Chapter Text
“I wonder, hanie, when are you planning to tell him that you know?” Jake asked, braiding another lock of his, pulling it up into a ponytail of blond hair, leehan hummed, idly scrolling through taesan’s awfully dry Instagram feed.
“I do find it cute, although it’s getting frustrating, last Monday he even dropped his hat accidentally when he was trying to hide behind my locker when I approached his direction. It’s hard to act unaware while I am, in fact, aware of his presence but I don’t want to embarrass him.”
Jake chuckled softly, adding some hair accessories and finishing his work, “Why won’t you indirectly approach him first? Send him a dm or I can give you his phone number?” The older said as he sat next to his brother, leehan hummed again, “I don’t know, I don’t want to force him into knowing me, if that makes sense.”
“It makes sense, but he’s a vampire baby, and you’re a human, he got entirety and you got roughly two years left before he stops aging, so I’d really suggest you message him, take his number tonight, I’ll personally drag him out of his room to spend time with us.” the older smiled reassuringly.
Leehan looked at himself in the mirror, quite satisfied with his hairstyle and makeup, he nodded, “I’ll change now, thanks hyung.”
He doesn’t want to overwhelm the shy vampire. Still, he really doesn’t want to go through the same experience his older brother went through with sunghoon, dancing around each other for two years until they got together, especially since his crush on taesan is in no way not mutual, so sue him for being eager.
___
The two brothers arrived on time, dinner was ready and right after sungho and jaehyun put the cookies into the oven, sunghoon suddenly appeared behind them and back-hugged his lover, “You guys are here.” He breathed, and the two smiled up at him and he chuckled, “Having you two together really feels like having two puppies around.” He joked And jake rolled his eyes and kissed him.
Leehan smiled gently, eyeing the two couples being gentle and loving to each other yet can’t help but feel envious, if only his crush wasn’t so hard to get, “speaking of,” sungho suddenly said, “he’s locked in his room.” He added, and leehan whined, “hyung stop casually reading my mind! Privacy, remember?”
He would say but he was actually thankful for the information, recently he grew used to sungho’s mind-reading powers but seemed to struggle with teaching him why it’s indecent to do so. “I really didn’t have to do much as your face screams that you wish he was here. Anyway, tough luck kid, he’s been locked away in his room for two days. I don’t know what happened and his mind is so loud I can’t read it well, but something’s upsetting him.” He said munching on a freshly baked cookie.
Leehan knitted his eyebrows, a bit upset at the newfound information, “Aren’t you concerned about him? Any of you?” His tone sounded less gentle than he intended but no one seemed to take offense, “that’s how taesan is, he refuses to open up or ask for help, and we grew used to it and respectful of his choices, i am worried, heck he’s my baby brother, but sometimes he has to figure things out by himself.” Sunghoon answered him, taking a step closer and ruffled his hair, “you can check on him though, I’m more than sure he’ll enjoy having you around.”
Leehan looked back at each of them, then nodded slowly and headed up, to taesan’s room.
The room had a black door, unlike the mostly wooden place, and it had many stickers on it which were well decorated. It already screams HAN TAESAN. Leehan can’t wait to be inside to see the rest.
With one last deep breath, he knocked on the door only twice, “Taesan?” He said, uncertain.
Nothing. Not a single sound came from behind that door, and leehan pouted a little and knocked again, this time three times but just as gently, “Hey, it’s me… donghyu-“ he stopped as the door opened, not in a rush or hastily, taesan stood there with his red eyes wide and plush lips pouting in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
Leehan had so much to take in, first taesan was in a black tank top, his whole arm is exposed and his milky skin was practically shining, he also has basketball shorts, his hair looks freshly washed and messily blow-dried, and there was some leftover eyeliner on his waterline, and his eyes were fucking red, dear lord help me...
“Uh, I, me and jake hyung were invited to the dinner tonight so I asked about you and they said I should get you to join us..,” leehan hated how he sounded way fainter than he intended to be, he felt himself grow smaller under the watchful red eyes, which was ridiculous for a 180cm man, but the way taesan watched each of his moves he couldn’t seem to find any better use of his fingers than picking on his skin.
