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retiredteabag · 7 days ago

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A Sweetness That Pursues

Pairing: Nanami x Vampire!Reader

Synopsis: You’ve always had a thing for Nanami, even when you were in school together. Your dynamic has remained the same for years: comfortable avoidance. What are you to do when he finds out just how delicious he smells one night? And how exactly are you to react when your attempts to dissuade him just don’t work?

Tags: reader is a vampire as well as a sorcerer, Haibara is alive, and Nanami took a break but never really left Jujutsu. Otherwise, canon compliant? The first half is written in limited third-person past perfect tense, sorry if you hate that. Jealousy, marking (and some other weird stuff), swearing, angst, comfort, fluff, and suggestiveness.

Word count: 12.7k

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"I wanna know which of us is the yummiest!"

The story of you and Nanami was as sweet as it was long-suffering, and it had all begun at a school reunion... with every last one of your co-workers. It was rather unusual for everyone to get together, even if Gojo was paying. But this meeting in particular had been in the works for months.

Two full dining tables had been covered with sorcerers from across Japan. Food was laid across family style, and the room was alight with conversations long dead and newly conceived.

Sorcerers from Kyoto had even shown up; in fact, Utahime had just been bubbling over with frustration when Gojo finally pulled away from her to question you about what you had brought to snack on.

It's commonplace to assume vampires are unable to ingest anything other than the rich, vital fluid flowing through nearly every creature. But this isn't entirely true, at least not in the case of mixed-bloods like yourself.

Utahime had made an attempt to smack Satoru's shoulder then, likely thinking the question intrusive, only to fall prey to his infinity. Gojo never took his eyes off of you, grinning ear-to-ear to himself when Iori scolded him.

"Don't be stupid, you know her condition."

It had made you laugh, this 'condition' being the very nature of your being, of course. Shaking your hands, you dismiss her worry, "No, it's alright, I don't mind." You lifted the small baggie of blood tofu you had brought and shook the glass the waiter had filled just moments ago. "This is made from pig's blood, and I don't mind beetroot or prune juice."

"So then, have you ever done it?" Gojo had sunk forward conspiratorially, he didn't look the least bit grossed out, in fact, in that moment, he had looked rather intrigued, "From the source and all?"

You set your glass down and rolled your eyes. Satoru had asked you the very same thing back when you had been in school together. And also at just about every clan meeting since.

Your family was closely related to the Kamo clan, so despite your difference in age, you had grown up familiar with the strongest sorcerers' antics.

"If you mean directly from a human, then no." The answer was the same as it had been the last time he had asked. It had been some years ago at an organized jujutsu hearing; he had questioned you promptly after gagging on the blood pudding you had been eating.

You proceeded, "Maybe a pureblood would be okay drinking from a stranger, but I would need some kind of connection, and like... consent, of course."

Satoru leaned back in his chair, nodding animatedly while concurring, "Of course, of course."

The conversation shifted away from you for a while as you enjoyed your juice. You recall wondering briefly if Gojo had rented the restaurant out, knowing how disruptive Jujutsu sorcerers could be. Just a table away, students and teachers alike were laughing and banging their hands on the table at a joke Ijichi didn't seem to understand.

You ate your tofu in little nibbles, remembering the face Satoru had pulled when trying some in the past, distracted only by Shoko when she tucked her side into yours, having flipped her phone into her hand, she asked, "Have you ever wanted to?"

You had been caught a bit off guard, trying to see her train of thought.

"Feed from someone, I mean." She set her phone in her lap and turned to face you, "You've mentioned you prefer certain types of blood, but... haven't you ever wanted to do it, even once?"

"Oh..." you sighed. Shoko had a pretty good understanding of what it was to be in your shoes. Back in school, she had helped you through some rougher feeding cycles. Providing you with blood units when the typical pint of non-human stuff just wasn't enough.

To your knowledge at the time, feeding from a live human was not anywhere close to being comparable to that of feeding from your ordinary blood bag. Perhaps it's the circulation itself, maybe it is due to the fact that there is no component separation, or maybe it's the intimate nature of feeding from a partner, but whatever the case, you'd always been told that they were fully dissimilar.

You thought through your answer, not wanting to disturb her, "I mean, yeah, for sure, certain times of the year my clan gets shipments of blood bank donations, which is nice."

Shoko nodded, like this made perfect sense to her, "But," you continued after some hesitation, "Of course, some people just...smell better than others."

You had laughed it off, well aware that Shoko probably would understand this to be a body odor thing when it really wasn't. Expecting to leave it at that, you are only briefly finished speaking when you noticed your comment seemed to catch Gojo's attention,

"Oh, really? In what way?"

"Well, yeah, like... some people just smell..." You cringed at yourself, knowing most of the sorcerers present would find it weird. Mei mei scrunched up her nose at the edge of the table across from where you sat, "Sweeter, I guess?"

Most present looked around at each other, and you shrugged it off, "They don't need to be bleeding or anything, I can usually tell without that."

And then Gojo, the nosy bastard, asked the question that started it all.

“So then, which of us smells the best?”

Utahime dramatically scoffed a little, "Gojo!", offended on your behalf. Shoko just rolled her eyes.

“Uhhh..I don't think I should say. I wouldn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable.” You cringed.

But Gojo did not so easily sway, "No, no, I wanna know which of us is the yummiest!" He giggled at your deadpan response. "It's me, right?"

"No."

"Wha-" He pouted like a child, and Shoko laughed at what must come as an odd misfortune. "You're lying, it's definitely me."

He squinted at you, but you shook your head, insisting, "Really, I hardly smell you at all."

"Ha." Utahime looked smug at your denial, as if she no longer found the idea gross or unnerving, as it now served to displease Satoru.

"Well, now you really must tell us." Mei Mei called from the other side of your bench, "You've got us all curious."

You wondered for a second if you should lie, pretend as though you had never really thought about it. But the truth was, you had thought about it, and in your school days, you had thought about it a great deal; in fact, the notion had consumed a vast percentage of your thoughts for a very long time.

"Ahh..." You sighed, licking the inside of your cheek.

You were brought back to several years ago, to days when your biggest concerns had been your sorcerer ranking, survival throughout school projects, and not being married off to a distant cousin. So not much has changed, really. Cheers.

But back then, you had a significantly weaker hold on your control of cursed energy. Much like your upperclassman, there were only three students in your year at Jujutsu Tech.

Haibara had not yet been able to join along with you and Nanami on grade one missions. He was a good sport about it, but you could tell he had wanted to get to semi-grade one soon to keep up.

Missions with Nanami were often... at least somewhat awkward, but this particular day lived on in your long-term memory as painful. It lingered, stored away in the recesses of your mind, only to sneak out and bite you in the middle of the night, imprinted, solidified, etched into your recollection for moments when you felt particularly in need of self-humiliation.

The two of you had been somewhere just outside of Tokyo, on the edge of the forest. Lush greenery surrounded you, everything was fine, the mission was over, the veil had already been taken down, and you were ready to wrap up and go home. The details of the job are missed anytime you try to recount the occurrences of this day, even if the memory seemed fresh. Everything got completely overridden by the sudden onset of balmy euphoria washing over you as the wind's tendrils licked past your cheeks.

