shared, was anything he knew about Chen- no Jongdae, even real? A blubber of panic escaped him as he furiously scrubbed tears away, jesus ing christ I'm crying now?! For sake I ing hate all of this- I don't know what to do, what the do I do? I don't know where to go- could they keep me safe? From that? But, are we still...was any of it real?

A low animalistic wailing snapped him out of his spiral as movement blurred past his body, and before he could even register it with his mind his body was being tugged, pulled by a firm grip on his bicep and away they went. He was sailing through the air and heading towards the spilled remains of the sofa, landing directly on top of Chen with a soft grunt before he was immediately rolled underneath the other and held securely to a broad chest. He was vaguely aware that sobs were still spilling out of his throat with an alarming wheezing of heaved breaths but panic had less of a grip on him than before- but it still wasn't Chen on top of him, it wasn't Chen's hands cradling his face and trying to sooth him. Nothing felt right anymore, he'd been teetering on the edge of panic all ing night and he was finally tipping over into the abyss. But Xiumin just couldn't tell up from down anymore; he couldn't tell if he wanted the comfort so desperately that he could just forget everything he'd been told. The conflict in his mind making his breath catch as he tried to wriggle free and shove Chen away.

"Jongdae, let go, you've got to give him some room," the taller of the strangers- Jongin, said gently as they approached, Xiumin could see them trying to pull Chen off of him. The brief glimpse of freedom from the embrace allowed his chest to fully expand as he heaved in a great gulp of air. And it was only then as the ringing faded that he noticed Chen had been crying too, begging under his breath to what he assumed was his friend- brother even, to let him stay.

"Please! Please, I can't, I have to comfort him- make it better, I can feel the bond, it needs me to make him okay again," Jongdae begged, only allowing himself to be pulled upright and sat near Xiumin but that was the furthest he'd stray from the other, still having a hand firmly pressed on the other. It was now wrapped around Xiumin's ankle, even as he too sat up and shuffled away a little to curl up with his back against the arm of the chair.

Xiumin's throat felt like sandpaper as he built up the courage to speak, "I think I finally believe you, at least a little, you're definitely not human, you're a- you're something else Chen- no, Jongdae, right? ing hell, your name too? Like what was this? Some little experiment? Were you-"

-"God no, this is all that matters to me, I'll admit I didn't actually realise in the beginning quite what you would become to me, I just felt the pull, but Min now I know what you are- what we're meant to be, if you chose it that is."

One of Jongdae's friends spoke this time, addressing Xiumin with, "Human's believe in soulmates don't they? At least to some extent, I'm sure you know of the concept correct?" Xiumin wasn't given the chance to respond, "Well, that's real for us, I was incredibly lucky to find mine at a very young age, Jongin and I are Steorra, it means star to stars through blood- it plays on the metaphor that those that are destined together, we're two halves of the same whole separated when the universe began, and Jongdae has been waiting a long time for you."

"Jesus- , is he serious?" Xiumin turned to Jongdae again, eyes watching every emotion possible play out over the other's face.

"None of this was how I wanted you to find out, I wanted to tell you gradually, maybe over time when we'd been together longer so you had time yourself to think, but that got ruined-"

-"Because I got attacked, right?" The room was filled with an oppressive silence after he'd spoken, Jongdae next to him beginning to pace in agitation. The other two paused in their apparent task of unpiling his mound of broken furniture from the doorway to cast a wary glance towards their friend.

"Yes. And we're going to make them pay for that, I'll tear them to pieces myself," Jongdae hissed through bared fangs, features only softening when he saw the look of fear written all over Xiumin's face.

Blanching at the thought Xiumin protested "Uh, we? I did my part, of which I have no idea how I did it, I'm done now." He couldn't live that nightmare again, sleep had not truly come for him last night but Xiumin knew he'd be reliving that night over and over again for weeks and it would destroy him. His hands clenched and unclenched in the exposed padding of the sofa cushion beneath him, the gentle crunching and soft feel helping ground him into the moment a little as he raised his head to look at the others.

Jongdae desperately tried to swallow down the knives shredding at his insides with that comment, unsure of how to even respond to that in any way but Kyungsoo beat him to it. "You don't get a choice, regardless of you no longer wanting to be with Jongdae, if something from our world has come to kill you it is our responsibility to protect you from it, and we can't do that if we aren't here to do it."

"Hey, don't put ing words in my mouth, mine and his relationship is our business- when the did I say we were over," Xiumin was unable to keep the agitation out of his voice, his tone only worsening as he turned to jab a finger in Jongdae's direction, "but we are going to have a long ing talk, and then I'll take some time, and then we'll see where we at. And you're damn right you're gonna protect me from those things, I didn't ask for any of this and I know you didn't either, you thinking I was dead must have hurt you so badly Che- Jongdae! It's Jongdae, Jongdae, I keep forgetting all of that bull too- but, but all of that can wait, you can all go ahead and use you're big old super man, uh, vampirey powers and not let me die- holy do you do the biting thing too?! Do you- have you bitten me?" The splutter and panicked look did nothing to reassure him.

"Yes Jongdae, have you bitten him?" Kyungsoo ground out.

