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“You said you were thirsty.”
Kai raises his brows, tired eyes flitting back and forth between the goblet on the table in front of him and the hand resting firm on his shoulder. Even the gentle weight of that hand makes him ache, his body feels worn and sore from the stone floor he’s been forced to sleep on each night since he arrived in the castle. The cold seems to seep into his bones during slumber and each night he’s awoken by his own shivering, by another crick in his neck, another twinge. The exhaustion might kill him before his captor, if he’s lucky. The hand on his shoulder tightens and breath ghosts over his ear - the creature always takes great joy in breaking the boundaries of his personal space. Kai’s long since stopped complaining about it, it only gets him beaten.
“Drink,” the creature says. The order comes out as a smooth purr, it almost wills Kai to follow it without question. He doesn’t, he’s far too seasoned a hunter to give in to a vampire’s persuasion, but in his weakened state he considers it for a moment. The
thing
, Dabi if he has to use its name, digs his nails into the meat of his shoulder. “Aren’t you thirsty, Kai?”
Yes.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
God, yes.
Dabi left him without food or water for three days as punishment for trying to escape, he said that ‘
bad pets don’t get treated’
. Which is why it comes as a surprise to be greeted with the sight of a hall table creaking under the weight of the feast placed on it. It’s laden with what looks like enough food to feed an army - scrambled eggs, sizzling bacon, toast, muffins bursting at the seams with dribbling blueberries, jars of preserves and mountains of colourful fruit. Were it not for the tantalising smell, Kai might think the display is fake. But no, there it is, the smell positively overwhelming him, calling to the taste buds on his tongue. There’s wine too, old, expensive looking bottles from foreign vineyards he’s never heard of, dotted around the table and flanked with glasses.
It’s a beautiful vision to a half-starved, dehydrated man. Kai doesn’t trust it for a second.
“No. I’m stuffed. I’m full. I’m satiated beyond all measure,” Kai replies, voice hoarse from the lack of water. “I simply couldn’t eat an-”
The vampire’s hand slides into his hair and forces his head back. It’s an uncomfortable position and Kai hates the way Dabi is staring down at him with that familiar, arrogant smirk on his face, eyes glimmering with amusement. When his grin widens, those vicious little fangs of his poke out over his bottom lip. Kai almost winces at the sight of them, remembering the terrible affect their poison took on his body. To be reduced to such a quivering mess, especially while having his blood drained slowly from his body, it was awfully undignified.
“I think you should drink that glass of wine, Kai. It’s good. It’s delicious,” Dabi hums, hunching over the back of Kai’s chair to get closer to his face. “It’s not poison. I would never do that to you.”
He would never do that to you,
a soft voice murmurs in the back of Kai’s head. It’s such a pretty voice, it speaks so clearly compared to his own muddled thoughts these days. Perhaps he should listen to it, maybe then it will speak more, soothe him-
“Get off me,” Kai hisses, shaking his head free of Dabi’s grip. He won’t let his mind be infiltrated again, he won’t bend to this creature’s will a second time. “I told you I’m not
thirsty
.”
The vampire scoffs and rounds the chair to walk to the other end of the table. “That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“I don’t like it when you lie.”
That lesson was driven into his head a few weeks ago, after another escape attempt had been thwarted. Kai mistakenly mumbled out that he’d just been going for a walk, he wasn’t running away, he’d never run away from his master like that. Dabi had thrown him into one of the pits in the cellars of the house among the rotting bones of his other victims and repeated
‘I don’t like it when you lie’
over and over as he filled the pit with soil, covering Kai from head to toe in filth. When the soil started to grow heavy on his chest and fill his nose, Kai began screaming for forgiveness. The
dirt
sent him spiralling into a fit of panic, he went wild and scrabbled at the walls as he tried to tug his legs out of the growing pile. He wailed his apologies at the top of his lungs until the soil entered his mouth and then he could scream no more. Dabi left him there, with barely enough space to breath, for what felt like hours. When he eventually returned and dragged Kai from the soil the man was beside himself, he sobbed hysterically into Dabi shirt and tucked himself into the vampire’s embrace, all the while promising that he would never lie again.
“I’m sorry,” Kai blurts out, squeezing his fingers tightly against his thighs. He tries to keep his breathing even but he can almost
feel
the soil pressing down on him, forcing its way into him, he can taste it on the back of his tongue and it makes him tremble. “I’m so thirsty, Dabi. I’ll drink it, please, I’m sorry-”
“It’s fine,” Dabi waves a hand at him dismissively and he shuts his mouth. The sigh of relief Kai breathes comes too soon. “Now
drink
. You’re thirsty.”
He’s poisoned it, he’s fucking poisoned it with something and there’s nothing Kai can do to turn it down. Perhaps Dabi’s already bored of him and he’s going to be one of those rotting corpses in the cellar by the end of the night. The vampire’s face splits in an awful smile as he watches Kai reach for the goblet. The glimmer of teeth in the candlelight taunts him as he raises the cup to his lips and starts to drink.
“There we go, was that so hard?” Dabi says. It seems his voice is so much closer to his ear than his mouth is. It’s like he’s just behind him, whispering, breath seems to brush over his skin. The liquid runs across Kai’s tongue - it’s so much
thicker
than he expected. “Isn’t it tasty?”
It’s
awful
. Half a second into drinking from the goblet Kai realises exactly what is running down the back of his throat. It’s the metallic tang that gives it away and as soon as the penny drops Kai curses himself because
of course
it’s blood. Whose, he has absolutely no idea, for all he he knows it could be his own. The thought makes him gag, the taste makes him heave, it’s foul, it’s
foul-
“You love it, don’t you?” Dabi purrs. He’s challenging Kai to stop, he’s daring him to refuse to drink anymore and as much as it sickens him, Kai doesn’t take the bait. Blood rolls over his tongue and clings to the back of his throat before dripping down to his stomach. His guts squirm and he almost brings some of it back up but with one final gulp, Kai gets the entire goblet down and slams it down onto the table. A thin dribble of blood slips out from between his lips and runs down his chin.
Dabi chuckles under his breath and leans against his elbows, chin coming to rest on the flat of his knuckles. “Isn’t it divine? It’s my favourite.”
My favourite.
That’s what Dabi called him the first time he fed from him. That’s what he calls Kai
every
time he feeds from him.
You taste so fucking beautiful, Kai. You’re my favourite, my absolute favourite.
“It’s- it’s wonderful,” Kai heaves, gripping the arms of the chair tightly as he tries to keep the blood down. He forces a strained smile to his face and nods. “You’re right.”
“Good,” Dabi hums. He raises a hand and taps on his own chin with a smirk on his face. “You’ve got some on your face, beautiful. Such a messy boy.”
“Oh- thank you,” Kai gasps, hands trembling as he wipes his lips with with napkin laid out in front of him. He stands with a little too much vigour and sends the chair clattering to the floor. God, it feels fucking awful - he knows what’s churning around in his stomach, he knows
exactly
whose fucking blood it is and it’s absolutely disgusting. Nausea pitches his guts, he’s going to throw up but he can’t do it here or Dabi will find out and he might force it back inside him. “Please may I be excused? I n-need to go to the bathroom.”
Dabi grins and his sharp teeth glimmer in the candlelight. He looks utterly delighted. If only Kai had this hunting equipment with him, oh how he would enjoy driving a stake straight into that mouth. “Of course. Run along.”
