a small flower blooming on the edge of a cliff.

“mister yoon, what did mesopotamia look like?”

“i thought i told you to call me jeonghan.” his eye twitches, and when you glance over at him lazily, you see the smallest flicker of fur covering his cheeks, and you realize he’s getting annoyed. 

he always turns into his bat form uncontrollably when he’s irritated. it’s… admittedly a little fun to play around with, especially in public, where he tends to hiss at you to stop talking and pull his hood even higher over his head, as if his sunhat and sunglasses weren’t enough. sometimes, it just seemed like he was a man who was born with the soul of an old auntie more than anything.

“this may be hard to believe,” jeonghan starts, his tone as sweet as syrup, “but i wasn’t alive then either.”

“you weren’t?!”

the gasp you emit means he needs to close his eyes to calm himself and stop his wings from appearing when he’s trying to remain lowkey, as you would put it. why does he even put up with you anymore?

…really, why does he?

it’s a trivial thing, keeping you alive when he could just drain you dry and sigh in contentment afterwards, eyes emitting a soft glow that would fade in a few days.

it had been so long since he had a whole person to himself, since he only took a little from those he was in relationships with. it was a give and take though; a pint every two weeks and a kept secret in exchange for… well, a companion on lonely nights for most. 

every time an agreement came to a close—since of course, he had already studied law and knew the importance of a legal contract, especially when it came to him disappearing from the same legislation he had learned previously—he had simply poofed away and fled to a different country, finding someone else there to satisfy his needs.

he had found you too, pretending to be a college student in your history class—he was back in school for the twentieth time since the start of the 20th century—and he knew it would be easy to strike up an agreement with those in your age group; weren’t they always looking for a night to fool around? maybe he could finally teach them what responsibility looks like via contract signature. oo la la, how enticing. besides, it was a good idea to stay informed on what was relevant nowadays. a vampire has to stay with the times, right?

you were much too focused on your assignments for him to even approach you at first, and honestly, he thought that made you a better candidate. someone who works so hard must want a break sometimes too, right? you must want some relief, or something like the romance novels most people read—and that was something he was well versed in. actually, he had been the inspiration for a writer once as a part of their contract, and it led to him understanding his… well, his vampirical nature more than before.

however, he was wrong. though a little intrigued, your studies were more important, even more so than he first thought they were. why did you reject his advances when—when he was so good-looking?! especially when he had been trying his hardest. 

he batted his eyelashes. he winked. he picked up your bags for you, even though you brushed off the gesture. he learned what your favourite drink was and the exact amount it costed from the vending machine in the eastern corridor that you always went to, even though it was farther away from the class you both shared. 

he even asked you out very bluntly, and all you had to say after a curious look was, “our midterms are coming up. shouldn’t you be studying for those?”

hah. you sounded… well, younger than him but older than you should have. god forbid an immortal being wanted to have some fun.

frankly, it infuriated him. how could one simple person with such a small worldview reject him?! the yoon jeonghan?! (he had decided to take his actual name this time, deciding it’s been tiring coming up with new variations, and it’s certainly long enough for no one to suspect him of living until now.)

he had seen things you would never be able to, and much of it was material in—

that’s it. jeonghan was a genius. he had lived through history itself—he could just use that as a selling point! your history lectures would be so much easier! 

so instead, now that he had spent all this time studying you instead of the material (not like he needed to because of his realization), he had decided to take… a different approach. 

at this point, he really needed a snack, and definitely not the one you pulled out during breaks in history class—he wanted you. or well, your blood. he didn’t care too much about the flesh that needed it.

jeonghan had felt his energy weaning the more you rejected him, partially because he was sick of your aversion, and his body slowly got weaker and weaker. it wasn’t the worst he’s ever been, though he was getting close to that point. 

he needed to make a last ditch effort and hope it would work.

he found you at the library one night—after your midterms, so you wouldn’t be saying the same thing again without letting him talk—and pulled you aside, asking to be heard one last time before he left you alone. the truth was easiest to start out with, so he did something he had never done before. 

“i’m a vampire,” he said, plain and simple. 

of course, the weird look you gave him was expected. he just sighed and continued.

 “i want your blood—in fact, i need it before i shrivel up and… i don’t know. just—please go on a date with me. i’ll tell you all about the daily life of a soldier in the second world war for our assignment—i can fact check! i was in france during normandy!” jeonghan finished with a nod of his head, as if it was completely believable. 