Everything had been so easy up until that point, the two of you worked well as a team, you might not have been the best of friends, but you needed little communication to understand exactly what he needed at any given time, and he, you.

You had noticed, of course, that Nanami was always pleasant to be around. The way his heart pumped, the way that nectar flowed through his arteries to his veins, it was nice. Welcoming. Comfortable.

Syrupy.

This though? This had not been nice.

Your head shot over to him, somewhat panicked, somewhat attracted; you had never before been so impacted by your base instincts.

He was bleeding out somewhere; you knew this much. The impact it had on you was so intense, it almost knocked you off your feet. Your eyes pulsed to narrow in on where the liquid was going to waste. But when you saw him, even in your trance, he seemed fully well. Meeting your eyes just like any other time he took the veil down on missions. Nanami shifted himself to try and see what you were looking at.

It only took the twitch of his hand.

There. His finger was ever so slightly dripping, so little, a paper cut of sorts. Perhaps he had swung his blade too aggressively and just connected with a bough?

It was nothing at all.

It was was overwhelming you.

He wasn't dying, there was no hemorrhage; in fact, the longer you went on looking at him, the more confused he seemed. Had you gone too long without feeding? No, just the week prior, you had enjoyed a full transfusion bag.

You felt the focus of your eyes tighten, and in that very instant, you reached to cover your mouth. You were not so taken by the ambrosial state of him that you did not recognize the growth of your canines. The grip of your cursed energy loosening.

Your jaw ached, and your ears rang. In fear of yourself, of him, of how he might react to your sanguineous eyes, to the fangs beneath your pursed lips, you made your escape. You sprinted from him, away and away until you could get his redolent flavor off your tongue. Until you could feel your vision resurface, until you could run a finger over your teeth and find smoothness there.

When you would surface on the trek back, hours after what had been expected of you both, you recalled the echoes of him shouting out for you, perplexed by your bolting. And that night, when you crawled into bed, you wondered if he thought you irresponsible. An uncontrollable beast of sorts.

And even more, you prayed he could find it in himself to forget the events that you knew would stick with you forever.

—

You fiddled with your foot in the shoe under the table; too many eyes had been on you in that moment, and you didn't want to revel in the memory too much.

"Probably Nanami?" You questioned, as if it were not the most obvious and clear distinction to be made.

As if the comparison could ever present itself as hyperbolic, as if the very truth of it had not dug its claws into you since that night all those years ago. You brushed your embarrassment off with a laugh when Gojo gasped, slamming his fist into the table, "What? No!" Looking personally affronted, but also all the more lured.

He was up and out of his seat in an instant, "Oh Nanami~~!!!"

Your heart dropped to your stomach. Satoru had very little critical thinking and likely had no idea just how much you desperately did not want Kento Nanami to know how delicious he came across to you.

You smacked Shoko in the arm with the back of your hand. "Stop! Stop him!" Across the restaurant, you saw the very man lean back in his seat, scouting Gojo out after hearing his name called.

You could not let this happen. What would he think of you?

You leapt out of your seat, "Satoru!" You tried to communicate with your eyes, telling Gojo to come back, sit down, and behave himself, but, of course, none of that happened.

"Nanami~~ Naaaanamiiiii~~~~ come here!!"

Yaga waved the blonde man beside him off, continuing to tell a story you hadn't heard. Gojo dragged Nanami out of his seat, and by the time he had arrived at your table, greeting those he passed by, you had sat back down, gotten up, and sat again.

You had hid your face in your hands, tried to play it cool, and then pitched yourself into Shoko's lap.

You should've never come tonight.

You made a praying gesture atop the table after lifting your face up, only to look down at your feet, shutting out whatever Satoru was loudly saying in Kento's ear. There were little bursts of laughter, even Ieiri giggled while she patted your back.

When you looked up from your shoes, Nanami was stood at the head of the table, a healthy flush in his cheeks, likely from whatever alcohol he had consumed that evening. He seemed a bit confused, dazed even, especially considering he was just then allowing Gojo to drape his arm over his shoulders.

The man's eyes had seemed tender, no words came from his lips, he just stared, and in that instant, you were transported back to another memory. The last mission you had taken with your classmate. When he had looked at you the very same way.

It had been violent, only days before your graduation, actually. You weren't in a secluded area like you had been a year prior. This mission took place in one of Japan's most metropolitan districts.

You had made huge strides in your control in recent months, especially when compared to your previous missions with Nanami. Regardless, he seemed adamant about protecting you. Everyone.

You had all changed drastically when Haibara had returned from a mission heavily injured not too long prior. The curse ranking had been inaccurate when he had been sent out, and the higher-ups' negligence had been a point of contention between everyone in the Jujutsu world more than ever.

Nanami seemed to take it upon himself to keep the innocent safe. It ate away at him parasitically. You never would forget his face when the car brought Yu's body back, the silence between you deafened the hallway outside the medical ward, somehow restricted by the open door that had sorcerer after sorcerer rushing about.

On this day, though, you had been separated from Nanami when one of the curses led you to run through a dilapidated section of a school's previous infrastructure. Your blade hand weighed heavily in your arms; it was raining outside, blisters were forming at your heels, and Nanami was off somewhere handling another curse.

It had already been late.

Having left before sunrise, everything in you was aching with exhaustion from almost a full day of fighting. You were growing restless and sloppy; you had to get this done.

Most of it was a blur, a messy mosaic of weakened, limp, lifeless carcasses that kept coming from one particular curse, replicas of the original, when finally, in the secluded corner of a run-down school shed, you saw your in, and took it.

One swift motion later, you had penetrated the humanoid being from the lower half of its torso, and with all the strength you could summon, dragged the blade all the way to its adjacent shoulder.

The curse's clones flickered slightly and then disappeared.

The creature's top half cantered with the weight of it's head.

Fluid had almost instantly splattered everywhere. Before its energy could dissipate from the scene, the curse was brought to its knees.

You staggered back, watching, waiting, needing to see the mission finished. But it seemed like your body's adrenaline had died along with the curse. You shook with the exertion the day had taken.

You wondered silently if this was how Haibara had felt, all alone.

You couldn't quite find your breath, coughing, curse blood sputtered from your lips.

The taste was revolting and sent you reeling back, away from the scene and back into the rain, back to your hands and knees in the rain.

After a dull inspection of your senses, you could tell you were covered in blood. It was viscous and sticky, and the rain wasn't washing it off. A slow drizzle started at your ear and brought a puddle of the stuff sliding down your neck. You tried to use your uniform jacket to wipe your eyes, but all it served to do was smear the liquid, making it impossible to see. An unearthly fright filled you, your eyes pulsed, and at the putrid smell, you noticed your vision focusing on your bloody palms splayed against the mud.

Nanami was calling your name in the distance, just like he had that first time you had run. The dank earth under your knees seeped through to your skin, and saliva filled your mouth.

You were all too aware of Nanami's presence nearing your bent form. You coughed viciously, heaving at the taste marring your olfactory sense. The feel of it was all over you. It was so staggering that you could not allow your classmate to come any nearer.