Somehow Kai manages to keep himself calm as he walks to the door but the moment he’s out of the dining hall he picks up his pace and flat out sprints to the nearest bathroom. There’s one in the second corridor, the same awful place where Dabi first drank from him, the time he dumped him in the bath and sliced into his throat. Anxiety creeps in alongside the nausea and Kai barely has time to lock the door before he starts heaving. He slaps a hand over his mouth as he stumbles to the bathtub and collapses to his knees by the rim. There’s already streams of red flowing from between the cracks in his fingers, it drips to the floor and stains his shirt, but thankfully he gets his head over the edge of the bath in time for the worst of it.
It tastes even more disgusting coming up.
Violent red splatters all over the white of the tub and up onto the wall behind it. Kai grips the rim of the tub tighter and continues retching, spewing the contents onto the porcelain. Vomiting has always been one of Chisaki’s most hated sicknesses, it’s so filthy and messy and exhausting. Blood dribbles down his chin and seeps into his collar, turning the white into a vivid scarlet. There’s so much of it, it seems like an hour has passed before he’s coughing up nothing, though of course it can’t be more than a couple of minutes. His throat is rough and sore by the time he’s done, there was so much acidic bile mixed in with the last few retches that it hurts to swallow. But it’s out, thank fuck it’s out. Kai spits a final time then pulls away from the tub and turns to rest his back against it. He gulps in fresh air and wipes his face using his spoiled shirt before pulling the ruined garment over his head. There’s no point in keeping it, there’s a few more in the laundry cupboard near the shithole that has been designated as his room.
Creak.
Kai isn’t shocked when he hears the door swing open, in fact he’s surprised the vampire didn’t arrive sooner. Dabi smirks down at him from the other side of the threshold, one arm resting against the doorframe. His gaze rakes over Kai’s chest, down to the bloody shirt on the floor, then back to the man’s weary eyes. A vile smirk stretches across his face and those pearly fangs peek out from his lips.
“Oh dear. Was my beautiful thing a little sick?” Dabi taunts, feigning innocence. He stalks forward and drops down onto the balls of his feet in front of Kai. “Shall we get you cleaned up?”
Kai swallows and winces in pain. “N-not another bath, please-“
The creature places his hands beneath Kai’s armpits and drags him upright as if he weighs little more than a bag of sugar. He smiles in Kai’s face and leans forward, tongue darting out to lap at some of the blood spatter on his chin. Kai shudders at the feeling of his cold mouth sucking up the disgusting fluid clinging to his face and the gentle scratching of his fangs as he moves across his skin, up to his ear. The proximity to the creature always has a strange effect on him, it’s a dizzying sort of high that makes his body feel light and his mind turn sluggish. A flush spreads over his cheeks when Dabi’s hands start roaming his chest, nails scraping gently over his nipples.
“Don’t,” Kai breathes, squirming under Dabi’s grip. He screws his eyes shut as the vampire starts lapping at his favoured spot for feeding, a few inches below his ear. The touch of his lips feels electric, his skin already feels over sensitive and he’s barely been touched.
Dabi laughs and the sound vibrates against the side of his neck. The feeling makes Kai let out a very undignified groan, a noise that only intensifies when Dabi starts pinching at his nipples. The creature’s nails are sharp, soon the soft tissue is swollen and red from the pressure and Kai is panting from the strange mix of pain and delight.
“Don’t what, baby?” the vampire asks, nudging his nose against the rapid throbbing of Kai’s pulse through his jugular. “If you want something, I’ll need something in return.”
That’s always the way with him - give and take and take and
take
. Kai arches his back forward and tries to push him off but the vampire holds him tight and opens his mouth in warning, breath coming out cold against the damp patch of skin. Kai splutters and tries to ignore the growing heat in the pit of his stomach. This is the worst part of all of this, it’s disgusting how much he enjoys being mauled by this creature. It’s his influence that does it, it’s far from a natural feeling, but it makes Kai feel undeniably heady and hot and he’s spent many an embarrassing night in this place quietly jerking himself off without Dabi noticing. He would hate the creature to know the effect he has on him.
“I don’t want you to bite me, I- I can’t handle that now,” Kai says, going completely still as Dabi’s hands continue to roam over his torso. They settle on his hips and push him backwards so he’s seated on the rim on the tub. Dabi looms over him, one hand on the tub by his hip. There’s a hungry look in his eyes and Kai worries his words are falling on deaf ears. “I’ll pass out. I need to eat, I need water.”
Dabi strokes a hand over his cheek and cooes softly. His fingers trail down to Kai’s sore mouth and start tracing over his bloody lower lip. “You can have all of that, pretty one. But you gotta give me what
I
want in return.”
Kai speaks before he means to. “Anything.”
“Anything, huh? That’s quite a dangerous word,” Dabi laughs, bending at the waist to lean down to Kai’s eye level. “How ‘bout this, baby - you can have all the food and water and wine you want. Fuckin’ gorge yourself everyday and become a fat, spoiled little prince, I don’t care. I’ll treat you real nice, no more cellar trips and-”
“No more baths?” Kai croaks.
The creature smiles sweetly, so, so sweetly, and Kai feels the tension in his shoulders start to ease. Dabi really is very pretty this close up, even with those awful scars marring his face. His lovely eyes are still so sharp compared to his smile.
“No more nasty baths either,” he chuckles, tapping the end of his captive’s nose. The warm feeling bubbling in Kai’s chest grows more delightful and his head swims with happiness. Dabi’s so nice when he wants to be, he treats him so well when he’s good for him. He laughs along with Dabi and lets the creature cradle his face in both hands. “And I just want one thing, beautiful. That okay?”
Kai hums and shuts his eyes, burying his face into the cool hold of Dabi’s hands. “What is it?”
“I want my favourite hunter to come to my bed with me. And then I want you to spread that fat little ass of yours-” the beast’s fingers dig in to the soft flesh of his cheeks and Kai’s eyes pop open again in surprise. “-and take my cock like the nasty slut I know you are.”
The immediate disgust he feels at the vile request is dampened by the creature’s influence but it’s still strong enough to make Kai give pause. “You want me to go to bed with you?”
Dabi moans as he nods his head and steps closer so that his knee is between Kai’s splayed legs, brushing up against his cock through his trousers. Kai jerks at the touch but he can’t move very far due to the hands gripping his face. “I’d be so
happy
if you did, Kai.”
So happy
. Kai listens to him dumbly, exhausted mind shot and overwhelmed and useless beneath the vampire’s crushing stare. He’s not even agreed yet and already Dabi is sliding a hand down the front of his trousers.
“Fuck, I’ve wanted to wreck you ever since I first tasted you. You’re
so
mouth-watering it drives me crazy.”
A cold, dead hand wraps around his cock and Kai gives in, the last wisps of fight are snuffed out. His eyes go glassy as Dabi wraps an arm around his waist to hold him upright. All the stress and tension oozes out of him and he becomes boneless, weightless in the terrible creature’s embrace.
“I don’t usually fuck my food, Kai. But there’s a first time for everything, right?”
“Yeah,” Kai slurs. His sluggish brain registers the sensations of being jerked off but it feels strange, like he’s only half experiencing it. It feels good though, it’s better than being beaten and tormented by a long shot. Perhaps if he were in his right mind he would realise the manipulation and he’d be more horrified with the acts being done to him. “N-nice, Dabi. Feels nice. ‘M be good f’you.”