“Are you okay? Like, your heart rate is so abnormal, do I… scare you?” Taesan asked instead of commenting on what leehan previously said, that was also another vampire thing leehan discovered about them, their hearing is too good, they can hear your heart beating and your blood flowing, and when the younger finally had it in him to make eye contact again, Taesan’s eyes are brown again, “No!” Leehan urgently said, taking a step forward, “No,” he corrected, in a gentler voice, “It’s just… beautiful. Your eyes… you.”
Frustrated with himself, he just sighed deeply and looked up, eyes looking straight into taesan’s “can I come in?” And taesan was blushing, his eyes still brown when he moved out of the way, “That’s the most vampire cliché shit I’ve heard in a while, please, you can always come in.” Leehan chuckled at the reference too after he realized it.
Two steps in and leehan noticed that everything here smelled like taesan, everything. And it’s so easy to get intoxicated by it, “the place is a bit messy, wasn’t feeling my best the last two days, sorry princess.”
The place, taesan’s room is very taesan, there were posters and stickers everywhere, skateboards and guitars, and an impressive collection of vinyls and CDs. “You’ll really keep calling me that?” Leehan asked, subtly taking more of the scent lingering around in.
Taesan chuckled, and leehan wondered how this was the same boy that ran a mile away when he caught a glimpse of leehan around? “Well, you’re pretty like one, good with animals, has a great singing voice, and is a damsel in distress. So seems like a princess to me.”
Leehan blushed a little and sat down at the end of taesan’s huge bed. They followed each other on Instagram a while ago, so he knows all this information is technically on his account but taesan calling him and his voice pretty makes him shy. “You’re insufferable,” he shook his head fondly.
A beat of silence.
“I want to ask you something-”
“Can I ask you-“
They said at the same time, and stopped together, looking into each other’s eyes and leehan realized the older’s eyes were red again, so he smiled, “You go first, what is it?”
Taesan clenched a bit on his teeth, pulling his lips to the side by habit and showing his long fangs that got leehan’s mind to places he shouldn’t be going to now, “who’s that one person you hang out with very often, you know the one that with you when we bump into each other at uni.. the short one.” Leehan eyed him the whole time, how his hand was all around, his voice was uncertain and his eyes never left the bed.
Cute. He thought.
“That’s riwoo, my best friend, we knew each other since high school, he’s not close to jake hyung though, just to me, that’s why you might never heard of him. He has a boyfriend, by the way, kim woonhak.” He decided to add the last part for good measure and cause he looks fun to tease.
And the older looked up, face as red as his eyes, “It’s not like a care.” He mumbled, ignoring the relief he felt at the information, “You looked like you do.” The younger chuckled.
“Don’t I scare you?” He suddenly blurted, and leehan looked up, meeting his eyes again, “That’s two questions, beastie, you took my turn.” He playfully pouted.
“Fuck off.” Taesan shoved him and he chuckled more, inching a bit closer to him, “No, not really? I mean, you absolutely do look like a vampire, but it’s cool and it suits you so why should I be scared? You don’t even like how blood tastes.” He shrugged, “Not like I’d be against it if you do though.” He added shortly after and went into a fit of giggling when a pillow hit his face, “FUCK OFF!” Taesan whined.
The two ended up giggling together till the room fell silent again, “it’s your turn.” Taesan encouraged, looking from under his lashes.
Leehan smiled, “why wouldn’t you talk to me? I always know you’re there, just invisible, I can sense you, hear you, and smell you. So why not just say hi at least?” He didn’t want to but he sounded somewhat sad, and taesan sure looked guilty and equally embarrassed.
Taesan breathed deeply and grabbed his stuffed toy that looks it could be older than them both and played with its tiny hand, “I am clueless. I don’t know, does that make sense? When we met back in high school- hey stop- yes! We met in high school whatever, yeah… I don’t know why you were different, a good kind of different which I’m not used to. Kids were always annoying and made some baseless rumors and assumptions about me and I always enjoyed my own company so I didn’t mind not having friends. But then I knew you were jake hyung’s younger brother and I was so worried I wouldn’t be likable enough that we get along, which would be awkward for everyone because hyung’s definitely marrying jake hyung as soon as they graduate. And I don’t know, when we met at Halloween..” he took a moment to collect himself then continued.