"No! No, no, I haven't Soo I swear! Min I haven't bitten you once I promise-"

-"Do you though? Do you bite people and do, all of, um, that, with the blood, and- and, did you bite other people then?"

Jongdae felt his shoulders sag in relief as the others all accepted his truth at face value, "Um, we don't need to anymore- we can, but it'd be breaking like a dozens laws and I'd probably be executed, uh, if I was to- with you, um, me biting you would be for something else, it would be because we're soulmates, Min. But we don't have to talk about that now, it's a lot for you to go through in one day."

Chen- no, Jongdae was right, that was even harder to digest than the previous bomb that had been dropped on his already fragile sense of reality. Soul mates? Actual soulmates? He'd never really stopped to think about his view on it, and while there was nothing concrete Xiumin undoubtedly felt an abnormal sort of pull to the other. A need of sorts, a desperate burning need, and even now it was becoming harder and harder not to throw himself at the other. In the course of the night it felt as if something had been awakened inside of him and all it was calling out for now was the safety he felt when he was with Jongdae despite how much it hurt to be lied to.

"Kyungsoo and Jongin are fated, are soulmates- Steorra I mean, it's real Min, I know I've lied to you about who I am but humans are just so fragile- I just wanted to be selfish and guarantee some time with you before you found out and hated me."

"Regardless of what I think about us, because I am angry Ch-Jongdae, I'm ing angry, and hurt, and I've got so many ing questions I'm going to explode, but none of that changes the fact that some backwards demon crawled itself out of your pit and came to find me. Correct?" Xiumin stated plainly, really not wanting to open the can of worms that was him and Jongdae in front of any spectators. He received only a faint nod in response so he ploughed on. "So, you owe it to me to keep me safe-"

"I'll keep you safe! Keep you so safe, so so safe, never let anything hurt you- please Soo, please, I can stay in control, Xiumin please I'm begging you- can I just- just once is enough-" The call of his fated to protect him, whether Xiumin was aware he was doing it or not, was so powerful it consumed him. His already delicate mental state tipping over the edge as he just sobbed, the bond was so weak now, he just needed one more actual skin on skin touch and it would ignite again. Burning once more between them in all its luminous glory. The last thing he was expecting however was for Xiumin to burst out with a smaller sob of his own, and with slow and hesitant steps he began to close the distance between the two of them to mould himself again Jongdae's own trembling form. It took Jongdae a few moments to compose himself enough to run shaking hands over Xiumin's form before finally sinking into the embrace himself.

"Then do it, keep me safe Chen. Keep me by your side-" Xiumin whispered as he began to pull away, though his movements halted when one of the others behind him began speaking.

"Slight issue with that," the taller, Jongin he believed, interrupted with, "to keep you safe, we're going to need to bring you home, through that portal. Jongdae can't keep you safe here, you're too exposed, he can't use any power to protect you without getting caught up in a bunch of laws and bureaucratic bull. You need to come to Nihternnes to stand a chance of surviving all this."

"Nihternnes?" Xiumin asked, finally extracting himself fully from the smothering tangle of Jongdae around him. Though the word sounded wrong with his accent, his 'human' accent, it sounded entirely different to when one of the others said it.

"It's where we are from, to put it simply, its our home planet-"

-"Planet?!" He was pacing by this point, officially pacing, just like his dad did. Xiumin was honestly turning into his father and now was not the time for that crisis.

"More like dimension," Kyungsoo this time interrupted, now fiddling with one of the little trinkets sat on Xiumin's coffee table, turning the wooden figurine over and over in his palm. "It's not quite like a mirror image to Earth but it's close enough, technically its a different planet but its sort of a parallel to this one, there's some big lore of how some of the founding vampires, the strongest ones- the ones we supposedly descend from, created a mirrored world where vampires could escape to away from humans and war blah blah, we don't really know for sure how we came into being or how they came across with us but yeah-"

"No no, you're not getting the ing tone here, planet?! You're expecting me to go to a different planet, with no way of leaving, with a group of people that could probably tear me limb from limb? Just like that? Just hop though this here portal Xiumin and everything will be fine! Do you even ing hear yourselves?!"

"It's nothing like the movies Min, I promise, we seriously don't drink human blood anymore so we aren't going to be fighting off hoards to keep you safe or something ridiculous," Jongdae added sheepishly.

"You've seen too much already, whether you get involved with Jongdae or not you're still being targeted by something from our world. You can't escape it anymore," Kyungsoo replied with bitterness in his voice, "you're safest bet is to come with us."

"And I'm just supposed to just trust you, two strangers and my supposed boyfriend that has lied about every little detail down to his ing name?" he countered with, fingers tightening into fists as he stormed off further into his apartment, heading for the bedroom. But the others were quick to follow.

"Would it help if we said that only- uhh, five, maybe six people would know of your existence there? You'll be in a secluded property- no surprise attacks like last night at all. The only people that will know you are there are Jongdae's brothers, us included in those six by the way, and that if he so much as lifted a finger at you Jongin would find a deep dark hole on the other half of the planet and leave him there?" Kyungsoo was beginning to see why Jongdae insisted that this human was different, he wasn't sobbing and cowering in fear of them specifically, just at the frustration of the unknown. "That's a warning to you as well Jongdae, we are more than capable of taking care of your fated with or without you so you best behave."

