Hongjoong woke swathed in a cosy warmth that he hadn't experienced since the last summer. Soft fabric cradled his cheek, and he huddled deeper into his pillow with a pleased sigh. He floated as if on clouds and, though he mourned the mellow fading of his dreams as sleep drifted away from him, he could tell he was well-rested. No fear agitated his heart and no hunger or cold plagued him. For a drawn moment, he felt like the king of kings.

Sleepy eyes batted open without a rush. Hongjoong rarely woke with a white mind, always running and hurrying in his mind or on his feet. This time, however, he was deeply at peace and sat up slowly to look around. All the time in the world was offered to him to look around and grasp his surroundings. The eerie tomb greeted him like a home. Its wilted flowers in dusty vases, the cobwebs, and the constant chill of its deceased inhabitants. Hongjoong trailed his gaze around the room and got stuck on the sarcophagus to his left. It was clean and unsuspecting, but a furious blush took over his cheeks when the memories of last night came back. No one but him could know what transpired in this place. 

Just as he wondered whether his accomplice in desecrating this grave had gone, steps sounded in the tunnel leading outside. Hongjoong sat with his blanket bunched in his lap and gazed into the darkness. A moment later, Seonghwa emerged in a long velvety cape that accentuated his graceful beauty. He looked up to check on Hongjoong and a grin spread on his lips when he found him awake.

"Did I wake you?" He asked as he undid the brooch holding his cape shut. The fabric cascaded into his coffin as he came to stand by Hongjoong's side. Delicate fingers cupped the human's jaw and Hongjoong leaned into the touch, closing his eyes in bliss.

"Not at all," he assured. When he looked up, he caught the fond smile on Seonghwa's lips, more smitten than a vampire should be with his food.

But no pain echoed in Hongjoong's body. He got treated with the utmost care and he survived the night of inhuman desires. As if reborn, all woes drifted far from him and his heart skipped merrily in his chest when each gaze he shared with Seonghwa lingered full of intent. Something changed between them, and it bloomed full of warm wooziness in Hongjoong's chest. He liked the feeling.

"I got you food," Seonghwa remembered the reason for his absence as he retrieved the leather bag from his side. The scent of fresh bread wafted from it and made Hongjoong's mouth water. He perked up as Seonghwa angled the lid of Hongjoong's coffin into a makeshift table by his feet.

"You went into the town for me? What if someone saw you?" Grateful though worried, Hongjoong distributed his meal. It was much more decadent than what he would have bought for himself. Fresh bread, meat, and cheese, even a sweet roll with sticky honey that charmed Hongjoong's senses. Seonghwa also went to the river to refill Hongjoong's water bottle and put it next to his meal. 

"It seems I cannot be recognised at a single glance," Seonghwa chuckled as he leaned by his side, cosy sharing Hongjoong's company as he dug in. Hongjoong's grumble ended in a blissful sigh.

"This is delicious. Thank you, Seonghwa."

Proud of himself, Seonghwa watched Hongjoong devour his food and lick his fingers after each bite.

"It is only fair I compensated you with a meal just as good as mine last night," he replied, and his voice tilted with joy when Hongjoong choked on his bite of bread. With red cheeks, he dodged Seonghwa's teasing gaze. 

"Will it last you for long?" Hongjoong redirected the topic to maintain some honour. He liked listening to the velvet of Seonghwa's voice while he ate.

"Humans eat much more often than we do. I usually dine once every two weeks. Though I could last for an entire moon without blood, I fear hunger once it takes over. I often try not to kill my prey," Seonghwa described. Hongjoong was sure not every vampire thought like that. And though he never asked, he was positive that Seonghwa was no monster outside of their interactions in the mausoleum.

Yet, after experiencing his bite, more questions lingered in Hongjoong's mind. They made him shift in discomfort, ponder if it was right to say, but how much closer could he and Seonghwa get? In the unexpected cosiness of a shared night in the tomb, Hongjoong was unafraid to ask.

"So, what do you usually eat? You spoke of both animals and humans, but does that mean you lure in a victim and let them go after a bite? Or..." Insecure, Hongjoong looked at his meal. He wanted this to be more, wanted to be special to Seonghwa, but what if he was just a convenient food source, after all? Surely, he wasn't the first to strike the vampire's fancy.

"I get nowhere as close to them as I did with you," Seonghwa promised. His hand returned to caress Hongjoong's cheek and his fear bled out of him. "A bite is more than enough and I leave them to find back on their way by themselves. No one but you ever slept here and no one but you ever looked so kissable in my eyes."

Heated, Hongjoong ducked between his shoulders. He adored the vampire's attention on him, shy as it made him. Seonghwa was breathtaking and otherworldly, so much more than a human could ever hope to be, yet he confessed his endearment for Hongjoong.

"I... I like that," Hongjoong stuttered to assure Seonghwa he felt the same. Hastily, he stuffed his cheeks with more cheese to battle his shyness.

Seonghwa's eyes never left his face, enraptured by his human. 

"But that means once I left, you will bite others again, right? You will live as you did before."

When Hongjoong tensed up, betrayed, regret crossed Seonghwa's gaze. His fingers on Hongjoong's cheek stilled.