“I really just…, Couldn’t recognize you at first, it being the custom or hair or perfume or the shitty ass lighting, I don’t know but when we had that conversation I just couldn’t help the overwhelming amount of thoughts that I had, you were the first person I ever told about us, and yeah… I don’t know..”
Leehan who was silently listening and patiently waiting for him to finish with a gentle smile tugging his lips, and then he nudged him a bit, “You really do overshare for a vampire. But I’m so glad you do.” Taesan was ready to hit him with the same pillow again but leehan sat right in front of him, holding the other arm of the toy, and smiled down at it, “I was worried you hated me. Or maybe you misunderstood me in a way. I’m not necessarily the easiest person to understand either so I didn’t want us to suffer such fate,” he stopped suddenly when he felt taesan tapping his hand.
“Stop with the embarrassing shit already. Also who still says that anymore? Weren’t you the one who mentioned the year in our first interaction? It’s… totally my bad for freaking out… I never hated you..,” leehan’s chest swelled with affection, taesan’s soft voice, his long cold fingers brushing against his, and the way he finally looked up, eyes red and sparkling.
“You are..” he added faintly later, and leehan lifted his own trembling hand and held taesan’s gently, trying his best to make eye contact with the pair of eyes that seemed to avoid him at all costs, “what is it?” He encouraged, and taesan rolled his eyes and looked back into leehan’s eyes, face blushing with knitted brows, “You are! You are the easiest person to talk to! Look at us now, this is like, the most I have spoken continuously since my high school presentation! I… really like your company.”
Taesan was lightheaded, he thought that if he had a heart it would’ve exploded by now, leehan was looking at him with an entire galaxy shining in it, like taesan had plucked out the stars from the sky and given it to him. The amount of affection he can see on the beautiful boy’s face is making him incredibly shy which adds to the vulnerability he’s in for letting his emotions out. And leehan’s silence wasn’t helping at all.
“Kitten! Oh wait, a cat actually, since you’re twenty now,” leehan suddenly said, face bright like he had the best realization ever, “what?” The older replies faintly, confused.
“You really resemble one, like you like to hiss loudly yet you’re so soft and fluffy and love patting and affection, it’s adorable.” He replied chuckling softly, watching the amusement dances in taesan’s eyes.
“You like cats?” He asked looking at leehan’s hoodie strings, “I love all animals, but cats are really cute, wh-“Suddenly the hands that were holding taesan’s were empty, a pail of clothes replaced what once was taesan and a black kitten crawled out of it and went straight to sit on leehan’s still opened hands.
In utter shock and disbelief, leehan froze in his place, the kitten almost weighed nothing yet was so fluffy he felt like crying, “As if you needed to get any cuter??” He whispered and squished the little creature up to his chest, whining lowly at how cute it looked, bringing him up to poke their noses together, prompting a meow out of the kitten.
“Donghyunie? Are you guys okay? What takes you so lo- oh my god dongmin is in his cat form?!” Jake knocked on the door softly then opened it slowly, just to see his younger brother petting the black kitten. Suddenly sunghoon appeared right behind him, “he did?!” He asked and soon the other couple also joined, which made leehan hide the kitten to his neck, a bit under his hoodie, “what’s wrong..?” He asked timidly.
“Well, taesan’s own power is to shapeshift,” sunghoon answered softly, “and our mother loved cats, so he used to shift to a cat and sit on her lap for comfort, and now he only shifts when he misses her.” Sungho added by telepathy, tone just as gentle.
Leehan looked down, a smile tugging his lips, “well, it seems like every day I discover something new. You guys can start before us, I’ll bring taesan and we’ll be right behind you.”
They all nodded in agreement and soon the long-haired boy was left alone with his little companion, “Kitty,” he called and taesan peaked out of his collar with a meow, “as adorable as you look now, I need to have my full sized vampire again, I need to feed him.” He said and carried the kitten in his hands again.
The kitten meowed again and jumped on leehan’s shoulder, grabbed his hood, and did its best to cover his head with it, shifting into a full-sized cat to do it better to leehan’s confusion then went back to the pile of clothes and got inside it again then shifted to his human form.
Leehan who seemed to catch on to what was happening last minute, looked away until taesan stood up, “let’s go,” he said in a somewhat small voice.
And when leehan looked up, taesan was holding his hand out, eyes soft red, and cheeks just as soft, as red.