retro haikyuu!! đ§Ąđâ¨
â§ word count: 18.3k â§ warnings: cursing, renjun gets CONSENSUALLY dosed with a magical aphrodisiac For Science â§ genre: fluff, humor, one (1) heavy makeout scene but no actual smut, 0.1 seconds of angst if you can even call it that, academic rivals to lovers, modern magical creatures au, college au, siren reader, human renjun ft. siren ten, same universe as strawberry sunday â§ extra info: in my lore, siren scales are visible when theyâre in more human-like forms because of magic, and itâs not an indication of their skin tone at all. so when the readerâs scales are mentioned, please donât take this as any sort of allusion to them being pale/light-skinned! i tried to take care and make sure i wasnât implying that in how i wrote it, but please tell me if it reads like that this work is set in the same universe as strawberry sunday but can be read as a standalone! there is no continuing plotline between fics in this universe, they simply take place in the same world/magic system and may have overlapping characters (neos may pop up in more than one work!) â§ authorâs note: yâall. get ready for this one. no spoilers but renjun and reader r both crazy and nobody should be subjected to them except each other. like they both look at the other and think âi could fix them but whatever the fuck is wrong with them is infinitely funnier to meâ but theyâre both Wrong. they could not fix the other. i don't want what they have but good for them. anyway as always i had way too much fun writing this that it went over my projected word count and i hope yâall have a lot of fun reading it too
âââ ââ ââ â explore the strawberry sunday universe more here!
âWould you shut up?â You sat back up, grabbing him by the hair.
âWhy?â
âIâm trying to kiss you again, idiot.â
2608, 2610, 2612âŚ
The numbers of the study rooms you passed by went up, up, up, as you continued your hunt. You knew heâd be here. It was the day before the first test in your Linguistics in Magical Creatures Studies class, meaning he was going to be holed up in the library until closing time. Now it was just a matter of finding him. Somewhere quiet, obviously, which was why youâd completely skipped the first floor with its wide-open âcollaboration areas.â The second floor was all bookshelves and private study rooms that would hold four or five students at most. You peered into the narrow window on each painted metal door as you walked down the hall. While the first floor was recently renovated with new technology and upgrades such as the âcollaboration areasâ and bright pops of your universityâs school colors that made for great promotional photos to put on the website and pamphlets to hand out to new students, this floor hadnât had seen anything more than a janitor in a good couple decades. The musty, stale smell of old, unused books was all around you, the air conditioning hummed and clicked irregularly, all the furniture had ugly, outdated patterns, and the exactly three desktop computers they did have in a far back corner were practically as old as you. Which, in the digital age, meant that they were artifacts belonging in a museum.
And of course, sitting at very last one, as if he had been hiding behind all of these bookshelves from you personally, was Huang Renjun.
Renjun was sat in the wooden chair facing the computer, clearly deep in thought. He had one foot propped up on the wide chair seat as both of his hands were on the archaic-looking keyboard, speedily typing something out. He wore a pair of jeans, yellow hoodie, and a red backwards baseball cap kept his hair out of his face. An open energy drink can and empty bag of chips on the desk next to him belied that he had already been there for some time.
Now that you had found your target, you put on a burst of speed, stalking up to him from the side and smacking your hand down on the tabletop beside him. âRenjun.â
The human jumped in his seat, looking up from his screen to you. Taking his hands from the keyboard, he made a couple quick clicks on the mouse as he used the other to take his headphones out of his ears. âY/N. Fucking hell⌠is your new strategy this semester to give me a heart attack and kill me?â
âIf murder was on the table as part of our little academic rivalry, donât you think I wouldâve just drowned you after our Intro course freshman year?â You asked, tilting your head innocently. After all, you were a siren, that would be much easier than scaring him into an early cardiac episode.
Huang Renjun was not your friend. Not necessarily an acquaintance either, youâd known him for going on four years now, since your first class on your first day of college. The two of you were in the same Introduction to Magical Creatures Studies class. He had sat in the very front row, you just behind him in the second row. When your professor had asked an open question to the class, both you and Renjun eagerly blurted out the answer, Renjun just a millisecond before you. Dr. Li gave him the credit, and also requested that you two raise your hands in the future. And from then on you hated Huang Renjun.
Well, hate may be a strong word. You overlapped in at least two classes every semester being in the same major, and were both chronic overachievers. The first to raise your hands when a question was asked, studying in the library until closing (separately), and visiting professorsâ office hours just to discuss topics from class further. Your professors noticed this. Some would pit the two of you against each other, and others would try to pair you up, whether on projects, research, or just in general, as a meeting of the minds or whatever. And you two would get your project done, pocket your As, and part ways again. Academic rival slash frenemy was the best way you could describe who Huang Renjun was to you.
âWho knows, you might still, if they ask me to carry the banner,â he muttered, picking his pen up and spinning it between his fingers.
This was your last semester, both you and Renjun were graduating in just a few months. At commencement, each department picked one âoutstanding studentâ to lead the progression, carrying a flag with the departmentâs name and seal on it. This semester it was Magical Creatures Studiesâ turn to select a student for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and your program head had already heavily implied that they could choose either you or Renjun, but they hadnât made their final decision yet.
This was actually a pretty good segue into what you were really here to talk to him about. Pulling your lips into an alluring smirk, you nodded, âYouâre right. It doesnât take a rocket surgeon to figure out thatââ
âA fucking what?â He cut you off, his face scrunching up as he blinked at you in confusion.
âObviously itâs going to be one of us two, since weâre the two best students in the program.â
âWell, yes.â He nodded, seeming to let go of what had presumably been another one of your jumbled human malaphors. You admittedly hadnât been living among humans for terribly long, and for some reason their idioms just didnât stick in your brain very well.
âI mean, we not only are dedicated to the field itself and the content we study in class, but the program too. We probably know everybody in it, professors and students, right? Between the two of us?â
Renjun considered this for a moment. âYeah, probably. Weâve both taken on a lot of SI and tutor opportunities for lower-level classes.â
âRight. So, you know those forums the school has on the online class platform? The general message boards?â
âYes. Why?â
âIâm going to need you to sit tight with me on this until I finish talking, okay?â You pointed at him sternly. He nodded slowly. âGood. Back in the fall, about the end of September, I was on the message boards, just browsing around killing time. I was in the Tips & Advice section and saw this post. It was a gryphon who was losing feathers on one specific spot on her wing, and she didnât know why. The witch she went to didnât know why, nobody could figure it out. I was about to reply asking if it was her left or right, when I saw that somebody else already had. It was her left, and sheâs a lefty. The same person replied again, asking if she sleeps with her wings out or not. She sleeps with them out. It turns out she was stress-preening in her sleep. Username: dr_magic2303. A couple weeks later, same message board, Tips & Advice, a human is suddenly producing dark purple goop from his feet but itâs so slippery he canât even leave to go see a doctor or a witch and he was typing the post from his bathroom. Within an hour, this Dr. Magic is back telling him someoneâs put an aether ooze hex on him, and to sit down and scoot on his butt to the kitchen and gather up all these ingredients for a cleansing foot bath. And if he doesnât have them, then heâll have to butt-scoot his way to an apothecary or call one who does home deliveries. Now people are posting on there specifically asking Dr. Magic to come heal all their magical aches and pains.â
Renjun stared at you, unblinking. The pen had gone still in his hand.
You breathed in, continuing, âI tracked this Dr. Magic all the way back to their first post in the first week of fall semester of this year. Now, Iâve been trying to figure out who they are on my own, and Iâve made a lot of progress on who they arenât. But Iâm going to lose access to those message boards once we graduate at the end of the semester. I know Dr. Magic has to be an MCS major, thereâs no way they would be able to have to breadth, depth, and flexibility of knowledge by just Googling this stuff. And you and me, Renjun, I know we can do this. Not only do we know MCS, but we know the department, the people in it. It has to be us.â
He was still staring at you, mouth slightly agape. Then, his whole demeanor shifted. He dropped his leg so that both his feet were on the ground, and he resumed spinning the pen.
âOkay. Iâll help you.â He nodded thoughtfully. âIf youâll do something for me.â
âDo what?â You straightened up.
âIâll tell you after we find Dr. Magic.â
You crossed your arms. âNo, tell me now or no deal.â
âI tell you after, but you can still say no then if you donât want to do it.â He bargained.
âThat just sounds even more concerning, Renjun. Tell me now or Iâll do it myself.â
âIâm hurt. What happened to âit has to be us?ââ
âIâm a siren, I know how to sweet talk. Donât take it personally.â You snorted. âNow, what do you want from me?â
âYouâre a siren,â he echoed plainly, as if that were all the explanation you needed.
âAnd youâre a genius.â You retorted. âTell me now or I walk out.â
âI... want to experience siren venom. For science.â
Oh, you could kiss him right now, no deal necessary. He was meeting your gaze head-on, a slightly unhinged glint in his eye. Not a hint of fear, just a craving for new experiences, unbridled curiosity. Yeah, he was a bit crazy, you were realizing four years on, and you wanted him.
âYouâre insane.â
He leaned back in his seat, putting his hands up in front of him in an âI-donât-careâ gesture, âIf you donât want to find Dr. Magicââ
âI didnât say no, I said youâre insane,â you corrected him with a grin, dragging your eyes up and down his form as he sat so confidently, negotiating with a siren like it was any average Tuesday for him.
âSo do we have a deal?â He set his pen down and held a hand out to you.
âYou help me find Dr. Magic, then Iâll spit in your mouth.â You momentarily thought about the disparity in division of labor on that, but decided not to point it out aloud. Easiest handshake of your life. âDeal.â
You wanted to eat him alive.
âYouâve tried IP tracking?â Renjun asked, scrolling through your word document of notes that youâd accumulated on Dr. Magic.
ââYouâve tried IP tracking?ââ You mimicked him under your breath, making your voice so high-pitched to the point of mocking.
He rolled his eyes.
This was your first meet-up to try to hunt down Dr. Magic together. It was a couple weeks after he had agreed to help you in the first place. There was a test and some assignments in a few of your classes to get through first before either of you had enough spare time to dedicate to this. But now the two of you were back in the library, having taken a study room on the second floor and set up with your own laptops. Youâd sent him your notes to look through on it while you perused the message board for any new posts from Dr. Magic.
âYou do know that any geographical location an IP address can give you will just be the city, right? Itâs not like the movies,â you snorted, dropping your voice back down to your normal intonation as you shook your head. âAnyway, I did do some extra legwork with the IPs, and matched most of them to desktop computers here in the library. I think the others are a personal device, their laptop or something.â
âTheyâre all different.â
You tutted at him, âOh, you sweet Thursdayâs childâŚâ
âThatâs not the sayââ
âTheyâre all somehow on other continents. Now, I donât think Dr. Magic teleporting abroad and cross-dimensionally to make forum posts.â
âVPN?â
âDefinitely. Theyâre covering their tracks, they almost never use their own device, and when they have to, they use a VPN to cover up the IP address of it.â
He made a noise of acknowledgement, eyes still focused on his screen.
Then, something on the forum caught your eye. âOh! Right here. Thirty-six minutes ago, a dryad posted that she canât sprout daffodils from her body anymore. Every other plant and flower are fine, except daffodils. She posted it specifically asking Dr. Magic if they know whatâs wrong with her.â
âHuh.â Renjunâs brow furrowed. âJust daffodils?â
âThatâs what it says,â you confirmed, making a few clicks on your computer. âAnd⌠ânotify me.ââ
âYou can turn on notifications for forum posts?â
âYou canât,â you informed him smugly. âBut one of the sirens in my pod, heâs got a bunch of CompSci friends who I paid to write a browser extension for me that bookmarks forum posts and sends me email notifications when anybody replies to them. So Iâll know exactly when Dr. Magic responds.â
âYouâŚâ
âHave definitely spent too much time, energy, and money on this, I know. Sunken cost fallacy, look it up.â
âI was going to say âare insane,ââ he breathed out, his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief.
When you looked up from your computer at him, you saw that he had a curious gaze fixated on you, eyes narrowed slightly, mouth parted, and head tilted ever so slightly to the side.
You leaned forward minutely, holding his eye contact. âTakes one to know one, Junnie.â
He looked down at his keyboard, shifting in his seat before he looked back up at you. âWhy are you calling me that?â
âDo you not like it?â
âI didnât say that.â
âSo you do like it.â You smirked.
He frowned. âI didnât say that either.â
âWell do you?â
âAnswer my question.â
âAnswer mine.â
âI asked first.â
âOoh, how very primary school,â you teased, setting your chin in your hand.
âItâs only fair.â He pointed out.
âWe could flip a coin.â
âY/N.â
âJunnie.â
The human sighed, holding your eye contact wordlessly, looking entirely unamused.
You finally gave in with a casual shrug. âI just am.â
âSeriously? Weâve known each other for four years and youâve never called me thatâyouâve called me plenty of other thingsâbut now suddenly youâve got a nickname for me?â
âIâm not trying to be derogatory with it, if youâre worried about that,â you clarified. âJust sort of happened. Iâm a siren, I flirt with cute people, sorry. Do you want me to stop calling you that?â
He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing some off his face as he turned his focus back down to his screen. âItâs fine.â
âAnyway, I bookmarked the new forum post, so itâll go on the board.â
âThe board?â
âI, uh, I may be using a spare wall in my apartment to host a conspiracy theory board with you know, the red string and thumbtacks and stuffâŚâ You admitted quietly.
âCan I see it?â
âHo-ly shit,â Renjun breathed out, staring up at the multiple time-stamped printouts of forum posts, pictures of classmates and faculty, sticky notes, and yards of red string that you had pinned to a blank wall in your apartment.
You stood next to him, gazing up at your creation with a strange mixture of pride and embarrassment. This was the first time youâd let someone see this, and you were kind of glad it was Renjun. He actually seemed impressed. You were sure that any of your friends and family would be weirded out at best, and very concerned at worst.
âYeah, Iâm adding color copies off the school printers to the invoice Iâm sending Dr. Magic at the end of all this.â
âYouâre sending them an invoice for your self-assigned mission to hunt them down?â He snorted.
âYup. Itâs their fault for not using their school-issued login.â You crossed your arms. âMakes them enigmatic.â
Your classmate pointed to one of the headshots. âIs that Dr. Li?â
âDid you think our scope was narrowed to just students? Faculty have access to the message boards, too. And weâve learned everything we know from our professors, so they obviously have the knowledge and skill to be Dr. Magic.â
âAnd their names also start with Doctor.â He added dryly, which you took to be a joke.
You decided that it wasnât at your expense, though, and after giving a short chuckle, continued on with your explanation of why you specifically had your program head up on the board. âWhen I was grilling Dr. Li for information in the fall, he was giving me very duplicitous answers. Pointed me towards a freshman who I swear didnât even know the difference between Arctic sirens and glacial sirens.â
âYou think it was a diversion.â
âObviously.â
Renjun tapped his chin thoughtfully. âWhat sort of questions were you asking him?â
âI couldnât straight up ask him if he was Dr. Magic. So I was asking him things like... other than you and me, who did he think was the best student in the program, that kind of stuff. Said that kid reminded him of you and me on that first day of Intro to MCS.â You couldnât help but let out an indignant scoff at the idea. âCan you believe? Didnât know the difference between Arctic and glacial sirensâŚâ
âWho was it?â
âSome basilisk in one of his Intro classes last semester. UhâŚâ You snapped your fingers as you tried to remember his name. âSeunghan! Hong Seunghan!â
âSeriously?â The human turned to look at you incredulously, clearly offended at the comparison as well.
âSeriously!â
He clutched at his chest like he was about to have a heart attack. âThatâs who he thinks is the next us? I was an SI for that classâŚâ
âI know! Heâs not the brightest tool in the shed, huh?â
âSo close, Y/N. So closeâŚâ He sighed.
âIt almost completely threw me off my search for Dr. Magic. I figured I needed to seriously step up my game in his undergrad research or something.â You shook your head at the horrible memory. âThen I realized he might have been trying to get me to do exactly that.â
âHuh.â Renjun folded his arms over his chest as he looked away, pretending not to seem interested. âYou did research with Dr. Li last semester?â
âDonât give me those kicked puppy dog eyes, youâre doing research with Dr. Kwon this semester and sheâs like, my academic idol!â You pointed at him accusatorily.
âAnd Dr. Li is mine!â
You waved your arms in front of you, shaking yourself out of the academic envy-induced frenzy youâd gotten worked up into. âWeâre getting off-topic. Weâre here to catch Dr. Magic, remember?â
âRightâŚâ He took a deep breath, turning back to the conspiracy wall.
As Renjun studied your work, you studied him. You had a strand of fairy lights clipped up above the conspiracy wall for light and ambiance (mostly ambiance), and they now lit his features from the front. He didnât have a baseball cap on today, leaving his brown hair to fall over his forehead, down past his eyebrows and just into his eyes. He blinked and shook his head slightly. A piece had presumably been bothering him. The curving slope of the bridge of his nose, his lips, his chin that he still had one hand propped up to hold, a finger tapping against his cupidâs bow like a metronome. You listened closer, curious if it would be mimicking the beat of his heart. The tapping was just slightly slower than his heart, and would stop if he found something that he took particular interest in, then start back up when he moved on again.
