“Wow, Jongin, you’re alive! We thought you were too busy with your scary vampire boyfriend to spend time with us anymore.”

Upon hearing Sehun’s words directed at him, Jongin immediately turns back around to walk out the door of the coffee shop he’d just entered.

“Jongin, he’s just kidding. Please come back! We really do miss you.” Said man pauses at the door, and then slowly makes his way back over to the counter only because Junmyeon asked so nicely and he’s fond of the elder. Sehun on the other hand - not so much.

The other two are behind the counter, on break from working since there are only a few other patrons in the coffee shop they own.

“So, how is your scary vamp boyfriend these days?” Sehun asks with a smirk, just to be annoying.

“He’s fine. And he’s not scary. You’re just a wuss because Kyungsoo’s more powerful than you’ll ever be.” Jongin forgot why he even came here in the first place, since all he ever heard about was how dangerous and scary his boyfriend was. Jongin knows for a fact that Kyungsoo is neither scary nor dangerous (at least never with him), and is in actuality possibly the sweetest, kindest man he’s ever been with.

Sehun just shrugs in response because he knows there’s no point in refuting the comment.

“But seriously, Jongin, you know we only worry about you. We just want to make sure you’re doing okay, and that he’s treating you right. And if he tries anything, you know - we will not hesitate to hunt him down with a stake,” Junmyeon stresses with a special I know I’m not your mother but I might as well be and I care about your feelings, okay? pat on the shoulder. Jongin shrugs him off with a polite smile, understanding what his good friend is getting at. Sehun is nodding beside him with the same empathetic look on his face even though he’s younger than Jongin, and the latter just really kind of wants to kick him for it.

“He is. Treating me right - I mean. I promise.” Jongin nods vigorously to get his point across, wanting to make sure his friends understand how he feels. He really doesn’t need to hear them go on about how they think vampires are horrible, ual creatures that only use humans for their blood and their bodies. He’s heard the spiel too many times before, and he’s sure that Kyungsoo would never treat him badly after having been with him for five months now. “We love each other, and we’re very happy together, okay.” Jongin gives each of his friends a pointed look so they’ll drop the subject. At least the subject of them badmouthing his boyfriend and vampires in general would be nice. He knows he can’t do much about them teasing him for his relationship status - they are his best friends, after all.

“Well, fair enough then. Guess I’m glad to see he’s got you so whipped now.” Sehun grins cheekily and easily evades the fist Jongin aims at his arm. “But seriously, we really are happy for you. You’re like constantly blushing and grinning now, so I guess he is good for you.” The younger looks smug as Jongin turns a little pink at the words, further proving his point.

“He just…he makes me really happy, you know.” The other two watch with knowing looks as a dreamy expression takes over Jongin’s face and they don’t hesitate to about it, their laughter increasing when Jongin hides his warm cheeks in embarrassment.

After about ten more minutes of teasing from his best friends, Jongin decides he’s had enough of the torture. Leaving with a free coffee for his troubles, and a permanent feeling of hot embarrassment under his collar, he exists the café.

On the way to his and Kyungsoo’s shared apartment, Jongin contemplates the reasons for his friends’ concern over him dating a vampire. Sure, the creatures of the night were only recently revealed to be not as dangerous as initially thought, and there still wasn’t even that much information on the subject. Vampires were always thought to be ual monsters, who enjoyed taking advantage of humans for their weak minds and bodies. But Jongin knew for sure that Kyungsoo was not like the others. He knew his boyfriend wasn’t with him for his body, or blood, for that matter. They were together because they truly loved each other, and as horribly cliché as it was; they completed each other.

Jongin gets all warm and tingly just thinking about his sweet boyfriend, and no matter how much his friends make fun of him for being such a sappy romantic, he’s happily in love with someone who loves him back - and that’s all that matters.

He remembers when he met Kyungsoo for the first time, six months prior. He had been clubbing with Sehun and Junmyeon, an idea he had been strongly against since socialization with others in a close proximity wasn’t really his forte. And as Jongin feared would happen, he got cornered in a dark area of the club by some drunk who demanded he dance with him - amongst other things. Feeling extremely uncomfortable and even more frightened, Jongin was too weak to get the guy who was all over him away. And that was the exact moment Kyungsoo showed up, with his glowing, blood-red eyes and a fierce expression on his face, demanding the creep leave Jongin alone - or else. With an easy shove and menacing growl from Kyungsoo, the guy had backed off in fright, and Jongin was left feeling utterly relieved and extremely grateful. One thankful lunch date from him in return for Kyungsoo’s chivalry turned into many more - and the rest is history.

Jongin smiles at the memory of when he and Kyungsoo first got to know each other. How many nights they stayed up talking away about their lives and their likes and dislikes. When Jongin finally felt the courage to explain his situation regarding his uality, to his surprise and adoration, Kyungsoo had been completely understanding about it all. They discussed everything thoroughly, established many ground rules as to what Jongin was and wasn’t comfortable with - and Jongin can honestly say that this is the happiest he’s ever been in his whole life.

He’s still reminiscing over his past memories with Kyungsoo when he walks through the front door, noticing that all the drapes are shut and the lights are off even though it’s still late in the afternoon, though it is not unusual. He knows it’s because the sunlight makes Kyungsoo weak and gives him a horrible headache to be in. Which he can be in if necessary, it’s not as if he’ll burst into flames - contrary to popular belief - he just doesn’t enjoy the blinding migraines and horrible muscle aches. Jongin chuckles to himself as toes off his shoes, remembering all the myths and legends Kyungsoo had clarified for him when they first began dating, and together they had laughed at how incredibly ridiculous some of them were when Kyungsoo proved for them to be untrue. (A favourite example of the vampire’s was the one about garlic, which he found utterly hilarious, seeing as he enjoyed cooking and eating fine European cuisine with the vegetable in it.)