You had the words, but none came as you puked. You were shaking all over, spitting bile. Nanami was on you in an instant, seemingly with no fear. He reached out carefully to tuck your hair from your face when you lurched forward, away from his warmth.

"Don't touch me!" Your hands squelched into the sodden earth, empty of the blade you had left somewhere off behind you.

Nanami tore his hands back, sudden apologies leaving his lips.

You repeated yourself, quieter now, "Don't touch me." Disgusting, and with a filthy hand, you placed a finger to the sharpened tooth, frightened you'd do something you regret. You focus your hearing on the shaking breaths you puffed onto your palm, not the fresh pulsing blood through his body a meter away.

You could still feel it like a blanket behind you.

You were still frozen in the rain, on your knees, when the car had eventually come to get the two of you. Nanami insisted on washing your hands with the water from his canteen. He pulled a towel from his seat and covered you with it. Leaving yours for you to sit on.

He was looking at you when you slid into the car, saying something again and again, but you were too consumed with your nauseated apologies to hear what he had been saying.

You wouldn't find out for a long time what he had meant that day.

You had felt ashamed that night, leaving to go find a quiet spot for yourself, you would not know it then, in the solitude of that pleasant night, but some time in the future, you would recall this evening as dearly important.

Back then, though, it hadn't been easy to remain focused on the conversation after Gojo had Nanami sit at the table. You kept meeting each other's eyes, mildly frustrating and terribly embarrassing given the situation. The table swelled with discussion you couldn't quite hear as you fiddled with your fingers.

By the time most everyone was drunk or on their way home, you had found yourself sitting in the breezy foyer, the restaurant had a short bench just outside the entrance, an isolated place to ease yourself from the forced extroversion you had sustained. Shoko had left what felt like ages ago, and you were certainly ready to depart yourself.

"I hadn't expected to find you," a voice eventually rung over the still air, "I'm glad I got the chance before you slipped away."

But then he was there before you, and suddenly you didn't really want to leave at all. He was stood, look at the state of him, tall, impressive, but not imposing, his body language had been open.

Even when you were kids, the two of you could communicate without words, and all these years later, with little to no interaction, you were still able to pick it up as if no time had elapsed.

He tilted his head to the side, and you grinned, twitching in the direction of the open bench to your left.

Of all the outcomes you had expected from that night, Nanami Kento coming to sit beside you, looking better than ever, had not been one of them. He had padded away from everyone else he could occupy space with, to find you.

Within your silence, you could sense the changes that had taken place over the years. He was older and much more striking. He was much warmer as well, but that was neither here nor there.

Thankfully, by his silent request to sit beside you, you could comfortably assume he had not been repulsed at Gojo's rehashing of your confession. If anything, he might have been amused.

You could be okay with that.

"Gojo is a mess..." He spoke, looking up at the stars. Ursa Major twinkled as he ran a hand through his hair. "But it was nice to see everyone together again."

"I'll tell him you're grateful." You didn't even look at one another, simply observing the galaxy.

"Now, don't go doing that." He chuckled. Nanami had always gotten along respectfully with his peers and superiors, but Gojo... that was a different story. "Really, though, it was good to see you and Haibara."

You looked at one another, something intimate passed between you, a dozen unspoken things that you both fully understood yet couldn't give words to.

"I'm sorry about earlier, by the way..." You knocked the back of your head to the wall behind you, feeling a strange need to say it, "If anyone was aware Satoru had no tact, it would be you."

He hummed, kind, "Don't be sorry."

You tossed up your hands then, just a bit unsure of what to say. 'We never really spoke about this, huh?'

Nanami chuffed, “You probably noticed on that mission, didn't you? In second year?"

Of course, you knew exactly what mission he spoke of, despite having accompanied him on many.

You considered it, as if you hadn't thought about that day until he mentioned it. Nanami continued, saying your name, it sent a shiver down you that had nothing to do with the breeze. "Really, if anyone should be sorry, it's me."

You shot him a glance, something strange, "What??"

"About that day. I shouldn't have left you, I should have gone after-"

You made a noise between a scoff and a gasp, "You? I was the one-"

He cut you off, "I left you alone." He was still, serious. "I couldn't bring myself to even apologize in class the next morning. I suppose I was worried I would make you uncomfortable..."

You looked down at a leaf that had slid across the pavement between you. You had honestly hoped he wouldn't have thought about that time at all, that the memory would magically fade from him with the coming morning. That, by the grace of God, he wouldn't live in fear of you and your nature, wouldn't be repelled by you.

You shook your head. Had he felt bad all this time? "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I knew you would say that."

There was a long pause as you both watched a small crowd of sorcerers file out of the front doors to hail taxis home. A day of solace well deserved all around.

"You know, it wasn't just that mission, I could always tell."

You shrugged, unsure of why you even said it. He didn't hesitate, though, "Really?"

He grinned slightly as if to say, 'It's that obvious, huh?' You ran your hands over your thighs and gently patted them, looking up with a smile, "Mhm, next time you donate blood, you really should consider at least two pints."

"I'll be sure to keep it in mind." He'd smiled at you.

"A true man of the people."

You could feel your own heart pounding, ready to put all the peculiarities of the day behind you. It had been clear that Nanami wanted to say something; he'd gotten up with you when you had risen, and all of a sudden, in an odd moment of realization, you noticed that in that very instant, nothing was holding you back from telling him exactly what you had wanted to say all this time.

In a quick huff of air, you let it out, trying to sound nonchalant, “I wouldn’t have bit you, even then.” You still don't know why you needed him to know. Why you desperately needed him to not fear you. He seemed taken aback, not having expected it, apparently.

He squinted for a moment, and sighed your name, “I know.”

It was as simple as that, so it seemed. He was authentic in his belief, like he couldn't imagine you hurting someone. He had no reason to assume you would have been able to control yourself as a student or even as a full-time sorcerer, but his trust did not waver.

He must have sensed the same air you had. The silent thing that whispered to you, saying that now was the time to unravel, to say all the things you never told each other.

“How come you left back then? I always did wonder.” He seemed truly interested, like it was something he hadn't let go of even after all this time.

You laughed, searching for the proper explanation, “Well, some people aren’t so impartial to my… eyes." You rolled them, looking up at the stars above you two.

Of course, he could impart that what you meant was the red hue that came over your irises at the temptation of blood, not your eyes themselves. Nanami came close. Your pulse would say dangerously so.

He laid an almost unnoticeably gentle finger to the tip of your ear. Leaned over to follow your gaze, studying you, then suddenly pulled back. That time, with his hands to himself, he spoke in a hushed voice, "I meant it before... when I told you I wasn't afraid."

What time was he speaking of?

Was he a fool? "Maybe you ought to be."

You hoped desperately that he was not.

His only movement had been to lean closer to you, seeing eye to eye, "You don't scare me."

Why did his saying that make you feel so...winded? "Then what are you frightened of?"

He just chuckled and shook his head. He'd pulled back, and you could finally breathe. Being so near to him might have been too much for you.