The vampire laughs and kisses the side of his throat, tongue darting out to taste his skin. “Oh yeah? Gonna be my favourite fuck toy?”
“Wha’ever y’want.”
“Gonna let me feed from you when I want?”
Kai nods and his heavy eyes droop.
“Good,” Dabi purrs. He leans back and meets Kai’s gaze, sharp blue cutting momentarily through the pretty fog clouding the human’s head. Cold fills Kai’s chest. “You’re gonna stay with me forever, aren’t you?”
God, please no.
His traitorous, slow mouth won’t get those words out.
Kai smiles and drools starts running down his chin. “Forever.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
In a rare moment of clarity, Kai decides to run.
Dabi is holed away in his casket, sleeping during the daylight hours, and thus his hypnotic influence over his captive has waned. It’s rare that Dabi allows Kai control of his own mind these days, he seems to be satisfied with keeping him a glassy-eyed doll that he can dress up and feed from and push around as he pleases. It’s an awful feeling, Kai is still aware of what is happening to him but it feels like he’s observing his own life through frosted glass, the memories are blurry sketches of reality. It’s awful, but it’s better than the moments when the fog clears and the pains wracking his body become sharp. Everything hurts, his muscles ache and his neck is riddled with bites - Dabi’s doesn’t seem to care much about his well-being beyond keeping him alive.
Alive
, but not living. The hell that is his current reality is not a life. It’s this conclusion that makes Kai clamber to his feet that morning, exhausted and limping but determined. He’s terrified of what might happen if he’s caught but he can’t waste his lucidity, he can’t wait another second or Dabi might wake up. Leaving his chamber is surprisingly easy. There’s no-one around at this time of day, the creature and his servants are nocturnal and though the castle has few windows they still choose to sleep when the rest of the world is awake to avoid the sun.
Kai forgot how beautiful sunlight is. The moment he sneaks through the door at the back of the kitchens, warmth washes over his face and he’s temporarily blinded by the glare from above. He raises an arm to shield his weary eyes and lets them adjust to the brightness, to the colours of the grass and the flowers and the watery blue of the sky. It seems fake at first, it’s almost like he’s staring at a painting, but it has to be real, Kai can feel the warm breeze on his face and hear birds chirping overhead. It smells fresh, not like the acrid, heady aroma inside the castle.
The door shuts behind him with a click and he starts walking forward into the gardens. His feet are bare but the grass is soft, it’s so much more pleasant than the cold stone he usually walks on. Although his body still aches and his pace is slow, a glimmer of hope sparks in Kai’s chest. He’s outside, he’s leaving, he could be rid of the monster in the castle forever so long as he’s careful. The thought of freedom coupled with the warmth of the sun on his thin, pasty skin makes him choke up. Kai heads onto the pathway that leads into the woods surrounding the castle, careful to mind the branches and stones on the floor so as not to slice open his feet.
He’s ridden around these woods before, back when he was a successful hunter and Dabi had been his target rather than his captor, but without a compass and map he can barely tell which direction he’s supposed to be heading in. His intended destination is a small village on the other side of the woods, one with a church that he would be able to take refuge in while he gets his strength back up. Dabi won’t be able to touch him if he’s on sacred land. So he presses on and on and
on
, traipsing through indistinguishable swathes of woodland until the sun passes overhead and the sky turns a pretty shade of pink. Kai stops for a break in a clearing after a while of walking without direction and leans back against a tree too look at the sky. How long has he been walking for? Has he even covered any ground? The village should be a couple of hours north of the castle, that much he remembers. He looks up at the trees and tracks the side where there seems to be more moss growing - hopefully this should help him trek vaguely north. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t eat more last night, he’s exhausted already and he hasn’t seen anything that would pass as edible in the forest so far. It’s getting dark too, which worries him as it will be more difficult to find his way.
“More difficult to avoid the vampires as well.”
Whatever warmth remains in Kai’s body from his time in the sun seems to seems out at the sound of a familiar voice beside his ear. He stiffens up as he turns his head to find the creature he’s been running from leaning back against the tree beside him. Dabi smiles at him and reaches out to curl a hand around his knee. Kai doesn’t move, or speak, he barely breathes.
“Did you enjoy your little walk? You went in so many circles that you’re barely a few miles from the castle. Weren’t you one of the ‘best hunters of your generation’, Kai? I think you’re losing your touch,” the creature says, squeezing Kai’s leg. When he doesn’t reply Dabi clicks his tongue and his smile fades into a displeased frown. “Your pretty legs must be
so
tired from all that trekking around, right? Why don’t I carry you home?”
Kai starts shaking his head desperately and jerks out of Dabi’s hold. There’s no way he’s going back to the castle, he can’t, it will kill him. He tries to push himself to his feet but the creature catches his ankle before he can dart away and he’s sent crashing face first into the dirt. Soil crams up his nose and into his mouth but it’s the last thing that bothers him when Dabi’s pulling him backward onto his lap. For once he finds the courage to be
angry
about the injustice rather than beg for forgiveness, perhaps spurred on by the brief taste of freedom. Kai starts shrieking obscenities at him -
worthless, disgusting vampire filth! Leave me be you blood-sucking cunt! -
but Dabi just laughs as he manhandles him over his shoulder and easily rises to his feet.
“You’ve got a foul mouth, love,” Dabi comments, setting off into the woodland. He’s got one arm wrapped around Kai’s waist to hold him still against his shoulder and the other squeezing intermittently at his squirming legs and backside. “Stop wriggling around.”
“Fuck you!” Kai screeches, pounding his fists against the creature’s back. “Just let me go!”
Dabi lets out a wheezy laugh. “Why would I do that? You’re the most fun I’ve had in years. Now
stop
fucking wriggling, I won’t ask again.” Kai’s beyond obeying orders at this stage and starts viciously kicking Dabi’s torso, hoping to catch him in one of those tender stapled areas to cause him distraction. Unfortunately his aim is off and all he succeeds in doing is riling Dabi up. “Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The grip on his waist tightens suddenly, then Dabi swings himself to the right and smacks Kai’s flailing legs hard into the trunk of a tree. The bones of his ankles crack loudly, painfully, and Kai screams into the fabric of Dabi’s coat. He clutches at the creature’s shoulders when he feels him draw back a second time and begins sobbing out barely coherent curses. The pain of the repeated blow to his legs makes his head spin and he slumps over Dabi’s shoulder in angry defeat to avoid it happening again. His ankles are throbbing severely, when the vampire hoists him up on his shoulder he feels his bones grinding and knows that he won’t be able to walk on them for a while.
“Y’fucking bastard,” Kai slurs, dizzy with pain. “M-my ankles ‘r broken.”
“Mhm,” Dabi hums, patting him on the ass. “Can’t run on broken ankles, right sweetheart?”
For once Kai is happy to pass out.
“Really, it was a very silly idea. You can’t expect to go far in those woods,” Dabi mutters, pulling Kai’s shirt over his head. He discards the dirt covered garment on the floor and peers down at the now-naked man in the bathtub, lips curving into a frown. “It’s dangerous out there, you know?”
Kai continues staring at his mangled ankles, disturbed by the dark bruising and awful swelling around the misshapen bones. “It’s dangerous in here too.”