Not that you were going to tell him, but you were double motivated to find Dr. Magic now. Seeing Renjun under your venom was going to be a reward all on its own. You understood full well why he felt like he needed to ask you as part of an exchange like this, but he seemed to greatly underestimate his own selling value. Which was good for you. This was a win-win-win in your eyes.
Thinking of the deal made you curious, though. He had that request ready to go almost likeâŚ
âSo, do you want to be petrified by a basilisk, too?â
Renjun didnât take his eyes off the wall. âAlready have been.â
âReally?â
âMy friend Mark is a basilisk. When he had just gotten his powers a couple years ago and couldnât control them, he kept accidentally petrifying his human roommate. So I figured out when it was most likely to happen, invited myself over and hid his sunglasses. It was strange, being able to think but not speak, see but not blink, and telling my muscles to move and not having them obey.â He casually detailed what sounded like one of the most horrifying experiences ever to you, leaning in towards a specific post from November. âBut it only lasted one minute and twenty-nine seconds.â
You stared at him with both admiration and alarm. âYou manufactured an opportunity to get petrified.â
âI knew he wouldnât do it if I asked. Heâs a wimp. That, and he couldnât do it on command at the time, even if he did agree.â
âHave you had your blood drank?â
âYup.â
âBeen flying?â
âHow so?â His eyes flicked over to you for a second, and you were glad that you had relaxed again with the more casual conversation.
âWith a gryphon, phoenix, take your pick.â You shrugged.
âUh-huh.â
âDo you have a list for this stuff or something?â
âWritten down, no. But I suppose I have a mental list.â
âPoisoned by a wyvern?â
âWould have to find one first.â
You felt your eyes bug out of your head. âYou want to be poisoned by a wyvern? You know thereâs no cure for that, right?â
âYes, I took the same class that you did on them last spring.â He reminded you tersely. Your head jerked back minutely, surprised for a second that he had noticed, remembered, and brought it up. The two of you didnât have a spat in that class, taking an âignore and pretend the other doesnât existâ approach that semester when you could, and hadnât mentioned it since. Seeming to realize what heâd done, Renjun rushed to move on, âSo I also know that thereâs no cure because they went extinct hundreds of years ago.â
âSupposedly.â
âYou think theyâre still out there?â
âMaybe.â
âHm.â He stepped to the side to read over the next post from the first week of December.
You scoffed. âOkay, coming from the guy who believes in aliens.â
âWe havenât explored all of space. But we know what habitats wyverns lived in, and theyâre not there anymore.â
âThey couldâve adapted, gone somewhere else,â you tried to argue. âIâm not exactly splashing around the ocean right now, am I?â
âWhere did they go, then?â
âI... I donât know,â you admitted, holding yourself by your arms protectively.
âHmph.â
You tightened your grip, swallowing hard against the lump threatening to grow in your throat. âI just donât want to believe theyâre gone, okay?â
âSo this isnât a scientific hypothesis, but some rosy daydream?â Renjunâs disapproval of the lack of academic rigor in your argument was clear in his tone as his eyes never left your wall, following a red string up to your next connection for Dr. Magic.
âI donât want to believe that wyverns went extinct because that means that sirens could too! Alright?â You finally snapped, hands squeezing tightly around your biceps as your claws came out with the raw burst of emotion. âI know that Magical Conservation was just some class to you, but I had to sit there and take notes on how exactly the native habitats of sirensâme, my friends, my familyâare shrinking, and could theoretically lead to our extinction, and then write a discussion post on it after like it was some intellectually stimulating bit of information. So yeah, maybe I like to imagine that thereâs still wyverns out there somewhere, because it gives me a modicum of hope that after everything, there could still be sirens, too. Sorry that thatâs not academic enough.â
The image of Renjun that you had been yelling at in front of you was wavering as tears swam in your vision. Heâd turned around to listen, mouth parting as he seemed to immediately realize his mistake. The human nodded regretfully, running a hand through his hair before finally picking his words.
âIâm sorry, Y/N. I didnât mean to be so dismissive. I-I misread the tone of the discussion. Sirens arenât wyverns, and you wonât meet the same fate they might have. Siren advocacy and conservation groups are making huge progress. The world now is a lot different than it was hundreds of years ago,â Renjun said, and you could hear both the remorse and firm belief in his tone. âAnd who knows, maybe there are still some wyverns out there. I could be wrong... itâs been known to happen before.â
You took a deep breath, your claws receding back into your fingers and just leaving your normal fingernails. As you looked down at your arms, though, you let out a sigh.
âDamn, I got myself.â You clicked your tongue in your throat regretfully, spotting a few drops of what looked like molten silver metal welling to the surface where youâd punctured your skin.
âOoh,â Renjun winced sympathetically. âDo you have some⌠bandages?â
âEven better, Iâve got running water.â You started towards the door, then noted that there were no footsteps behind you. Turning back around, you looked at the human knowingly. âDo you want to watch, Renjun?â
He perked up. âPlease?â
âCome on,â you jerked your head, holding your arms level as you shuffled towards your kitchen.
Thankfully, you hadnât been nearly deep enough to get your scales, just the skin overtop. Turning the kitchen faucet on, you grabbed one of your sleeves, then looked at your classmate imploringly.
âA little help, Junnie?â You nodded towards your other arm, where the end of your sleeve was getting close to your blood.
âOh, sure.â He surged forward to help you roll up the other one.
âI know you know this but be careful not to touch my blood,â you reminded him, finally pulling up the sleeve youâd started on well enough. Siren blood was a neurotoxin to humansâand not the fun kind like your venom, but a proper âkill you in an excruciatingly painful wayâ kind.
âUh-huh, got it.â
A couple drops on your left and a drop on your right had run down to your elbows, and you just managed to catch yourself so that they dripped into the sink and not onto your counter (or gods forbid, Renjun). Looking over to make sure he was watching, you stuck your left bicep under the stream of water first. The ocean blue scales that peeked through your skin shimmered in the kitchen lights directly above your head. Thankfully you hadnât come anywhere close to nicking one of those. That wouldâve actually hurt. Within a second of touching the water your skin had meshed itself back together. You turned your arm to rinse off the blood, then brought it back out to show that there was no scar left. Doing the same with the other, it healed just as quick, no mark left behind to indicate that anything had ever happened.
âYepâŚâ Renjun breathed out as you grabbed a hand towel and went to dry off your arms. âI donât think Iâll ever get tired of that.â
âHow many does that make?â You giggled.
âWhat?â
âHow many creatures have you seen magically heal themselves? What number am I?â
âYou make me sound soâŚâ
âLike a common MCS whore?â
âI was going to say clinical, but damn, tell me how you really feel, Y/N.â
Both of you laughed, and you put the hand towel back.
âYouâre the first siren,â Renjun answered your question genuinely anyway.
You hummed as you mulled this over. âIâll take it.â
He made a dramatic motion of wiping sweat off his forehead, and you reached forward to smack his forearm. You two laughed again.
After a bout of comfortable silence, your eyes settled on him again, still thinking about exactly how youâd accidentally stabbed yourself in the first place.
âI forgive you, by the way,â you said. âI donât think I said that.â
âYou didnât.â He nodded. âThank you.â
âYou really mean all that? You think Iâllâweâll be okay? Sirens?â
âOf course I mean it. Or I wouldnât have said it. Itâs the most scientifically plausible. I did take that Magical Conservation class seriously, you know. I know it couldnât have meant the same thing for me as it means to you, but I did my final paper on siren conservation projects in the Arctic. The progress thatâs being made there is incredible. I-I donât want to tell you about your own speciesâ problems, obviously, butââ
âI did mine on siren conservation in the tropics.â You let out a dry chuckle at the flawless symbiosis. âYou can tell me about your paper sometime, Renjun.â
âAnd Iâd love to hear about siren conservation in the tropics.â
âAh, âa meeting of the minds.ââ You did your best impression of Dr. Li, thinning your voice out to sound like an elderly man, which garnered a smile from Renjun. âIsnât this what our professors always wanted?â
âUh-oh. Weâre giving them exactly what they want.â He shook his head ruefully. âQuick, you need to start yelling at me about something.â
âWell you need to say something obnoxious first.â
Another gentle lull in the conversation, and you watched as Renjun looked around your apartment a lot more carefully than when you two had first entered. Your destination then had been solely the conspiracy wall, but now he seemed to be really taking it in.
âSo why donât you have like⌠a fish tank or something?â He asked.
âBecause that would be cruel! Imagine if someone kept you in a 2-foot by 2-foot box!â You jabbed a finger into his chest accusatorily.
He held his hands up in surrender. âYouâre right. That was a stupid question.â
âIâm glad you said it, because I was about to.â
âSo why donât you reply? To the posts.â Renjun asked curiously, back to trolling the message boards for new Dr. Magic posts. You two were holed up in your second floor study room again. âYouâve been tracking Dr. Magic so closely, youâre getting to these posts before they do, and you can help all these students, too. So why donât you just reply instead?â
Yours and Renjunâs search for Dr. Magic had been going on for a month now, and heâd been proving himself useful. Heâd finally convinced you to rule out Dr. Li as a suspect when he found a message board post made from a school computer while Dr. Li was away at a conference giving a presentation. Confirmed to be done at the exact same time. So youâd found another wrong person, but you still didnât feel any closer to the right person. The remaining people felt like they were going to turn out to be dead ends, and there was nobody good to rule in either.
Spring break was coming up in a few weeks, which meant that commencement preparations would be starting, which meant that the colleges would be announcing who would be chosen to carry their banners, which meant the actual students who were going to be chosen would be told at least a week or two ahead of time. Every time you thought about that you wanted to bite something. Maybe there was some ancestral link between sirens and werewolves. Another paper waiting to be written.
âThey donât want me. They want Dr. Magic.â You told Renjun, hating the irritable edge in your voice when you addressed him. You werenât upset with him, you were just anxious in general. He didnât deserve to have you take it out on him.
âRight. SorryâŚâ
âNo, Renjun, Iâm sorry,â you sighed, taking the wood pencil out of your mouth that you had been gnawing on. âI just want to get this Dr. Magic stuff over with before midterms because you and I are both going to get super busy studying for midterms, and then no matter which one of us gets picked to carry the banner, thatâs going to suck up a lot of time preparing for commencement too. I shouldnât have snapped at you though, sorry.â
He offered you a small smile. âItâs okay, I get it. Itâs another deadline. But itâs a group project, remember? Weâve got this, Y/N.â
You nodded. âYeah, I know. Just feeling the pressure. Iâm going to get something from the vending machine. You coming?â
âNo, Iâll keep chugging along.â
âOkay. You want anything?â
âNah. Thanks, though.â
âAlright,â you nodded, standing up and rolling your neck out. âIâm going to stretch my legs while Iâm up, so Iâll be a few.â
âI wonât sound the alarm then.â He gave you a two-fingered salute as you headed to the door.
You meandered around the second floor, taking your sweet time to get to the stairs. There was a vending machine on the second floor, but it had a limited selection. The good snacks were all in the vending machines on the first floor, by the collaboration zones. Your back cracked all on its own as you plodded down the steps, and you let quiet groans with each one, until you finally landed on the first floor. There was a noticeable hum to the first floor, which only increased as you neared the two-thirds of the floor that was taken up by the collaboration zones. The vending machines were on the boundary of the bookshelves and the open spaces filled with tables and TV monitors and so many students.
Stopping in front of the drinks machine first, you mused over the options for a moment. Picking out your preferred seaweed-infused iced teaâan option you only saw sirens and the really hardcore human health-nuts drinkâyou then sidestepped to the snacks. It took you just a second to select a pack of mini peanut butter sandwich cookies. Neither peanut butter nor peanuts themselves were in the regular diet of a siren, but Renjun sometimes had the cookies on him for one of his werewolf friends and youâd picked up a taste for them. You wouldâve never considered even trying them before hanging out with Renjun. Being an MCS major, you didnât like to admit it, but your social circle wasnât very diverse species-wise. You had your siren pod, and you were very happy sticking with them, thank you. Renjun, meanwhile, seemed to be best friends or friendly acquaintances with everything except a wyvern. You knew plenty about other species, after all, you excelled in class. But practical experience, you were finding you seemed to be lacking in. Maybe you should start your own Renjun-esque bucket list. Something to consider after finding Dr. Magic.
Taking a step back over to the drinks machine, you made the split-second decision to get Renjunâs favorite non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic drink. Honeydew melon soda. He had already said that you didnât need to get him anything, but you wanted to.
âHey, Y/N!â A cheerful voice greeted you, and you spun around, your two drinks and bag of sandwich cookies in hand.
You already knew who it was going to be, smiling at the familiar face of Ten. He was not only another siren, but specifically a siren from your pod, ocean blue scales and golden eyes matching your own. You threw your arms around his neck to give him a hug. âTen! Ah, hey!â
âAre those⌠peanut butter?â He looked at the snack in your hand suspiciously.
âUh, human study buddy,â you brushed off his concerns nonchalantly.
âRight, gotcha.â
The two of you usually hung out a lotâabout as much as you and Renjun were together now, you figuredâbut since your spare time had been taken up with putting the search for Dr. Magic on full throttle, you were blanking on the last time youâd seen him. The beginning of the semester. Oh shit, you felt so guilty now.
The apology immediately started spilling out of your mouth, âGods, I am so sorry we havenât hung out, I wish I could say it was classes, or even research or something, but Iâve got this project. I canât even really explain it without sounding crazy butââ
âWoah, Y/N, itâs okay,â Ten reassured you with a laugh, the same bright smile on his face as always. âI know how you get when you get really into one of your projects. Just let me know when youâve finished it, and we can hang. Or if you ever need a break from it, too. Itâs fine. If you werenât a little crazy and obsessive, I wouldnât be able to recognize you.â
He ruffled your hair with a snicker for good measure, and with your hands full of food, you couldnât fight back, just huff and try to duck out of the way. But he was genuine about his sentiments, which really did make you feel better.
âThanks, Ten. Iâll get in touch soon, I promise. I think Iâm almost done!â You told him proudly.
âSoon in normal person time or soon in Y/N time?â
âMe timeâŚâ
âThatâs what I thought. Iâll see you in six months then.â
âIâm not that bad!â
âRemember when I wondered aloud if sirens at the North and South poles were related, and you ended up spending our entire winter break researching that?â
âIt only took four weeks!â
âYou said it would be a quick search.â
âExactly! People will dedicate their entire lives to that kind of research! I vastly condensed it!â
He shook his head fondly at the memory, elbowing you gently. âGet back to your project so you can finish early again and we can hang out soon, okay? And scoot, Iâm trying to use the vending machine. Youâre always in my way, I swear.â
You playfully pretended to block him, laughing as he nudged you out of the way with his shoulder. Starting back off towards the stairs, you turned around to give a cheery, âSee you, Ten!â
âBye, Y/N!â He waved to you with one hand, punching in the vending machine code with the other.
In better spirits having seen your friend, you traipsed up the stairs with extra pep in your step. Except Renjun wasnât in your study room. Huh. Well, nothing in the rules saying a guy canât take a bathroom break.
Setting his melon soda down next to his laptop, you plopped back down in your chair and kicked your feet up on the table. You ripped open your peanut butter sandwich cookies and cracked open your tea. The cookies were sweet, and while you didnât have any oceanic reference for what peanut butter tasted like (you were told that ânuttyâ was a flavor profile unto itself, which wasnât very helpful), you had decided that you liked it.
Waking your laptop back up, you saw that you had a new email, and shot up in your seat when you saw the subject.
dr_magic2303 replied to a post.
8 minutes ago.
Holy fucking shit, 8 minutes ago. While you were in the library? They could still be there. You looked around frantically. Where the fuck was Renjun when you needed him? Shooting to your feet, you snatched your phone from the table and rushed to throw the door open. Into Renjunâs face.
He stumbled back, holding his face as he let out a string of curses.
âShit! Sorry, Junnie!â You didnât sound all too sorry as you bounced on your feet, antsy to get a move on with your search. âNo time for an ice pack though. Dr. Magic just replied to that dragon post we had bookmarked eight minutes ago. Which means that theyâre probably still in the library! We need to go look for them right now!â
You took off in the direction of the desktop computers on this floor, keeping your voice at a fervent whisper-yell. The second floor computers were their favorite, according to the IPs.
âI know!â Renjun hurried after you, still clutching his nose. âI saw the email, and I tried to call you, but you left your phone in the study room.â
Checking your phone, you did in fact have a missed call from Renjun from 6 minutes ago. Well shit.
âSo I went to go get you, but you werenât at the vending machines, so I came back up to the study room and then nearly got my nose broken.â
You looked over your shoulder at him with wide eyes. âYou went to get me? Not look for Dr. Magic on the freshest lead weâve ever had? When they were quite possibly around the corner?â
The two of you had arrived at the desktops, and there was nobody in sight. One was awake, on the account login screen, the other two asleep on the ancient screensavers. You let out a heavy sigh, looking over at Renjun.
âI went to get you because this is your thing, not mine. I donât know, Iâd figured youâd want the satisfaction of taking the mask off them.â
You nodded. âThanks, Junnie. Next time, though, just get them.â
âAnd how about you keep your phone on you?â
âSo we both fucked it up.â
He gave you a one-shouldered shrug. âThereâs still three more floors, Y/N.â
âRight, come on. You take the first, Iâll go up to the fourth since I smacked you with the door.â
The other floors were busts, and when you finally met back up with Renjun in your study room, you were glad to have your cold bottle of tea waiting for you. Knocking back a third of it in one go, you let out a noise of relief. Renjun had already opened the soda youâd gotten him.