The tall male makes his way to the kitchen to get some food for him and his boyfriend. Jongin looks in the fridge and pulls out a covered jug of blood - animal blood that is. Kyungsoo has a friend who’s a butcher and incidentally also a vampire, who he can get a fresh, steady supply from weekly. He had explained explicitly at the beginning of their relationship that he didn’t expect anything from Jongin that he wasn’t comfortable with, and that his diet was strictly animal blood anyway since Kyungsoo didn’t believe in the harming of other humans. He enjoys eating regular human meals as well, but it doesn’t give him the energy or the nutrients he needs that blood gives him. Of course, it’s not as strong as human blood, but Kyungsoo is firm in his belief in not hurting others - which is another thing on a long list of traits Jongin loves about the other.

He carries a tray to the bedroom consisting of a bowl of soup for himself and a tall glass of blood for Kyungsoo. He nudges open the door with his hip and sets the tray down on the bedside table, watching the lump on the bed move at the slight noise. Jongin will never fail to be amazed at how Kyungsoo’s hyper-sensitive hearing is still apparent even in his sleep.

He lies down beside the other and observes the vampire’s pretty eyelashes fanning over his pale cheekbones, hesitant to wake him up as his boyfriend will most likely be tired and a little cranky at the awakening. But he can tell that the sun is already setting and soon it will be dark; the time when Kyungsoo will be at his most energetic and there will be no use in sleeping any longer.

Jongin gently shakes the other’s shoulder, whispering that it was time to wake up. The other stirs in a short amount of time, slowly blinking up at the taller with round, red eyes, and Jongin really wants to melt at the sight.

“Here, I brought you your food.” He passes the glass to Kyungsoo and starts on his soup, already used to the way the vampire casually downs the thick liquid.

“How was seeing Sehun and Junmyeon?” Kyungsoo asks, voice still a little rough from sleep, but his eyes are starting to glow brighter red because of the blood.

“You know, exciting as always. Them telling me to be safe, and then threatening to hurt you if you do anything bad, and then making fun of me for like fifteen minutes…the usual.” Jongin shrugs next to Kyungsoo, who chuckles in amusement, having heard this from Jongin before when he’d visited the two in the past.

The two cuddle together after finishing their food, sharing small talk about what was on their minds, and basking in the comfortable warmth.

Jongin can’t help but let his mind wander back to what his friends had told him maybe a month or so ago, about how it was unusual that Kyungsoo - as a supposed ual supernatural creature - would be completely okay with never having of any kind as long as he was in a relationship with Jongin. It’s not as if Jongin was insecure in his relationship with the other, but it’s actually something that has been on his mind for a while now. He was really just bit nervous and maybe even more unsure of the reason why Kyungsoo would act like it was okay for them to never be intimate in that way together. It was all very confusing, really.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Jongin asks from his place on Kyungsoo’s chest, looking up at the other who’s staring up at the ceiling in thought. His boyfriend hums in response and looks down at him, pausing his fingers that are combing through the taller’s hair when he senses that they’re about to talk about something serious.

“Um…I know we’ve like, discussed this a lot before. But…are you really okay with us never, like, being together, like that? I mean, I know you have needs, and I know that you know that I don’t mind if you need to…fulfill those needs by yourself, but I just wanted to know why you-” Jongin cuts off when Kyungsoo bursts out into laughter, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as this certainly wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for. “W-why are you laughing?” He turns his head and tries his best to bury his face in his boyfriend’s chest, feeling slightly mortified.

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry for laughing; I promise it’s not you.” Kyungsoo runs his hands back through Jongin’s hair to try and soothe him of his uneasiness.

“I know what you’re asking, And I’ll tell you, but it’s kind of a weird situation. For me, of course. But you have to know that I love you for who you are, and I really am more than completely fine with you and us being just together like this, okay?” He only continues when Jongin looks into his eyes again and nods. “Alright, so- as you may know, I am a vampire, and that entails me having been killed and brought back to life, so to speak. Anyway, since I have no beating heart or blood pumping in my veins…my ability to pump blood…down there…is entirely nonexistent.” Kyungsoo finishes with an awkward chuckle, waiting for Jongin to react. Jongin is still lying on the other’s torso, his eyes blinking up at Kyungsoo almost innocently, not fully comprehending the situation. “Jongin. I literally can’t get it up.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah.”

There’s an awkward silence for a while before they’re both exploding with laughter, clutching onto each other until there are tears in their eyes and cramps in their stomachs. Jongin laughs harder than the other, thinking the whole situation was a relief, given his self-doubt from earlier. But suddenly Kyungsoo’s face turns serious and he holds onto Jongin’s hands, meeting his warm brown eyes with his own crimson ones.

“But you have to remember that I’m not pretending like it’s okay we aren’t intimate because of that reason. We’re in this relationship because I respect you and your feelings and boundaries, and I love you very much, alright, Jongin?” Kyungsoo speaks in such a genuine warmth that Jongin feels just a little bit teary.

“Of course. Love you, too,” The younger replies shyly, nuzzling into the vampire’s neck to hide his rosy cheeks.

“Are you crying?” Kyungsoo feels the wetness on his skin, but he asks anyway just to see Jongin’s cute ears turn even pinker. The other shakes his head vigorously in reply, vehement in his denial of getting all mushy over the older’s words.

“You just…make me so happy,” Jongin whispers from his place around his boyfriend’s body, trying to snuggle as close as possible to the other.

They lie together for the evening, basking in each other’s love. And Jongin thinks that this - this is what togetherness feels like. What love feels like. It feels like he’s complete, with his other half. And it feels like he’s home, where he belongs.

“You make me incredibly happy, too.”