"You don't ing touch him Soo, don't- I wouldn't be able to control myself if you come near him, you know what it was like when you came of age and realised it was Jongin, you were the most insane possessive little-"

-"You'll need to control yourself Dae, for his sake you need to stay in control every second of every single day, and you can't get all feral if I go near him-"

-"You won't get the chance touch him! Mine! My Steorra!" Jongdae snarled, relishing in the fact that though justifiably angry at him Xiumin had still remained close by even as he paced within the bedroom. Meaning all Jongdae had to do was reach out an arm to find that warm flesh thrumming with life and draw it in closer, all heat and skin as he pressed Xiumin's body against his own. It felt amazing just to be this close to the other now that his body finally recognised him as Jongdae's true fated.

Squirming away Xiumin was thankful to be released from the tight hold once Kyungsoo had placated Jongdae and insisted that he had no interest in 'his Steorra' and continued his mindless hunt for god knows what in his bedroom. The other's grip had faltered the moment Jongin flickered into life mere inches away from Chen, hand outstretched but not quite making contact with Chen's shoulder but that only startled him back further away.

"What on ing Earth makes you think I want either of you- you creeps touching me, or being anywhere near me, you're both- you're all strangers to me now, I- I don't know if I even you anymore, please, please, I can't pretend like nothing has changed- I, I can't... Jongdae." His voice had started off so powerfully, filling the entire room but it became smaller and smaller, weighed down by raw emotion towards the end of it. Xiumin had shocked himself at the truth in his words, Jongdae truly was a stranger to him now, everything he thought he knew about his supposed boyfriend was a lie. Yet there he was, wanting to be held in those same arms, to be loved with that same heart, to be looked at so attentively with that same old look of pure adoration. But he knew it wasn't the same.

"Chen was just a name I used in the human world, I've always used it- I didn't make up a new identity just to stalk you or something, I genuinely have been 'living' at that apartment for about ten years now, and I do go to university- kinda. But don't lie to yourself Xiumin, not now, now is the time when we need to face everything together, don't deny yourself of what you know you need," Jongdae tried to reason, taking a step closer to Xiumin but still wary of the looming presence of Jongin beside him.

"I can't, everything's too much- I don't know what to do, what am I supposed to do Chen? How do I even begin to process all this?" Xiumin finally whimpered, surrendering to the flood of anxiety he had been fighting to suppress. Body crumbling to the floor but Jongdae was there instantly to catch him yet again. The sound of metal scraping along wood could be heard as both of his knives that were holstered to his thighs ground against the flooring. Xiumin found himself winding his arms around Chen's shoulders and clinging to his frame like a baby, hot tears streaming down his face while he wailed. Kyungsoo and Jongin stood to the side awkwardly, not trusting Jongdae enough to leave him alone but not wanting to ruin the reunion of them. The two of them had to settle for wandering about the place, cleaning away any evidence that anything had ever happened or had ever been there.

"Shh Min, it's okay, I'm here now, it's alright now I promise," Jongdae soothed as he couldn't help but press kisses to every single inch that his mouth could find. Nuzzling into the skin and inhaling Xiumin's distinct scent. "Just trust in us please, don't reject me anymore, Xiumin, I'm only here to protect you- I won't hurt you, hurting you hurts me," Jongdae whispered into Xiumin's shoulder as he nuzzled his face against the other's skin, running his hands over everywhere until he settled for threading one into Xiumin's hair and the other rubbing up and down his side.

"What the is happening to me, Ch- Jongdae, what was- why was that thing after me? And why me, for you?" Xiumin rambled, but the other just hushed him and began wiping away his tears with the promise that he'd answer all of that and more once Xiumin was safe.

So the two just sat there for a moment until his breathing finally evened out once more, pulling back to inspect the face now inches from his own with a new sense of clarity. It felt like it had been so long since he had just looked at the other, really studied every feature, he was instantly drawn back to all those little moments of peaceful bliss they shared before all this began. It was a painful memory at best, because now every happy memory he had with the other was tainted. Stained black, much like what were once the whites of Jongdae's eyes. The irises were now a steely sort of grey, lost between blue and slate but they still shone brightly in contrast to the endless depths surrounding them. His skin was paler now, without a single one of those faint freckles that Xiumin had come to love so much. But it was still Chen, he and Jongdae could still be the same person, it would just take time for him to adjust. Though he found comfort in that thought the presence of fangs still unnerved him slightly.

Seemingly of it's own accord his thumb swept across the other's full bottom lip, fingertip dragging along the flesh as they briefly skimmed over the razor sharp edges of those deadly teeth. Flinching in surprise when Jongdae curled his upper lip to display the fangs in all their glory and how additional sets of fangs could slide down from his gums. He didn't move at all besides that, just his hot breath fanning over Xiumin's skin, getting heavier the longer he sat there studying the other. From the way red was beginning to seep into the other's eyes once more it was clear the focused attention was having some kind of effect and Xiumin would be lying if it wasn't the tiniest bit mirrored on his own part.