âThanks, by the way.â He held it up gratefully before taking a sip.
âYouâre welcome.â
âAnd, Iâm sorry. That I let Dr. Magic get away.â
âWe donât even know what floor they were posting from yet. Theyâve couldâve been on the fourth floor and wouldâve been gone by the time you got there anyway.â You brushed away his apologies. âOr they couldâve been on the second and been a psycho and you wouldâve been a poor defenseless human all by yourself.â
âOh, right, without my big strong siren to protect me.â He scoffed. âWoe is me.â
âExactly,â you laughed, shutting your laptop. âAnyway, Iâll take a look at the IP later. Who knows, they might not have even been in the library. Mightâve been one of those rogue VPN posts.â
âYeah, maybe.â He looked over you packing up your things. âYou heading out?â
You nodded, zipping up your bag and tossing it onto your shoulder. âPrior arrangements. Sorry to cut this short, completely forgot about it when we agreed to meet up.â
âYouâre so popular.â
âI know!â You mimicked his sarcastic tone, holding the door open with your foot as you stopped in the threshold. âOh, heyâ the midterm in MCS Linguistics. Itâs my only one this semester, Iâve just got papers in all my other classes. Do you want to study together for that?â
âYeah, sure, sure.â
âFirst session Saturday? My place for lunch?â
Renjun grimaced, presumably remembering your typical stock of pantry items tailored to a sirenâs food preference. âIâll pack a lunch.â
âCool. See you in class, Junnie!â You waved to him cheerily as you took off for the faculty advisor meeting with Dr. Kwon that you were going to need to run across campus to be on time for.
âWhat is it?â Renjun set his book down where he was sat across your coffee table from you, an inquisitive eyebrow quirked up at you.
âWhat? Nothing.â You bit down on your lip, eyes boring holes into your computer screen.
âNo, itâs not ânothing.â Youâve been staring at me ever since I got here, while also refusing to make eye contact with me. What? Something in my teeth? My hair look bad?â
Normally that wouldâve made you chuckleâhe was wearing a backwards baseball cap again todayâbut you just bit down harder on your lip and shook your head.
âNow youâre refusing to talk?â He scoffed. âDid you get hexed or something? I canât believe youâre refusing to talk.â
âNo, I can talk,â you insisted. âWhat uh, whatâd you get for number four? On the review packet?â
âDonât tell me youâre still stuck on number four. Y/N, Iâm almost done, and thereâs twenty-five questions on this.â
âIâm not, I finished and went back, it was just one that I didnâtââ
But Renjun had grabbed your computer and turned the screen around, and you knew he could see that you had only done the first one. You buried your face in your hands, your skin prickling uncomfortably with shame. Your friendâs sigh was audible, but surprisingly, the next thing said wasnât a string of derision. Instead, you heard the shuffle of clothes against your rug, and then he was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and knee-to-knee with you.
âY/N, whatâs going on with you today? Or, not today, the past couple days? You werenât all there in class yesterday either. I left it alone then because it was Dr. Hyun, and nobody is ever all there for her classes butâ whatâs wrong?â
You slowly shook your head.
âYou canât tell me?â
You nodded.
âOkay. Is it bad? Like, dangerous?â
You shook your head.
âAlright, thatâs good.â The relief was audible in his voice. âIs it family? Or, pod?â
You shook your head.
âSchool?â
You nodded.
âAlright, yeah. A lot going on. Is it like burn out?â
You shook your head.
âSo, new stuff?â
You nodded.
He put an arm around your shoulders. âIâm sorry, Y/N. I know you already had a lot. Getting this midterm over with will be one more thing off your checklist, right? Thatâll open a spot for this new thing.â
With a sniffle, you nodded.
âAh, but youâre not going to be any good studying like this.â He sighed again, dropping his arm from around your shoulders and his presence shifted away from your side. âCome on, quick field trip. Then weâll come right back to the MCS Linguistics grind. Sound good?â
You finally took your hands from your face to look up. Renjun was standing right next to you, offering you a hand. You tentatively put yours in his, and he tightened his grip to pull you up to your feet.
The two of you ended up in a froyo shop down the street from your apartment. You gleefully picked a gummy shark off the top of your swirl, biting the head off first before tossing the rest in your mouth. Renjun lifted a meticulously curated spoonful of froyo and toppings to his mouth, satisfaction on his face as he tasted his perfect bite. You watched in amusement as he went to start creating his next scoop that had the precise ratio of yogurt and every single topping he had chosenâeach partitioned to their own area atop the froyo. You decided to save your second big gummy shark for last, and took a big spoonful from the melting edge of your froyo.
âWhy not me?â Renjun asked abruptly, his gaze still on the dessert in front of him.
âHuh?â Your jaw dropped. How could he have known whatâ
âYou havenât asked me if Iâm Dr. Magic. Why not?â
Ah, Dr. Magic. Of course.
âYou were my first guess, and the first person I ruled out back in like September,â you admitted with a shrug.
His head snapped up at that. âWhat? Why?â
âBecause youâre such an arrogant, neurotic overachiever that youâd want credit if you did all this. You wouldnât use an alias.â
âOh. Huh.â Renjun looked between you and his froyo, a sheepish smile coming to his face. âStrangely, that makes me feel better.â
You watched a dollop of froyo fall off your spoon and plop back into your cup. âAnd I nabbed your IP address off your laptop the first time we hung out in January and double-checked it with every Dr. Magic post. Just in case.â
âWhen I was in the bathroom?â
âUh-huh.â
âOf course you did.â
âWere you taking it as an insult to your intelligence that I had apparently not considered you as an option?â
âMaybeâŚâ
You laughed, and laughed, and laughed. You laughed so hard your sides hurt, there were tears in your eyes, and you genuinely started wheezing. Renjun pretended to roll his eyes, but you saw the smile on his face and knew what he was thinking: success, no more mopey siren.
Once you had enough air back in your lungs to talk, you pointed your spoon at him firmly. âSee? Just proving my point. You want people to know youâre smart.â
He crossed his arms. âAs if you donât.â
âOh, I definitely do. But I know Iâm like that.â You put a hand over your chest, looking him dead in the eye. âDo you?â
With your head screwed back on the normal amount, you and Renjun were able to dive back into your study session at your apartment. Several hours into it, though, you noticed Renjun blinking like way too much and constantly rubbing at his eyes. It was to the point where it was distracting for you.
âWhatâs wrong with your eyes?â You asked bluntly.
That immediately burst the Renjun griping dam (which was really held together with tape and prayers anyway). âThe screens hurt my eyes and human blue light glasses donât do shit and no fairy has let me try theirs out. I know I should probably just take the plunge and buy them but I really canât justify the price andââ
âTry mine.â You stood up, walking over to a display shelf on the other side of the living room.
âYou have a pair? Why? Sirens donâtââ
âYou collect magical experiences. I collect magical things.â You said nonchalantly, grabbing the pair of silver frames from where they sat between a phoenix feather (a gift) and a small wristwatch that would tell the correct time until it was put on, then it would be set on the time and date most significant to the wearer in that moment until it was removed. Walking back over to him, you held them out to him insistently, âHere, try them.â
âOh. Thanks.â Renjun gingerly took them, sliding the arms over his ears and the frames onto the bridge of his nose. The pair you had was a little older, admittedly. Youâd picked them up at a novelty shop, so they had some retro charm to them. An older style of frame, thicker lenses. But you thought it added a quaintness to their look. Especially on Renjun, he just looked downright adorable in them.
You sat back down to watch with your head in your hand as his brown eyes blinked from behind the thick lenses, and he looked around your living room like a newborn woodland animal. His face had already relaxed, and he turned his focus down to his laptop screen next, messing with the brightness up, then down. After that, he took out his phone, doing the same with that device.
âWell?â You prompted him, though you truly wouldâve been content with watching him look around as if heâd been born colorblind and it were his first time seeing in color. Which, you had an enchanted pair for that too, but he wasnât colorblind to your knowledge.
The human looked at you, a giddy smile stretching across his face. âTheyâre perfect! Thanks, Y/N!â
His hand reached up to take them off, but you stopped him.
âKeep themââ
âNo, these had to be so expensive!â He protested immediately.
âJust for a week or so,â you finished your sentence pointedly. He was cute, but not that cute. âMake sure you really like them before you buy, okay? If you end up hating them, give them back. If you like them and buy your own pair, you can give them back whenever yours arrive in the mail.â
âAre you sure?â
âYeah, itâs not like Iâm using them. Superior siren eyesight.â You tapped next to one of your eyes for emphasis.
âThanks for not rubbing it in or anything.â
Scrambling to dial Renjunâs number, you put your phone on speaker as you fervently flicked through all of your Dr. Magic notes. Youâd been laying in bed binging some mindless baking competition to numb your brain from all the studying youâd been doing when an email notification had popped up alerting you to a new Dr. Magic post.
âY/N?â Renjun answered the phone, sounding utterly confused. âWhatâsââ
âNew Dr. Magic post. I ran the IP and theyâre in our city!â You blurted out.
âOkay⌠Well we already knew that, right?â
âYeah, but this is an IP in our city that they posted from at midnight on a Saturday. Not any of the school computers.â You hit CTRL + F, typing in the string of numbers to quickly cross reference it with your extensive list. âThis could be their IP. Like, their actual one, from a personal computer.â
âOh, yeah. Could be.â
âCan you give me a little more enthusiasm here, Junnie? Did I wake you up or something? Itâs onlyââ You stopped like youâd just walked face-first into a brick wall, eyes locked on the search result.
âYeah, only quarter after midnight,â he scoffed.
You clicked the next arrow on the search bar, but that was the only match. 1/1 results.
âY/N?â Renjun called for your attention. âYou there?â
You hung up.
Not wanting to lose your nerve, you pressed the doorbell over and over insistently. You could hear the complaining tone of the occupant before his words were even audible.
âChrist, I have neighbors, you know?â Renjun swung open the door with a scowl. The human was in a big, slouching hoodie and pajama pants. His hair was stuck up in a couple different directions, making you think he mightâve just woken up. Except behind him, you could see that his kitchen light was on, and a couple books and his laptop were open on his kitchen table. Late night studying. And the fact that youâd just talked to him on the phone fifteen minutes ago.
âCan I come in?â You requested, fidgeting with the sleeve of your cardigan.
His face immediately softened. âYeah, of course.â
âSorry to just show up like this,â you said as you took off your shoes by the front door before following him further into his apartment.
âItâs okay.â He stopped you two in the kitchen, picking up a colorful, patterned cardboard box. âUh, I was just about to make a midnight snack. Pizza bites, you want some?â
âI⌠donât think Iâve ever had them.â
âPerfect, you can try one now then.â
âMm,â you made a non-committal noise, leaning against his kitchen counter to watch him pour out the frozen food onto a baking sheet.
The oven beeped, and he put the tray in before pressing a couple more buttons.
âSo, I was thinking about the Dr. Magic stuff. Not the IP stuff but like⌠What even is your plan for when you do find Dr. Magic?â Renjun asked as he put the remaining pizza bites in his freezer.
âWhat do you mean?â
He leaned against the countertop across from you, though in the narrow space of his kitchen, you were practically knee-to-knee. âLike, say we finally find out who they are, we run up to them in the library or on campus or something. Then what? What are you going to do? What are you going to say? Youâve done all this, and I know why you had to. I get it. But, do you know what youâre going to say to them?â
âProbably something along the lines ofâŚâ You trailed off, giving an exasperated sigh. Dropping your chin to your chest, you groaned, âGods, I donât know.â
âHey, thatâs why you got me. So you can bounce ideas off someone, do a dry run.â
âI thought the words would just come to me, and now that Iâm trying, I canâtââ
âItâs fine, Y/N. Letâs think about why you did this. I know itâs really hard to put into words. I mean, I know why you did. I get it. Itâs that need to know. Not because you can, but because you have to, right? Itâs curiosity in its rawest form. So obviously itâs not going to be some schmaltzy âhaha I caught youâ spiel or anything.â
Looking up from the kitchen tile to Renjunâs eager features, you shook your head in disbelief. âYouâre still helping me⌠when I know itâs you, Junnie.â
He tilted his head to the side, a comical noise of confusion coming from his mouth, âUh?â
âI know itâs you, and you know that I know that itâs you.â
âYou already ruled me out, because Iâm an arrogantââ
âJunnie, you made a post on the forums from your laptop. No VPN. When you knew I was still tracking Dr. Magicâs IP on every post they made, and that I had your IP. Thatâs not a whoopsie that you make unless you want to be caught.â
The human crossed his arms over his chest, but otherwise seemed entirely calm about being caught. âAnd you didnât come in here guns blazing now that youâd caught me, either. Why?â
âI didnât know how to say it. I mean, youâre right, I only did all this because I needed to know.â
âAnd now you know.â
âWhy now? Why just give up now?â You asked with a shake of your head. âYou started posting as Dr. Magic back in August, and I came to you in January. You knew everything I was doing; you could have cruised through the rest of the semester and Iâd have never caught you.â
âYou wanted to find out who it was by midterms. One less thing on your plate.â
âAnd now I knowâŚâ
âSo how does it feel? Finally catching Dr. Magic?â
You wrinkled your nose and sighed, âBit disappointing. I was right on my first guess.â
âAnd you immediately dismissed me out of hand for being an arrogant, neurotic overachiever on your first guess,â he pointed out.
âYeah, but I didnât really know you then. If Iâd known you then like I know you now, I wouldâve known as soon as I saw the first post.â
Renjun batted his eyes teasingly. âAww, Y/NâŚâ
âDoctor underscore magic two, three, zero, three? Twenty-three, oh-three? Thatâs your birthday, Junnie,â you deadpanned.
âRight.â
Pushing off the counter to stand up straight again, you said, âAnyway, you did help me find Dr. Magic. So, my turn.â
âOh, no, you seriously donât have to do that. I rigged the dealââ
âYeah, about that.â You took a step forward. âHow did you think that was going to end up for you, anyway? Were you going to sell somebody else out as Dr. Magic and hope I wasnât going to talk to them? Spit in your mouth first and ask questions later?â
âI was thinking on my feet.â
âMaybe think laying down next time, Junnie.â
âOuch.â
âAnyway, come on, youâll want to sit down for this.â You grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards the living room.
âYou donât need to feel like you have to do this,â he reassured you.
Stopping the two of you in front of the couch, you turned to face him with a smirk. âBelieve me when I say that it is going to be a treat unto itself for me to see you under the effects of siren venom. Mâkay?â
Renjunâs surprise was evident on his face. âOh.â
You stepped closer to him, delicately placing a hand on his chest. âNow unless you want me to literally spit in your mouth, Iâm going to have to kiss you, to administer the venom.â
His eyes flicked between the hand you had on his chest and your face as he replied. âIâm okay with thatâthe kissingâif you are.â
âRenjun, Iâve been ready to eat you alive since you said the words âI want to experience siren venom for scienceâ to me.â
âReally?â
âMhm. So why donât you sit?â You guided him with the hand against his chest to sit back against his couch. Swinging one leg over his hips, then the other, you lowered yourself onto his lap. âIs this okay?â
âYeah, yeah,â he nodded, tentatively settling his hands on your thighs. âIs this okay?â
âMore than.â You smiled, looping your arms around his neck. âNow, a couple things, before we get started.â
âWe havenât started?â
âYouâll know it when we do.â
âRight.â
âI know you think you know what siren venom is like, but whatever scientific articles youâve read, or documentaries youâve watched, or slides youâve studied under microscopes in lab, cannot actually prepare you for what itâs like. Which, I imagine is why you want to experience it for yourself.â You smirked down at him as you watched his Adamâs apple bob up and down with a gulp. âSo before I actually dose you up with it, I need you to tell me what youâre actually okay with doing and what youâre not. Because once you get my venom in you, youâre going to want to let me do anything and everything to you, up to and including kill you, remember?â
âWell thatâs off the table.â
âGood to know,â you snorted, running a fingernail down the nape of his neck. You felt a shudder go through him. âIs this okay?â
âY-Yeah.â He seemed to be fighting to keep his eyes open. You halted your motions to let him think, and watched in amusement as he blinked his mind clear.
Once enough time had passed, you prompted him, âSo?â
âI think just kissing,â Renjun answered. âLike, making out, or whatever. If you wantâŚâ
You snickered. âWhat part of âeat you aliveâ was I unclear about?â
âThe âeatâ part, actually. How literal is that?â
âGuess youâll find out,â you teased. Then, you focused again as you sat back a little. âOkay, making out. Making out means different things to different people. So⌠we know kissingâs on the table. Tongue?â
âYeah.â
âTeeth?â
âWhere?â
âWaist up. You got somewhere you donât want them?â
He took a moment to think about this. Then shook his head. âNo. You can use them. Anywhere.â
âSame goes for you. Hickies?â
âGiving or receiving?â
âBoth. You first.â
âBoth are okay. You?â
You were already zeroing in on his neck and a small part of his collarbone peeking out from under his hoodie. âSame. Touching over clothes?â
âOkay, as long as you donât think itâll be too much with the venomâŚâ
âOh, Junnie, everything is going to be too much.â You grinned down at him.