“normandy? listen, mister… yoon, was it?” you started, looking at him with a deadpan expression as he nodded with hopeful eyes that seemed too animated to be those of a fantastical creature. you hadn’t had enough sugar that day to deal with this crap. 

“i literally don’t need that, since you’re lying anyway—and even if you weren’t lying, i’m no bella. shiny creatures aren’t my thing, especially when they’re like five hundred years old.”

he couldn’t help but pout at that before clearing his throat, trying to remain serious. “i can give you factual details! i can prove it!” 

”and besides, i’m not even three hundred fifty yet,” jeonghan mumbled under his breath before sighing.

you raised an eyebrow and he immediately sighed again, pulling you away into the blind spot of the cameras so he could take off the hood covering his face from the zip-up hoodie—seriously, you would’ve thought he would’ve worn something more classy—and focused on turning only part of his face into his bat form not to raise suspicion of those around you, even if you were a mostly deserted part of the hallway outside of the library. he let little fur pieces poof onto his cheeks as his eyes slowly filled up with black and—holy shit. he had to be great at trickery. how’d he do that in real life?

you simply stared at him in astonishment as you asked, “so you’re a magician?!”

…jeonghan was already sick of you.

but eventually! eventually, he got through to you and did everything he possibly could to get you to sign the damn contract he had already proposed but fixed with your suggestions. the intimacy clause, as you asked for, was completely removed, since you didn’t want it anyway. 

it confused him a little, since well… it seemed like everyone wanted it. maybe you were like him in that way instead, without the whole blood-sucking thing. 

and now, after a few months, jeonghan is being asked a ridiculous question at two am. sure, there’s been many over the time he’s known you but this was something only a sleep-deprived person could make up.

“you didn’t learn cuneiform back in the middle ages?” you ask, yawning. 

he gives you a blank stare. “that… you need to sleep, and you need to sleep now before you start talking about how it was like communicating in gruff snorts, or however you lot word it nowadays.”

maybe his blood drawing session yesterday had taken more of a toll than he had originally thought, since your energy had seemed low all day, and had only gotten worse during the night. you had been playing with the wound on your wrist the entire time he had been with you, even if it was now covered up by a bandaid. 

even with a solid excuse, fang marks in your neck would have been suspicious, and it was always easier to just bite your hand—like a blood donation, except you were donating strictly to the yoon jeonghan blood bank and nothing else. besides, the neck area was easily damageable, especially when feeding since it was harder to control his strength, even if he did manage to hold on. he didn’t want to hurt you, not when he… had slowly grown attached to you being by his side.

however, no matter how charming jeonghan was, you did not care to get into that bed with him.

he should’ve known you didn’t wish to “cuddle” with him, the word being strange to articulate when he first said it. he didn’t really understand the slang you taught him sometimes but it had earned a smile from you before you went back to your work earlier, and that made him glad. 

you’re the one who ends up snorting instead in amusement, closing your laptop and turning your head slowly towards him. “like a lemur?”

“…get into bed.”

you huff but eventually do grumble that you will, getting up to brush your teeth before jeonghan comes in after knocking to make sure you actually end up disposing of the toothpaste box properly, and you admire how despite the company, there’s still only one person in your bathroom mirror. no matter how many times he’s walked around in there with you, it’s something hard to get used to.

jeonghan glances up at you, now done inspecting the garbage—you seriously wonder if he was a garbage truck driver once because of how thorough he always is when it comes to it, though he swears he’s just an environmentalist—and gives you a curious look. 

you simply point at the mirror, and your lonely reflection, too tired to filter your thoughts from your words. “i can’t believe you left me…”

“oh, bollocks. go to bed.”

jeonghan - getting you the hot gossip from work

⟢ jeonghan is…honestly, he’d make sure he picks up all the gossip for himself—and for you both to discuss later.

⟢ he wouldn’t be nosy per say…he’d just keep his ears open when there were people around talking, okay? it’s not his fault they’re so loud.

⟢ and of course, he’d retell it to you in such a way that you couldn’t help but be completely immersed in the drama because his manager is dating who?

⟢ there’s multiple lines of gossip that you both follow based on who you’re talking about, and each week there’s at least one debrief session where the two of you sit down on the couch and you just absorb the information he gives you.