You sucked in a some courage before meeting his eyes, it seemed the conversation was over, "It was good seeing you, Nanami..." You didn't want the moment to end, and you could tell he didn't either; you were both drawing out the interaction. Everyone else had gone, cabs had flown past you two without anyone making a move to occupy them.

It was late.

"The pleasure is always mine." He stood to his full height, and you realized then that he must have been making an effort to draw himself so close with the distance his doing so had created.

You laughed, "Well, you know that isn't true..." You tilted your head, scratching the back of your neck, embarrassed.

Chuckling, deep and hearty, he teased you right back, "You must know....I would ask to take you to dinner...Only, I suppose in this instance I ought to invite you to my home."

It took a moment, never having expected your reserved classmate to ever make such a suggestion. After a second's hesitation and a lifted brow, you burst out laughing,

"I'm sorry, was that too forward?"

He had no idea what he was saying; you had been sure of that. You squinted at him then, hoping to get your message across, 'don't you tempt me.'

"You ought to be careful what you wish for."

That had been almost five months ago, it was funny to think about how much your life had changed since that day.

You would eventually take Nanami up on his offer. Not for a bite, goodness no, (not yet) but a date. Not, however, before attempting to get over your intense interest in his presence, and ultimately failing at every turn.

Had it been wrong of you to encourage the man all those months ago? Perhaps....maybe....well, yes, definitely, but what else could you do if he was offering himself up like that?

When Nanami had returned from his little sorcery sabbatical, you had rarely ever seen him. You worked in the same office, with the same boss, with the same employees, but it seemed as though he was keen on keeping himself locked away from most of the school (where Gojo couldn't find him).

After that work party, though, it had started to seem like he was everywhere. You hadn't been so near to him since high school, but it wasn't even a week after sitting with Nanami that you felt you might be experiencing withdrawals. You began seeking him out, if only to have a moment with his aroma. Not in a creepy way, though. Of course not!

You weren't being creepy.

Right?

"What are you doing?"

"Satoru!" You jumped.

How on earth had Satoru Gojo snuck up on you? He was the most conspicuous person in the whole damn nation.

You had been distracted lately, it was true. Somewhat sensitive as well. You must have developed a tolerance to your classmate in your early years; that was the only explanation for why your nerves were so on edge anytime you walked into a room and instantly noticed Nanami had been there as well.

"You startled me..." You muttered, brushing imaginary dust from your hands.

"Mhmmm...." He grinned, "Nanami isn't here, he's taking a mission."

"What?" You laughed, having not asked. "Okay?"

"Oh, I figured you would be looking for your little snack," He clicked the syllables with a grin, "seeing as you've walked by his office three times today."

"My-" You scoffed. Had you really? "Don't- call him that, Satoru."

"You guys are seriously the worst." He groaned, pretending to tug out his pearly white locks. "Just go make out or whatever you vampires do."

You whipped your head around to see if anyone had heard him, and when you saw nobody had, you scoffed a few times for the invisible audience. "What is wrong with you?"

He waggled a finger in your face, drawing you in before taunting the very same hand over his blindfold. "You know I hate having to lead the blind, right?"

You squinted up at him and shuffled past, uninterested in whatever he was insinuating.

It wasn't as if you had been huffing his scent in the hallway; it just took you off guard every time you noticed it. Like a hearty red wine, was it possible that he seemed only to improve with age?

You spotted him everywhere, when coming in and leaving, when you departed to take your lunch, and when enjoying a break on the school grounds with Shoko. How was it that he just kept appearing?

When it eventually became too much, you could tell, staying up all night thinking about how comfortable he had seemed around you, how good he had looked with the toasty flush, how he had practically invited you to a taste.

No matter how many times you would roll over in bed, you just couldn't escape the thought of the man. You found yourself recalling little moments from school that you knew he couldn't possibly remember, like when he smiled to you at graduation or when he and Haibara stayed up to decorate the classroom for your birthday.

You would have never guessed that eventually you would have Nanami Kento all to yourself. That you would allow yourself to indulge. Accept what you were feeling. But for now, you stuck to your guns.

"Well, no, it's not supposed to hurt."

You recall the exact night when you first allowed yourself to feel the craving.

You had puckered your lips, thinking a moment about Gojo's accusation. He had produced a faux squeal that evening when you had taken a long sip from the juice pouch you had brought along to the school lounge.

Gojo jittered from head to toe, pointing at your tired face, "How could anyone live with a pain like that?"

Cradled in his hands, his neck rested against the couch adjacent to the school kitchenette. He had been particularly interested in your technique the past few days and was just peeking over his bangs to make out your reaction.

"Satoru is just butthurt you don't like his pheromones," Shoko mumbled over her cig. She had been sitting up on her knees next to the strongest sorcerer, a hand reaching to hang out a cracked window so that said strongest sorcerer wouldn't gag on the smoke.

The man gasped, "Not true!"

"Pheromones don't exist in humans anyway. It's okay, Gojo." Haibara poured himself and Shoko another cup of tea, coming to sit next to Nanami by the lounge window.

You had taken in the group of them all, feeling incandescently happy to see everyone. It had been late in the evening that night, but nobody had hesitated to make the time to come together.

"I mean, I'm sure you don't want it to," Gojo flopped up from where he laid on the couch, cookie crumbs tumbled to his lap as he called for your attention, "but you can't exactly prevent it if you're taking a big ol' chomp out of someone."

You laughed at him from where you stood by the fridge, shaking your head a bit. Not sure how to explain, "No, no, there's something different about our salivary glands." You waggled a finger near your mouth before taking another sip of your juice, "I can administer a numbing agent of sorts. It might not be the most comfortable, but it shouldn't hurt or anything."

Shoko raised a brow, blowing her smoke out the window. "...That's a unique party trick..."

"You would think so." You grinned, rolling your eyes. You moved to go sit by her, but in that moment, Nanami scooted over, intentionally making space for you. Haibara even saw this and made an effort to lift himself onto the arm of the couch to allow you room.

That night, the two of you had shared a more casual conversation than you had in all of your school years together. And even though you attempted to be relaxed and cool, your mind was on high alert, taking in every little facet of the man beside you.

How he would smirk at you like you were an important part of the group, how he focused all of his attention on you when you spoke, how easy it was to carry on a conversation alone when Gojo and Haibara derailed the discussion.

His biceps were nice and snug in his sweater, the lighting in the room was dim, the moon shining through the glass panes should have made you want to leave, but at that very moment, you had wanted nothing more than to lean forward and lap at the expanse of veins on his hands.

Oh dear... you were in danger.

You shook your head at the notion, looking back to his face. He was more interesting than you wanted to admit. Even more, it was increasingly apparent how difficult it would be to not recount every single little interaction from the evening before you fell asleep that night.

Especially when he insisted on driving you home.

And then picking you up for work the next morning.

And then opening the car door for each occasion.

And then repeating this sequence.

It had been a very bad idea.

Don't misconstrue, Kento was the best partner you ever had, romantically or professionally. In fact, it was a delight to take missions alongside him. You started to find yourself giddy at your early morning alarms, so long as you knew you would be within arm's reach of your lover.

The trouble was the particular mission you presently found yourself on. Or rather, the lodging you found yourself within.