His breathing had picked up pace as the two of you were talking. âYou? The touching?â
âGood. Great. Touching under clothes?â
Renjun squirmed underneath you, but maintained your eye contact. âJust under my shirt.â
âSmart boy,â you said approvingly. âMe too.â
âIs that it?â He asked quietly, eyes now flicking down to your lips.
âI think soâŚâ You looked around the room to buy a couple extra seconds of thinking time. When you hadnât come up with anything else, you looked down at the human below you once more. âReady, Renjun?â
âYes.â
You took one final look over him like this, how much he already wanted you before heâd even gotten any of your venom in him, and dragged the tip of your tongue over your bottom lip instinctually. His heartrate jumped, and you wondered if it was fearâif the motion had reminded him perhaps of a hungry predatorâor need. Or maybe a bit of both.
But you couldnât tease him nor yourself any longer, swooping down to connect your mouths. You started off with just a couple light, closed-mouth kisses, to ease him into it. You heard him inhale quickly through his nose, his grip on your thighs tightening minutely. Swiping your tongue across the seal of his lips, you were delighted when he immediately parted his mouth in response, his tongue seeking yours out. You hummed contentedly into his mouth as you started stroking a fingernail down the back of his neck again. At the same time, your venom was beginning to mix in with your saliva, being passed onto Renjun.
Once his jaw started going slack in the kiss, and his hands slowly slid off your legs entirely to rest lamely at his side, you deemed him plenty dosed up. Consciously, you blocked off your venom glands once more. When one particularly drawn-out scratch down the back of his neck finally elicited a noise from him, an involuntary whine, you felt something in you snap. You needed more of that.
âSo this is what siren venom feels likeâŚâ He mumbled breathily, letting his head loll back against the couch cushion as you kissed a path down his jawline and neck. When you felt his breath hitch in his throat over one particular spot, you decided to take your time there, sucking and nipping a mark into his skin.
When humans were⌠locked in a loverâs embrace, they let off a certain perfume distinguishable only to sirensâwhich was what made them the favored prey of sirens for so long. A human under the influence of siren venom? Delectable. And every humanâs was unique too, so Renjun under the influence of your venom? Absolutely addictive.
With each kiss you stole from his lips, every nip you left on his neck that you then soothed over with your tongue, you got another taste of it. A sweetness that came with a bite, like ginger candy.
Renjun was still talking, though, his vocal cords vibrating under your lips. âMy-My heartâs beating so fast, and Iâm so warmâthatâs so the ocean water doesnât feel cold, of courseââ
âWould you shut up?â You sat back up, grabbing him by the hair.
âWhy?â
âIâm trying to kiss you again, idiot.â
âOh. Right.â He closed his mouth, looking up at you with glassy eyes, waiting. Gods, he was so pretty like this.
You crashed your lips back on his, a mess of teeth and lips and tongue as he tried to keep up with you. But you knew that your venom was in full effect now, every single one of his nerve endings was approximately three and half times more sensitive. So you were sure it was all a little overwhelming. But he was definitely trying his best, kissing sloppily into your mouth with hungry, desperate whines.
Pulling him back off with your grip in his hair, you traced a thumb over his kiss-swollen bottom lip, cooing over how fucked-out he looked like this. âOh, baby. Oh, poor Junnie. Whatâs wrong? Canât even kiss me properly because it feels too good? Babyâs overwhelmed with just a little bit of kissing?â
He opened his mouth wider, darting the tip of his tongue out to brush against the pad of your thumb. You pushed the finger in his mouth, groaning as he immediately closed his lips around it. âGods, youâre perfect, Junnie.â
Taking your thumb back out of his mouth just to grab his chin with the same wet digit, you attacked his lips with yours again. Ginger candy. His hands that had been lamely resting at his sides the entire time now fumbled at something in the area where your hips met.
âWhat? What are you trying to do, baby?â You asked, leaning back to look down. He was grabbing at the hem of his hoodie, unsuccessfully yanking it up towards his head as part of it was stuck under one of your thighs.
ââm too hot. PleaseâŚâ He panted, dropping it as he looked up at you pleadingly.
You nodded slowly in understanding, knowing that one of the effects of the siren venom was an increase in body temperature, not to mention what you two were just doing. The collar of another shirt was visible underneath the sweatshirt. âOkay, Junnie, we can take your hoodie off. But only the hoodie. Your other clothes are staying on, understood?â
He nodded quickly, hips bucking up against you. Sweat was beading up on his forehead, his hair getting stuck to the damp skin. You shifted back on his lap so that none of the sweatshirt was under you anymore, grabbing the hem and reaching behind him to yank up from underneath him as well.
âSit forward for me, baby?â You requested in his ear sweetly.
Renjun obliged as best he could, leaning forward to get his back and shoulders off the couch. You pulled the hoodie up over his head, tossing it off to the side, leaving him in a black t-shirt that certainly couldnât be helping much either. But having that heavy layer off seemed to provide some relief for him, as he let out a sigh, falling back against the furniture again.
You giggled as you settled back into the crux of his lap again, lacing your fingers together behind his neck. âIs that better now, Junnie?â
He shook his head, and you arched an eyebrow curiously.
âOh? Whatâs wrong, then?â
Renjun tugged gently at your cardigan where it had shrugged down to show one of your shoulders. âPlease?â
Pulling your bottom lip in between your teeth, you thought this over. You had a tank top on under the cardigan, and both of you were still wearing everything else. Not to mention that you were starting to get a bit warm too. Sirens ran naturally cooler than humans, so you were sure that to him, you felt practically refreshing right now, but you honestly were a bit hot for a sirenâs tastes.
Giving a contemplative hum first, you finally relented, âAlright, Junnie. But just my sweater. Everything else stays on, because we didnât talk about that before the venom, do you understand?â
He rushed to strip you of the knit cardigan, his mouth following his handsâ path down your skin. First on your shoulder, then down your arm. You let the garment drop on the floor behind you as he kissed back up along your shoulder, then over the fabric of your tank top until he got to your collarbone, and finally the hollow of your throat. Fondly stroking the back of his head, the pleased purr that had started in your chest turned into a surprised moan when he licked a long stripe up your throat.
Holding his face in your hands so that your noses brushed, and your lips barely ghosted over each other, you let your breaths mingle in the meager space afforded. Renjun ended your little anticipation game quickly, kissing you tongue-first, and you kissed him back just as eagerly, sucking on his tongue with lewd, wet noises. He moaned into your mouth, his hands grabbing at your waist for purchase first, then slipping and curling into the material of your shirt, bunching it in his fists.
Slowing the pace of your kisses, you eventually sat back, appraising the state he was in. You affectionately ran a hand through his hair as you took in his blown pupils, kiss-swollen lips, and pink cheeks. âJunnie? How are you feeling? Need a break?â
You hadnât given him another dose of venom since the initial one, which wasnât very large to begin with. But this was his first time experiencing it, so you wanted to check in. He should be just past the peak of it by now, starting to come down but for all intents and purposes still very much intoxicated. Siren venom wasnât meant to last very long, after all, it took an adult human less than a minute to drown.
âNeed youâŚâ He insisted, arching up towards you.
Indulging him in one, two more feverish kisses, you pulled away once again. âI know, baby. And youâve been doing so good for me. So I need you to tell me if you need a break. Okay?â
ââkay.â He agreed before you sealed your mouth over his again.
Kissing down from his mouth to just under his jaw, at the same time you trailed a finger down the center of his front until it got to the hem of his t-shirt.
He nodded fervently before you could say or do anything more. âPlease⌠pleaseâŚâ
âShh, shh, shh,â you quieted him down gently. âDoing so good for me, Junnie. The best.â
You slipped your hands under his shirt, just to stroke his waist. His muscles tensed under your touch, and he let out a sound of satisfaction. He grabbed at your thighs again, but you couldnât tell if it was an attempt at reciprocity or to have something sturdier to ground himself to than your flimsy tank top. The corner of your lips quirked up as you pressed a couple more kisses down his neck to hover your lips over his pulse point, content to start a new mark there as your hands continued to explore under his shirt. It was when you gently raked your nails down over his pecs that you got the loudest moan out of him yet, and you groaned in response.
âGods, youâre perfect,â you nuzzled your nose into Renjunâs neck, then pressed a couple relatively chaste pecks to his cheek. âJust perfectâŚâ
Taking your hands back out from his shirt, you silenced his whine at the loss of contact by slotting your lips together once more. You cupped his face with one hand, using the other to take one of his hands off your leg and lace them together, palm to palm. This seemed to make him content once more, especially when you brought your connected hands up to the back of the couch, pinning his behind his head. He squirmed under you, letting out a familiar noise of pleasure into your mouth and squeezing your hand tightly.
You knew the venom was well and truly starting to wear off when Renjun began keeping pace with your slow, lazy kisses, his mouth not as sloppy but no less delightful as it moved in tandem with yours. The thumb of the remaining hand on your thigh started to stroke over your skin, and the hand that you were holding gave yours a gentle squeeze. You gave him one, two last lingering kisses, drinking in the dwindling taste of ginger candy while you could, Renjun matching you beat for beat.
Unlacing your fingers and dropping your hand from his face, you drew back from him. Before you could say anything, though, Renjun grabbed you by the back of the neck and pulled you in for one more kiss, sinking his teeth into your already tender, over-kissed bottom lip. You gasped into his mouth, which gave him the perfect opportunity to intertwine his tongue with yours again on his apparent mission to try to kiss the breath from you. A nigh impossible task for a human to do to a siren, but it definitely felt like he was succeeding. He was crushing his lips against yours so hard you were worried about him drawing bloodânot because you would mind the pain, but for fear of his safety if he got a direct hit of your blood in his mouth.
In the back of your mind, you were desperately trying to remember if you had maybe accidentally opened your venom glands a second time later on, but just drew a blank. That wasnât something you did unaware, it wasnât automatic, it had to be done on purpose. Then, for a brief moment, you were worried about secondary wave syndromeâsome humans break down siren venom in two phases instead of one, and the second one almost always kills them if theyâre not brought to a human medical doctor for treatmentâand you started running through the symptoms as well as the nearest human emergency rooms in your mind. Burst capillaries in the eyes, refusal of food and water, the hospital three blocks over should have an ER, right? But the kiss didnât feel like when heâd been intoxicated on your venom before, this one felt deliberate, in control. He was in control. You let out a small moan at the thought, and Renjunâs lone hand on your thigh tightened in response.
Once he finally let you go, you both sat there in silence for a good few seconds, you still on his lap. You stared extra hard at the whites of his eyes. They looked normal. He seemed⌠normal.
It was rare for either of you to be speechless, much less the both of you.
âWellâŚâ you broke the silence. âThat was siren venom. You should drink some water. Stay right here, Iâll get it.â
You climbed off of him, heading into his kitchen. Looking at the oven, you were wondering how the timer hadnât gone off in that entire time when you saw that it wasnât on. The words âTIMER SET?â were flashing on the screen at you, and the preheat hadnât been started either. The pizza rolls had just been slowly defrosting on a pan in the cold oven. You couldnât help but laugh, reaching into his fridge for his Brita filter then securing a couple cups from the cabinets.
Walking back into the living room, you handed the human his cup of water and remained standing as you took a sip of yours.
âYou didnât start the oven, for your pizza rolls,â you informed him quietly.
âWhâ oh, shit,â Renjun groaned, tipping his head back. âI guess I donât get to give you your first pizza roll tonight.â
âThatâs okay.â You dropped onto the couch next to him, shoulder to shoulder.
âSo⌠that was siren venom,â he breathed out, then took a long gulp of his water. Definitely not second wave syndrome.
âThat was siren venom,â you confirmed with a laugh, fondly brushing a piece of sweaty hair off his forehead.
âYou were right⌠I was not prepared,â he admitted with a laugh, taking another drink.
âSo do you think you wouldâve let me kill you?â
âYeah. I wouldâve given you my credit card info, bank password, spilled all of my friendsâ worst secrets, let you kill me, killed someone else if you asked me. God, that wasâŚâ He said with wide eyes, shaking his head. But there was a familiar glint in his eye as a smile cracked across his face, âIncredible.â
âGlad you think so,â you giggled, patting his chest. âNow donât become a venom junkie, okay? I couldnât live with myself if you did and it was my fault.â
âI wonât. Not really what I meant anyway.â
You grinned slyly at what he seemed to be implying, that it might not have just been the siren venom, but that it was you and your venom that made it so incredible. Like how every human had a slightly different essence, every siren had a unique chemical signature in their venom. Itâs why using it non-consensually nowadays would be extremely stupid (as well as just an immoral thing to do and also a crime)âit can be matched to the siren in a lab like DNA. In addition, anecdotally, every sirenâs venom was said to produce a slightly different high, but no mass studies had backed that up. You were inclined to believe the stories, though.
Renjun was still a bit hazy, though, still riding the high of the venom, so you decided to tuck a conversation like that away for another time.
âSo why did you pick Magical Creatures Studies? Other than youâre insane?â You redirected the topic to a more neutral one.
Renjun didnât seem put off at all about this jump. âWhen I was a kid, my family traveled around a bunch, for my dadâs job. I got to meet a lot of different kinds of beings, some of them became my best friends, and I never wanted to stop learning about it all.â
âWhat does your dad do?â
âGovernment job,â he answered, suddenly interested in picking at his nails.
You furrowed your brow thoughtfully. âWait a minute⌠Huang Renjun. As in, your father is Ambassador Huang? That weâve had to write papers on in class?â
Ambassador Huang was the first human ambassador sent on diplomacy trips to outside nations of magical creatures post-integration. His trips had largely been considered a monumental success, and credited as a big driver behind the huge uptick of immigration that your city has been seeing from outlying areas in the past couple decades. Youâd hardly gotten through a single contemporary MCS class without directly learning about him or at least hearing his name. And youâd apparently been going to school with his son for four years and just pumped said son full of your venom and made out with him while he was high on your venom.
âYeahâŚâ
âDude! What the hell? You didnât think to mention that at some point?â You asked incredulously.
âAnd sound like some uppity nepo kid bragging about my dad? No thanks,â Renjun snorted.
âYeah, maybe not like day one but like⌠I donât know, before I used my venom on you!â You nudged his arm teasingly.
âWhat does that have to do with anything?â
âI just venom-ed Ambassador Huangâs son!â
âOh my God, could you not call me that?â He snapped at you. âThis is why I donât tell people! Because now I donât have a name anymore, Iâm just Ambassador Huangâs son.â
You immediately realized your mistake, your stomach dropping as you heard the hurt in his words. âRenjun, Iâmââ
âJust go.â He demanded, standing up from the couch and putting distance between you two again. âWe both got what we wanted, right? You found out who Dr. Magic was, and I experienced siren venom. Thatâs all this was, so you can go. You donât owe me anything else.â
You clenched your jaw, setting your cup on the end table beside the couch. Picking up your cardigan from the floor with as much dignity as you could, you pulled it back on. Neither of you said another word as he watched you stalk over to the front door, shove your shoes back on, throw the door open, and slam it closed behind you.
Drumming your fingertips along your keyboard, you squinted at the flashcards on your screen. You were in a sour mood, which had persisted ever since youâd left Renjunâs last night feeling used.
Ten was next to you at your picnic table outside the student union, finishing up a pencil portrait sketch of one of his other friendsâone of the CompSci majors youâd paid to write your browser extension, actually. Dejun, a dragon, whose slit pupils, many bejeweled earrings, and a singular fang poking out from under his top lip featured prominently in the portrait. The sketch was part of Tenâs midterm portfolio check-in for one of his classes. Midterms were literally this week. Like, right now. You forced your sharp teeth further into the wooden pencil in your mouth.
âYouâre going to ruin your cuspids like that, Y/N,â Ten chastised you calmly, rubbing at a line with the pad of his ring finger to smudge it before flipping his own non-mangled pencil around and continuing to sketch with the graphite.
âIâll grow another set,â you grumbled, but took the writing utensil out of your mouth nevertheless.
âAnd have no teeth in the meantime. Real sexy siren stuff. Sure to lure all the hotties to their deaths looking like GamGam missing her dentures.â
âShut up!â You shoved his head away, earning a loud peal of laughter from your friend. âAs if youâve been pulling anybody yourself. Youâre literally a siren art major covered in tattoos that he designed himself, more piercings than a dragon, including nipple rings, and you havenât been on a date in⌠what, almost a year?â
âSo weâre both disappointments to the good siren name, huh?â He held up his hands in surrender, still grinning. âJust a couple of poor, celibate sirens doomed to be disgraces to their species foreverâŚâ
âCan you not yell that to the entire courtyard, dude?â
âWhat? Not announce very loudly that you havenât been with anybody in exactly fourââ
You lunged to cover his mouth before he could publicize precisely how long itâs been since youâd hooked up with someone. Ten immediately broke down into laughs behind your hand that was covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking even as you smacked him on the back of the head with your other hand.
