Midnight glow .:.

@serdtsa

Taesu should have known better, should have felt and acknowledged the tug of the coming storm, should have seen the darkening sky that loomed and threatened overhead. He had always been in tune with the weather, with the refreshing rain and the clash of thunder and lightning, and he should have known. But right before Taesu would have gotten ready for work, Jiho scrambled in through the front door, frantic and panicking over a spirit that had tailed him across half the city while attempting to follow him home. By the time Jiho had calmed enough to release Taesu and latch onto Haneul in his stead, Taesu was ten minutes late, and he still had to get ready. By the time Taesu walked out the door, he was twenty minutes late, and he left at a ran, completely neglecting the umbrella left beside the door.

Now, as the sky opens up and drenches Taesu in wave after cascading wave, soaking straight through his jacket and outfit to the bone, leaving the boy shivering with each gust of wind, Taesu also realizes with terrible dismay that he’s lost. He’d tried to take a short-cut a coworker had once brought up to him in hopes of saving time on the commute, but instead he finds himself standing in the middle of an empty sidewalk, staring blankly at dark stores and empty windows, unsure where to go and how to get there. But there! A saving grace appears in the form of a dim light down and across the street, and Taesu scrambles toward it without looking back.

    But those plans change of course, when the skies seems to just open up entirely. He hasn’t seen a rainstorm quite like this one in a long time, and going home doesn’t seem as tempting anymore. Sure he has his car, but it’s parked two blocks away he will be soaked to the bone before even getting there. “Not gonna do that.” He shakes his head as he finishes up in the front room, heading to the back of the store to make sure everything is in order for tomorrow. Trying to take things slowly, even if there’s not that much left. He’s been rushing for the past hour and a half, much to his own dismay. He sorts up his co-workers’ desks, makes sure everything is neat and clean and in place. Everything to make it easier, and maybe just to earn some plus points. Not that he has ever received any type of praise for the work e actually does, not even a thank you, but he still does it. Because hard work always leads to something good, at least that’s how he has been raised. 

This feeling of shame got slightly appeased as she hush him, quietly. Calm again, like she forever was. He always admired her for that. A storm could turn her world upside down, she would still take a breath, put her hair back in place and keep going just as if nothing had happened. She was classy, serene in any situation, when he was nervous and easily disconcerted. He had so many to learn from her, as much on a personal matter than about the vampire life. He wanted to learn to live in the sun, just like she did but also keep her calm facade no matter how dangerous the world was around her.

When he heard her words, euphoria slowly brought a smile on his lips. He quickly composed himself. She was alone. He found himself hoping that she was waiting for him, but he quickly chased the thought away. In twenty years, she probably had many lovers. And, after so many years feeling empty, Taekwoon felt an unknown sensation. He couldn’t tell what it was, because it was new to him. Quickly analyzing the situation, the vampire realised that he was jealous. Jealous of supposed lovers that could have shared her life. Curiosity caught him off guard and he almost interviewed her about it. But he was too proud for that, and somehow, he hoped she would wonfessed about it by herself.

He listened to her, enjoyed the simple view of her taking care of her hair, crouching to grab her bag. He savored the sight of her slender body moving gracefully, the moon reflecting on her pale skin. He couldn’t understand that no one never had a doubt about her. Her perfection was inhuman and everyone around her should have guessed she was more than the average mortal. But humans were stupid and they never tried looking further. They comforted themselves in their little boring life, too scared to live something extraordinary to even dare make a move.

When she seemed ready to follow him, he proposed his arm to her. The coddledstones were quite danregous and her heels were way too high for such a street. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” What the irony, after how he just treated her. He was relieved that she seemingly accepter to answer his questions. As she said, they would need time for that, and obviously, he had all the time he wanted. Careful to not go too fast, he strolled back straight to his huge flat. One thing he could thank her for, was to have given him the chance to, him too, develop his business, which had become prosperous through the years as well. His house was everything but a home. It was white, cold, barely decorated. A huge ivory piano occupied the main room, with two sofa and an armchair. Few art objects were displayed around the room but we couldn’t say that the space was warm and welcoming.

But then there was that moment when she first met Taekwoon, and everything changed. She has never. not for as long as she can remember, let someone into her life as quickly as she let him in. Never, have she had such intense feelings for someone so abruptly. Her world had been turned upside down in one night, and she didn’t regret it back then. She doesn’t now either. Not entirely. Just that she ruined it by fleeing. She won’t ever forgive herself for that, especially not now. When she has seen what it did to him. If anything she wants to mend that, but she is still unsure whether her words will be enough or not. One can never be sure ow another comes to react. And considering how difficult this little revelation is going to be to her, there is no other way for her to get around it than to plunge into it, head first. As if diving into ice-water. 