Let's back up a bit, not quite a week ago, Yaga had tasked the two of you with eliminating a pair of grade one curses outside of the Kyoto suburbs. The problems had started when the two of you were briefed for the mission.

Kento snuck glances at you when Yaga pulled out the information the school had on the curses you would face. "It seems the two of them only come out at night, working as a team to terrorize those they encounter." Your boss had recounted to you both.

The matter of the curses was, however, not an issue. Instead, it came from Yaga, who, after setting down the document and explaining how best to prepare for the job ahead, politely informed you both that you would be spending the night together... at your family's estate.

Your clan resided just outside of the Kamo shrines in Kyoto; realistically, it was a safe, efficient place for the two of you to sleep. Convenient in every way. Unfortunately, it was the last thing you wanted on your plate.

You had pointed to yourself, "With my family? As in my immediate family? As in the home with all of my relatives?"

You and Nanami had been "together" for a couple of months now. He was earnest, seeming as though to hold no reservations about you or your kind. Anytime you would remind him of your...non-human status, he behaved as though nothing could dissuade him from pursuing you.

You now knew that if you gave the man an inch, he would tirelessly run miles.

In fact, not too long after he had started driving you home, you had begun to make efforts to deter his advances. Not because you didn't enjoy them, no, quite the opposite. You relished in them a little too much.

You wanted to stop it, the late-night conversations, the subtle teases he would throw your way, the gentlemanly efforts, all of it. It felt so, so good, though. Anytime you were with him, you lost your head a bit and figured you could put aside your worries and give yourself a little allowance. It only got more challenging the longer you let him in.

But every time you tried to discourage him, divert his interest, or even attempt to talk him out of wooing you, it became worse. He just wouldn't give up on you, especially not when he could see the impact he had on you.

You knew, if you were to lose him... it would be too great a loss. So for a time, you endeavored to convince yourself not to go out with him romantically. Still, at every attempt you made, he doubled his efforts to win your favor.

It was hard to turn him down, seeing as you, ya know, wanted to suck him dry, but you stood your ground...for a time.

But maybe once wouldn't hurt...he had asked so politely.

While walking around an outdoor market, talking about first impressions and old stories, all the while flirting charmingly to your blushing smile, it was clear almost immediately how much restraint it would take to not fall for him.

Obviously, seeing where the two of you are now, all swoony and twinkly-eyed, one could call him a convincing man.

A good man, too.

A man to bring home to your parents, even.

Having said that, you weren't too keen on him being thrust upon your coven. It doesn't elude you that it wouldn't be the most comfortable place for a human man. And most of your relatives, sorcerer or not, seemed to lack the control you were able to maintain.

There was nothing to be done, though, not with the news having already been sent to your mother; you simply could not escape it at that point.

If she was one thing, it was impatiently hospitable. And VERY fond of humans. You would likely not get a moment alone with Nanami.

Kento was a good sport, really. The gentleman he was, he showed nothing but delight at the idea of being probed by your coterie.

"I do hope I make a good impression." He leaned himself slightly against you one evening, while the two of you "watched" the television, more concerned really with being wrapped within each other.

All your life, you had found comfort in the cold, but now, after your time spent with a warm-blooded man, you found yourself intentionally cranking your thermostat up just for a silent reminder of him.

And in moments like these, you allowed yourself to be encompassed by him and his warmth. Recalling how only months ago, this would have seemed an impossibility.

And it was all thanks...to Gojo?!

"It's them I'm worried about..." You hummed, pretending to be focused on anything other than the hand that drew stray doodles across your arm.

"Let's focus our worries on the mission, alright, I'm sure it'll go well." He leaned into you more then, tilting his head the very way you did when you wanted to inconspicuously give him a sniff.

You felt his breath on you.

Your heart thundered.

Becoming slightly lightheaded, you breathed through your mouth as deeply as you could while still pretending like you cared about what was on the screen. You bit your lip, eyes fluttering when a shiver tickled its way along your spine to the tips of your fingers.

You huff, "I can't believe you're trying to reassure me when it's you going into the vampire den." You play off your strained voice as though you were holding back a laugh, not whatever whiny response his body was pulling out from you.

"If you hadn't noticed...I am quite fond of the company of vampires." He smirked, and it was like you could feel it on your skin. Finally, he pulled back, looking at the TV once more.

Whew.

Minor crisis averted.

"Yes, well, I'm sure they'll enjoy your company a little too much."

You thought of your enthused mother, imagining her doting on Ken like he was just a baby dhampir who needed constant feeding. (She had a moderate to severe obsession with humans and their foods.)

You're sure Kento will be fully satiated by the end of the coming mission, that is for sure. If only you could say the same for yourself.

One thing that has hung heavily on you since you agreed to go out with Nanami, since you allowed yourself to even think of him in that way, was the idea of marking him. Feeding from him.

None of that had happened yet.

Which was normal...right? It wasn't as if you didn't want to, the craving came to you in dreams, for heaven's sake, but when was too soon? And how would you broach the subject?

What if Kento wasn't okay with it? What if he thought you could just get over those needs or perhaps hadn't considered them at all?

Surely that was not the case, Nanami thought of everything, he was mindful and had even brought up feeding cycles before, but it was always in a light-hearted, jovial, teasing manner. Did he even understand what a marking meant?

You wanted to take him, but more than that, you were afraid. You knew he would tease you, inveigle you into soft touches and a hush of his voice on your flesh, but he wouldn't cross any boundaries that you didn't initiate.

All of these facts had been a topic of stress in your mind leading up to the mission. And when the day finally came, you weren't sure if you should feel relief or fear.

It had not just been a very bad idea, it was arguably the worst possible thing you could imagine to bring Nanami here.

The mission had been so simple; in fact, it had gone over smoothly enough that you would have been willing to make the six-hour drive back to Tokyo just to avoid this.

If only you could go back in time.

He hadn't even met your mother yet, still, you felt some carnal urge to pull Kento away from the pack of people that surrounded him when you entered the manor. Everyone was excited to meet him, entirely too much so for your liking.

One would think that a pack of bloodthirsty beings, often ostracized from society, would value their own space. That was not the case, at least not with your coven.

You see, it was not just immediate family that was housed in your clan's manor, no, any vampire was pack. Any vampire was welcome. And to them, it seemed Nanami was fair game.

The onslaught of smells was something you were accustomed to, having attended many a clan meeting or family event; this should not have shocked you.

So why did it?

You drew your eyebrows in when you saw some of the group sharing looks with each other. You couldn't quite focus on what one of your cousins was saying, not with Nanami's smell fading with every grasp someone took of his hand. Not with the crude show that was being made of brushing against him. And certainly not with the changes in the air, with the way their friendliness had shifted into seduction.

Kento had no idea, the sweet, sweet, man.

Too sweet, he was.

Were you crazy or were several of the ladies drawing unnecessarily close to get a breath of him? You had never felt such dislike for your own kind, and you had to take a moment to reel yourself in. Territorial is not the modifier you want to be associated with.

It had gotten to be enough when you noticed some of the coterie's eyes starting to flush simply at his smell. It's fair to say the anger had nearly choked you.