âGods, what is wrong with you?â You hissed at him. âYouâre a menace to society. And me.â
When youâd finally let go of his face, he said through a couple more chuckles, âHey, you could easily do it back to me.â
âWhy would I want to do that? And the fact that youâre suggesting it makes me think that you want me to do that, which makes me want to do it even less. You freak.â
Before your podmate could respond, you caught sight of a figure approaching your table head-on. Setting your jaw, your body immediately tensed. There was no mistake, Huang Renjun was walking straight towards you. Ten seemed to have noticed the shift in your body language and mood, as he didnât say anything further, quietly going back to his sketchbook as you watched Renjun get nearer and nearer.
âY/N,â he said your name quietly, stopping not quite at the end of the table beside you, but next to the end of the bench across from you.
âWhat do you want from me now, Renjun?â You replied bitterly, pretending to return your hands to your keyboard as if you were going to refocus on your studies.
âUhm, to talk, I guess?â
Ten interjected, âDo you guys need a second? I can goââ
You held him in place with a hand around his wrist, your voice curt, âNo, Ten. Stay. This will be short.â
Your friend lowered himself back down into his seat.
You then set your hard gaze on Renjun. The marks you had left on his neck were still visible above the collar of his t-shirt. Moving your eyes from that to his face, you cocked your head to the side. âWhatâs in it for me? You established that our relationship is purely transactional, remember? We apparently just use each other. You scratch my back, I spit in your mouth, quid pro quo.â
âOkay, Iâm going now,â Ten declared, wrenching his arm from your grasp to grab his sketchbook, pencils, and backpack before taking off.
âIâm sorry, I didnât mean it. I donât see you like that at all, I just... I got defensive and snapped. Itâs not an excuse, but still, I want you to know that I donât mean anything I said. Iâm sorry.â Renjun shifted uncomfortably on his feet, but you could see the genuine remorse on his features.
You breathed in, then out.
âIâm sorry too,â you sighed, letting your voice relax back to the natural softness that it held around Renjun. âYouâre your own person, aside from just âAmbassador Huangâs son.â Iâm sorry for treating you like anything other than Renjun.â
âItâs not that Iâm not super proud to be his son or anything, I think heâs really awesome. He was my hero growing up; still is. I mean, Iâm going into the same field as him. Kind of. You know? Itâs just because weâre going to be doing the same kind of thing, I want to be able to be looked at for what I do. Good or bad.â
âBad? You plan on using your degree for evil, Renjun?â You teased, scooting over on the bench seat to take Tenâs previous spot and freeing up a place for Renjun to scoot in beside you.
âI could,â he played along, gladly taking the seat offered.
The two of you made eye contact, then burst into laughter at the same time.
âWhat?â He questioned in mock offense. âI think Iâd make a great evil dictator, personally. You donât think so?â
âNot at all, youâd be great at it.â
âThank you. My friends donât take my threats so seriously.â
âWhich will ultimately be their downfall.â
Renjun looked back out at the campus in front of you two, his voice turning serious again, âBut, seriously, I mean, I donât want people having all these lofty expectations for me and then be disappointed when I donât change the whole world, nor do I want them making things easy for me because they know my dad.â
âThatâs fair. Unattainable, but fair to wish for,â you nodded in understanding.
âUgh...â He slumped forward, dropping his head into his arms atop the table.
âLook, RenjunâŚâ You rested one hand on his arm as the other rubbed up and down his back supportively. âYou canât change who your dad is, and you said it yourself, itâs not like youâre ashamed of him either. So donât brag, and donât be a dick when somebody brings him up either. Just do your best to show people who Huang Renjun is. And if they still donât get it, thatâs their loss. Because I already know him, and I think heâs pretty cool.â
Renjun sat back up to look you in the face with a skeptical eyebrow raised. âYouâre such a cheeseball. Arenât sirens supposed to be alluring and enchanting?â
âShut up! I will drown you! See how alluring I am when youâre under a siren call,â you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest.
âIâm kidding.â He grinned at you, nudging your shoulder with his. âThat really did make me feel better, thank you, Y/N.â
You smiled back. âYouâre welcome, Renjun.â
The two of you kept smiling at each other for a moment before he broke the eye contact, looking down at his hands then shifting his gaze back to the courtyard.
âUhm, while weâre airing stuff out about last night...â He cleared his throat awkwardly.
âYeah, Junnie?â You tilted your head to the side, watching as his cheeks started flushing.
âI donât think I ever said thank you. I kind of popped off on you right after... everything. But thank you, for taking care of me before, during, and after. It didnât even occur to me to talk about what we could and couldnât do beforehand. Thank you for that, and for getting me the water. And... all of it in between...â His ears were bright red too at this point, but he managed to look you in the eye as he gave you his genuine gratitude.
You nodded in understanding. âYouâre welcome. Iâm glad that you felt cared for during all of it. In addition to, you know, everything else you felt.â
âMm, yeah.â He rubbed the back of his neck.
Studying his face curiously, you said, âYou look like you want to ask me something else.â
âWell, I feel like you still werenât very clear on the âeat me aliveâ thing.â
You rolled your eyes. âGods, Junnie, Iâm not going to actually eat youââ
âI mean...â Renjun took a deep breath. âI kind of always feel like Iâve got a little bit of siren venom in me when Iâm around you, Y/N. My heart races, and my skin is warm, and everything is just better when Iâm with you. I want to see you when youâre not around, and when things are hard for you, I want to make everything better. I like you, and between the Dr. Magic deal, and our stupid academic rivalry, and what we did last night, I donât know what I am to you, but thatâs how I feel.â
If someone had told freshman you that Huang Renjun would ever say words like that to you, youâd have laughed in their face to the point of tearsâ or slapped them. And yet, in that moment, you werenât surprised in the slightest. It was the most natural, beautiful, delightful, perfect thing that couldâve happened. Just like you leaning over to give him a modest, near-demure kiss on the cheek, absolutely beaming at him as you pulled back.
âI like you too, Renjun,â you admitted.
His eyes went wide before a broad, tender smile spread across his features and he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. He let out a drawn-out sigh of relief, âOhh, thatâs one weight off my chest for this week.â
You laughed in agreement. âMe too. Actually makes everything feel lighter.â
âYeah, it does,â he said, squeezing your shoulder. âSo how much do I owe you?â
âWhat?â
âYou said you were going to invoice Dr. Magic. For the browser extension, and the color copies, and whatever else. How much do I owe you?â
You tapped a finger against your chin, pretending to think before a smirk pulled across your lips. âMm, should be exactly the price of one nice dinner and a movie.â
âDinner and a movie? Just how many copies were you making?â He asked with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
âA nice dinner,â you reiterated. âI paid those CompSci majors fairly for their time.â
âIâll see what I can do.â
Friday night after your last midterm, you were knocking on Huang Renjunâs door. The two of you had seen each other this week for your Linguistics in MCS class, but had been utterly locked into academic mode and hadnât met up aside from that. So, per his invite, you were here in your âmidterms bestââ i.e., the pajamas you had been wearing at your own apartment since submitting your last mid-semester draft earlier today. Youâd been told this wasnât going to be a fancy affair.
Judging by the pajamas that Renjun had also answered the door wearingâgiving you vivid dĂŠjĂ vu to the last time you were hereâyou were dressed appropriately for the occasion. He led you in by the hand, informing you there was something he wanted to show you in the kitchen.
You came to a stop in front of a plate piled high with small, pillow-shaped pieces of dough, some with bursts of red sauce leaking out of them. You couldnât help but let out a sputtering laugh. âPizza rolls? Did midterms scramble the egg on your face so bad that you missed the part where I said nice dinner?â
You might not have ever eaten pizza rolls, but you knew what section of the grocery store they came from.
âI canât even tell what that was supposed to be⌠Youâre so beautifulâŚâ He was staring at you with a look of pure adoration, and surprised you by giving you a fleeting peck on the cheek, gone as soon as youâd realized what he was doing. Your hand instinctually came up to brush at your skin, almost in disbelief, as he went back to explaining his plans for tonight. âAnyway, I didnât get to give you your first pizza roll the other night, and I figured that the last thing you actually wanted right after midterms week was to go out to some hoity toity place and be out at the movie theater really late, right? So, Iâve got pizza rolls, peanut butter cookies, your seaweed tea, and like way more snacks and candy and stuff. So we can chill and watch whatever movies you want tonight, unwind from midterms. And then next weekend, weâll do your nice dinner and go to the movie theater. Think of it as an IOU.â
A fond smile tugged at the corner of your mouth as you nodded your approval. âMmm⌠youâre right. This is great, Junnie. Thank you.â
Set up on Renjunâs couch with the assortment of snacksâpizza rolls includedâand your first movie chosen, you settled in next to him, knee to knee, under the same blanket as the two of you ate. You decided that pizza rolls werenât that bad (you still liked peanut butter sandwich cookies better), convinced Renjun to try some of your ocean flakes againâa favorite snack of sirens, which heâd already tasted on one occasion at a Dr. Magic hunting session and hatedâto similar results, and finished off a bottle of seaweed-infused tea by the time the first movie was about a third of the way done. At this point, you were pretty satiated food-wise, and set your empty drink bottle on the coffee table to sit back on the couch.
Linking your arm with Renjunâs, you rested your head on his shoulder as he was still finishing up his plate of pizza rolls. âThat was good, Renjun. Thank you.â
âYouâre welcome.â
âI call dibs on little spoon first, by the way.â
âDamn.â
Once he was done eating as well, you laid down to eagerly take your promised place as little spoon. Renjun stayed partially propped up against the arm of the couch so he could see the TV as you were nestled back against his chest, one of his arms slung over your waist. Your fingers played with his under the blanket absentmindedly as you got used to your new place, with him, in his arms.
âRenjun?â You said into the quiet. The only noises were coming from the TV. The movie was nearly done, just a couple little resolving scenes after the climax left. Youâd seen it plenty of times beforeâboth of you had, it was a favorite that youâd discovered you two shared earlier in the semesterâwhich was why youâd picked it, an easy watch that you both liked. But nothing that required your full attention, so you could talk or miss scenes if you wanted.
âYeah?â He responded just as softly.
âThis is really nice. Hanging out, just us. No school, no Dr. Magic.â
âI know. Almost doesnât feel real.â
âWhat? That weâre hanging out without trying to kill each other?â
He let out a couple laughs, catching your hand that had been playing with his under the blanket and lacing your fingers together. âI think thereâs definitely some people that would be shocked to see us right now. But I meant more-so that we donât have any schoolwork to do right now, and that the whole Dr. Magic thing is finally over. Other than the dinner that I owe you.â
âOh⌠I owe you⌠I-O-UâŚâ you sounded the words and letters out slowly. âI get it now.â
âGod, youâre perfect,â he sighed dreamily, brushing your hair away from your face to press two kisses to your temple in quick succession.
You turned over to face him to properly protest, âHey, I didnât grow up around humans, you know that, right? I just came here to go to school! I moved here like, two weeks before our first day of freshman yearââ
âIâm not making fun of you, Y/N!â He promised, sandwiching your hand between both of his and squeezing it tightly. âI respect how difficult it must have been for you to acclimate to the new culture and city when you moved, and so suddenly, on top of starting school. I just love y- love when you do that. Genuinely, Iâm so charmed by it. Endeared. Bewitched. Whatever word you want to use. Itâs something I never noticed until this semester, when we started doing the Dr. Magic stuff together. Despite knowing you for so long, in the department, in classes.â
âYou know what I never knew about you before this semester, Junnie?â
âWhat?â
âThat you were such a softie,â you snickered fondly. âI thought you were all textbooks and GPA and flashcards and whatever.â
The human ducked his head bashfully. âItâs something Iâve been working on this year.â
âBetween this and Dr. Magic, I think youâve been doing pretty well.â
âThanks.â
âSo, why did you do it, Junnie?â You asked curiously. âNot be a softie, I mean, butâŚâ
âWhat? Be Dr. Magic?â He clarified, to which you nodded. âI didnât mean to make a persona like that, really. I had to pick a screenname, and the guys had jokingly called me that a couple times when I helped them out with some problems. Thatâs all.â
âI know why you started the account. Knowledge. Thatâs also why you didnât get the credit. You just needed to know. Though, the story behind the name is cute,â you pinched his cheek, and he tried to deter your hand with his shoulder half-heartedly. âI mean more like, why were you hiding your IP and using VPNs and stuff before you even knew that I was trying to track you down? In the fall.â
âI made the first couple posts from the school computers just because I like to do my work there, I wasnât trying to cover anything up. Then I pictured what Iâd do if I found someone posting like I was on the forums. And I wouldâve tried to find out who they were. So I started covering my tracks a bit more intentionally after that. Didnât want any groupies rolling up on me.â He pinched your side teasingly with the last sentence, and you slapped his hand away with an eye roll.
âOh shut up!â You scoffed, ignoring his hands as he tried to pull you back towards him again.
âIâm kidding, Iâm kidding, Iâm sorry,â he apologized through his chuckles. âIf anything Iâm your groupie, I swear. Your number one fan from the moment you showed me your conspiracy board.â
âMm, fine.â You scooted closer to him, letting him wrap his arms around you once more. âGlad we got that cleared up.â
Renjun shifted to lay on his back, and you easily followed the move to snuggle in mostly on top of him, resting your head in the crook of his neck and your hand on his waist, fingers innocently smoothing over a patch of skin above his hipbone where his shirt had ridden up. It sounded like the credits were on by now, but you didnât really care about picking another movie as Renjun hummed along to the familiar song that played over the scrolling names. Youâd sing along too, if you were alone at your own place. But now you didnât dare even hum like the human with you for fear of what it could do to him. Renjunâs voice was plenty lovely enough though, even just this casual little bit humming. Youâd see if you could get him to sing for you properly one of these days. If an opportunity came before graduation. Who knew what your days would even look like before then.
Gods, graduation. You felt like you could shrivel up and die just thinking about it. Not to mention that you hadnât even told Renjun that youâdâ
âHey. What are you thinking about?â He suddenly asked, his disapproving tone clear.
You gulped. âHow could you tell I was thinking about something?â
âFor one, youâve got your bad thinking face on.â He pinched your bottom lip. âYou pout. Itâs very dramatic. You look very concerned.â
âI have different thinking faces?â
âYeah, you look different when youâre studying. Iâve seen you do plenty of that to know the difference. And youâve got a third face when youâre contemplating. Usually you do that one when youâre looking at menus.â
âI didnât know I was apparently an open book.â You covered your face with your hands in embarrassment.
âItâs cute, Y/N. Youâve got a cute face, and you make cute facial expressions with it, donât cover it up.â He gingerly grabbed your hands to encourage you to take them off. âExcept I am worried about whatâs making you make your bad thinking face right now. Whatâs wrong?â
With a sigh, you pushed up into a sitting position. Renjun followed your lead curiously, a thoughtful frown on his own features as he watched you pull your knees to your chest.
âRenjun, I need to tell you something.â
He regarded you with a skeptical eyebrow raised. âOkay⌠go for it.â
Nervously, you smoothed out some wrinkles in your pajama pants as you confessed, âUhm, Dr. Kwon asked me to carry the banner at commencement. I said yes.â
âI knew that.â
âWhat?â You looked up at him in disbelief.
âWell, since it was midterms already, I figured that if theyâd picked me, they would have asked me by now and since they hadnât, then they must have picked you. I was just waiting for you to tell me so I could tell you⌠Congrats.â Renjun grinned brightly at you, reaching out to rest his hand on your arm.
âYouâre not upset?â You asked trepidly.
âWeâre not petty little freshmen anymore, Y/N. No, Iâm not upset. Iâm proud of you, you deserve it.â
âSo did you.â
âNot any more than you did.â He shook his head firmly. âSo would you just accept my congrats already?â
You gave a small, shaky smile. âThank youâŚâ
âThere we go.â
âThis is what I was so freaked about⌠when we went to get froyo.â
âYou were afraid of me being mad at you for being picked to carry the banner?â Renjun asked incredulously.
âI didnât know how to tell you!â You defended yourself. âAnd now I have to do the commencement practices, on top of senior capstone and my extracurricularsâŚâ
He wrinkled his nose. âEw, commencement practices. So glad I didnât get picked now, actually.â
âAnd that was so convincing, Junnie.â
âYou remember what you said to me when we got froyo?â
Scrunching your face up, you struggled to think back to the exact conversation you had that dayâyouâd been really stressed. âUh, âexactly two gummy sharks on mine please?ââ
âWell, yeah, your hyper-specific froyo orderââ
âThrowing stones at black kettles much?â You teased.
âExcuse me?â Renjunâs eyes went wide.
âIs that notâ? I really thought I got it that time.â
âDid you mean to say âthrowing stones in glass housesâ and/or âthe pot calling the kettle black?ââ
ââŚYes.â
He turned very serious as he went to tenderly cradle your face in his hands. âIâm going to kiss you in like two seconds after I finish what I was saying, okay?â
âOh, okay,â you agreed weakly, wishing very much that heâd just do it now instead of making you wait. He then let your face go.
âWhen we were talking about wanting people to know that weâre smart,â Renjun clarified. âYou said that weâre both like that, and you knew that you were like that. And then you asked me if I knew that I was like that. I had tried to swear up and down this entire time that I was doing all of thisâthe needing to be the bestâfor myself. But it wasnât. Iâm like that too. Thatâs kind of what Dr. Magic was, me taking a step back from needing everyone to know I was the smartest person in the room. A quasi-experiment, to see if I could do it.â
âI think that after graduation, maybe we both chill on being the smartest person in the room, and try to just spend a summer working on that magical bucket list of yours?â You suggested.