It wasn't his fault that the media portrayed vampires to be these irresistible creatures, masters of seduction. The image of Jongdae in front of him, eyes half lidded and breathing fully strained now, his jaw almost trembling slightly as his lips twitched with the occasional movement until Jongdae's control relented and it morphed into a slow and lazy smirk. Xiumin remembered that exact same tick happening whenever Chen had been desperate to kiss him, craving him so badly it made the other whisk him away back to the apartment as quickly as possible not matter what they were doing. Not even making it to the apartment on more than a few occasions. It was the first time he'd been able to make a clear mirrored parallel to the man he knew before, they might have changed colour but those eyes still held that same burning, mischievous look. Xiumin recognised this stranger before him as the man he once loved, and maybe still loved given a little time.

Jongdae could feel it rolling off his Steorra in waves, the lust, starting off as innocent curiosity it had morphed into something so much heavier in such a short amount of time. Whether human biology actually allowed it or not Jongdae liked to think Xiumin was finally reacting to the pull of the bond. But the bond was something to be tested out thoroughly in all of its capacities much later down the line once all this had been dealt with. Meaning whatever was threatening to unfold now would need to be put on pause, so Jongdae turned his head slightly to press soft kisses to the other's open palm that was still cupping his jaw. Eventually he settled for blowing raspberries against the delicate skin, only stopping when shocked and faint laughter bubbled out of his boyfriend as he attempted to yank his hand free.

"Hey- hahha- hah- no, n-no stop, that tickles!" Xiumin choked out as laughter spilled from his mouth. Though it died in his throat when he felt the tips of Jongdae's sharp teeth faintly scrape across his palm, all that struggled past his lips was a drawn out hitched gasp of shock. "No- no biting." Came wheezing out next, but his words carried little weight and they both knew it. It was such an alien experience to have the instinct to trust someone so blindly yet now it was dipped in this adrenaline inducing fear, every touch a shock to the system.

"I'm not going to bite you Xiumin, I can't- I wouldn't, no matter how much I might want to I would quite literally have to be given your verbal permission for this kind of biting- it's this whole consent aspect of the bond, I can't mark or claim you without your explicit say. I hope that brings you some level of comfort."

"I mean, if you're telling the truth then-"

-"He is." A voice huffed out from somewhere in his apartment, and suddenly Xiumin was dragged back to the reality around him. With the two of them on the floor some of the claw marks and little nicks from his blades were now eye level. He was literally face to face with the remnants of the night before.

"So, will you come with me?" Xiumin noticed Jongdae was standing now, about a few meters away in the door way of his bedroom and he could only reply with a short nod before Jongdae was telling him to pack a small bag and then come back into the living room. He just stood in the middle of his bedroom for a second looking at the carnage around him. Truthfully he didn't know what he wanted to do, but staying here would mean certain death, and probably death for whoever he went to seek shelter and protection with- he couldn't do that to his parents. He didn't know what would happen over there, or how long he'd be trapped there, but he would be alive.

With shaking hands he grabbed a duffel from underneath his bed and began piling clean clothes inside it, hesitating over grabbing a second pair of jeans but settled for just the one pair and stocked up on more underwear instead. Beyond clothes he had no idea what else to bring, should he bring toiletries, a towel? Oh me, he couldn't help but think as he clocked his reflection in the mirror and saw how awful he looked, prompting him to call out to the others that he was going to grab a quick shower. Some hushed voices responded before Jongdae told him to go ahead but be quick. And Xiumin would not disappoint, he practically tore off the bloodied clothing and threw them into a corner to hopefully never be seen again.

The water stung as it cascaded over his body, his palms pressed flat against the ceramic wall in front of him as he tried to take a deeper breaths as he could to calm him once more as he watched the sheer volume of red, red, red swirled around the plug hole. Trembling hands then moved to rub off the dried blood as gently as he could to not agitate the tender wounds, a pained hiss escaping through a clenched jaw as soap ran over those same cuts or when he scrubbed too hard over a still forming bruises. It was only when the water lost is pink tinge that he turned the water off and stepped out, dressing his wounds and then himself in robotic like movements. Am I really going to leave? Just, like, go with them? No questions asked? But if I stay, would I make it? Would they come for my family- my friends?

Jongdae's voice called to him from the living room, asking him if he was done but he couldn't quite verbalise a reply and instead just passed silently through the doorway to his bedroom and wandered towards them. They were all stood in front of that alleged portal, it had returned with a new thrum of life- brighter than it was before. "So...?"

"Right perfect, he's done wasting our time, let's go, I'll go first, then Jongdae, and Jongin you go last to make sure he actually goes through."

Sighing Xiumin countered with a frustrated, "You can't expect me to just blindly trust you! You won't tell me anything about this thing, I'm allowed to be scared of going through there, I have no idea what's waiting for me!"

"And we have no idea what's going to be coming here- what could already be on it's way here! Xiumin, soon enough its not going to be a ing choice- I am not leaving you here, this place reeks of death and your blood- no matter how hard you scrub and clean I can smell it, we need to get you out of here before it attracts things you- not even we could take down unprepared," Jongdae growled, there was absolutely no chance in hell Xiumin was staying there another minute. Though apparently in the matter of a single day Jongdae had forgotten just how stubborn this human could be.