Her exterior remains as calm as always. It never changes, and when he offers her his arm she accepts it. Merely because it is a sweet gesture, and a pleasurable way to make their little stroll easier to get through.”Thank you.” Adding to it that now when she finally has the chance, Ksenija doesn’t want to lose another opportunity to be close to him. There’s no way of telling when it’ll happen again. If this will go well or not, she cannot decide. And it does have her terrified, to some extent. What if he doesn’t believe her? What if he doubts? Or worse, what if he blames her further? It has amber eyes wandering quite aimlessly for a while, as usually when she has a lot to think about, or when she’s stressed.

She dares to rest her head against his shoulder as they continue to walk. It calms her down, it always used to. That it still does has her lips curling into the smallest of smiles. Because at least this is still the same, although everything else around them has changed so drastically. But Ksenija remains silent throughout the entire walk, lips parting now and then, but words never leaving her lips, seemingly stuck in her throat. 

Upon reaching his home, she is a bit surprised, it is nothing like his old apartment. Not at all. She has many fond memories of his small student flat, and the contrasts has her brows furrowing for a sliver of a second. Not that she dislikes it, not at all, it simply feels a tad strange.She is all about clean and neat areas without too much clutter, but his place has less decorations than her own, and it surprises her. Still she looks around with curiosity in her demeanor, before looking back at him with a warm smile.  She slips out of her own coat, allows him to take it away from her without protesting. The chiffon blouse she’s wearing is still a little damp, but getting herself annoyed over small matters right now seems very far away. Unlike how she usually is in other situations. She lets her hair back down, strands falling into faint curls around her shoulders.   “Ah, yes. I’d like some wine.” She responds a bit later than expected, offering another smile at him. 

“I am sorry to have been violent. I… I…” The words die on his lips. He has so many things to tell her right now, but reality hits him again. They’re oustide, it’s raining and few people are looking at him, muttering together, probably about his outrageous behaviour towards a lady. “We should go somewhere else .I have many questions and… If you feel at ease to join me, I would like to ask them. Maybe, you can come to my place.”

He realized that he was still hungry, but at least, in his house he wouldn’t harm any innocent. He would have to behave with her but it would be fine. He had blood pack reserved for situations of crisis, and obviously that night was one of those.

Taekwoon bit his lower lip and looked at her with a curious shy smile. His life was empty, but just like he had thought previously, maybe hers wasn’t. “If you’re not waited… somewhere… At your home… Husband… Kids…” He was a bit incoherent. He didn’t want to face the truth. But if she had a fulfilled happy life, the sooner he knew, the better. He would have to move on for real this time, after getting his so wanted answers.

“Hush.” She utters quietly, offering up a small curl of red lips. “It’s alright. Don’t apologize.” She continues, eyeing him carefully for another few seconds. She does notice mumbling bypassers and if it weren’t for her wanting to avoid exposure, she would have gritted her teeth at them and hissed. Because they have no right to judge other people’s business. None at all. But she does send them an icy glare, hopefully settling some discomfort into the marrow of their bones. “Now is as good as ever isn’t it?” Ksenija says slowly, lips twisting in the faintest. She’s unsure wether she is ready for this or not. but it is indeed better to explain now, than trying to run away again. It only makes matters worse. 

“I’m not waited.” She shakes her head. “I live alone, aside from my cat, there’s no one else.” She offers another smile. She had truly forgotten how easy it was for her to speak with him. How sweet he actually is. “So there is nothing to worry about on that part. We have all the time we might need for this. And I would say we’d need quite a bit of it.” Slender fingers rub at her forehead, pushes wet hair back afterwards and tying them into a neat pony-tail. It’s the easiest way to keep herself from looking entirely perplexed. 

She remains still when he puts her coat back around her shoulders. It’s still warmer than the air around them, although a tad damp. It’s comfortable and she wraps it quite tightly around herself before scrambling to pick her purse up from the ground. She’ll have to have it cleaned properly and make sure it’s still in splendid condition. Or buy a new one, that might even be easier. 

He knows, as soon as she speaks, that she’s telling the truth. It was her own decision. But it still doesn’t tell him why she decided to turn him. He needed to know. He had been eager to know since the day he woke up, thirsty for blood. He was alone, but he knew it was her who turned him. She had been the last person he saw, that night. He cringed as the memories overwhelmed him once again. He had spent the most wonderful night ever with her and she destroyed the memory of it. He had been that traumatized that he never got intimate with a girl ever since then, that was kind of pathetic. She couldn’t guess, obviously but if he could have blushed, his cheeks would be pink right now.

He realized that she was in pain, physically and mentally, his questions attacking her, again and again. He was torn, between his thirst of revenge and the love and care he felt for her. Slowly and very carefully, he put a lock of her hair behind her ear, let his fingers trail on her jawline, towards her chin, and tenderly lift it to sink his eyes into her.