âOh?â He perked up at this. âReally?â
âYou ever seen a werewolf shift?â
âNoâŚâ
âThat sounds like a ânot yetâ to me.â
âSounds like a plan.â He confirmed with a conspiratorial grin that mirrored the one that you could feel across your own face. âYou know how sirens canât get dosed up on their own venom?â
âYeahâŚâ You nodded, wondering where he could be going with this.
âWell, I know a witch with a proprietary love potion blend that I think we might be able to modify to produce similar effects.â
âFascinating.â You thought on this for a second, very quickly running through your knowledge of potion properties to imagine what it could be. âTwo-factor blood potion?â
âYes. But weâd put your venom in it instead of your blood so it wouldnât kill me.â
âThat could workâŚâ You mused. âSpeaking of, I should really give you a full dose one of these days.â
He breathed in sharply. âThat wasnât a full dose?â
âNope.â
âHoly shitâŚâ
âHave you ever watched a phoenix reincarnation?â You added another suggestion to your joint summer bucket list.
âHave you? Wouldnât that literally blind us?â Renjun questioned, something akin to genuine concern on his face now.
You shrugged. âAllegedly. Itâs never been recorded in a lab setting, so who really knows.â
âI think weâre going to get each other killed before we can get our PhDs,â he declared with a fond smile and shake of his head.
âHey, the betting pools said weâd kill each other by junior year, so I think weâre doing well for ourselves.â
âDo you think we can collect on those bets when we graduate and weâre both still alive and have all of our limbs?â
âWeâll burn that bridge when we get there.â
âOh my god, come here,â Renjun groaned deliriously, kneeling to grab your face with two hands and crash his lips to yours. You curled your fingers in the front of his shirt, pulling him down with you as you fell back against the arm of his couch, still connected.
Yeah, youâd drive off that burning bridge when you got there.
⤡ blog masterlist ⤡ anthology masterlist
really lame explorer nari x electric eel cyno (or should i say eelno??) mermay au
đ¤â¤ď¸
â§Â word count:Â 10.3k â§Â warnings:Â cursing, mentions and discussion of past family deaths, discussions of blood and blood drinking, graphic description of blood and blood drinking, an even more graphic description of neck biting than the first one lol (yâknow, vampire stuff, hope we werenât expecting anything else) â§Â genre:Â fluff, angst but between friends not our main couple, modern magical creatures au, fantasy au, college au, vampire kun, human reader, ft. various other magical weishens, same universe as strawberry sunday, sequel to romance is dead â§Â extra info: this is a sequel to romance is dead! it cannot be read as a standalone, you must read romance is dead first! this work is set in the same universe as strawberry sunday! there is no continuing plotline between fics in this universe (aside from romance is dead to this one), they simply take place in the same world/magic system and may have overlapping characters (neos may pop up in more than one work!) â§Â authorâs note: a second inspiration has hit the author, mr. president
âââ ââ ââ â explore the strawberry sunday universe more here!
i believe in miracles, something more than physical
âHey, guysââ
âYou know, Kunhang, just write a paper about it in your Philosophy of Magic class, because Iâm sick of hearing about it,â you spat at the gryphon sitting across from you, paying Yangyangâwho had just walked up and you had cut offâentirely no attention.
âIâm not even in Philosophy of Magic, soââ Kunhang shot back, giving you a smug look.
Yangyangâs bright smile turned to a look of âyikesâ as he pivoted on his heel, presumably to make a break from what he had just walked into. Except Tenâs hand darted out to latch onto his forearm and yank him down into a chair at the table.
âOh, no you donât,â the siren said through gritted teeth. âThis is your fault, youâre going to suffer through it with the rest of us.â
âMy fault? How? I just got here.â
Dejun leaned in from across the table, âTheyâre debating the ethics of blood drinking. Or, Kunhang is at least trying to.â
âAnd heâs about fifty years late to it in modern academia at least,â Sicheng snorted softly, bringing the straw of his drink up to his mouth.
âThatâs also like the first assignment you get in every Intro to MCS class ever.â Yangyang ripped open a ketchup packet to begin squirting it all over his fries. âWhy is heââ
All of his friends who werenât currently hurtling verbal vitriol at each other instead gave him a very frank, pointed look. The witch trailed off.
âOh. Right.â He picked up a fry that had gotten a bit too much ketchup on it, watching as a glob of the red condiment dripped off it before biting it in half.
You, meanwhile, were this fucking close to storming out of the student union building and keying Kunhangâs car. You werenât one for violence, but you absolutely were one for vandalism and property damage. And it would be so goddamn cathartic to key his car right about now. After all, this wasnât the first, nor second, nor even third time that he had tried to philosophize and/or debate you out of your relationship.
Speaking of, you spotted a familiar figure approaching your table, one that was able to dissolve just enough tension and malice from your body in that moment that you decided to save keying Kunhangâs car for another day.
âOh! Kun!â You lifted your hand to give him a small wave, despite the fact that you definitely knew that he had both seen and smelled you, and was already headed straight for you.
Kunhang noticeably clenched his jaw and shifted back in his seat, clearly upset at your discussion being interrupted. Thankfully, he generally had the decency to not do all this in front of your boyfriend.
Kun offered an enchanting smile as he approached, first picking one of your hands up to kiss the back of it as always, then he pecked your cheek. âHello, Y/N.â
âHi, Kun.â Your gaze followed him as he walked around behind you to take the empty seat youâd saved for him in between you and Dejun.
âGood afternoon, everybody,â the vampire nodded to your other friends.
A chorus of âHey, Kunâs came from around the table, save for the gryphon across from you. You stared him down angrily, but he refused to make eye contact with you.
âDid you get held up or something?â You turned your focus to your boyfriend instead, referencing his unusual tardiness to your friend groupâs typical late-lunch meetup.
âI had to speak with my professor about a recent test grade. It turns out he entered it in the electronic gradebook wrong. I didnât expect it to take so long, Iâm sorry, my love, I should have texted you to let you know I was going to be late.â
âKun, itâs okay,â you reassured him, taking his hand in yours and resting them on your lap. âIt was just a few minutes.â
âSucks about your grade, though,â Yangyang added, then stuffing three fries in his mouth at once.
âItâs been corrected, so no harm done.â Kun had an easy smile on his face as he conversed, one that you were happy to see more and more.
âWhy even correct it?â Kunhang huffed from his seat, his arms crossed over his chest. âYouâre going to live forever, what do grades even matter? You can just take the class again, right? Get another degree, you can get a million degrees, Iâm sure you already have a hundred or two. What does this one little grade even matter? What does any of this even matter to you? What do any of us even matter to you?â
âKunhang, stop it!â You snapped, your grip tightening on Kunâs hand. You knew where that line of questioning was going, or had already gone implicitly. So what did you matter to Kun, then? But you already knew plenty about Kunâs view on life, both the finite and his eternal one, and how much he treasured everything he had now and looked forward to all the changes that were yet to come. Kunhang, of course, knew nothing about that, because this was so far the closest thing heâd had to a real conversation with the vampire since you and Kun had officially started dating.
âThis was my midterm test grade, which is a significant portion of the classâs overall grade as this professor only gives three grades: midterm, final, and final paper. If I had to repeat the class, it would affect my current plan to graduate next semester with Y/N and begin my masterâs next fall.â Kun, who you wouldâve sworn was an actual angel if not for the red eyes, calmly answered only his first question.
âY/N, seriously? You have life plans with aââ
You finally felt something fully snap inside of you, letting go of Kunâs hand to slam both of your palms on the table and stand up out of your chair. âJust shut the fuck up, Kunhang! Youâre not him! You know that, right? Youâre not him, so just stop it already!â
Kunhangâs nostrils flared as he stared you right back down, his grey eyes swirling like storm clouds. Then he grabbed his backpack off the ground and stormed out of the student union, knocking his chair so far back in his haste that it hit a student sitting at the table behind you.
You were still rooted to the same spot, your hands flat against the table, leaning over it, your eyes glued to the doors that the gryphon had left through. Your chest heaved as you caught your breath, feeling the anger tingling in the tips of your fingers and your toes like electricity.
âDo you⌠want to talk about it?â Ten asked quietly, hesitantly.
âNo,â you answered flatly, grabbing your own bag and taking off in the opposite direction.
Hot tears were already pricking at your eyes before you pushed open the door to leave the building, and you couldnât even make it to the sidewalk that wrapped around the main block of campus before the tears gathering in your vision made it too hard to see.
You stopped at a bench, looking around hopefully and letting out a rather pitiful, âKun?â
He emerged from the crowd of students just a moment later, relief flashing across his face for a moment before a deep line set between his brows again as he came to sit beside you. You immediately buried your face in his neck, and he wrapped his arms around you, resting a hand on the back of your head.
âThere you are, my love,â he murmured. âIâm sorry I was late again.â
You let out a strangled giggle into the material of his sweatervest at that. Turning your head so your words wouldnât be so muffled, you joked, âItâs okay, I was kind of running away.â
âStill, I should be faster than you.â
âMm, good point.â
You were still crying, the tears falling down your cheeks one after another. But you didnât want to keep crying on campus with the sounds of other people walking by. While you certainly werenât the first person to cry on this benchânor would you be the lastâyou didnât want to prolong your stint there any longer.
âKun?â You mumbled his name.
âYes, Y/N?â
âCan you take me home please?â
âOf course.â
âYour home,â you clarified.
He shifted to hold you just a bit tighter to him. âOf course, my love.â
At Kunâs house, you were sat on his plush olive-green couch, your knees pulled up to your chest as you blew on a mug of hot tea that he had just handed you. Both of you were fresh out of a nice relaxing bath, with comfy clothes on courtesy of your boyfriend, who had also insisted on making you a cup of calming tea. You did make him promise that it wasnât one of those spiked blends that witches sold. He assured you it was just regular old chamomile that you could pick up at a human supermarket.
Kun sat down beside you, resting an arm along the back of the couch behind you. You continued listlessly staring at the surface of the tea, watching the ripples on the surface as you blew across it.
âKunhang wasnât even my best friend first, you know?â You said abruptly into the quiet.
Kun took it in stride, asking curiously, âWhose was he, then?â
âMy brotherâs.â
âYour⌠brotherâsâŚâ He repeated slowly, and you knew exactly what he was thinking about: when he had met your immediate family just a few weeks ago, your mom and dad. No siblings.
âYeah, Kunhangâs family lived across the street. They were inseparable growing up. It was practically like having two big brothers,â you recalled fondly, a bittersweet smile playing across your lips for a moment before it fell off completely at what was coming next. âThen after the funeral, Kunhang and I would check up on each other. Calls, texts, getting lunch, âwow youâre graduating already I canât believe youâve gotten so big,â and we just kind of never stopped.â
âIâm so sorry, Y/N.â Kun ran a gentle, cool knuckle up your cheek to catch a stray tear. You grabbed his hand to hold it instead, giving it a tight squeeze.
âWhat are you apologizing for?â You sniffled, a hint of playfulness in your tone as you echoed the words heâd said to you when heâd told you about his parentsâ passing.
âIsnât that what you say? Iâm sorry for your loss?â He murmured back, clearly aware of the same dĂŠjĂ vu, but with no sense of irony or humor to the words.
âYeah, I am too.â You finally took a sip of the tea, and immediately let out a hiss. Too hot still. âAnyway, I actually think everyone was expecting that Kunhang and I were going to end up together but heâs just⌠itâs not like that. And I think he thinks his job is to be my brother now. To watch over me since⌠my brother canât anymore.â
ââYouâre not himâŚââ Kun repeated in recognition.
âI know⌠that probably hurt him a lot.â You gnawed on your bottom lip regretfully as you imagined the kind of pain those words must have put your friend through. âBut I wish he could just get it through his stupid bird brain that he doesnât have to do that. All I need him to be is my friend.â
Kun rubbed his thumb over yours tenderly. âHave you told him that?â
âNo, no I havenât,â you admitted, reluctantly realizing that you unfortunately werenât entirely faultless in this. Or, at least that you could be doing much more to patch things up instead of expecting Kunhang to just read your mind.
âMaybe try that?â He suggested.
âOkay, yeah. Youâre right.â You lifted the mug to your lips once more, then immediately spat the tea back out. âGod, Kun! Did you get the water for this from the surface of the fucking Sun? What the fuck?!â
âThe Sun is far too hot to maintain liquid water,â he deadpanned, earning a frank glare from you.
âYouâre hilarious. You and Kunhang should do stand-up together if he ever gets the mile-long stick out of his ass.â
âHe should see a doctor about that.â
You shifted forward to set the mug down on the ornately carved cherry wood coffee table. âDonât worry, Iâm going to take care of it tomorrow.â
âYouâre such a Good Samaritan.â
Kun enveloped you in his arms as you turned around to wrap yours around him, resting your head on his chest. He laid the both of you down on the couch, pulling a blanket down off the back to lay it over you. You liked laying like this, because despite everyone else telling you that vampires were technically dead, when you and Kun were like this, you could hear him breathing in and outâand yes maybe that was just for him to keep track of smells like the apex predator he technically was, but itâs not like you didnât do the same thing; take an extra deep inhale when you were here, wearing his clothes, in his home, being held by him. And you could hear something beating in his chest, too. What was it pumping, to where, and for what purpose, you didnât know, or really care. All you knew was that despite it all, Kun was right here, with you, and you could hear that, feel that, know that, and know that he always would be, even after you were gone.
âKun?â You looked up at him, your chest getting warm and tight when you realized that he had already been gazing down at you.
âYes?â He traced your jawline with one finger seemingly absentmindedly, his eyes never leaving yours.
âKiss me?â
âAh, how could I resist?â He tilted your chin up as he bent his neck to connect his cool lips with your warm ones.
In the morning, you finally woke up, sitting up and stretching out what felt like a decade of tension from your body. You always felt like you got the best sleep of your life at Kunâs place thanks to his carefully acquired silk sheets and vampire-level blackout curtains. Blindly reaching out in the dark for the other side of the bed, you were disappointed to find it empty. Figures, Kun never slept in, if he even slept at all. Well, you could at least turn a light on. You turned exactly one bedside wall sconce onâwhich you guessed was probably originally meant to be for oil but Kun had retrofitted to be electricâand immediately spotted a folded piece of paper standing up on your nightstand.
Propping yourself up on an elbow, you grabbed the small piece of cardstock, unfolding it and holding it up to the sconce to be able to read the neat script that was on it. Rubbing sleep out of your eyes, a smile spread across your lips as you recognized it as another poem from Kun. An Italian sonnet, if you werenât mistaken. He would still pen you verses at random intervals, but at least never gave them when there was a risk of your nosy friends being around.
You read it through one more time before setting it back on the nightstand and swinging your feet over the side of the bed. After first shuffling to the bathroom, you then shuffled to the bedroom door.
You found a full fare of breakfast already set up at the kitchen table, but no vampire in sight. Huh. Usually even if he wasnât going to eat, he would at least sit with you and read a book or chat with you while you ate.
Loading up a few pieces of fruit and finger foods onto a plate, you took your breakfast to go into the living room to look for your boyfriend. He was a quick find, at least, sitting at his producing desk. His head was bobbing along to whatever he was listening to, sitting cross-legged in his desk chair as he leaned forward on both elbows on the desk. Which was probably why he couldnât hear or feel you approaching until you laid a hand on his back.
Kunâs shoulders jumped as he startled and whipped around, pulling his headphones off. You couldnât help but laugh at his wide, surprised eyes. It wasnât often that you could give a vampire a scare, after all.
He put a hand over his chest, a relieved smile coming to his face, âOh, itâs just you, Y/N. You startled me.â
âClearly,â you snickered, popping a grape in your mouth. You rubbed your hand up and down his back. âWhat are you working on?â
âOh, nothing.â He quickly minimized the tabs on his screens.
âAnd thatâs not suspicious at all,â you snorted. âBut fine, you want to do a little secret project, go for it.â
âYou found breakfast.â Kun smiled up at you, gesturing to your plate of food.
âChanging the subject, also not suspicious. But yes, I did. The poem, too. Thank you for both.â
âAlso, good morning, my love.â
âGood morning, Kun.â You cupped his cheek to pull him into a good morning kiss. âAre you hungry?â
He shook his head. âNo, thatâs all yours.â
âNot what I meant. You didnât feed last night, unless you had some supplement this morning before I woke up.â
âWe were talking about a delicate subject. Not exactly the time to ask to bite you, I think.â
âYou never ask to bite me. I always have to offer.â
âWellââ
âDo I not taste good, Kun?â You asked humorously, mock offense in your tone.
He seemed at a loss for words, caught between not wanting to insult you and not wanting you to feel obligated to let him feed on you. âThatâs notââ
âIâm kidding, hon,â you tossed another piece of fruit in your mouth. Stroking a thumb over his cheekbone, you reiterated firmly, âBut are you hungry? And be honest with me, Qian Kun. You know that if you need to feed, all you have to do is ask.â
âYou eat first,â he covered your hand that was on his face with his, and offered you a small smile. âThen I will. Okay?â
After finishing your plate of food, you were back in Kunâs bedroom, sat in a plush, oversized armchair with him. He had you in between his legs, your back flush to his front with both arms around your waist. You leaned back against him contentedly, resting your head against his as you rubbed circles into his inner thigh with your thumb.