⟢ he’s glad to see the different expressions you make, and it makes him happy to see you so interested in something he’s telling you about, even if it’s something horrendous about his co-worker—and then when you snuggle up next to him, ready to fall asleep he gives you a small smile and pats your head in contentment.

jisoo (joshua) - buying you flowers or little trinkets

⟢ i think that while joshua’s love language is more like quality time, he seems like the type of person to also buy you flowers every few weeks—or whenever the flowers he previously got you wilt.

⟢ he’d totally get a bouquet for you and a flower for himself to make sure he knew exactly when to get you some new ones.

⟢ obviously, it’ll be your favourite flowers! or just ones that remind him of you, depending on the week.

⟢ if you’re allergic to flowers, he’d get you chocolate or something else you really like—it doesn’t have to be exclusively flowers :>

⟢ he’d see little deer characters and think it would remind you of him, so he would drop them over at your place so you’d always have a way to remember him! (you’d definitely have a little deer and cinnamoroll collection at home somewhere).

junhui (jun) - cooking for you

⟢ even though jun is busy, he knows you are too, so he makes sure to make dinner for you when you get home.

⟢ he immediately rushes you out of the kitchen when you try to help and shushes your protests.

⟢ he’d beg you to just let him cook for you—unless you really wanted to cook yourself. at that point, he would make sure to be the trustiest assistant chef you’ve ever had, just to make it a little easier.

⟢ he just enjoys seeing you have something he made for you and the smile you give him afterwards always makes it worth it.

⟢ if he’s not there for dinner, he makes sure to leave a packaged meal for you in the fridge, complete with a sweet sticky note telling you to eat well and text him a cat meme when you see it.

⟢ he’d make sure to note down your favourite foods, and try to remake some of the things you’ve liked when you both go out on dates to make you happy—because it makes him happy too.

soonyoung (hoshi) - bringing you snacks when you’re busy

⟢ if soonyoung noticed you hadn’t gotten up to get food or drink water in a while, he would come in himself, giving you a plate of fruit or whichever snack you liked the most with a water bottle to keep by your side as you worked.

⟢ he’d do this even in the late hours, when you were studying for an exam or an important report for work, and give you something sweet as a treat—and a reminder that no matter what happens, he cares.

⟢ if you didn’t mind, he’d just sit with you in the same room and do something else to pass the time so you wouldn’t feel alone.

⟢ if he couldn’t be with you but knew you were working or studying long hours, he’d get food delivered to you—or deliver it to you himself again, showing up on your doorstep later at night, hoping a hug and a good meal will energize you.

wonwoo - fixing all your tech issues

⟢ honestly, this is something he’d be really good at.

⟢ like yes, he’s good at so many other things but as soon as you run into any problem whatsoever, he’d know how to help—even if he did have to watch a youtube tutorial or read a guide for your tv.

⟢ he’d fix his glasses right after he managed to fix that weird glitch where your google results were all in a different language or your phone would keep shutting down on you.

⟢ would definitely guide you through fixing anything if he couldn’t be there, and wake up sleepily to facetime so he could see the problem—his glasses askew and his bed hair on full display.

⟢ wonwoo would be proud to call himself your tech guy, especially if it made you smile—and besides, he’s happy he can help you with any challenges, even if it’s something simple.

jihoon (woozi) - planning surprise dates

⟢ jihoon, honestly, spends a lot of time on his own in the studio, and while you visit, he really knows he needs to get out of his second home sometimes—and a date with you is a good way to do that.

⟢ he’d do it shyly, calling you up to first ask if you were busy, and then ask if you could come meet him at the studio (he…can’t drive, otherwise he would pick you up.)

⟢ it’d be nothing much in his eyes: a stroll at a park nearby, learning something new, going out for dinner—simple things that were better when he did them with you. 

⟢ sometimes he’d just show up at your home with flowers, his face red, since he’d been encouraged by soonyoung to do so and be “more romantic for once!” (or at least, that’s how soonyoung saw it. he didn’t really know about the archive of songs that jihoon had written inspired by you, and you had only seen a few of them anyway.)

⟢ he’d always make sure to look into places where you would be interested so you could go together, and he could watch you be entertained by something you wanted to do—even if it wasn’t something he would do himself. 

seokmin (dokyeom) - notes of encouragement

⟢ seokmin’s the type of person to send long, long texts about how much he loves you and how proud he is of you every so often, especially if you’re busy and he can’t see you as much as he wants to!