“I loved you a lot” she said and he believed her. At least, he could know he hadn’t been only a toy and a distraction. Maybe he hadn’t been as important as she was for him, but he meant something. She cared about him. She loved him. That thought calmed him down instantly. He had still unanswered questions left, but he felt, for a brief moment, relieved and at peace with himself. All of this, their story, was real. Their love was real.

He realized that it was slowly starting to rain, but he couldn’t care less. The words were turning into his head and he couldn’t think about anything else. His other worries left him for a moment, he would have time later to ask her about the whole story, but at that very moment, all that matter was them. She was there, he could touch her, see her, he could feel her and take her scent. After all those years they were reunited and nothing else matter.

The time had stop for him, no matter what would have happened around them now, he wouldn’t notice. His attention was all on her. He checked carefully  that he didn’t leave trace on her throat, his chest clenching as he noticed the form of his fingers on her pale skin. He suddenly hated himself for not be able to control his anger. In more than 20 years, he couldn’t have tamed his wild feelings. But the irony there was that it was her fault for him to have become like that. It was easier to blame her than to face his own weakness. He leaned carefully and kissed her bruises tenderly, before pulling away, watching her reaction.

— The way he touches her still feels the same, and she doesn’t mind the way he puts her hair  back behind her ear. The way his fingers feel when they trail down her jawline. It’s a familiar sensation. Her eyes are staring right into his, her amber glow mixed with silvery patterns — speaking on the turmoil behind her still quite controlled exterior. She’s unsure how she should react to all of this. Hands close to shaking as he laces her own fingers together. There are too many things circulating in her head at that moment, seeing him. Inhaling his scent. After all these years, it’s more familiar than ever. She can’t help the way her head spins, she has been running from this for so long that she has barely given herself time to reflect over what she’d do if it actually happened. 

She continues to look at the sky above their heads as the droplets fall quicker, blinking away the ones who end up clinging to her eyelashes. She spends a moment like that, pondering over what words to speak. Without much progress, because there are no real words she could ever utter to be able to mend this. To make him understand. Because she doesn’t even understand it herself. She wishes she could hide against his chest again, like she used to back then. Because that comfort he had been able to give her couldn’t be compared to anything, not in the least. And she continues to deny all those small details to herself. But it’s getting harder with each moment he spends right infront of him like that. So close, but still so far away, in one sense.

Ksenija notices the way he focuses on her, watches her as if time has stopped. How his eyes wander down towards her throat. She knows she’s most likely bruised, but she ignores it for now. It’s something she can spend time agonizing over later. And besides, it’ll heal within a day or two. Maybe less. She doesn’t expect what follows. The sensation of lips against her skin has her eyes closing for a moment, fingers slow as they grab a hold of his shirt. The rain is pouring by now but she doesn’t care anymore. She hasn’t been out in the rain like this for a very long time. 

He noticed her fear and he felt satisfaction worming inside him. A light smirk appeared on his face, even though his eyes still reflected sadness. She was way older than him, she made him, and yet, she was afraid. She was aknowledging his power. The body reaction she expressed when he called by her nickname made him realize that maybe he had meant something to her, but he needed to hear it out loud.

When she spoke, his rage unleashed again, he took the few steps between them and caught her at the throat, pinning her against the nearest wall, almost lifting her from the ground. His face was an inch from hers, staring intensely at her, all trace of sadness missing.

The way his fingers feel around her throat is strange, brick against her back feels strange too. And the need to breathe is slowly making her fall into something similar to panic. She doesn’t need to breathe, she reminds herself, but it is still a basic instinct, and she claws at his hands with her own slender fingers to try to get him to let go. Her eyes don’t cower however, and Ksenija looks right back into his intense hues. Her hair has fallen into her face, hands slowly stopping their motions and she gives in. It hurts, it really does. And it’s the first time she has felt pain in at least ten years. It ignites fire in her veins again, as if she’s regaining lost knowledge about being alive. 

But he’s so different like this. Still beautiful. But different.  His aura threatening and anger so obviously displayed in the dark of his eyes. She remembers him as kind, not like this. Ksenija is aware, that it is indeed her doings, most likely.  She has had a lot of time to process it, her leaving without warning. And the guilt that had been there at first has slowly faded, But seeing him like this, still has her stomach twisting. It’s unlike her, very much so. But love always changes people. Without a doubt. 

There is rage laced with every word he speaks, and she takes the smallest of steps backwards. It’s instinctive, really. Mainly because during her human years, she experienced a lot of anger. mostly from men, rejected for her own benefits. It wasn’t an easy time, escaping with bruises and tears. But she got through it back then and she can definitely get through it now, if she’d have to stand up for herself like that. But Taekwoon’s words still hurt, hearing her nickname fall from his lips still makes her hunch. But she doesn’t take her eyes away from him, not for a single moment. If anything, when rage slowly turns into sadness, in the likes of pure despair, it only makes things worse. How does she answer to such accusations? To words she won’t admit are actually true? 

“I did what I had to do.”