"I don't ing think so-"

-"Xiumin! I fully, ing fully respect that you'll need time to adjust, and to deal with just everything that has gone on, but right now you don't really have much of a choice. You are coming home with me, whether you come willingly or I have to drag you there kicking and screaming is up to you. But I strongly suggest you don't test me," Jongdae ground out as he tightened his hold on Xiumin, patience wearing thin.

"Oh really? I shouldn't be testing mister big, bad vampire? off! I don't give a , quit trying to throw your weight around here like some tough guy- it's embarrassing to watch. Quite frankly I don't even know why I'm playing into your little alpha male games but I'll take the kicking and screaming option, truly I'd just like to see you try-"

-"Right! That's enough of that!" Kyungsoo had been happy to just watch the little pissing match unfold, really, really beginning to see why Jongdae liked this human so much, but now it was entering dangerous territory. "Xiumin I get it, he's being an , a gigantic , and it is embarrassing for us all trust me, but you still need to come with us, meanwhile he is going to go somewhere else- Jongin if you'd be so kind." Soft lips met his cheek with a quick kiss just as Jongdae was finally realising what the true plan was but it was too late. Both he and Jongin vanished within a single split second, nothing but the faint shifting of the curtains signalling they had moved. "So, after you Xiumin."

"I'm assuming there's no chance of negotiation with you is there, Kyungsoo?" Xiumin mumbled, torn between admiration and fear for the man standing in front of him.

Exhaling sharply through his nose Kyungsoo nodded before speaking, struggling not the smile the whole time. "You assume correctly, now, would you please step through the portal over there? I will walk through with you if you would prefer, or as Jongdae said before I can drag you through, but I doubt it will be as fun if I were to do it."

"What does it feel like, is it-"

"Lets just find out!" Kyungsoo yelled, feeling the apprehension seep out of every pore of the human's skin and clouding his scent meaning there was no way he'd walk through voluntarily. So instead he darted forward knowing the human eye would struggle to pick up his movements and stood behind the other. Watching the strength of his grip he grabbed the little creature by its waist and moved to pick it up, surprised by the weight momentarily he then quite literally picked Xiumin up off the floor and sped forwards once more until they were standing on solid ground back in Nihternnes. The poor human must have blinked and missed it considering how rapidly he was spinning around on the spot to comprehend that he was in an entirely different location to where he was a mere second ago. It really didn't help when Tao burst forward from behind the light of the portal to investigate Kyungsoo's little tag-along. "Zitao don't you'll scare him!" Kyungsoo desperately tried to warn but Tao was too late and already squealing as he ducked from one of Xiumin's punches that may actually do a shred of damage if he could land one. "Xiumin wait! This is Tao, he's Jongdae's youngest brother!"

"Tell him to back the off then!" Xiumin screeched as he uselessly backpedaled away from the person in question.

"Tao come on, have some mercy, the poor thing had to kill a Mægenra last night, he didn't know about any of this- or us until this morning," The elder vampire tiredly tried to reason and it seemed to sink in because thankfully the energetic little gremlin came to halt beside him, but that didn't mean Tao couldn't still cause trouble.

"Oh I know, he did very well too- I have many questions for him though, his past is hidden even to me- many many questions for you little one, but he will accept it all soon, I have seen it, sort of," Zitao summerised, rapidly looking between his brother and the stranger. "What? Oh! Right! How rude of me! I'm Zitao! I'm a descendant of Orleahta, um, the closest human phenomenon you could relate my powers to would be that of a seer, or a psychic's, so, seeing the past and future and things such as that."

"Tao you don't need to be so formal, he's Jongdae's Steorra, not a friend of your mother's," Kyungsoo groaned, not liking the wide eyed look of 'what the actual ' clearly plastered on Xiumin's face.

"Right, um, yeah, I think I going to leave that can of worms well alone for now, and for my past trust me I know as much as you do, I was adopted, so..."

"Oh fascinating! This makes it even more interesting!" Tao squealed, but reigned himself in after a scolding look was sent his way. "But for later, once we have got you settled and sorted out. For now we can answer any questions you may have, but besides that, welcome to a Nihternnes, I think Kyungsoo would be best for the tour, it is his home after all." He began approaching the poor little lamb but still he backed away from him.

From what Xiumin could see the place he was in was not all that different to a 'human' home, four walls, a large front door, windows, some stairs and a few corridors leading off to different areas of the house. Pictures and paintings -though far more extravagant that he had- still adorned the walls, various furniture filled the room and he was fairly sure he could see a kitchen of sorts through an open door. Nothing that out of the ordinary yet besides the grandeur of everything. It looked as if someone had tried to keep things simple but still used ridiculously expensive elements. Take the small love seats that dotted the space, well worn and seemingly molded to the shape of their inhabitants but still looking as if they were made of the softest velvet.