⟢ he’d leave little notes around the kitchen after weekly movie night, so that when you wake up the next morning, he can see your reaction when you see his shameless puns on the colourful paper—which are all definitely related to whatever you watched. or you know, dad jokes. one of the two.

⟢ if he ever brought you lunch while you were out, he’d leave a little note telling you to eat well and message him so he knows you’re doing okay!

⟢ he wants to make sure you know you’re loved and when you write your own notes for him, he just about melts, giving you a gentle peck on the forehead and a long hug until you both end up giggling.

mingyu - fixing things around the house

⟢ yes, he may be clumsy but mingyu is always volunteering to build you new furniture or fix things you (or he) has broken.

⟢ every so often, he’ll just scan through the entire house under the pretense of cleaning for you when you’re busy, and creates a mental list of what to do. it’s like he’s trying to sneak around but it doesn’t really work because it’s so obvious where his gaze is.

⟢ he also loves to help you rearrange furniture too! like your own little interior design helper except you only pay him in cuddles on the couch…wherever you two put it.

⟢ would totally text you pictures of furniture if he goes to ikea and asks if you want them so he can just buy them for you (and so you can have a little date at home building whatever it is).

minghao (the8) -  watering your plants / taking care of your pets

⟢ he would show up early at your door, ready to help out if he was available—and something he would always do is take care of your babies (plants and/or pets!)

⟢ he’d water your plants for you, leaving a note to remind you to not do the same later, and hum to them to help them grow faster and stay healthy.

⟢ he’d also make sure to help out with grooming or feeding a pet—whatever you needed so you could focus on yourself first.

⟢ if you don’t have either, well he’d take care of the sleepy you by making sure you get through your morning swiftly and happily.

⟢ he’d be proud of making sure you were alright in the mornings, despite how hard it could be some days.

seungkwan - making sure you’re active

⟢ seungkwan loves to do sports and go on hikes and the such, and i think that he would want you to be with him!

⟢ obviously, he wouldn’t force you to but hey, you do need to stay active, and it’s better if it’s with him than on your own—plus, it’s more fun by his side.

⟢ he would totally buy you matching jackets to go hiking in, and always pick activities that you’re comfortable with doing.

⟢ he lights up every time you would say you’re having fun and would run over and give you a quick kiss before continuing your badminton match.

⟢ once you’re both tired out, it’s time for cuddles on the couch…and maybe a quick cheesy rom-com where you can both make fun of the protagonists.

⟢ eventually, he can see the difference in your strength and stamina, and it reminds him to keep working hard too, because you do the same for him.

hansol (vernon) - remembering you

⟢ hansol is a bit of a forgetful guy but he would never forget you (well, for the most part at least; he still has his moments). 

⟢ you’re brought up casually in most conversations he has simply because you’re so important to him that you can be brought up anytime.

⟢ everything and anything ends up reminding him of you, even if it’s not meant to. he’d tell you about most of them because he loves getting a text back full of love, or a smile on your face as a reply.

⟢ even if you’re not present, he’s always hyping you up without realizing. 

⟢ with you, he’s always sending you cat memes and posts in general saying “us” or “u n me fr” 

⟢ he takes pride in simply knowing you, and having the ability to be around you so much :)

chan (dino) - driving you around

⟢ we’ve all seen the dingo video where chan drives a fan somewhere, right? yeah that’s him on the daily with you.

⟢ you’re his passenger princess !! (gender neutral <3) and he makes sure you know it, always offering you a ride no matter where you need to go!

⟢ the grocery store? your friend’s house? the optometrist? [insert any ridiculous place he doesn’t need to accompany you to]? he’s already waiting for you outside.

⟢ this goes even if you’re fully capable of driving yourself because he knows it can be tiring getting on the road some days, but he’ll always brave the bad traffic if it’s for you. 

⟢ knight in shining armour? no, he’s your knight in a really nice car, one that, in his mind, has your name all over the passenger seat. 

⟢ other than that though, he would offer to take you for a late night drive often, with your choice of music on the aux as he drives you over to a spot he researched about weeks ago because it was the perfect couple spot (at least, that’s what it is according to google).

⟢ he’d have a huge smile on his face every time you waved at him before opening the door and plopping in right next to his side, where he could sneak glances at you while waiting for the light to turn green.