Such a bold display of lacking control. You hated it, it lit a fire in you, you had never been so naturally heated in your life. You couldn't smell him at all. The open, stone foyer was growing more and more prickly with the spiced odor being emitted, and though Kento had no way of seeing it, the pungency of their desire repulsed you.

Your mother must have invited damn near everyone she knew.

With a shaky breath and not a single word, you dragged Nanami past everyone who had waited on him. The licking of their lips wasn't missed by you, and you wanted to lash out at he sight. They just giggled.

Damn it, were they doing this on purpose?

You tried and failed to mosey about with all the young, eligible ladies that were throwing their pheromones at him like a whelp in their first feeding cycle. But you were more interested in prying your boyfriend from their claws and dragging him to the kitchen, where you knew you would find your mother.

"They were friendly..." Kento hauled your overnight bag onto his shoulder as you led him through the halls. He was trying to look at you, probably trying to be nice. You shot him a look that perhaps held too much annoyance for his innocent self.

You were actively trying to squint the frustration away, the level at which he had been scent-marked was unprecedented and wholly inappropriate.

So you hadn't marked him, who were they to behave as if he were theirs? You had made real efforts to protect his modesty even in high school, holding yourself back from the garish desires he had no idea he brought on.

You were too lost in your thoughts, and therefore, startled when your mother rounded a corner.

"Oh!" She shook her head, the barbed scent from the foyer likely hitting her with an unanticipated force. "...my that is something..."

You patted Kento's back, a small gesture so he knew who was in front of him, perhaps also an attempt at brushing off who had just been touching him, but he didn't need to know that. It was only a moment later that your mother squealed.

"Oh my dear baby bat!! My little pup!" She spun quickly back into the kitchen to set down the dish she was holding and came to see you.

After a hug that might have choked you more than Nanami's current state of pungency, she stopped abruptly, tearing herself from you to cover her mouth with a hand. "Goodness..." She sighed, gripping her heart, "What. A. Man!" She spun.

Coming between you both, she threw her arms across your chests in another big hug. And though you couldn't smell it, you could see the embarrassment on your partner's face as she prattled on.

The island was covered in food, each plate having its own runner, cutlery, and napkin. The stove was simmering a pot or two, and the oven was slightly breached open to let some heat out.

"What a large fellow you are! And so handsome too! No wonder you stole the heart of my little bat, I could just eat you up!" She gripped his hands when he leaned forward to shake hers.

The color arising in Kento's cheeks told you all there was to know; you just couldn't pull her away. It was almost fun to see him stuttering his responses. You had no worries that she would adore the man. You just weren't sure he could handle it.

"Come, come!! You must try all that I have made!" She spun to share a confidential look with Ken, "Don't you worry, I have many human friends to cook for, you're not my first." She leaned in to tickle his side, and the poor man nearly yelped. Halting a moment to gape at you in response.

You almost laughed, trying to put aside whatever you had been feeling while your mother went to retrieve whatever she had prepared in the garde manger fridge. "I have quite a knack for this, you know! Go on, try something, dear."

Kento followed slowly into the room and made polite commentary on her plate setting and hospitality. She just waved him off. It was clear she had prepared the whole spread for him.

One would assume that a full vampire like your mother, who had never consumed anything but blood in her many years, would be the last chef desired to cook for a human. Oddly enough, that was not the case; your mother was a mastermind in the kitchen.

She had a library dedicated to the culinary arts, her favorite pastime was watching the Food Network, and to this day, she swears that your father chose to marry her for her prowess in the cooking department.

Kentos' eyes lit up, using a spoon to point at the first of many entrees he tried. "This is incredible. You made this?"

"I did! I did, you like it? Have some more! Try everything."

She waved her hands about, and you took a moment to slide against the wall to watch them, your mother weaving through the kitchen, admiring the way he consumed her creations. And Ken, turning to look at you every chance he got.

You were almost able to forget your frustrations from earlier, your nerves dulled with the awareness that Kento was comfortable here, that your mom accepted him, that he hadn't had some change of heart about the whole "vampire den" thing.

But eventually, you knew you had to step in and let Kento rest; there was only so much that man could eat, and with how polite he is, you knew she might never stop feeding him if you didn't interfere.

"Oh, my pup, I'm just so glad you have come home, and with a lover no less..."

Your mother had tiptoed over to where you stood while Nanami laced his fingers with yours. Your mom's tone wandered off as she gazed at Kento. She smiled at him, fluttering her lashes while oscillating her gaze between his neck and his eyes. Eventually, she turned to look at you and repeated the sequence of motions.

She called out your name, and as if he was not standing right before her, whispered, "Dear...don't tell me you haven't taken the man?"

She looked immediately distressed, setting her hands on the island to look between you two.

"Mother, no, no-" You pulled your hand from Nanami's to wave at her, heart pinching when he frowned slightly at you in confusion.

Now it was your turn to be embarrassed.

You had heard your parents' love story a million times growing up, she and your father had been immediately taken with one another, and she had had the man marked within a week of knowing him. She knew he had 'been the one' as she told you.

"Why hold back, I've never met such... sturdy stock." She wiggled her body in a disturbing motion and gripped Nanami's arm. Squinting at you like she was selling him to you.

His eyes widened but you didn't miss the ever-so-slight grin on his face.

"Mom."

You grabbed her by the arm to pull her off of Nanami, the brief moment of distraction was nice, albeit awkward, but being so close again to him and the markings of others was reminding you of the endlessly thin rope of self-control that was burning.

"There's no need to wait, darling, he's clearly ripened fruit."

So quickly, you were put on edge. Your face scrunched up, annoyed. You knew she thought she meant well, but it really was fine luck that you had arrived later in the evening, giving you both the privilege to slip off and avoid any more commentary from your mother.

She didn't take it hard, though, after some "Oh, you both must be so tired after work and travel." She put her hands on her hips and shook her head at you. "Aren't you going to take him to bed?"

That was it.

You tugged on Ken's arm, covering your face in embarrassment. After some borderline harassment, how was it that Kento was checking up on you?

"Honey? Are you tired? Was the mission hard on you?" He tried to slow you, but he found quite suddenly how strong a woman was when she was determined. You marched through the halls, your shadows reflected off the echoing stone.

You made at least three turns through sconce-lined walls before coming upon the guestroom. Before you could quickly drag him inside, he cupped your face, "Are you alright?"

You were going crazy, and he had no idea.

All these years, you had meticulously practiced your control, your ability to ignore your base, inhuman desires. But in that moment, standing before him, those wide, innocent eyes, imagining you were... what? Tired?

Laughable.

"No." You almost wheeze out.

All pretense was thrown to the wind when you pulled him readily into the room, onto the bed, and laid him down. You stared at his expression for a moment before marching to the door and checking the lock, then, you promptly slid atop him.

"Oh-"

It was all he got out..

You shook your face away from his chest, recalling how beguiled all the men and women had been by him. You knew immediately that you were going to stay right here until there wasn't a trace of anyone but you clinging to him.

Yes, this had been a very bad idea.