“Only if you’re an idiot and do things like try to run away,” the creature retorts, curling his upper lip. With a sigh, he turns the taps on and ignores the sound of protest Kai makes when they come out cold. They’ll heat up eventually but it’s always a shock. Dabi crouches down and folds his arms on the rim of the tub, leaning his chin on his forearm. His hard gaze meets Kai’s and if the hunter weren’t so exhausted he might have shrunk under the intensity of it. “If you try and run again I will not be so lenient.”
“Lenient?” Kai snaps before he can stop himself. “You broke my an-”
Dabi leans forward and cuts him off. “At least you’ve still got ankles.”
The threat is clear and far more severe than Kai ever wants to experience. He remains silent as the bath fills, trying to let himself enjoy the rare luxury of warm, scented water. The experience is marred by the terrible pain in his ankles and Dabi’s hands all over him, lingering in places they shouldn’t as they wash the dirt off his skin. The creature does wash him thoroughly at least, sponging under his armpits and washing all the soil from his hair. He cleans the inside of his thighs of the cum that dried there days ago. It feels good to be free of the dirt for once. It might be the only freedom he gets for the rest of his life. The thought makes sadness well up and tighten his chest.
“Could you hypnotise me, Dabi?” Kai asks, quietly. He turns his head to meet Dabi’s eyes as he’s wringing out the sponge.
“You don’t like it when I do that,” the vampire replies. His voice is calmer than before but there’s no way Kai can ever trust him. “Why do you ask now?”
Kai gestures to his broken ankles. “I’m in a lot of pain. It- it usually feels better when you-”
“No,” he interrupts. There’s no room from protest in the sharpness of that word. “You won’t learn unless you bear it.” The plug is popped out of the tub and the water begins to seep noisily down the drain. Kai watches blankly as Dabi stands and brushes off his trousers. He shouldn’t have expected any pity, but the response still hurts. “I’m going to get you some clothes.”
The creature doesn’t bother telling Kai not to move because he knows the man can hardly go far on broken ankles. When Dabi disappears from the bathroom, Kai just lays in the draining tub staring at the ceiling and cursing his life. It’s cold without the warm water around him and he soon starts to shiver. He wonders whether or not dying is his only way out now or if waiting for someone to save him is still a viable option. But who would do such a thing - Hari is the only one loyal enough to try but he’s far too rational a thinker to believe that Kai is still alive. Perhaps he can ‘slip’ when Dabi next feeds from him and slice open a major artery. The vampire reappears moments later with a neatly folded pile of clean clothes in his arms. His expression is a little softer than when he left, a change that Kai is suspicious of but grateful for.
“Okay, let’s get you dressed,” Dabi hums, setting the clothes onto the sink counter. He picks up a towel and slings it over his shoulder as he moves toward the bath, whistling a low tune to himself.
Kai lets himself be picked up and laid out on the bath mat, he even stays quiet as the creature dries him off and comments on ‘
how thin he’s getting
’, like it’s not his fault in the first place. When Dabi is finished he discards the towel and drops the stack of clothes into Kai’s lap. He slowly unfolds them and frowns when he finds that there’s only a shirt and a loose pair of boxers.
“You forgot trousers,” Kai says as he pulls on the shirt. It’s a loose fitting thing, black and a bit too big for him which indicates it might be one of Dabi’s own. He carefully pulls the boxers over his broken feet and wriggles into them. “I need trousers.”
Dabi snorts and leans back against the wall as he watches Kai struggle into the shirt. “You don’t need no fucking trousers. It’s easier for me, plus your ankles need lookin’ after.”
“It’s easier-?” Kai repeats, confused. Dabi points at his own crotch and he makes a face. “Oh. Right. You still want to do that.”
“Yeah.”
The creature moves to crouch beside him, one hand coming to tuck beneath his chin. He smiles at Kai like he’s fond of him. Without the hypnotism it isn’t nearly as pleasant.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Dabi murmurs, leaning down to brush his lips over Kai’s throat. “You’re so beautiful.”
He doesn’t feel beautiful. No, he feels disgusting and headed down and pained. Kai feels so far from the proud, Bain man he used to be. Dabi slips a hand beneath his shirt and strokes over his stomach. When he smiles, the stitches at the corner of his lips creak.
“It must be
so
easy to be lovely,” Dabi sighs. He kisses Kai’s throat and pulls back. The look he’s wearing is strangely pensive, even when he meets Kai’s eye. “Normally I hate perfect, pretty things. But I like you Kai.”
It feels as if he’s talking about something that Kai doesn’t understand, something bigger than the two of them. Dabi winds an arm around his neck and pulls him into a mockery of a hug. There’s no comfort, Kai’s so tense he feels like his bones are rattling. The creature starts mouthing at his throat, breath spilling cold against the underside of his ear.
“Fuck, I’m so thirsty,” Dabi mumbles, pausing to suck gently at a spot over one of the thicker veins on Kai’s neck. He groans to himself quietly, as if he can taste the blood through his skin. Kai swallows beneath his lips and closes his eyes in preparation for the sharp pain that’s become so familiar recently - but it never comes. Instead Dabi just keeps kissing him while his hands roam beneath his shirt, scratching lightly over his stomach muscles and pinching at the soft tissue of his chest.
Kai tries to ignore the slight twinges of pleasure that spark beneath his skin as Dabi’s fingers tickle over him. “If you’re going to bite me just do it already.”
Dabi chuckles and pecks him on the cheek before leaning back, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “If I bite you, your legs will heal up too quickly.”
Of
course
, Kai wants to slap himself for his stupidity. What were all those years training and studying vampires for? Their bites, if not fatal, are known to heal moderate injuries - a measure for the vampires themselves, so they don’t lose prey to their wounds too quickly. He’s loathed to offer up his neck to Dabi but if it’ll help alleviate any permanent damage to his feet then he’ll do it in a heartbeat. Before he can say anything further the creature hoists him off the floor into his arms, holding him bridal style much to Kai’s embarrassment. They move out of the bathroom and down the corridor, heading back to Dabi’s quarters.
“Don’t you need to feed?” Kai asks, tilting his head to the side to expose his throat. “I won’t fuss.”
Dabi snorts and shakes his head. “Nice try, beautiful.”
Kai pouts and sullenly drops his head against Dabi’s chest as he’s carried back into the bedroom. He decides to mull over a plan to get Dabi to drink from him again, he doesn’t want to be carried everywhere for the next couple of months until he’s fully healed. It’ll be tough as the creature knows that’s his goal, perhaps Kai will need to shed a little pride and stoop to methods he wouldn’t usually try.
In an unusual act of kindness, Dabi lets him sleep in the bed rather than on the stone floor at the end of it. It’s better on his mangled ankles and much warmer, so the change is appreciated. The downside of this that the vampire decides to move out of his casket to the bed as well and he is
very
clingy. Half the time Kai finds it difficult to move because of the iron grip of the arms around his waist. It’s rather annoying but it has led to some opportunities to try and tempt Dabi into feeding from him.
If Kai wakes first he’ll position himself so Dabi will come to with his nose in his neck, blood throbbing right beneath his nostrils and an arm cast over his chest, underside up, so the web of veins on his wrist are obvious. The first few times it looks as if Dabi might crack but he never does, he just hurries out of bed and mutters something about needing to shower. It’s aggravating but Kai keeps on pushing it until the moment Dabi shoves him back and gives him a look that says
‘I know what you’re trying to do’
.