âYou always get quiet right before⌠What goes on up there every time?â You murmured, threading the fingers of your other hand through the hair at the back of his head. âAngsting about being a monster? Contemplating about your soul being damned? Indulge me, Kun.â
He let out a short laugh at your dramatics, his cold breath laugh blowing over the exposed skin of your neck, and his chest vibrating against you. âNo, nothing like that. Iâve long disposed of thoughts like that about what I am, thankfully.â
âGood. Then what is it?â You dropped your hand and craned your head to be able to see his profile.
Even in the dim light afforded by the single wall sconce, you could see the warmth flickering in his scarlet irises as his gaze met yours. âI just stop to appreciate the moment, to appreciate you. I want to make sure Iâll never forget how lucky I am to have you.â
You closed the small gap between you, pressing your lips to his. Kun kissed you back unhurriedly, mouth moving against yours tenderly. It was you that moved to deepen the kiss, parting your lips. Always one to indulge you, he swiped his tongue against yours, cool and familiar. You didnât break apart until you needed to breathe again, and even then, exchanged a handful more open-mouthed kisses full of tongue and teeth. Kun kept kissing a wet trail from your mouth to your jaw, then behind your ear, then down your neck. You let your head fall back on his shoulder as he stopped to press several kisses over one spot in particular. His deep inhale was audible. Anticipation pulsed through your body with every beat of your heart.
Your hand hadnât stopped smoothing circles into his leg, and your grip on him tightened as you were alight with excitement. One of his hands reached out to lace with your free hand and wrap back around your waist.
Then, with one more gentle brush of his lips against your pulse point, he bit you. The familiar sharp piercing of his fangs breaking skin came first, followed by a sweet, soothing ecstasy that spread out from the bite through the entirety of your body. You shifted slightly to relax further back into him, a noise between a hum and sigh coming from your mouth. Kun squeezed your hand that he was holding, and you were quick to squeeze it back, an easy way for him to check in on you while he was drinking from you. If your grip wasnât as strong as heâd like, or you failed to respond at all, he wouldâve stopped entirely for fear of overdrinking. And if you ever wanted him to stop, you just had to squeeze his hand twice in row. Youâd never had to use that signal once, nor did you ever imagine that you would; Kun was always a perfect gentleman before, during, and after, never coming close to overfeeding. If anything, you were sure that he erred on the side of underfeeding himself and supplementing with the artificial blood he kept in his fridge.
Kunâs mouth sucked the tender area as his tongue smoothed over the two rivulets draining from you. Another soft sound came from you as you reached up to grab his head, holding him there by the hair. You could feel him chuckle fondly against your neck, the vibrations thrumming through your body.
Like always, it was over much too soon for your liking. He took his mouth from your skin, pressing one more tender kiss to the spot where he bit before disconnecting entirely. Kun gently unwound your fingers from his hair and reluctantly unlaced his hand that was holding yours. He kept his arms around you, though, as he reached over to the short table that was beside the chair and grabbed a small tin no bigger than the palm of his hand.
Twisting the lid off, he leaned all the way back in the chair, encouraging you to sit back against him, turned just slightly to the side. He gently applied the salve to the bite, and you let your eyes flutter shut as you enjoyed the feeling of cool fingers running over the sensitive area. Sometimes you didnât let him apply the bite salve, enjoying the look of a vampire bite on your neck for a few days. But today could not be one of those days, which you both knew very well. Not with who youâd have to go talk to soon after this.
When he was done, Kun closed the tin back up and set it aside once more, rubbing the remaining product into his own hands before wrapping his arms around you and resting his chin on the opposite shoulder from where heâd just bit.
The smell of rosemary wafted up to your nose from the bite salve, and you contentedly rested your head against Kunâs. The wound would close up and heal in just a couple minutes now, leaving behind no trace of the bite.
âHow do you feel?â He murmured right beside your ear.
âMm, great,â you answered truthfully, playing with his fingers. âHow about you?â
âGood, Iâm good.â He pressed a chaste kiss to your cheek. âThank you, Y/N. My miracleâŚâ
You trudged up a hill, wiping away a bead of sweat that had gathered on your brow. When youâd gone to Kunhang and Yangyangâs apartment after breakfast that morning, youâd only been able to find the witch. Heâd informed you that your gryphon friend had taken off early to go flying, but hadnât told Yangyang where. Lucky for you, you knew exactly where heâd be anyway. Kunhangâs favorite flying spot was a park near your old neighborhood which had been made a specifically designated fly space. It was several square miles where no planes, helicopters, drones, or even kites could be flown to make it safe for gryphons, phoenixes, and other flying beings to stretch out their wings. It doubled as a nature preserve with walking trails, benches, and posted signs protecting the wildlife and plants.
Youâd already caught sight of your target back on the walking trails, and were now chasing him down at a severe disadvantage on foot. Finally reaching the clearing he was doing the majority of his aerial tricks above, you stopped and looked up at him, using a hand to shield your face from the sun.
âKunhang!â You called out to your friend, who was currently somersaulting through the air, powerful grey wings stretched out behind him.
He looked down at you, then pretended not to hear you, swooping down into a backflip.
âKunhang, come on!â You yelled out desperately. âI-I want to apologize! Please!â
He stopped in midair at that, a fair distance above you. You had to crane your neck up to look at him.
âYou want to apologize?â He looked down at you in disbelief.
âYes! Now would you get down here so we donât have to have this entire conversation shouting at each other? Again.â
âNo.â He dropped down to hover just in front of you. âBut you can come up.â
âWhat?â
âCome on, you know the drill.â He was now stood on the ground with two feet.
âAnd Iâm also not seven anymore,â you scoffed.
âYouâre the one who wanted to talk.â
âFine.â With a roll of your eyes, you wrapped your arms around Kunhangâs shoulders.
âGod, no need to choke me out.â He made a mock choking sound, pulling at your arms to loosen your grip on him. âIf I pass out, weâre both going down, you know.â
You pinched the skin on the back of his neck. âJust fly, stupid.â
And with that, Kunhang pushed up off the ground, his powerful wings easily lifting the both of you up higher and higher. Your flight didnât last long, just until your friend had reached a tree branch he deemed suitable for the both of you to sit on, high above everything else, your feet swinging below you. The two of you were side-by-side, his wings folded up behind him.
âIâm sorry,â you started, making sure to hold your end of the promise first. âFor what I said to you in the student union yesterday. It was a really shitty thing of me to say, and I donât want you to think for a second that I donât appreciate you and everything youâve done for me, Kunhang.â
The gryphon was quiet next to you, and you took him not flying off as a good sign.
âWhile I shouldnât have said it to you like that, I need you to understand: You do not have to be my brother.â
You heard him breathe in sharply, like he was about to say something back, but you pushed on.
âFor you to think that youâve had to not only carry the burden of your grief, but mine, and that kind of responsibility, for all these years⌠I donât want you to think you have to shoulder all of that. Because you donât.â You took your eyes off of the leaves in front of you and finally looked over at him. He was staring straight ahead, his mouth a hard line but you saw the tears gathering in his eyes. Your eyes were stinging with bitter tears of your own, and you continued through the lump in your throat, âI need you to listen to me when I say this, Kunhang. I am relieving you of that, okay? Please, let it go. You are not failing me, or him, to just be my friend. I need you to be my friend. My best friend, in the whole world, okay? Can you please do that?â
Kunhang still wasnât saying anything, but you saw a tear finally slip down his cheek, and his bottom lip trembled. You reached out to hesitantly take his hand, and were surprised when he squeezed yours back with an iron grip.
âI had a brother, and he was great. And heâs gone now.â Your voice cracked over the word âgone,â which was when your friend finally looked at you, and you gave him a bittersweet smile. âAnd thatâs okay. You canât help either of us hold onto him by becoming him. So can you please let it go? Just let the weight on your shoulders go?â
The gryphonâs brow creased with concern as he finally spoke, âThen whoâs going to look out for you, Y/N?â
âDid he ask you to? Look out for me?â
Kunhang nodded.
You looked up towards the sky and gave a cynical but fond chuckle. âOf course he did. You can look out for me, Kunhang. But thereâs a difference between looking out for me, and blatantly treating me like a child who canât be trusted to make her own decisions. I think thatâs whatâs been hurting me the most. Itâs fine that maybe youâre a little iffy about Kun, heâs a vampire that you donât really knowâwell, Yangyang kind of does, but whatever, heâs Yangyang.â
That earned you a choked giggle from your friend, and you chuckled a little as well.
âThat little bit of suspicion over your friendâs new boyfriend is normal, even welcome sometimes, except youâve been making me feel like you donât trust me. Like you think that Iâm stupid or something.â You explained with a sigh, disappointment coloring your voice.
âY/N, Iâm sorry. I hadnât thought about it like that,â Kunhang admitted, looking at you wistfully. âI donât think youâre some stupid little kid, by any means. Youâve grown up into such a smart, incredible person that I know your brother is proud of, and that Iâm proud of, too, like youâre my own sister.â
âThen act like it, dude,â you scoffed, using your free hand to give him a light smack on the head. âYouâve been making all these assumptions about Kun, and about our relationship, and you refuse to even listen to me or actually like properly sit down and talk to him to see what weâre like together. You want to be the dependable older brother friend? Youâve got to put in the work being you know, dependable, not just be a moody piece of shit about new boyfriends.â
âOkay, I deserve that.â
âUh-huh.â
âBut come on, itâs not like heâs new, I mean, he is hundreds of years old.â
âI would shove you out of this tree if I didnât think youâd take me down with you.â
âSo like...â he grimaced. âDoes he drink your blood?â
You let go of his hand to cross your arms, and looked Kunhang dead in the eye. âDo you actually want the answer to that?â
The gryphonâs eyes widened comically. âHe does?! Y/N!â
âKunhang, what did we just talk about?â
âRight. Sorry. Uhm... so... tell me about it? I guess?â Each word sounded like its own question, like he was forcing it out.
âAgain, do you actually want me to?â
âNo,â he answered quickly, a shudder going down his spine. âJust tell me whatever will be reassuring, please.â
You laughed. âOkay. It doesnât hurt me, seriously. Uh... Kunâs diet is still mostly synthetic blood replacement, and heâll probably never fully rely on live feeding from me, even after we move in together. Since heâs... old he can control his hunger and his feedings very well. Heâs never overfed from me and never will. Happy?â
âYouâre moving in together?â
âThatâs what you got from that?â
âI know you, Y/N. You thought you could sneak that in among all that blood drinking talk to distract me.â He waggled a finger disapprovingly at you.
âGod, fine, Kunhang.â You rolled your eyes. âWhen my lease is up at the end of next semester, Kun and I have discussed moving in together. But thatâs still months away, no need to get your feathers in a bunch yet.â
âHow long have you two been dating?â
âKunhangââ
âIâm just gathering data.â He held his hands up defensively.
âWhatever. You want to gather data? Come over to Kunâs for dinner tonight.â
He rubbed the back of his neck, giving you a feigned apologetic grimace. âOoh, sorry, I actually just drank some blood for breakfast, so I was going to get some sushiââ
âSave it for open mic night. Heâs cooking food and you can bring Yangyang.â
âSounds great! What time?â
âWhat are you so dressed up for?â You quirked an eyebrow up when you caught sight of Kun re-emerging from the bedroom in a fresh button-up shirt and pair of dress slacks. âItâs just Kunhang and Yangyang.â
The vampire went back to the pan that he had been tending to on the stove. âIâm hosting dinner at my house, for one. And for some reason that I canât seem to put my finger on, this feels like a meet-the-parents part two.â
You scoffed at that little jest at the end. âYouâve met Kunhang before.â
âAnd I got this weird feeling that he didnât like me.â
âOh, was it the death glares or all the times I told you he was trying to talk me out of dating you that clued you in?â
He chuckled. âStill, it canât hurt to want to make a good impression.â
You came up behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist and resting your chin on his shoulder. âItâs going to be fine, hon. Iâm here, and Yangyang will be too, which I think will actually help for once.â
âThat is a scary thought.â
âYou know, I think we give him too little credit sometimes.â
âWho? Yangyang?â
âYes.â
âAnd why is that?â
âIf it werenât for his ineptitude, we wouldnât have gotten together.â
âOh, I donât know about that.â Kun set his spatula down and turned around. He readjusted the collar of your shirt, tender gaze tracing over your features. âNow, call me superstitious, butââ
You couldnât help but giggle at the concept of a vampire being superstitious. A soft smile played across Kunâs lips before he continued.
ââbut I think that we would have found each other without the love potion. I donât know which one of our choices would have eventually made the life that finally brought us together like this, but I think they would. My miracle...â He cupped your cheeks, pulling you in for a gentle, sweet kiss.
While you never wanted this moment to end, the faint, acrid smell of something burning wafted up to your nose, and before you had fully processed that, Kun was already pulling back from the kiss. He cursed under his breath, turning around and pulling the pan off the burner, quickly flipping the food over. You peeked around him to look, seeking a few spots that were a bit blackened.
âSorryâŚâ You pecked his cheek sheepishly before stepping back fully to leave the kitchen.
Kunhang and Yangyang arrived soon after, the witch almost immediately, and predictably, making a crack about Kunâs house looking like a yard sale, which the gryphon found hilarious. Soon, though, you were seated for dinner, Kun dishing up food for everybody then taking his seat beside you.
âI do have to apologize, one side got a little too crispy,â Kun bowed his head apologetically as everybody had picked up their utensils. âI did my best to alleviate it after the fact, but there may still be some burned areas.â
âOh, and what were you two doing?â Kunhang waggled his eyebrows, lifting his fork to his mouth.
âMm?â Your boyfriend didnât look up from cutting up his food. âAh, I was changing my shirt and Y/N was setting the table so neither of us were paying attention.â
You opted not to respond, busying yourself with taking a deep sip of your water.
Your gryphon friend dropped his fork back onto his plate with a clatter, disgust on his face. âY/N, I can hear your heartbeat! Gross!â
âI keep telling you, Kunhang, donât ask questions that you donât want the answers to!â You snapped back, pointing a finger at him accusatorily.
âIt was just a joke!â
âPlay stupid games, win stupid prizes!â
Yangyang pushed the food on his plate around with his own fork. âSuddenly Iâm not hungryâŚâ
âOh my god, itâs perfectly sanitary, donât be dramatic.â You smacked his arm. âItâs either eat it or starve, Yangyang.â
And with that, the witch was back to shoveling food in his mouth. âDonât have to tell me twice. This is great, Kun!â
Your boyfriend sighed and shook his head. âThanks, Yangyang.â
After dinner, you knew that Kun was going to start habitually clearing the table, but you already had a plan in mind.
âKunhang, have you seen Kunâs PC setup?â You asked casually, grabbing yours and Kunâs empty plates before the vampire could. You knew damn well that Kunhang hadnât seen the computer in his stubborn crusade to avoid Kun at all costs.
The gryphonâs features perked up minutely in interest. âNo. Is it a custom build?â
Kun nodded as he reached for a glass. âYes, it is. I can show you after Iââ
But you swiped the glass just before his fingertips could brush it. âYou two can go look at it. Yangyang and I have got clean up. Right, Yang?â
To your surprise, the witch gave a thumbs-up from where he was reclined casually in his dining chair, pushing it back to balance just on the rear two feet. âYeah, all good. Go talk nerd shit.â
âAre you sure?â Your boyfriend asked you, a visible frown on his features over leaving you with clean-up duty.
âOf course. You cooked, we can do the dishes,â you reassured him with a bright smile.
âAlright, thank you.â He pecked your cheek before leading Kunhang out of the dining room.
Once you felt comfortable that you were no longer in the gryphonâs and vampireâs magical earshot, you looked to Yangyang with a curious head tilt.
âSo whyâd you let me volunteer you for dish duty with no complaints?â
âI knew what you were doing,â he said with a shrug, and stood up to help clear the table. âI donât like pissy Kunhang anymore than you do, so whatever you think will help.â
âThanks, Yangyang.â You smiled at your friend sincerely, carrying your stack of plates and utensils over to the sink. âDo you mind putting the leftovers away and Iâll wash the dishes? Heads up, there is blood supplement in the fridge, but itâs synthetic, I promise. If thatâs too weird, you can just put everything in containers and Iâll put it away after Iâm done washing.â
âI donât mind, Iâve dealt with grosser. Witch, remember?â
âRight, thanks.â
As Yangyang spooned the little leftover food that there was into a container, you rinsed off the dishes and loaded up the dishwasher.
âSo youâre really cool with all this, huh?â Yangyang commented as he opened the fridge up.
âAll what?â You asked curiously. âKun being a vampire? Having to keep my food next to my boyfriendâs synthetic blood? I mean, I grew up with Kunhang and other magical creatures, remember?â
âFair.â He put the food in and shut the appliance again, leaning against the counter next to you. âSo, do you think you could ever do it?â
At your blank stare, Yangyang added on, âDrink blood. I mean, technically you already drank Kunâs in the love potion, but you know, willingly, and a lot of it. If you were to become a vampire, and Iâm not even asking existentially about living forever or anything, just the diet. Do you think you could do it? If worst came to worst and blood supplements and synthetic blood were no longer available.â
The witch had a grin on his face like the two of you were giggling kids playing Would You Rather at a sleepover and talking about your crushes, not the actual question he had just posed to you. You chewed on your bottom lip as you thought, still washing a few more pots and cooking utensils from the night.