"You've got no idea." It was a mantra in your mind. He wasn't doing anything on purpose. He wasn't being cruel; he didn't even know, but you couldn't bring yourself to tell him exactly how possessive you were feeling at this very moment.

Your mother's reminder that he wasn't even yours pricked something inside of you, too.

"Darling, are you well?"

You can feel it, nuzzling into him like this, your vision hyperfocusing, melting into a dewy scarlet as you get impossibly close to take in his scent. All this time you had held back, when he would lean over to buckle you into his car, when he held you to him tenderly, when he bent into you during a movie. All that control was gone.

He lifts you both up on an arm in an attempt to sit up suddenly, “Hey, a-are you... What's wrong?" He stroked your back and you almost keen in response. "Do you need some blood? Is that it?”

Ever so attentive. A million responses fill you when you look at him, 'Are you offering?' at the forefront, but you just pout, turning to face away from him.

“No.”

"No? Something is wrong though... is it what your mom said?" He runs a hand down your spine, coming to squeeze at your hip. "You know you don't need to worry about that stuff with me." His voice is low as he finishes, "We'll take eveything at your pace."

God, you're going to eat him. You groan and claw at your head. With your face hidden away, your body prone on top of him, the foul and borderline erotic scenting placed around him, your unexplainable distress rises.

You do want his blood; that much was clear, but just like how you didn't want to give yourself the ability to be with him, you also didn't want to allow yourself to be selfish in this moment.

You shoot a few breaths into his chest before grumbling, "No...no it's not... it's not that, not really."

You use your arms to drag across his body, no practiced motion, just petting him all over heavily. And he lets you. "Oh? How come you’re so grumpy, hmm?"

Grumpy was not how you would describe yourself, but Kento had never seen you like this. More than anything, you felt protective.

You did want to draw it out of him, his taste, taking it until he was a huffing, delirious mess. You wanted to lay like this all evening, rubbing yourself on him like a damn cat, erasing any semblance of another from him.

You would have to suffice with just the latter for now.

"Just... be still." You whine.

And he is. No questions asked, he lies for you, allowing your firm caresses to encompass him.

Oh, the sweetness that pursued, you thought you would be jittery and scared when the moment came, but right now, in this instant, you were absolutely sure of what you wanted.

You had thought it was silly to set a schedule, you won't lie. But your feeding cycle has been a topic of conversation between Kento and you these past few days. You knew it was coming.

You had told him not too long ago that you might need to distance yourself in the days when you were at your peak. Needless to say, he had seemed a bit confused, asking,

"Wouldn't we be spending more time together?"

You laughed at his assumption, tucking your knees under yourself on the couch to turn and face him, "Honey, I'm not sure you would want that."

Chuckling, you attempted to leave it at that, but what you weren't expecting was for Nanami to take your hand, "Why wouldn't I want that? Are you under the impression that I don't want to be there for you?"

You shudder at his fingers lacing with yours and bite your lip, "Oh, no, not like that... I just don't think you're ready... I don't want to scare you off, you know?"

You were well past the 'he might find me scary' phase, but it was hard to explain your own fear at how feral and ravenous you might become if you were around him during this time.

He looked hurt at your words, and you interrupted him before he could say anything, "No, no-not like that, I just don't think I've explained exactly how it works..."

And more privately, you don't didn't think you were quite deserving of this. Not yet. You wouldn't say that to him, though.

Kento pulled back from you, grabbed the remote, and promptly turned off the television. He came back to hold your hands. "Explain then. I'm ready."

Good lord, he was so earnest. Your heart ached, your brow furrowing at how cute he was. You tried, "Well...it's hard... for you, or so I've been told... I don't want to put you through that." You don't see him nodding, too focused on what you're trying to say, "I mean...I do- I really do, but that's not exactly fair, and I've never done it before, and I'm assuming you haven't either, I also don't want it to be bad for you..."

You look up to see him smiling at you, "It's one of those things, you know, that I can't really pay you back for, and I'm a bit scared that I won't be able to control myself so I just think it would be better if maybe I just quarantined?"

His shoulders shook slightly with gentle chuckles. "If you want it, I want it." His voice was conversational, easy, but it drew you short. "Why would you need to 'pay me back'? Darling, I know this is intimate for you, for us, and I want to share in it. There is no 'repaying', not when I am lucky enough to call you mine. "

You swallow, gooseflesh coating your arms.

"Besides, it doesn't hurt, right? You have that numbing stuff?"

Your lip twitches, "You remember that?"

He laughs deeply now, straight from his chest, "I remember everything about you. And I also know that if I can be there for you to make things easier, I want that too."

And so you began discussing what your previous cycles had been like, what to expect, and also, what would happen if...no, when you marked him.

"Nobody has to see, I mean, I guess it just depends on where I do it, but regardless of placement, a vampire would be able to tell...that you're taken."

There was a fair bit of rambling, speaking about it with him so openly had caused your body to shake, you were nervous, and also very aware of how badly you wanted this.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I don't mind people knowing I'm yours."

Oh boy.

Yes, your feeding cycle was definitely coming.

And so, in the days leading up to it, you prepared him with all the knowledge you had. Shoko had even shot you a call to ask if you were okay for the weekend, asking if you would need anything from her.

For the first time since high school, you were pretty sure you wouldn't require any outside help, and the knowledge gnawed away at you. The truth of what was to come kept you up at night. You thought the schedule would help you relax, to prepare for what was to come, but now you were just counting down the days like some overeager teenager.

In school, your cycle was like torture. You were out of school for a week, sickly and desperate. You went through a lot of blood when you didn't have a partner to help. As a child, you imagined who your mate would be, how you would feel sharing such a personal time with them.

And when that time finally came, your hands shook from what can only be uncontrolled elation and muted depravation. Nanami was not afraid, that much you could tell. He was sitting on your bed, your form tucked within his, the smell of your shampoo floating around him, making him dizzy.

That morning, when you had awoken, you had known it was the day. You had felt hollow and fretful. You didn't want to wait for Kento to arrive; you hated yourself for not allowing him to just stay the night.

You had no idea how you had survived these past years on pig's blood, with the scent of Nanami all across your home, you knew nothing else could come close to satisfying you.

You paced the house, breathing the space in. It took a great deal of restraint to not message him a petulant, 'why aren't you here yet, I need you?' after having told him you wanted to take everything slow.

And you had taken things slow, but it was now time to get the engines running.

Instead of any number of needy words, you chose to simply say, 'We were right.'

Hitting send and slinking into the living room to wrap yourself in a blanket.

These past few days, you had been pretty sure that today was when it would be happening. It was as if your body was aware of it, though. You had never been more affected than you were just now.

Still, even when he arrived, you held yourself back.

Yeah, that's right. You didn't jump him when he slid through your door. No, you were calm and composed and made little effort to push him straight to your room.

A hallway was no place to mark your mate.

Wow, you really had lost it, huh?

Nanami was expertly compassionate, in a voice you could hardly hear and words you couldn't make out, he was easing you, or trying to, something along the lines of, "It's okay, baby, I'm here, don't worry."