It’s as Kai is staring at his hideously misshapen, bandaged-up feet that he decides it’s time to up the ante. The vampire isn’t reacting to subtlety so he’s going to play on Dabi’s lust for him instead. It makes him feel disgusting, like a common whore, but what other options does he have when he’s laid up in bed with no way to move. He waits patiently until the next time Dabi decides to change his clothes and starts working up the courage as his shirt is removed. His pulse quickens as he looks up at Dabi through his eyelashes and raises his hips to allow him to slide his boxers off. The movement is slower that usual, he takes his time and makes sure Dabi notes the way his body rolls and his stomach muscles flex. It gets the desired reaction and the vampire unconsciously licks over one of his fangs. For a moment it looks as if Dabi is going to reach forward and touch his chest but his hand stills in the air and he quickly draws back.
“I’ll get you some clean clothes,” the creature mumbles, turning away from Kai. He heads out of the room at a pace a little quicker than necessary.
Kai scowls and pounds a fist against the bedsheets in frustration. Can’t the damn vampire just give in already? He lowers a hand to his cock and feels heat rush to his face as he starts tentatively stroking it. Seduction isn’t exactly one of Kai’s strong points but he knows how to get his blood pumping hard - hopefully that will be enough to set Dabi on him again. Sex has never really been of any interest to Kai, he’s been too focused on hunting and restoring the influence of his clan across the country to bother with ‘relationships’ and the like. Sure, he has baser needs like everyone else but they’re easily and quickly taken care of.
Thus it feels odd to jerk himself off like this, slow and for the purpose of working himself up into a sweaty, blood-flushed mess. The process is quicker than expected, it really doesn’t take much at all to make himself hard. Kai shuts his eyes and bites down on his lower lip as he twists his hand around his length - Dabi likes it when he tries to keep quiet. He likes it even more when he fails. A low whine falls from Kai’s swollen lips and he carefully spreads his thighs wider, mindful of his feet. Precum oozes from the tip of his cock and pools on his belly as he strokes himself, languid and indulgent, all the while moaning like a over-exuberant prostitute.
Across the room, the door creaks open and Kai just screws his eyes shut to avoid looking at Dabi as he enters the room. He hears a surprised hum, then a chuckle, then the bed bedside him dips and the presence of the creature leaning over him. It’s only when cool breath ghosts over his face that Kai opens his eyes. Dabi’s right up close to him, grinning that awful smile of his, eyes dilated with lust.
“Feeling a bit frustrated?” the vampire teases, resting a hand on Kai’s knee. He trails his fingers up to mid-thigh. “What’s got you so worked up, baby?”
Kai licks over his bottom lip and inwardly curses himself for acting like this. But he swallows down his anxieties and arches his back against the sheets as he swipes his fingers through the mess on the head of his cock and sticks it along the shaft down to the base. God it feels so disgusting, he hopes Dabi will be lenient enough to clean him after this. He droops his eyelids in a way he hopes looks sexy rather than stupid.
“I’ve been missing your fangs in me,” Kai says, changing his tone to the perfect amount of breathless. He lifts his free hand and grabs a fistful of Dabi’s shirt to pull the vampire closer. This is wrong. It’s okay, it’s
okay
, he doesn’t mean any of it. He presses his lips to the corner of Dabi’s mouth. “I want you to bite me.”
The creatures hums and wrap a hand around Kai’s wrist to gently tug him free of his shirt. His lovely blue eyes glimmer with intrigue - it looks like he’s actually considering it. He looks
hungry.
“I didn’t think you go this far Kai, colour me impressed,” Dabi laughs quietly, leaning forward to nudge their noses together. When he smiles Kai can feel his fangs brush the soft tissue of his lower lip. “But as pretty as a whore you make, I don’t think you’ve learned y-“
Kai hears the first hint of denial and goes for a more drastic option. He sinks his teeth into tongue and bites down until he feels blood burst thick and tangy from it. Dabi looks at him like he’s gone insane - and fuck it, maybe he
has
, he’s just taken a good chunk out of his own tongue just to get the creature to bite him. He opens his mouth and lets the vile fluid dribble down his chin. His eyes lock on Dabi’s, hard with challenge.
While the vampire is still stunned, Kai sits up and grabs his shirt again, this time with both hands, so he can drag him closer and force their mouths together. It’s barely a kiss, it’s too messy and uncoordinated, Kai’s basically just thrusting his bloody tongue into Dabi’s mouth to pique his thirst. A growl rumbles low in Dabi’s chest as he starts to respond. He winds one hand to the back of Kai’s head and threads into his hair, while the other drops to wrap around his neglected cock.
Dabi’s surprisingly passionate in the way he kisses and he’s a lot gentler than Kai remembers from those vague, hazy memories when he was under the influence of the vampire’s hypnotism. His long fingers feel good in his hair and stroking his dick, Kai wishes he could rut harder up into the movements but his broken ankles restrict him.
Broken ankles,
right. That’s the whole reason he’s doing this.
Kai pulls back from the kiss with a vile wet noise and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Blood smears across his skin in a rather alarming manner but he tries not to let the nausea it makes him feel overwhelm him, instead focusing on Dabi. There’s something
off
with the way the vampire is looking at him. His eyes are dilated so much that they look like those of a shark, they seem to have spread out to the point that the black is bleeding into the white. Kai lets out a shaky breath as Dabi starts to widen his mouth and his fangs extend a few centimetres.
“Where?” Dabi rasps, pushing Kai back against the covers. He clambers on top of the human with a desperation he’s never seemed to possess before. It’s a startling change, Kai has never seen him like this before. Perhaps the thirst is getting to him - but surely he’s drunk from someone else during the past week? “Where do you want me to bite you?”
Those fangs looks too large for his wrist, possibly even his throat, so Kai shakily gestures downward with his chin. “Legs. My- my thighs.”
Dabi lets out a noise akin to a purr as he nods and crawls down Kai’s torso to take place between his thighs. The strange gentleness is still there when he slips a hand beneath his knee and pushes it up toward his chest, careful not to hurt the man’s foot.
“You smell fucking delicious,” Dabi groans, nudging his nose against the dimple to the side of Kai’s kneecap. He trails up until his mouth is placed over the meat at the top of the man’s thigh. Kai whimpers, half from arousal, half from dread, and shuts his eyes when Dabi licks once over his skin, as he always does to the areas he intends to feed from. “
Asking
me to drink from you is dangerous, you know? Especially when I’m this thirsty.”
“What do you mean?” Kai asks, breath hitching as fangs brush the tender skin on his inner thigh.
“It means things ‘r about to get quite messy.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
His ankles don’t hurt anymore. Kai vaguely registers this sometime into the frenzy but it’s just a throwaway thought, a small footnote compared to the other things that are happening to him. There’s blood
everywhere,
the sheets are saturated, it’s smeared between their bodies and Kai feels sick from the smell and taste of it. Dabi’s taking more than his fill, he’s guzzling Kai’s blood like a starved animal, making obscene slurping and gulping sounds as he drinks. Reasoning with him in the wild state he’s in is a fruitless endeavour, Kai stopped begging a while ago. He’s so dizzy from the blood-loss that he doubts he could make any coherent thoughts vocal anyway. It’s odd being fucked in such a state, the haze is almost like the monster’s hypnosis, but Kai can still
feel
too much. He wishes he was under the dreamy spell now, perhaps it would make things easier.