âI⌠donât know,â you answered honestly. âI mean, that all kind of changes when you become a vampire, right? Like, your taste preferences. Thereâs not a lot of people drinking blood before they turn into vampires, at least.â
âFewer, for sure.â
âYeah, I uh, I donât know, Yang. Would you? Can witches even become vampires?â
âUnfortunately, no,â he sighed wistfully, then turned giddy, âBut wouldnât that be badass? A witch vampire? Vampire witch? God, thatâd be so cool!â
âWhy canât witches become vampires? I know you guys arenât technically humans, but⌠like, do you know what makes it not work?â
âThereâs a lot of theories. As a witch, Iâm of course inclined to believe that nature favors balance. A being can only be one kind of magic thing. Humans arenât magic, but once you guys become something magic, same rule applies to you, no double-dipping, no getting greedy.â
âSeems like a pretty good theory to me.â
Yangyang nodded towards the living room then, âYou think itâs been enough time for them to bond over CPU specs or whatever?â
âProbably?â You said. âIâm just glad dinner went as smooth as it did. I hope I wasnât pushing it with putting them alone in a room together.â
âWe havenât heard shouting or the sound of Kunhangâs neck snapping yet, so thatâs a good sign.â
You gave him an unamused look. âYouâre truly an optimist.â
âIt would totally be self-defense on Kunâs part.â
âStill not helping.â
âAnyway, Iâve got to pee, soââ He pointed down the hall to the guest bathroom, and you nodded with a small smile at your friendâs familiar bluntness.
âDonât drown in there, Yang.â
He stuck his tongue out at you before disappearing from your sight.
You took a deep breath, steeling your nerves to enter the living room yourself. Coming around the corner, you saw Kun and Kunhang sitting on the main couch together, on opposite ends. Their body language looked relaxed, conversational, and a relieved, genuine smile came to your face as you looked over the two of them.
âUh-oh, whatâs this? The Annual Bad Joke Conference?â You teased, making your way over to perch yourself on the arm of the couch next to Kun, resting an arm on his shoulders. He wrapped his own around your waist, settling his hand on your hip.
âYes, and now that our keynote speaker is here, we can begin,â Kunhang ribbed you right back.
âOof.â You clutched at your chest like youâd been stabbed. âIâve been wounded.â
âI was actually asking Kun about his grad program heâs looking at,â your friend explained, gesturing to your boyfriend.
Kun nodded heartily. âYes, I was detailing my current predicament about with it being only a one-year masterâs, I wasnât sure if I wanted to work right after or look into finding another one-year masterâs to complete since your masterâs program will be two years long.â
âOh, donât fucking remind me that May isnât the end right now,â you groaned, dropping your forehead onto the top of Kunâs head.
âRight. My apologies, my love.â He rubbed your back comfortingly.
âHey, Kun?â Yangyangâs voice floated into the room then, and you picked your head back up to see him walking in.
âYes, Yangyang?â
âUh, I really hate to do this, but I kind of accidentally mentioned I was coming over when I was visiting my coven today, and my Grandma asked me to ask you for something?â
âNo more blood. I told you, after the love potion, you and your whole coven simply must get your vampire blood from somewhere else.â
âYeah, I know. And they know. Trust me, Iâm never living that one down at sacraments. Uh, no, Grandma told me to ask you for a book back? She said itâs red, about the size of your hand, gold on the edges of the pages?â
âDid she tell you what itâs called?â
âShe said youâd know what it was?â
âWhat⌠oh.â
You frowned at the concerned look on Kunâs face. âWhat? What is it?â
âItâs a cursed book of fairytales. I donât know how Yangyangâs grandmother had acquired it in the first place, but it was wreaking havoc on the coven some years ago. Lures in any children nearby, they couldnât risk even having it there in a spellbox. She gave it to me for safekeeping,â he explained, looking over to the witch. âWhy does she want it back?â
âNo clue. Better not to ask questions with her.â
âYes, Iâm aware. Well, it should definitely be around here⌠somewhere.â Kun stood up with a sigh, looking around the living room. âIf not in here, then probably the library, or the bedroom⌠or the guest room⌠or the attic. I definitely still have it, I kept it when I moved in here, I know that much.â
Yangyang gave him a skeptical look. âIâll help you look.â
âThanks. I donât feel anything in here, we should start in the library.â The vampire nodded towards the other room. âAlright now, Yangyang, if you think youâve found it, donât touch it, youâll reactivate the curse.â
âI know how curses work! Witch, remember?â
âWitch who puts his potions in Gorgonade bottles! Remember?â
As the two of them headed off, still bickering, you and Kunhang just looked at each other, bursting into giggles at the same time.
âHeâs totally going to forget and touch it if it finds it.â You shook your head, sliding down onto the main couch cushions.
âYeah, heâd be all âLook, Kun, I found it!ââ Kunhang zealously imitated his roommate yanking a book off a shelf. âAnd then bam, get cursed like an idiot.â
âI hope that thingâs in the attic. I donât want to think that I couldâve been almost accidentally cursing myself this whole time.â
âYikes. Better have Yangyang ask his grandma if Kun is hanging onto anything else for her.â
âWhy do you think she wants it back?â
âYou never know with Grandma Liu.â
You nodded, silent as you pondered this for a moment, having never met anybody from Yangyangâs coven, much less his grandmother, the matriarch of it. Kunhang left the silence alone for a while before he finally spoke again.
âOkay, fine. Heâs not so bad,â he admitted with a half-hearted eyeroll.
âWhat finally did it?â You asked curiously.
âWhat do you mean?â
âCome on, what was it? What finally convinced you?â
âHeâs a pretty good cook.â
âYour stomach, of course.â
âHeyââ
âLook, Iâm just glad this is all resolved now,â you grinned, scooting closer to him to wrap an arm around him.
Your friend threw an arm and a wing over your shoulders, pulling you in closer. âYeah, me too. You deserve something so⌠good. Iâm happy for you.â
âThanks, Kunhang.â You rubbed his back. âSeriously, for everything.â
Later that night, after you and Kun had seen Yangyang and Kunhang off at the front door with the cursed book in a DIY magic biohazard disposal container consisting of several garbage bags, glass tupperwares, and gloves for the witch to wear while he carried it, then finished tidying up the kitchen. Now you two were sat on the couch, quietly absorbed in your own activities as music streamed from his record player. It was some obscure, limited press record that Kun had picked up on a whim at one of the bandâs shows decades ago now; a Google search for the album or band name didnât even turn up any results. You were reclined in a half-laying position reading by the light of a lamp, intent on finishing all of The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, while Kun was tinkering with the settings of a new camera he had bought the other day. How well he could calibrate it in his darkened living room, you didnât know, but you were content to let him fiddle with it in peace so long as he let you keep your legs in his lap.
You were faintly aware of him occasionally taking pictures of the objects around the room, and of you, and lifted the book even high to cover more of your face.
âKun...â You said his name with a hint of warning, not taking your eyes off your page.
âWhat?â Another shutter click.
âYou have to have a million photos of me by now.â
âMaybe I want a million and one.â Another click. âOkay, maybe a million and two.â
You smiled to yourself as you continued reading, and Kun pointed the lens elsewhere to test the flash. As you came to a good stopping point at the end of one of the short stories, you laid the attached ribbon bookmark in between the pages and shut the book. You watched Kun fuss with the settings for a few moments, amused and endeared as he would sometimes point the lens and make an adjustment without even taking a picture, and sometimes take several photos, look at them, then change something.
âSo, what were you and Kunhang talking about?â You asked him as nonchalantly as possible.
He snapped around to look at you. âHm?â
âIâve known that man my whole life. I know when heâs bullshitting me,â you informed him, not a hint of anger or malice in your tone. âVery kind of you to go along with it in the moment, by the way.â
âIâm sorry, he stressed that he really didnât want you to know,â Kun apologized sincerely, setting his camera down on the coffee table.
âWhat did he tell you? If it was about the first time I went flying, I didnât throw up everywhere, and really he was the one whoââ
âHe wanted to ask me something, and you really must tell me this story at a later time.â
âOh.â You looked around awkwardly. âWhat did he ask you?â
He focused his red eyes on you, a much more serious air descending on the conversation and his tone. âIf I was going to turn you, or if I ever would.â
âOh God, Kun, Iâm sorry.â You shot up into a proper sitting position. âWe donât even live together, he shouldnât have been asking you if weâve talked about eternity. As if thatâs even his business in the first place anyway.â
âHe seemed very concerned about your view on mortality since your brotherâs passing,â your boyfriend explained with what you knew were his carefully chosen words. No way Kunhang had that kind of tact.
âHe thinks Iâm dating a vampire to cope with my brother dying. Great armchair psychology.â
âI donât think that. I remember when you said that youâre okay with not being here forever. When we went to the video gallery during the love potion incident.â
âLook, I canât lie and say that it doesnât bring me comfort to know that youâre not going to get hit by a bus tomorrow and die, or get cancer, or some other horrible illness and die a slow painful death while all I can do is watch. Like thatâs⌠definitely a plus.â You admitted with a chuckle, taking one of Kunâs hands in both of yours. âBut thatâs not why Iâm dating you. And Iâm definitely not dating you in hopes that one day youâll turn me. Like I said, we donât even live togetherâ eternity, or lack thereof, is not a conversation to be had yet.â
Kun nodded, brushing his thumb over the backs of your fingers. âI believe thatâs a fair assessment. Iâm of course content to take this at whatever pace you want, Y/N. Iâm just glad to have the honor of being in your life, for however long that may be.â
âSo what did you tell Kunhang? Because he seemed awfully happy with himself after you two talked.â
He paused, looking down at your entwined hands, then back up at you. âDo you remember how I was turned?â
âYou broke your leg and the broken bone nicked an artery. Your friend turned you to save your life because you were bleeding out,â you summarized the gist of the full story, which youâd finally heard some time after youâd started dating.
âI told him Iâd never take the choice from you. He seemed to like that answer.â
You let out a small sigh of relief. Honestly, you had half expected Kunhang to flip out at any possibility of Kun being willing to turn you. Seems like he really had listened to you this afternoon.
You pressed a kiss to Kunâs cheek. âThank you, Kun. I like that answer, too. But again, I am so sorry he put you on the spot like that.â
âY/NâŚâ Kun murmured, bringing his free hand to gently caress your face. âI know I just said that Iâm content to take this at whatever pace youâre comfortable with. And that is true. But I want you to know⌠that after so long, I know what I want, and because of that it was so easy to fall in love with you. So Iâm ready for whatever youâre ready for, whenever youâre ready. You want to move in together? Okay. You want to get three cats? Okay. You want to talk about forever? That will have to be more conversations than the cats, but sure, we can talk about it, talk about a plan.â
âKunâŚâ You breathed his name out, tightening your hold on his hand in hopes that could convey even a fraction of all the tongue-tied words you couldnât figure out how to say in that moment.
âIâm sorry, that was too much.â He shook his head at himself.
âNo, no. It wasnât,â you reassured him. âBut, Iâm not ready to talk about forever right now⌠I-I donât even have my bachelorâs yet.â
âThatâs okay. Like I said, I want whatever pace you want. I just want you, for however long thatâll be.â He brought your hands up to leave a feather-light kiss on your fingers.
âBut the fact that you would be ready to talk about foreverâŚâ You let go of his hand entirely to loop your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to press your lips to his. His hands easily settled on your waist and lower back as you felt him melt into the kiss.
When you finally needed airâas Kun could theoretically go on for eternityâyou then rested your forehead against his. âI love you, a lot, Kun. I do know that.â
âI love you, too.â Kun ran his fingertips up and down your back. âAnd know that I really do mean a plan for before forever. You wouldnât say the word and Iâd turn you the next second or anything hasty like that. But, you said youâre not ready to talk about it, so I will shut up now.â
You smiled to yourself at his almost nervous clarification, as if he were worried that heâd scare you off. It was endearing, to get glimpses like this where even his hundreds of years of living hadnât prepared him for whatever was happening, and his usually calm, smooth words failed him even just for a moment. You pressed a long kiss to his temple.
After a beat, you pulled back enough to see all of his face. âThen, maybe letâs start with moving in?â
âReally?â He grinned, dimples appearing on both cheeks.
âYeah⌠Iâm already over here so much my apartment is practically just a really expensive storage unit at this point.â
âIâll have to make room⌠for⌠your thingsâŚâ He looked around his rather maximalist living room as if taking in just how much stuff he had for the first time.
âI need to downsize anyway.â You tried to reassure him casually.
âNo, Iâll make room.â
At the anxiety growing on his face, you started rubbing his arm reassuringly. âWeâve got a few months to figure it out, donât worry.â
âMaybe we can get a new house,â he mused aloud, then turned to you with a hopeful look. âA three bedroom?â
âWho will those other two bedrooms be for?â
ââŚGuests.â
âAnd your knickknacks.â
âWellââ
âNo, wait, I like this idea. Our bedroom, a guest room, and one can be an office-slash-knickknack room.â You counted the three rooms off on your fingers. âYour producing desk can go in there so you can have some more privacy for all your secret projects.â
âYes, it will be harder to hide them once we live together. Oh no, youâve caught me,â he gave his âconfessionâ monotonously, earning a laugh from you. Kun gazed at you fondly, softness coming back to his features as he added, âI actually wanted to show you the one I was working on this morning.â
âYou finished it?â
âThings are never finished with me, especially since I live forever, but if I listen to it anymore I think Iâm going to cut my ears off, so yeah.â
âA ringing endorsement. Iâm excited.â
So you two migrated over to his producing desk, where he insistently pulled you onto his lap instead of letting you bring your own chair to watch as he opened the project he had so hastily exited out of this morning. You indulged yourself and ran your fingers through Kunâs hair, brushing a couple stray pieces back from his face.
He looked up from the screen to you, his brows that were furrowed with concentration now quirking up in confusion. âHm?â
âNothing. You just look hot like this, all focused on your task. Has nobody told you that before?â
âI canât say anybody has, no.â
You narrowed your eyes at him. âYou lie to me, Qian Kun. All these years, not one person has told you? I donât believe that.â
âI went through a brief stint as a bit of a hermit⌠didnât have many visitors. Definitely not ones that hung around my home much as you do and got to just observe me performing various tasks.â
âHm. Fine.â You grabbed his chin to connect your lips with his.
He hummed contentedly against your mouth, entirely unconcerned that his original goal had been sidetracked. You parted your lips to deepen the kiss as you felt one of his hands land on your hip, abandoning where it had previously been on either the keyboard or mouse.
When you finally pulled back, you had a well-kissed Qian Kun in front of you. He looked up at you with slightly glazed-over eyes, a winded smirk on his face as he asked, âAnd what was that for?â
âLike I said, you look hot like this. Another good reason for us to tuck your producing desk away when we live together. Youâd never get any work done if you were just out in the open.â
âMaybe we should downsize, actually. A one bedroom? Studio?â
âMm, werenât you going to show me something?â You asked innocently, one finger tapping his cheek.
âWas I?â
âI donât know, maybe,â you played along with a giggle, letting go of his face to mess with the collar of his shirt.
âYouâre awful sometimes, you know?â He shook his head and laughed, returning his focus to the computer screens, as did you. After a couple more clicks, he had an audio file pulled up. âReady?â
You settled in so that you were actually facing the screen, one arm around his shoulders. âReady.â
Kun pressed play on it, and soon a euphonious melody was playing through the speakers. It was a full arrangement with strings, piano, drums, and even a couple sung verses that you easily recognized as Kunâs voice. Youâd heard him hum while cooking, or sing along to the old radio and vinyl player in his home, but never a proper performance like this. The song was less than a couple minutes, but it was gorgeous, and you could feel a wide, delighted smile on your features as you listened.
âKunâŚâ You breathed out in awe once it was over, turning to look at your boyfriend. âThat was so beautiful. You⌠have such a beautiful mind. Thank you for showing me that. I⌠I justâŚâ
You were at a loss for words, getting too choked up on your thoughts as you gazed down at him. Hesitantly stroking your thumb over his cheekbone, for a moment you almost couldnât believe he was real, that he was so miraculous, and was right here, with you.
Kun gently took your hand from his face and held it in his, kissing the back of your knuckles tenderly before resting it on his chest. âI love you, Y/N. So much. Do you want to listen to it again?â
You nodded quickly, resting your head in the crook of his neck and closing your eyes. First, the click of the mouse, then the gorgeous work of art that Kun had composed for you played once more. You pressed a kiss against whatever skin of his neck was closest to your mouth.
âI love you, Kun,â you murmured, squeezing his hand that was still holding yours. âI love you so much. More than whatever eternity weâll have together, big or small, Iâll love you for even longer than that.â
The song ended, and he played it again before wrapping his other arm around you tightly. The two of you listened to it quietly, the only other sounds that of your breathing. And as it neared the end, it looped back to the beginning all on its own, without Kun having to let go of you.
⤡ blog masterlist ⤡ anthology masterlist
Good Morning âď¸
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nerdjo in spiderverse đˇď¸