A large wooden table sat central to the room, as well as smaller ones standing next to each love seat, all of them scuffed and covered in various stray papers and books, the tell tale rings of forgotten cups almost bleached onto the surface of the wood too. But still carved with the most mind blowing detail and precision, rivers of gold coursing through each leg too. Even though it was not needed considering one entire wall of the possible living room of Kyungsoo's home was a massive window there was still a magnificent lighting fixture hanging above him. Jewels glistening with the endless natural light thus making it look as if the chandelier was moving of its own accord, swaying in time with the rhythm of the thousands of trees visible from the window as their branches rustled in the wind. So there were still trees, and grass, and a blue sky outside too, he could work with that.

But what unnerved him by far was the scent clinging to Zitao's skin. It reminded him so vividly of that one yesterday, not necessarily in scent, but in the pressure in his head. Building and building until it morphed into a feeling he could only compare to a word being right on the tip of your tongue, like Xiumin had forgotten something but had no idea what. It wasn't as sweet this time, but so much more familiar to him, those same flowers but older, warmer and comforting. But then it quickly soured, turning to burning smoke just like the other did and it made his eyes water. Thankfully it was much less potent this time, not truly emanating from Tao but rather clinging to his skin. "You uh, you smell weird, and it's making my head hurt, so, uh- sorry I guess but I'll be staying over here."

"I hate to play the species card this early on Xiumin but I highly doubt that. If there was anything on Tao that would cause you any discomfort surely I would be able to smell it too?" Kyungsoo tried to reason, not understanding what was causing the human to act this way but he could certainly tell he wasn't faking it.

"Don't fear, little lamb, I'm not offended- much." Ground out Tao as he forced a smile on his face, halting his advances towards the human.

"It's not you! Really it's not, it's something on you, it's like layered on top of what you smell like, its making my head hurt, I know its probably not real but there's this thing among humans called a sixth sense? Its the thing we kinda debate over whether its like real or not, but its this pure kind of deep down instinct we get sometimes in certain situations and it just tells us to get out- to run basically. I smelled something in the air before I noticed that that thing came into my apartment and I felt the exact same as I do now- it's just making me a little uneasy that's all."

"Ah we've heard of this, haven't we Tao! But yes, this is actually true- I'm really not sure what is making you feel like that-"

-"I'm wearing Yifan's clothes? That's my Steorra," Tao tried, "maybe it's that he can smell, I can feel the strangest and faintest link between you and him, maybe thousands of years ago he had something to do with your family. We aren't proud of a lot of our history of when we first discovered we could travel from our world to yours freely even once the divide had been performed." Both he and Kyungsoo shared a look after he had spoken, silently agreeing that tonight was not the night for that conversation. "Yifan is probably on his way here now-"

"Yeah, uh, bad vibes about that-"

"Vai- vaibz? Vibuz?"

"Just- can I be somewhere else, I don't know how to explain it, I think it's already been too much for one day." Normally his pride would never let him beg but Xiumin felt it within him, that burning need to get away and run, that if he saw this person something seriously bad would happen.

"You're just nervous about another vampire being here Xiumin, it'll be okay, Yifan has known Jongdae the longest, he was there when Dae thought you were dead, he knows how much you mean to his brother."

"Kyungsoo listen to me, I have been through something no human should have to and I'm still here, I killed god knows what last night, I- I stabbed, and shot, beat them and slit their throat if you could even call it a throat, tore their arms and legs off, literally anything I could do to survive, but now, when I'm right here in front of you I am more terrified than I was last night, you may not feel fear anymore considering you're practically gods among men but we still do, and we've learnt the hard way that we need to trust it sometimes, no matter how stupid it seems," his voice was even as he spoke but his hands trembled even when he curled them into fists at his sides, everything within him was screaming at his to run. Body too jumped up on adrenaline and paranoid thoughts to remain still for a second longer.

Both vampires were bewildered for a brief second before Kyungsoo felt Yifan gently touch down on the ground near the perimeter of his property. Knowing full well Kyungsoo hated it when it he flew in unannounced, taking advantage of his aerial blindness. But for once he couldn't be more thankful for it, because it gave him enough time to order, "third floor, there's a second set of stairs at the end of that corridor, then the corridor on your left and the second door down. Big white doors, its the guest room Jongdae prefers. Just sit tight there if you really feel that bad." The human only clamped a hand on his shoulder him briefly in thanks before darting off, but the thundering heartbeat filling Kyungsoo's ears was more than enough to let him know the calm exterior was only for show. Now he had to hold up his end of the bargain and keep Yifan downstairs.

*

While the rest of the house passed him in a blur Xiumin could truly say that this room was beautiful, he could see exactly why it was Jongdae's favourite. As the doors clicked shut behind him and the oxygen finally returned to his lungs he just stood and stared. There was an obscene but oh so welcome huge four poster bed in the center of the room, various plush fabrics covering what he would like to assume was just a normal duvet. It seemed like some kind of memory foam, only impossibly more intuitive as he eased himself onto the edge of it with his newfounded legs of jelly. The mattress seemed to predict the movements of his body, the foam material receding from behind him a slow pull until his body was gently falling backwards through no effort of his own.