Dabi didn’t bother getting him ready, he didn’t even bother with lubricant, so wild with bloodlust and the desire for pleasure that the thought probably never even crossed his mind. He’s never seen the creature like this before, when he usually drinks he maintains complete composure - now he’s acting utterly rabid, he’s fucking him like he wants to hurt him. It’s sore, Kai feels like he’s tearing around the cock in his ass, but he’s not fighting it, there’s no point. He’s not strong enough to get Dabi off him,
out
of him, he’s so fucking weak and pathetic that he’s disgusted with himself. Dabi grips the back of Kai’s knees to hook them over his shoulders and press his weight down, using the new angle to fuck deeper into him.
The creature has his fangs dug deep into Kai’s throat at the moment, having worked up from his thighs and abdomen, leaving a trail of savage marks behind him. The sick thing is they’re already starting to heal, he won’t even have the pleasure of dying from his wounds. On a particularly aggressive thrust Kai screeches and Dabi draws back to clap a hand over his mouth, muffling the screams. Blood drips out of the creature’s mouth onto Kai’s face, splattering around his terrified, wide eyes. It’s utterly horrifying to see those fangs so close, especially tinged red, and when his tongue lolls out from between his lips Kai almost heaves. Dabi looks disturbed, crazy, those disgusting scars of his seem to be splitting at the corners of his mouth.
“Y’so pretty Kai,” the monster slurs, drunk on the taste of blood. “Taste
so
good.”
He’s never been his bad before and Kai beats against his thighs to try and force him off. Dabi’s manic eyes widen as he leans closer and the hand wrapped around his face slips down to wrap around Kai’s cock. It twitches beneath his slick palm and Kai retches loudly at the sensation of being jerked off with his own blood aiding the movement. The monster must think it’s a cry of pleasure because he starts laughing, starts going faster and harder. His cock rams against the smaller man’s prostate unrelentingly and paired with the sensation of cold, slick fingers sliding over his dick Kai finds that he’s hard, there’s unwanted pleasure coiling in his gut.
“It feels
good
, don’t it beautiful?” Dabi groans, dipping his head to lap at the vicious gash on the side of Kai’s throat. It doesn’t feel good, it feels awful, it feels like his body is on fire. “Fuck,
fuck
, such a good boy, such a nice ass.” He licks up Kai’s slowly healing neck and nips at his earlobe. “You’re so
warm
. It’s nice to fuck something living for once.”
Kai shudders, tipping his head back against the sheets as Dabi ruts against him, grunting like an animal when he reaches climax. That cold hand keeps pumping away at Kai’s cock, even after Dabi’s come and there’s fluid starting to leak out of his asshole, he keeps going. The heat in his belly flares higher and his bloody legs start to tremble around the creature’s hips. Dabi leans down again and starts licking over his right pectoral muscle, one of the few swathes of skin still unmarked - not for much longer it would seem. The creature drives his teeth into Kai’s chest and
gnaws-
-
he’s being
eaten
.
“Dabi,” Kai gasps, arching up off the sheets. He’s so light-headed that he thinks he might pass out if he’s brought to orgasm. “D-Dabi, don’t, I-”
His vision swims.
“There we go, baby,” Dabi cooes, rocking his hips forward to shove his cock against Kai’s prostate again. The mortal mewls weakly, digs his fingers into the stitches of the creature’s thighs. “Come on. Feels good, doesn’t it? I knew you’d like this, you’re so fucking pretty and perfect, Kai-”
He blacks out to the sound of those purred niceties in his ear.
It’s hard to tell when it is that he wakes. The windows are blocked from the sunlight and there’s no clock in the bedroom, so Kai has no sense of how long he’s been out for. Long enough for someone to wash him, clothe him and dump him onto a clean set of sheets. His body aches terribly so he remains in a curled up position on the bed for the time being. He wishes the creature would’ve killed him, God how he wishes for death.
But God isn’t so kind. The mattress dips beside Kai’s back and he immediately stiffens. A hand slides along the curve of his waist to rest on his shoulder, where it gently shakes him.
“Time to wake up, Princess,” Dabi hums, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Kai’s shoulder. The softness is grotesque. “Come on Kai. You need to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Bullshit.”
The condescending tone of voice makes Kai twitch and turn around to glare at the creature. “Leave. Me. Alone.”
“Watch your fucking tone,” Dabi mutters, shoving Kai’s shoulder to lay him flat on his back. When he gets a displeased hiss in response, he raises his hand and Kai flinches back on instinct. “I’m trying to give you something nice. Would you prefer something unpleasant?”
Kai glowers at him but silently shakes his head and sits up, back resting against the pillows. There’s a plate of food on the bedside table, laden with cooked meats, cheeses, thick crusts of bread, the ever-present pomegranate halves. It looks divine and his stomach growls in response, much to his annoyance.
“You’re clearly hungry, so eat,” Dabi says, clicking his tongue. He picks up the plate and sets it atop Kai’s lap, then waves his hand dismissively at the food. “You should trust by now that I haven’t poisoned it.”
Anger boils hot in the pit of Kai’s empty stomach. Of course Dabi won’t poison him, why the fuck would he kill his food-source-slash-fuck-toy? He clenches his fists at his sides and glares at the creature, picturing the image of the thing with a stake through his heart and his nasty fangs ripped out of his mouth. Dabi’s lips twitch slightly into a smirk as if Kai has voiced his thoughts aloud. Paranoia makes his chest tighten - can the vampire read his thoughts? Has he been fucking with him this entire time, well aware of the murderous desires running through his head? His heart pounds harder against his chest as he looks away from Dabi and stares down at the plate of food. It’s not like he can just
ask
the creature, not without revealing his concerns and giving Dabi the opportunity to taunt him more.
“Are you waiting for me to feed you?” Dabi snorts, resting his chin against the flat of his knuckles. His sharp teeth glint in the dim lamplight. “If that’s the case then I’d be more than happy to do so.”
Kai shoots him a disgusted look and drags the plate closer to his stomach, eliciting an amused, wheezy laugh from the creature. He doesn’t want those vile fingers anywhere near his mouth, not again, even if the blackened claws he’d seen earlier have retracted. By the looks of it Dabi’s fangs have shrunk as well and his eyes are back to their usual colour. Kai purses his lips - he’s not seen Dabi wild like that before, something must’ve been different. Slowly, he starts making himself a sandwich, layering a few thick slices of meat and cheese between two crusts of bread. He makes firm eye contact with Dabi as he raises it to his mouth and takes a bite. His teeth dig into the bread and through the meat, it takes a few firm tugs to tear off a mouthful.
It’s tasty, Kai has to give credit to whoever prepares his food in the kitchens, they always do a stellar job considering Dabi doesn’t need to eat. The bread is soft and slick with salted butter, the cheese is pungent but flavourful and the
meat
- oh heavens, the meat. It’s cooked to that perfect balance where it falls apart on the tongue, leaving behind a delicious savoury-sweet taste that actually makes Kai moan in content. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was. God, it’s so warm and comforting that he feels like he might cry. Dabi doesn’t take his eyes off him while he devours the sandwich and starts making himself another.
“Is it good?”
“Mmhm.”
Dabi grins. “Good. Eat as much as you like.”