Oh, you weren't worried. In a moment, your hands were splaying over his back, his shoulders, his waist, and back up to his neck. Playing with him. Fuck, if you weren't so abruptly aware of your need, you would toy with him a little more. But just then, you could almost cry with how badly you wanted him, wanted him to ask for you, wanted him to beg.

You really did do as much as you could to prepare him before you lost all semblance of controllable desire. You had prepped him for days, really, but maybe with you straddling his waist, eyes aglow, and canines primed, he might have been a little hesitant.

You tried, really tried to hold it. You looked at him, the room was silent save for his aching breaths, his pupils were massive, his clavicle to face aflush, and his hands were grounded at the junction of your waist and hip.

"Are you...okay?"

He wanted this.

You could literally feel it pouring out of him, you wanted to laugh. All this time, you thought you had been holding yourself back for his sake. It was he who had been restraining himself.

He called your name, repeating himself, "Are you okay?"

You just nodded. Taking it in. He wasn't sitting fully up but wasn't lying flat either. He was in the perfect range for you to touch him, to feed.

"Don't worry." You found yourself saying.

You said it again and again, like you were talking to some wounded prey, easing him into this. But he required none of it.

He slid his hand up your neck, tugging slightly to get you to look, really look at him. Needing nothing but you.

"I'm not worried."

He said it with so much finality.

You grabbed the arch of the arm that was holding you and leaned into him, easily locating the point where his collar met his neck.

You licked, and it almost made you cry. He quavered and made a tortured noise. You hummed and, without a second longer of deliberation, pricked his neck.

You feel his jaw tense, and the flesh there seems to jump.

You wanted to take your mouth away and give him a few more licks, ease whatever sharpness was there, just to make sure he was okay, but you just couldn't control yourself.

He hummed, his back hitting the headboard, arching slightly to give you more space. It reminded you of an animal allowing itself to be dominated; he was showing his belly to you so to speak. Opening his neck when he knew full well you were primed to bite.

And that's when you taste it.

Paradise. It was so pleasurable it almost hurt.

His blood was completely different from anything you had indulged in. It was thick and heady, painfully good. Your ears started to ring as you sank into him. The experience was orgasmic.

He was making some kind of strained, inhuman sound, or perhaps that was you, you couldn't know. His eyes were fluttering open and then closed again in hazy awe at the feeling.

You reveled in it, drinking what was easily the most addictive thing you had ever been granted. Your hand was firmly placed on his chest, feeling the thundering of his heart. You could be here forever, the rapture of it all never faded, it only got better, more intense.

But you didn't want it forever, you were sharing in this, and you couldn't allow yourself too much.

The feelings, it all lasted even after you had forcibly latched yourself off of him; somewhere in the time it took for you to slink into his lap and indulge, the two of you had slid from sitting up to lying atop one another. Your leg was wrapped around his, your torsos aligned.

He was breathing deeply, a shuddering "god..." escaped after one long inhalation.

It was unreal. You almost felt the need to cry; he was affectionately holding you to him like he couldn't bear to let you go. You felt like you did as a child, meeting him for the first time, but also how you did on the night of that mission when he wrapped you in a towel to dry you from the blood and the rain. You felt like when he overlapped your fingers on the hallway linoleum, sitting outside of Haibara's inpatient ward. You felt like you did when he turned to smile at you on graduation day, like how he came to sit with you months back after that office dinner, like when he tucked you in his arms and whispered sweet things as you fell asleep.

You felt it all.

A cavernous, ancestral need clung to you suddenly, an immediate desire to care and nurture him, to make sure he was well. You were high off the feeling, as you attempted to slide away to get something to hydrate him, you felt just how off-kilter you were from it all.

He grasped you to him in a way that cried out, 'don't leave, don't you leave.'

So you stayed, a finger to his pulse, a languid tongue coming to taste more of him. 'He's okay,' you told yourself. He was exuding happy hormones at a rapid rate, thrilling at your every touch.

He had just given so much of himself for you, but the more you blinked, the heavier your eyelids became; you were dazed, mouth agape, heaving breaths. You needed to feed him, to get him something.

You forced yourself to focus, to fall from his grip.

"Where are you going?" He whispered into you.

“I need... to make sure you aren't… dying”

That was not what you wanted to say, at all, but 'I have an evolutionary need to watch over you, and feed you, and behold you in my care' sounded a bit crazy at the moment.

He squeezed you tight to him again, “I’m very much alive.” He was looking at you as if he had never seen you before. It took an embarrassing amount of time to notice his hand cradling your cheek.

“I see that” And you could. For someone who had just lost a fair amount of body fluid, he looked very alive.

"Yeah?"

Your tongue probes to tips of your teeth, extricating every little flavor of him.

“How do I taste?” He shot you a loopy grin, the intensity of it all still on your tongue.

“Perfect." You fall back onto him, not quite ready to leave. Rich...sweet”

“Sweet?” He tilted his face so you could ease back into his neck, a surprised brow raised.

You almost moan, "Impossibly sweet."

He can feel himself slipping, sleep pulling him in a way that such a peak in hormones always induced drowsiness.

"You're still okay?"

He hums your name, grabbing your waist suddenly to flip you both on your sides, "Fuck...nothing makes me happier than being desirable to you." And lower, "I've never been more okay in my life."

One thing was for sure, you were glad to put the conversation of marking behind you. You didn't exactly enjoy your mother constantly asking when you were going to just "take him".

The looming anxiety around when, where, and how could officially be put to rest, and as crazy as it sounds, you were ready to get back to work, too. You felt a bit ridiculous filling these past few days with just thoughts of Kento, insatiable need for him, unbelievably good highs, and even more thoughts of the man.

Time elapsed, and the closeness you shared only seemed to grow, if that were even possible. Your mother lent Nanami many a recipe. All too eager at his humble requests. You came home one night to Kento stirring something on the stove. You couldn't eat it, but God, did it smell good.

This was your new norm: when each of you would come back from a long and grueling day of work, one of you was always there, ready to intercept the other at the door.

Usually taking a bag or some groceries, tenderly relaxing one another's muscles before dragging the other to the couch, the bedroom, and in both of your more embarrassing and desperate moments, to the floor for a quick taste.

This evening, he came around the kitchen to take your coat from your shoulders,

"That smells nice." You grin into the kiss he gives you.

"You like it? I hoped you would. It's just mulling spices."

He did things like this a lot, something delightful for your mutual benefit, just another thing to share. You grin, "Yeah…I like it."

You leaned down to remove your shoes, and Kento reached over you to hang up your jacket. Once you'd risen, he pulled you in for another kiss, practically more desperate than you were.

He hummed and seized hold of you, smiling into your mouth. His thoughts spilling over, “You never need to worry about dinner being ready, just come home to me.”

His fingers danced down to your hands, stretching your arms out before letting go, only to swoop his hold around your waist. “You know, you know I live to satisfy you.”

And he did. Try as you might, you just couldn’t escape his care, not that you would ever attempt that again. It was clear, If you were fulfilled, he was fulfilled.

If you were there, he was with you.

That inch you had given him had been enough. He wouldn’t stop pursuing you, wouldn’t stop coming right back to the sweetness of where he belonged.

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retiredteabag · 14 days ago