Jongdae must have been the last person to inhabit this room because as he rolled amidst the sheets his boyfriend's natural scent was all he could smell. It made him feel safe in the most alien of worlds, if it was even possible to happen. But truthfully Xiumin wasn't sure what was possible at this point any more. The blur between legend and reality was distorted to him, and he doubted it would ever return to normal now. The weight of the decisions he would soon have to make were a building pressure on his heart, Xiumin didn't want to leave Chen-or Jongdae- or whoever his boyfriend was now but he couldn't possibly know what might happen if he stayed. Would he even have a place in this world? A life?

To begin with it seemed like Jongdae had wanted to keep the two lives separate if the lies were anything to go by, but as weary eyes scanned the room Xiumin couldn't help but smile. Photos that he had printed out at a little shop in the town center were either framed around the room or just pinned onto the wardrobe door. Some he didn't even recognise, mostly candid shots of him that Jongdae must have taken in secret. There was one of him leaning his forehead against the train window lost deep in thought, another of him sleeping shirtless as the sun streamed in, another of him serving a customer at the cafe. His clothes littered the place too, not the ones he had somewhat stripped off before actually settling in the bed but ones he had leant Jongdae only to never have them return. At least he knew where they all ended up now.

Sitting up he scanned the room once more noticing so many other remnants of 'Chen' in Jongdae's room, he began wrapping the covers up around his to shield him from the chill beginning to settle in the air. But the thoughts of his various wounds flashed into the forefront of his mind and Xiumin knew he needed to tend to himself again before he could fall asleep. Just as quickly as the thought entered his mind Tao burst through the doors with a surprising lack of sound and announced with an alarming grin, "the ensuite is through the door in the far corner- yes I know you just thought it was an alcove with a cupboard but no no, it's a bathroom, go ahead."

"Jesus ing Christ!" Xiumin formed his lips into a small ring and forcefully exhaled his panicked intake of breath back out again, slowly and evenly. "You sure you're not telepathic? I hadn't even got up to look for the bathroom yet."

"Didn't have to, I knew you were about to. How are you feeling? I see you've made yourself at home under there."

God Xiumin felt like a child being told off by his nanny or something just as equally mortifying at his age. "I'm sorry," he mumbled as he extracted himself from the bed, Kyungsoo insisting that he was more than welcome to do whatever he wanted in the room the whole time. "You uh, don't smell weird anymore?" Xiumin stated as bare feet slapped onto the wooden flooring, though it came out like more of a question in the end.

"I borrowed some of Kyungsoo's clothes, a tad small and boring but it is a price I shall pay for the comfort of my new brother- if that is what you so wish after all, there is no pressure for you to stay here or accept Jongdae's proposal. Ah ah ah! Before you even say it, yes, you must stay here until we have figured out who was hunting you and why, but after that the choice is yours. It is dangerous for you to not be with us, though I'm highly confused as to how you survived the entire night without so much as a bruise in the least. Full of surprises aren't you little brother! Oh! I won't be the youngest anymore!"

New brother? A proposal? Who is hunting me, not what? There's a who behind it? Unharmed? So, so very many things for Xiumin to un-box with that one, and none of them he wanted to go anywhere near truthfully, so he picked hopefully the least alarming one. "You're joking about walking away scott-free aren't you? I know these probably don't even count as injuries to you but humans are far more delicate, these things kinda hurt, a lot."

"No I'm agreeing with him Xiumin, I can't see a single injury on you, tending to your wounds would have been our first priority," Kyungsoo said, raising his tone in confusion. Watching with vague interest as Xiumin bounded across the room to inspect himself in the full length mirror that dominated the middle pane of the wardrobe door. Mouth hanging agape immediately after doing so.

"Come on, there's absolutely no way you can't see all of this," Xiumin spat out in disbelief as he walked into the adjoining bathroom, the mirror was showing his body in all it's battered glory, his own human eyes he could still see exactly how damaged he had become. The other's simply shrugged and again stated that they couldn't see a thing, and if Xiumin focused enough it was starting to feel like he couldn't either. Immediately sliding his rings free from his fingers he then removed his t-shirt to splash cold water over his face and neck but it did nothing to wake him from the illusion, it did however clean off some of the remaining grime on his skin from his nervous sweats.

No matter how much he scrubbed Xiumin never quite felt clean after the events of last night, he'd be tainted by the violence forever more, but that's not what he was supposed to be focusing on. So with a repetitive movements Xiumin would cup a hand underneath the flow of the tap before bringing that same hand to whatever small cuts or scrapes he could find, washing each one with a careful touch. The deep ones he knew he had to be rougher with, but that didn't mean Xiumin had to like it. With baited breath he began undressing the more serious wounds on his upper arm and calf, by far the worst he had gained throughout the entire night, his mind instantly returning to the nightmarish thing spluttering on his floor as it died. The gash ran about two thirds of the way from his shoulder to his elbow, its deepest towards his upper arm where the bone first pierced him and it gradually got shallower as the claw was dragged downwards during the fight. He swore out-loud from just looking at the damn thing, cursing at how it was going to be a real to keep clean and there was no way he wouldn't need stitches for it.

"Xiumin are you alright?" Kyungsoo called out worriedly, he'd spent the last few minutes berating Tao on what information the human was really not quite ready for yet.