For some reason the comment falls like an order on Kai’s ears and he nods dazedly, In his haste to get more food into his gut, Kai makes a mess. His fingers get slippery with butter as he slathers it atop more hunks of bread and the meat causes grease to collect around his mouth. Were he in the right state of mind then Kai might be disgusted with himself for all the sloppy noises he’s making as he licks his lips and sucks his fingers. Pomegranate juice slips down his chin as he squeezes the seeds into his mouth, staining his chest and the sheets covering his lap. It’s all so delicious, he’s deliriously high on the tastes and textures passing down his throat.
“
Pig
,” Dabi’s voice cuts through the frenzy, a shard of ice through the comfortable warmth settling in his stomach. He looks up from the chicken bone he’s been gnawing on and meets Dabi’s eye. The moment gold settles on blue, the mood changes. It’s like a switch is flipped and suddenly Kai becomes hyper aware of the residue smeared across his flesh. His sticky fingers twitch around the bone and with a noise of disgust he drops it back to the plate. The fucking bastard is playing tricks with his mind again, just to fuck with him.
“I- fuck you, I’m not a pig,” Kai says, flushing with anger as he reaches for the box of tissues on the bedside table. He starts to wipe his mouth and chest, listening to the soft snickers from the creature. Dabi hasn’t moved off the bed yet and it doesn’t look like he’s about to, he’s now lounging against the footboard with a cigarette between his fingers. He brings an ornate silver device from his trouser pocket and lights up. The paper crackles as he inhales.
“Sure looks like it,” Dabi chuckles, throwing the lighter down onto the sheets beside Kai’s knee and the growing pile of dirty tissues. It catches Kai’s eye as it shines in the lamplight. It’s a pretty thing, delicate silver, slightly patterned on the flat and untainted with rust or residual ash. There’s an inscription on it as well, amongst the patterns. Kai squints, craning his neck forward to read it.
Todoroki Enji.
He repeats the name out loud and Dabi’s gaze snaps up. “What?”
“Todoroki Enji,” Kai says again, fishing a grape from the fruit bowl. He gestures to the lighter. “The inscription. Is that your name?”
Dabi visibly tenses. An odd expression passes over his grotesque face, quite unlike his usual look of amusement. Bitter, is the only way Kai can think to describe it. The creature snatches up the lighter and slips it back into his pocket.
“No, that’s not my fucking name,” Dabi hisses, jaw clenching tightly. He sucks in another breath of smoke and puffs it out of his nostrils, giving him the appearance of a raging bull. Kai sets the messy plate onto the bedside table, just to keep himself busy and distracted from the panic already squirming in his guts. “He was my father.”
“Was?”
The creature scowls. “I’d suggest you hold your tongue now, Kai. Before you lose it.”
Kai glances back up at him and glowers back with equal ferocity. There’s no reply that won’t get him cuffed on the back of the head, so he lets a little of the fury he feels seep out of his mouth in a low hiss. “Wouldn’t put it past you to kill your own father, you disgusting creature.”
Much to Kai’s surprise, Dabi doesn’t immediately lunge for his throat. The vampire flops his head to the side and stares, unblinking, at Kai, as if he’s contemplating what to do with him. He slowly gets to his feet and flicks the cigarette off into the room. It burns out into the darkness.
The air seems to grow colder. Dabi raises a hand and curls his fingers, causing those ghastly stitches to creak.
“Why do you think I look like this?” he mutters, dark look crossing his face. “Bastard had what was coming to him for what he-” Dabi snaps his mouth shut like he’s just said something he shouldn’t have and waves a hand in Kai’s direction before turning to leave the room. “Clean yourself up you fucking pig. I’ll be back later tonight to feed.”
The door slams shut behind him so hard that it rattles in the frame. Kai frowns as he sinks back into the pillows in relief. It wasn’t often he got away with speaking to Dabi like that without recompense. He repeats the inscribed name to himself again, wanting to keep it fresh in his mind.
Todoroki -
that must be Dabi’s last name. Perhaps, armed with that information, he can attempt to find out more about the creature and his history. The library is probably the best place to start. All the books about vampires and related lore were now ash in the grate but Kai can’t remember picking up any on genealogy or local history, so maybe he’ll have some luck.
He peers down at his food splattered chest and grimaces. Bathe first, library second.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
If he’s honest - which Dabi will admit, he rarely is - he wasn’t expecting the little human to last this long. The pets that came before him never had much longevity, they usually died by their own hand or due to one of his more inventive
games
. If they lived, they would eventually go insane and he’d find them no fun anymore. Those, he let go. The forest would take care of them, in one way or another. Two to three months was the usually timespan for his toys, after that he would simply send out someone to find something new to play with.
Kai has been with him for over a year.
It’s an impressive feat, not many could physically survive for such a period, let alone mentally. And sure, Kai is a little worn-down, a little miserable, but he’s not lost that spark, that ferocity that makes him oh-so interesting. He’s a pouty, huffy thing that Dabi can’t help but find rather cute at times. Kai would probably scowl were he to call him that aloud and give him that look that says ‘
I’m just waiting for the right moment to cut your fucking heart out’.
So cute.
That evening Dabi finds him in the library, curled up in the armchair next to the fire. He often finds him here, soaking up the heat from the flames dancing in the grate. Kai complained that the castle was too cold even in the summer, so now that winter is finally upon them he must be chilled to his bones. The vampire doesn’t feel the cold at all, so it’s no real bother to him, but Kai’s bitched enough for him to allow the human to raid the wardrobes of the castle and find more suitable attire. These days he’s often bundled up in moth-eaten jumpers and thick tweed trousers and coats, hiding away the mouth-watering body Dabi’s grown so fond of fucking.
The scarf around his neck is more of an annoyance, it hinders easy access to his favourite feeding point. But god forbid he ask Kai to take it off. The last time he tried that the human actually hissed at him. It was such an absurd reaction that it had Dabi in fits of laughter and he let Kai get away with his little fit as thanks for the delightful bit of humour. Unsurprisingly, Kai wasn’t amused.
Thus, he’s been sulking in the library for the majority of the evening, tucked away with all the dusty tomes and manuscripts that Dabi knows he’s been scouring for any trace of his family name. Ever since that mishap with the lighter bearing his bastard father’s name, Kai’s been spending more time in the library. Dear little thing thinks he’s being so subtle and clever when in reality his intentions are glaringly obvious. He wants to find out all Dabi’s oh-so-terrible secrets to use against him - the horror!
Dabi smirks as he moves across the room to stand in front of his human. There’s nothing Kai could possibly find in this castle that will be of any use to him, it’s all long since been burned. He crouches down beside the chair and sets his elbows down on the armrest, hands cupping his cheeks as he looks Kai over. In the light of the fire he looks beautiful. Pretty eyelashes, pretty cheeks, pretty lips, he’s like a little porcelain doll. Perfect, even after everything Dabi has put him through.
Heat spreads like poison throughout Dabi’s long-dead body. He’s going to keep this one forever.
With a low hum, the vampire reaches out and strokes his fingers gently down the lovely swell of Kai’s cheek. The warmth emanating from his skin feels pleasant to the touch, it’s a sensation Dabi’s not felt from his own flesh for such a long time that he barely remembers what it was like. Life, he barely remembers. The sun is another long forgotten warmth. Even the fire burning in the grate does nothing to please him.
And yet, Kai’s flesh feels warm beneath his fingertips. Strange.
