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Going outside just two nights after meeting that pesky human had to be the worst idea Rohan ever had. He wasn’t even sure why he’d decided to go around town again; it wasn’t like he needed to be outside for anything. And he certainly didn’t want to run into anyone else.
Maybe a part of him just felt like his last stroll didn’t count, considering it had been interrupted mere minutes after he’d left his home. Yes, that had to be it… but, whatever his reasoning behind it had been didn’t matter, so long as he avoided speaking to absolutely anyone this time around. Then he could relax, get some fresh air and head right back home.
Rohan sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat as we walked the same route he had yesterday. He wasn’t cold; temperature never seemed to affect him much, but wearing a coat had always made him feel like he had an extra layer of protection around him. He might have just been really paranoid. He shook his head to himself, walking under the flickering lamp posts as the strong wind picked up. It seemed like it might rain soon, but it didn’t matter all that much to him. If need be, he could go back home in less than a minute. He stopped at the park’s entrance, wondering whether he should go in or not today.
It was then that he smelled it again. The sweet, tempting smell of human blood. Not just anyone’s blood either, no. Rohan could, unfortunately, recognize this overbearing scent anywhere. He grit his teeth and headed straight towards the source, ready to slap some sense into the idiotic human named Josuke Higashikata.
As soon as he arrived, though, he was greeted with a nicely dressed and much more alert version of Josuke. He wore a dark green long sleeved shirt and some ridiculously tight jeans. He was completely sober this time around and he seemed absolutely pleased to run into Rohan again, almost like he had been expecting him for some odd reason.
“Rohan! I’m so glad you found me again!” Josuke said with a grin, staring straight at him as if they were good old buddies. He stood up straighter and took a few steps towards Rohan, keeping a respectful distance between them this time around.
“Why are you here?” Rohan asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a frown on his face. The instructions he had given Josuke the other day hadn’t been at all hard to understand or follow through with. “Didn’t I tell you not to go out at night alone?”
Josuke scratched the back of his head bashfully, looking down at the ground under him. “Well, yeah, but… I also… I had to apologize to you.” Rohan raised a questioning eyebrow at him, unsure of why he was offering an apology. Josuke glanced up at him and seemed to catch on immediately. “Ah! F-for… for kissing you, I mean.”
Oh right, Rohan thought, they had kissed. He had almost forgotten about that tiny little detail. Kissing didn’t mean as much to him as it might to ordinary people, but that innocent little peck had felt different to an ordinary kiss. Perhaps it had just been too long since the last time he’d locked lips with anyone else and didn’t remember what it felt like. Josuke’s lips had been very soft and full of warmth. He unconsciously licked his lips at the thought. “There’s no need to apologize for that; I would have expected you to apologize for being an idiot and going out at night by yourself again.”
"Oh?" Josuke asked, a mischievous smile on his lips. "Did you… like it then?"
Of course he would focus on that part of what he had said instead of what actually mattered. Rohan frowned, shaking his head. "I did not," he lied, "I would have rather kiss a cat. And I hate those things." Josuke actually laughed at his reply, which only made him that much more annoyed. "Hey. Don't laugh. I'm being serious."
"Yes, yes. I'm sure you are," Josuke said, his laughter quieting down into small chuckles. "You're real cute, Rohan."
Before Rohan could even think to protest his words, Josuke walked over to the bench where he had been sitting the other day and picked up something from it. He then walked back to him, a blush now present on his cheeks. "Anyway, I… I got you these."
Rohan couldn’t help but stare at Josuke, dumbfounded, as a heart shaped box was offered to him and then promptly shoved into his hands. "What is… what is it?"
"They're chocolates." Josuke looked away, the blush still present on his cheeks. "They didn't have blood flavored ones, so I got you the next best thing. They're, um… heart shaped, since that's where the blood is pumped from and… and they're filled with cherries, which are red like blood too."
He could feel himself growing embarrassed at this whole situation, feeling unsure of what kind of reply he could give the other man. Rohan didn't tend to indulge in human food, it rarely ever interested him enough to try it, but the gesture of actually getting him a gift was sweet. It seemed that Josuke had put a lot of thought into it too, and that fact alone made his insides flutter. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"
Josuke shrugged, finally glancing back at Rohan. "Yeah, maybe," he said with a small smile, biting on his bottom lip.
"Thank you," Rohan muttered out, looking away from the man. It still didn't make sense how much this guy wanted to be nice to him, especially after knowing that he wasn't a human being. There was something that didn't quite click with him straight away though. "But.. wait. How did you know I was going to come out tonight?"
"Ah! About that… I, um, actually didn't," he paused, chuckling nervously with bright pink cheeks. "I planned on coming out every night 'til you showed up, really."
Rohan felt his eye twitch at that answer and he tried taking a deep breath in order to calm himself down. It didn't really do much. "You… what?! You would willingly put your life in danger like this for what? To meet some random stranger again, apologize for something inconsequential and give him chocolates?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much exactly it. I really needed to see you again, mostly to make sure I hadn't made the whole thing up," Josuke answered, shrugging halfheartedly. "I mean, it's no big deal. I think I could defend myself from an attack as long as I'm sober, so I wasn't so much risking my life as I was endangering myself a bit. It was worth it in the end, wasn't it? You're here today."
He had to resist the urge to punch Josuke straight in the face at that answer. Humans had such short lives, to risk losing what little time they had over something like this just seemed like the wrong thing to do, no matter what angle you looked at it from. Still, Josuke had wanted to see him again? That made even less sense. Why would he want to meet with a vampire again? He unconsciously held the chocolate box tighter against him. This man was… different to other humans he'd met before. Very different. He was confusing and unpredictable and Rohan wasn't sure he liked that.