"So you're telling me you can't see this?!" Xiumin exclaimed as he stormed out of the bathroom, almost ing his still faintly bleeding arm towards the two men. Which in retrospect probably wasn't a good idea considering exactly what his so called new 'family' were, they might say the didn't drink human blood anymore but Xiumin knew that the belief had to have stemmed from some truth.

"Deorcness neoðan! , how could we not see it before?" It wasn't exactly often a vampire was caught off guard, but even Tao, with the cræft of future sight seemed stunned.

"It's the ring. I can feel it even now, it's protecting him, disguising him from us." Tao spat, "Where did you get it?"

"It's a family ring, from my biological family- I don't know anything about them, they're dead as far as I know-"

"I'll ask again where-"

"Zitao! Focus on the matter at hand, the human is bleeding, we need to take care of him- of Jongdae's Steorra, remember. He doesn't know anything, listen to his heartbeat, Tao listen to him, he's terrifed, we just won't go near the thing until maybe Junmyeon has come in to look at it, okay?" Kyungsoo ground out, his hand squeezing Tao's wrist to the point of pain, and even when he heard bones beginning to splinter under his palm he kept on going until the other relented. Tao was still a child to them, still not in full control of his cræft or instincts meaning that he still let emotions and his own thoughts cloud what he saw. Meaning that the future he was projecting right now, based on the suspicions that Xiumin possessed some kind of hunter ancestry it was most likely setting the hot headed idiot on edge. Very much unable to separate his own predictions from what his ability truly wanted him to see.

"I can clean up most of them you'll just have to help me with my back? If that's not too much trouble?" There was a tension in the room, stifling in fact but Xiumin has no idea what had caused it to appear. It suddenly made him remember that he was a guest, a stranger in this home, no this entire world. Externally he was fine, but his mentality was beginning to crumble.

"No, it's fine, course we can, that's no trouble at all," Tao had said, and his smile was enough to ease the anxiety building within him. For the most part they worked in silence, all rubbing at the wounds with that he assumed was disinfectant. It sure burned the very hairs from his nose like the ones back home did so he must have been guessing right. The most they could do for the mangled gash in his arm was use steritape to close the flesh together again even temporarily, there were mumbles of stitches being done when another one of their brothers joined them. After being thoroughly cleaned and patched up Xiumin wandered over to the chair and slipped on his own previously lost shirt and sweatpants, grinning to himself when they smelt of Jongdae.

"He wears them all the time you know, when he's here I mean- he can't really wear them in his own home with his family because he hasn't announced he's found his Steorra yet, let alone that you're human, so he spends a lot of time here because it's just us, no prying eyes here. Like it's borderline obsessive how much he loves them. When he'd just found out that we were going to Earth to get you, well, to uh collect your body, he just went on and on about all the things he was going to take from your apartment because he never wanted to forget you. He was like a bird building a nest, he just wanted to surround himself with you," Tao rattled off with, watching the human take an account of all his possessions already in the room.

"He truly thought I was dead?" Xiumin whispered in shock, he remembered his phone falling to the floor but by that point he was more than a little otherwise occupied.

"Yeah, the line on the phone went dead after you told him you loved him or something, he went haywire and destroyed an entire house near enough- but, I'm getting ahead of myself, the existence of Naihtweard alone and portals is more than enough for one day, we'll talk about Jongdae's cræft some other day. Right now you need to go to bed, do you want us in the room until you fall asleep? Jongdae wouldn't let go of us the whole night when he thought you'd died. He's never been a cuddler as long as we've known him, but that night, understandably so, he just felt so lost and alone- similar to what I imagine you're feeling, I'm sorry if we haven't been the best hosts, we forget that this is all new to you."

"I think I'd rather have you in here than Jongdae for the time being so if you wouldn't mind, but you haven't been that bad at all, I probably look and sound perfectly normal- like I'm just taking everything in my stride and dealing with it, so I don't blame you," Xiumin grimaced as he spoke, all three of their faces turning sour with the awkward atmosphere, but he was thankful they had apologised and recognised their innocent mistakes and eagerness. Easing himself back onto the bed he spoke once more, hoping to ease some of the tension, "But like, for real? Never been a cuddler? Not a cuddler my ! He would cling to me like a freaking koala, he wouldn't even let me roll over most nights!..."

And thus began an exchange of secrets and stories, starting with the napkins in the cafe, how Jongdae got so distracted by them holding hands that he ate garlic and nearly died afterwards then every other story he could think of. Kyungsoo and Tao eagerly listened to every story that the human told, grinning as they now had an unlimited amount of topics to tease Jongdae about. The boy began nodding off half way through a story but he seemed both unaware of how much he was yawning and determined to finish the story, both Naihtweards laughing under their breath when Xiumin would pause in between speaking for at least a few seconds as he finally succumbed to sleep.

"and that's how- that's how Chen ended up...being caught, by uh my landlord, in these- um, god, what was it? Ah! Women's underwear...yeah, bright red...I couldn't stop laughing for hours after, even cried..."

Just because I think it sounded so beautiful (I get most my 'funny' sounding words from old english translations, because based on my world and timeline its probably the most accurate but anyways back to the point) Steorra is loosely translated to mean 'star to the stars through blood', I thought it sounded so fitting for this fic, that's all, luv u guys, hope you enjoy reading my stories