Dabi presses his hand flat against Kai’s cheek, cupping the soft skin and smoothing his thumb back and forth over the prominent bone. Perhaps he should feed him better, his face isn’t quite as round as it was when he arrived and Dabi rather liked that look on him. He could
keep
feeding him, make him into a fat, spoiled little pet that can barely move for all the food in his belly. Kai wouldn’t get very far in that state, he’d be free for Dabi to play with whenever he wanted, free to pinch and tickle and
fuck
-
Hm, perhaps he’s getting ahead of himself there.
The human grunts and shifts slightly, turning his head further into Dabi’s palm. It’s a rather sweet gesture, albeit a likely unconscious one. There is no warmth or comfort offered in Dabi’s hands, yet Kai settles there anyway. With a hum, the vampire leans closer and presses his lips to the sleeping man’s temple. He can feel the blood pumping through his veins beneath his skin.
“Wh- wha’s goin’ on?”
Ah, the pretty human is awake. Dabi leans back down against the armrest and gives Kai a toothy grin as his eyes flutter open. His usually sharp gaze is bleary from sleep. He looks confused for the first few seconds of waking, then the fog clears and he blinks himself back to reality. When he registers Dabi his bottom lip juts out and he leans away from the hand cradling his face, the hand he’d pushed himself into so readily in sleep.
“Why’d you wake me up?” Kai huffs, rubbing his eyes with curled fingers. “Was sleeping.”
Dabi hums and strokes through the human’s ruffled hair, careful to mind the way his sharp nails scratch across his scalp. “Because you fell asleep in the library, pretty one. You’ll get a crooked neck if you sleep upright like that.”
Kai mutters something under his breath and stretches out, causing the fur blanket he’s wrapped in to slide off his upper body. He shuffles about so that he can drag it from beneath his backside and drape it over his shoulders, tugging it tight around his chest to keep the cold out. Dabi lowers his hand and stands up, gesturing to the doorway with a flick of his fingers.
“Come on, we should go t’bed instead, it’s comfier there.”
The human huffs again as he gets out of the chair, shivering slightly when his bare feet touch the stone floor. He walks quickly to the rug in front of the fireplace to save the cold sinking into his bones. Dabi doesn’t remember warmth very well but the sensation of freezing is something he knows all too well. It was such a long time ago now and yet he remembers it so clearly.
It snowed for fourteen nights in a row that Winter. He was twenty five years old and the next in line to inherit his Todoroki legacy - the riches, the castle, the kingdom. His father saw him as an unfit match for leadership, reviled by his son’s proclivity for running amok and hanging around the folk who ran the local theatre. ‘Touya’, as he’d been then, was known to frequent taverns and whore-houses almost nightly. But who cared? He was wealthy and young, it was all just a little fun before he had to commit himself to a life of staunch royal bullshit.
His father made no secret of his disgust. Really, Touya should have known that something was off when the king asked him to go out hunting with him one Winter’s eve. They weren’t a
close
family, they didn’t even eat together, let alone go for trips out of the kingdom’s walls together. But he’d accepted for some stupid reason, perhaps a lingering want to impress his father after all those years he’d spent disappointing him.
Yet somehow it still came as a surprise when the man stabbed him in the back and left him to die in the snow. Took his weapons, took his crested-ring, took his horse. Took everything but the lighter he’d stolen from his father’s bureau and the clothes on his back. How long did Touya laid there, alone and bleeding out in the snow? It had felt like hours at the time, hours of utter agony as the warmth seeping out of his body to be replaced with deathly cold. He must’ve been clinging to the last few seconds of life when that
thing
bit him and forced their bloody fingers into his mouth. The taste has never left him, the startling deliciousness of a vampire’s blood rolling across his tongue and down his throat. Death felt like ecstacy, better than any drink or any whore his mortal life had given him.
The cold never left his bones though, it’s still there, lingering beneath his skin.
“Dabi?” Kai’s voice cuts through his reverie. The vampire blinks and turns his gaze to the human, who stares back at him with his eyes narrowed. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Dabi says quickly. He stoops to pick up the other man with an arm below his knees and another around his back. It’ll save his feet getting too cold. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.”
Kai doesn’t squirm and bitch at him for once, he just sits in his arms, resting his head against Dabi’s chest. He’s warm.
“You’re really tired today, huh?” the vampire murmurs as they head out of the library. The fire will burn out itself, or one of the servants will take care of it. Perhaps he should light another in his bedroom, maybe then Kai will stay with him. “Lots of reading will tire your eyes out.”
“Yeah. M’tired,” Kai yawns, closing his eyes. “Was enjoying the fire in there though, was nice and warm.”
Dabi nods, half to himself, and stares down at the exhausted looking creature in his arms. He’s starting to look a little pasty and he’s a lot lighter than he thought. Perhaps he’s starting to get sick? The thought worries him, he doesn’t want to watch Kai waste away and pass on without him. He wants to keep him and, strangely enough, make him happy. It’s been a long time since Kai smiled at him without the influence of hypnotism. In fact, it may never have happened.
Oh dear. He’s starting to care, isn’t he?
“How about I light one in my room? It’ll make it nice and warm in there for you,” Dabi suggests, as they round a corner into the sleeping quarters. His room is at the end of the corridor, the grandest and largest of the bedrooms. Kai doesn’t usually sleep in there, he often trails back to his room to rest, but he seems dozy enough to be open to the offer tonight. “Stay with me tonight?”
Kai cracks an eye. “Is that a question?”
“Yes.”
“Do I really have a choice?”
Dabi hesitates. He wants to say ‘
yes, of course’
but he’s in a good mood and lying to Kai doesn’t seem right about now. So he shakes his head and pulls the human closer to his chest with a soft chuckle. “Not really, no.”
“Didn’t think so,” Kai sighs, closing his eyes again. He sounds resigned tonight. He really must be tired, his usual fight is nowhere to be found. “Just be careful, won’t you? I’m not up to- to doing
that
tonight.”
The vampire smirks and nuzzles against the top of Kai’s head, smelling the bitter smoke from the fireplace in his hair. He starts kissing the side of his face as he kicks open the door to his bedroom, enjoying the way that he starts to shake his head to get him off. There’s a little of that fire he adores so much. Thankful that it’s still there, he concedes to Kai’s wishes and decides not to pursue his pretty ass any further that night. There’s still the worry that he might be sick lingering in the back of his head. It’s something he’ll have to keep an eye on and maybe he can afford to leave Kai alone for a few days. It’s not like he’ll starve.
“Okay, I won’t,” Dabi reassures him. He lowers Kai onto the bed sheets, frowning at the contrast between the deep burgundy material and the pale skin of the human’s face. Perhaps he should let him go outside more often, he really doesn’t look well at all. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Cold,” he replies, rolling onto the other side of the bed. He’s visibly shivering as he pulls the duvet over his body. “Tired.”
Dabi purses his lips and gets to his feet to move toward the fireplace on the other side of the room. It takes a little time to get the fire going but it’s something that he feels needs to be done, hopefully it will put Kai at ease. He’s already asleep by the time Dabi has shed his outer clothes and crept into the bed beside him. The vampire watches him with interest, noting the slight prickle of cold sweat on his forehead and the way he’s trembling despite the thick bedding. His cheeks look sallow in this light, his jaw looks too sharp.
“What am I gonna do with you?” Dabi sighs, nudging closer to wrap an arm around Kai’s waist. He doesn’t scoot away, or wake, but his trembling eventually eases beneath the soothing circles Dabi rubs into the small of his back.
They drift off together, warmth and dead cold, wrapped around one another.