After a few seconds of silence, Josuke spoke up again, that annoying smile on his face again. "Would you wanna sit down with me tonight, or is that still a no for you?"
Rohan looked up at him again, snapping himself out of his thoughts at the sound of his voice. "Why would you want that?"
Josuke looked confused at the question. "What do you mean? Sitting down? Well, I mean standing up for too long can be tiring, right?"
"No. Why would you want me to sit with you? Why are you trying so hard to keep me around? Are you trying to lure me into some kind of trap?" Rohan asked, taking a couple of steps back just in case. Yes, that had to be it. Josuke was trying to get him to lower his guard so that he could kill him, or perhaps even trap him and sell him for a high price.
"Hey now, slow down," Josuke said, a small frown on his face as he held his hands up for Rohan to see. "I just think you're interesting. I dunno, there's just something about you that calls to me, that makes me want to get closer to you and try to be your friend," he paused, his face gaining some color again. "Plus you're real attractive, Rohan. I don't think anyone in their right mind would ever object to spending time with you."
It was the opposite of that, Rohan thought, but he kept it to himself. He shook his head, heading over to the bench and sitting down on it. "I'll sit with you for five minutes total. Then I'll expect you to go back home and never speak to me ever again." This was a terrible idea and he was well aware of it. This man was dangerous, not someone that Rohan should keep around himself for too long.
Josuke's features immediately lit up at that and he rushed over to sit right next to Rohan, leaving absolutely no space in between them. His thigh felt too warm against Rohan's, but he welcomed the closeness anyway. No one had gotten this close to him in quite a long time so the physical closeness was very welcome.
Now that they were close, Rohan could smell the same cheap cologne on him and the overwhelming amount of hairspray he had used. The sweet scent of his blood was tempting too, but Rohan managed to keep himself under control.
They sat together for a while, chatting about nothing in particular. Rohan made sure to avoid answering any personal questions, but Josuke had been nothing short of an open book. He'd learned that the man lived alone with his mother his whole life and that he'd only met his dad on three separate occasions. Josuke was also a university student, and that a big test had been the reason he'd been drunk the other night.
Before either of them could really tell, two hours passed them by. Rohan only noticed when he caught a small glimpse of his wristwatch during a small lull in the conversation, while Josuke yawned. It was late.
"It's time for me to head home," Rohan said, glancing back at Josuke and then standing up from where he was sitting. "You should too."
Josuke's lips curled down into a small pout and he nodded in agreement. "I guess so. I have a really early lecture tomorrow. Or well, I guess today." He laughed and Rohan couldn't help but stare at him as he did so. "But hey, do you think you can walk me home again, Rohan?"
He hesitated. Should he walk Josuke home again? Or would he be giving off the wrong idea? They had just spent an insane amount of time talking to one another but… Rohan really didn't want to end up getting attached to Josuke. He couldn't be giving the man the impression that they could be anything close to friends. Though… letting him go away at night by himself was dangerous. "Yeah… I'll walk you home, but…"
"But what?"
Rohan sighed, looking at him again. "Listen to me, Josuke, because I won't repeat myself, okay?" He waited until Josuke nodded before continuing. "I am never coming out here at night ever again. At least for as long as you live. Do you understand what that means?" He asked slowly, making sure to keep eye contact with him all the while.
Josuke raised an eyebrow. "What? We won't be able to hang out at the park again?" He shrugged, a small smile still on his face. "That's fine. We could meet up elsewhere next time. We could go get dinner if we meet just a bit earlier than usual… or, we could get drinks if you're into that. If you don't like crowds we can always just hang at my place."
"No, Josuke. That's- It means we can't see each other ever again," Rohan said with a frown, finally tearing his gaze away from him.
Instead of sounding at all sad by the revelation, Josuke stifled a laugh. “Jeez, Rohan. There’s no need to be so dramatic. There are other places we could meet, yeah?” He finally stood up, reaching over to hold Rohan’s hand in his. Rohan jumped at the unexpected touch, but didn’t pull back. The feeling of Josuke’s hand in his was strangely pleasant. “How ‘bout we meet at my place next time, yeah? Mom’s gone for the rest of the month visiting her friend, so the house is mine ‘til then. Swing by tomorrow night. I’ll rent us some movies and… do you eat human food at all?”
Rohan stared at him dumbfounded, unable to form any coherent sentences in his mind. What the hell was this kid’s problem? Here he was trying to tell him that they should keep some distance from each other, that this whole friendship could only end badly for both of them, and Josuke was making plans for them to hang out together instead. “I can eat some things, yes. I don’t tend to do so often, since it doesn’t provide me nourishment.” Rohan blinked at his own answer, unsure of why he’d said that in place of all the complaints he had about Josuke’s suggestion.
“Perfect then! I’ll make us some dinner too, yeah? I also have some video games and board games if those are more your speed than movies,” Josuke said, already starting to walk in the direction of his home. Rohan trailed close behind, still holding on to Josuke’s hand tightly, unable to make himself tell Josuke that he had to refuse his invitation.
Josuke kept talking about some other thing soon after and Rohan followed in silence, without really listening to most of what he was saying.
It wasn’t long until they arrived at Josuke’s front door and Josuke finally let go of Rohan’s hand. “Do you still have my number?” Josuke asked and he nodded. “Good! Then, just let me know if you get lost on the way here, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Rohan’s cheek.
Rohan felt himself blush at that and, as soon as Josuke disappeared into his house, he held his hand over the spot that had just been kissed. This was all terrible; it would lead nowhere good. He knew it in his heart. Yet… he decided he should probably show up tomorrow. If only to tell him a proper goodbye.