"I must. I starve as a human does if I don't, but before that comes the frenzy that endangers every living being around me. Though it may be an empty promise to you, I may only tell you I will miss you every day and that the blood of others won't ever be as precious to me as what we shared."

Upset, Hongjoong slowed his eating. He gulped down the bite stuck in his throat as the gloom overshadowed the sweetness of their morning. Soon, he would leave this kingdom and live far on the other side of the ocean. How often would he miss Seonghwa? How often would he cry, thinking how he cradled another being in his icy kiss?

The blossoms in Hongjoong's chest darkened with woe as that which grew so recently got stained.

An uncomfortable silence brought the coldness back to the tomb. Made it a coarse and uncomfortable place once more. Seonghwa stood in remorse, but Hongjoong couldn't hate him. He could only hate those who forced him to leave when he found such a precious person.

"Forgive me," Seonghwa whispered, but Hongjoong shook his head. 

"There is no need to forgive or to accuse. I wanted to stay by your side. We met during a time of trepidation, but I have grown to enjoy your presence. Though I would have loved to spend many more nights with you and get to know you, it isn't your fault that we are who we are. And that I must leave," Hongjoong struggled to string his words together in a genuine message. His gaze was void of joy as he ate the food that still tasted delicious but didn't fill the void in his heart. 

Seonghwa lowered his eyes. He shared Hongjoong's agony over their unlikely parting, but such was their fate. They were different from each other, and even this magical encounter rarely happened in their world. 

"Perhaps I can come back one day. Once people forgot about me. I will come to visit you here," Hongjoong tried to lighten the mood. Not the pain of their parting, but the dream of a future where they could be together should linger in their minds. One day, he could kiss Seonghwa's lips without being afraid. He could lie in his arms and be the only one he ever took blood from.

Seonghwa stayed silent for a while, long enough that Hongjoong glanced up from his food, worried that Seonghwa might not want to see him again. That the pain of parting was bittersweet, but required to move on.

Once Seonghwa arranged his thoughts, however, his voice was sober.

"What if I... what if I came with you? Across the sea?"

Stunned, Hongjoong looked up at him. Their heights were similar from the platform of the coffin, so Hongjoong saw every shift in the vampire's stricken features. 

"I could accompany you," Seonghwa continued, and the idea formed behind his eyes. "We both get hounded and I never stay for long. While I linger now, I might be gone until you return. But nothing keeps me here. If I could stay by your side, then maybe... maybe this is an adequate time to discard this place. I made fond memories here, but it seems my heart pulls me in a new direction now." He settled his hand over his chest, over that still place that hadn't roused in many years. When he lifted his eyes to Hongjoong, a gentle determination glowed in their depths. 

Hongjoong's heart jumped.

"You would do that?" He whispered. Then, even quieter: "For me?" Nervous hands clutched to his blanket. They tightened when a grin spread across Seonghwa's lips.

"If you will have me, yes. I want to explore another world with you and to know you safe from those hunting you. How else, if not by staying by your side, could I ensure that?" He brushed Hongjoong's hair behind his ear, unravelling his disbelieving expression. 

"I- Yes! Yes, I would have you, any time. I would know you safe from the same people. And I would give you my blood, whenever you want!" Hongjoong spluttered, as if the vampire needed any more convincing. With a graceful hand before his lips, Seonghwa snickered about him. He leaned in to support his arms on the rim of the coffin, matching the level of Hongjoong's eyes. They sparkled with excitement now. Though the offer was sudden, it filled him with giddiness. 

"I would drink only from you, my sweet. And I would never hurt you," Seonghwa promised, understanding Hongjoong's fear that he might hold anyone else. "With me by your side, you would never need to fear."

Blushing when Seonghwa came so close, Hongjoong nodded.

"Let's do it," he breathed in a rush. "Let's go to the ship together and leave this kingdom. There is a place for us out there somewhere. We will build a home." He was giddy, more excited about the future than ever before. With Seonghwa, it didn't look so bleak. 

Charmed by his joy, Seonghwa left a lingering kiss on Hongjoong's lips. His long lashes tickled Hongjoong's cheek when he fell into it full of enthusiasm. The vampire held his nape gently, cradling the trembling human as they found their happiness in each other.

"You can have whatever you want," Seonghwa promised when he pulled back to press their foreheads together. "No one will know who we are. I won't have to bite anyone but you, and I will hold you whenever you fret. Just us two."

Hongjoong nodded greedily. His leftovers were forgotten when he slung his arms around Seonghwa's neck and dipped into another kiss. This one lasted longer, but it tasted sweet like honey. Hongjoong entrusted himself to Seonghwa's tender hands and, though his mind spun with plans for the future, he couldn't be happier. As his heart rejoiced in his chest, he understood the vampire felt the same about him, in whichever capacities his emotions allowed him to.

They would leave this place together and find a home both warm and secure. No villager could hold Hongjoong back and no one would hurt Seonghwa while Hongjoong fretted about him from the far distance. 

Gleeful, the human sunk back into the coffin to pull his vampire with him and spend the lazy hours of the morning relishing the tomb for its privacy when soon, they would leave it for a new place.