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thebookofeibon · 2 months

Text

a sweeter alternative

Rating: T Chapters: 1/1 Words: 6868 Fandom: Ensemble Stars Ships: ReiKao Relevant "tags": blood time. uh sex mentions and allusions i don't write it though i'm not at that comfort level yet.

“You know how he uses it in place of blood?” Kaoru kept his eyes on Rei, catching Adonis’s nod in the corner on his eye. “Well the past couple of months, it hasn’t been doing the job.” “Huh? What do you mean past couple of months?” Koga eyed Rei. “He’s been drinking twice the amount he usually does, he’s been drinking different brands, and he’s still slow as if he’s low on energy.”

i'll add squidgeworld link when i post to there

for now u can read under the cut!

i suppose i can start putting my notes here in the mean time. uhhh this one's been in the works since october, just chipping away at it here and there. idr what the inspo was i think i just wanted to address the vampire thing.

his vampirism works how i want it to work bc it's a disability and i am also disabled and that's that. idc that vampirism isn't real

this is in my little series i had on ao3 where they live together in an apartment and i don't know the timeline for realsies i'm making shit up. this is actually the first one in the series to not have a pinocchioP title and it's bc. i couldn't find one. what can i say he doesn't have any vampire songs. the vocaloid vampire song also didn't fit but it was the working title of this.

i'll also make a page for this series on this blog since. gestures to no longer using ao3

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Rei-kun.”

“Mmm.”

“Don’t ‘mmm’ me, you heard exactly what I just said.”

Rei doesn’t answer, entirely pissing Kaoru off. “You have had two large containers of tomato juice this week and you’re still falling asleep in random places. It’s not working the way it used to.” Rei’s grip on his pillow grows tighter as he really pushes the limits his face can go into it. “It’s 8pm, and I’ve been trying to wake you up for almost two hours.” He walked over to the bed to take the pillow, only to find Rei’s resistance to be much stronger than it should be. “This. Has been happening. For two months!!!” He tugged at the pillow with all of his might, though he really couldn’t get anywhere with it. “You need blood!” A final tug that still resulted in nothing causes Kaoru to let go, huffing as he caught his breath. “I don’t pretend to know your condition, but I fear that staying strictly with tomato juice isn’t going to work anymore!”

Rei stayed with his head buried in the pillow, only letting out a groan in response.

“You’re acting like a child.”

Rei mumbled a response into the pillow, completely inaudible.

“I can’t hear you.” A beat. Two. “You are impossible.” He huffed, walking with a little too much force out of the room.

Only when he was sure Kaoru was out of sight did Rei lift his head to look out into the living room. He frowned, eyebrows scrunched together in…it’s not anger, it’s not disappointment, dismay?

He didn’t really want to accept that Kaoru was right. Rei has known for a few months now that something was wrong with his juice intake, but he’d hoped that it wasn’t obvious, and it hasn’t really been to the kids. But Kaoru? Of course he’d figure out, it was dumb to even entertain the idea that the man he lives with and sleeps next to wouldn’t notice something was wrong. He laid his head sideways on the pillow, still looking out into the hallway. He was still tired.

He even tried changing brands, thinking maybe his default brand was the problem, but after trying all the ones available on the market, something else that Kaoru for sure would’ve noticed, he also began to come to the same conclusion.

This vampire does need blood to survive.

He began questioning family members after the first month, especially those he knew took alternatives for blood. But he didn’t receive answers he liked.

“Yeah, it stopped being viable after I turned 25, like its good when I’m in a pinch but I don’t rely on it anymore”

“I stopped relying solely on tomato juice when puberty hit, it’s still my primary source but I do need actual blood every other month to be at top shape.”

“There’s no alternative that’ll provide you accurately with the amount of iron our bodies need. As an idol, I’m surprised you’ve made it this long before realizing the faults in your juice alternative.”

Rei’s brought out of his head by the sound of a loud “clink” on the bedside table and he looks up to spot Kaoru, placing a full glass of tomato juice on the bedside table.

“Decided to show your face after all?” Kaoru teased, ruffling Rei’s bed head.

“You just said the juice isn’t working.” Rei grumbled, eyeing the damned glass. He hates this brand, he’s learned. Too sugary for his tastes.

“Well, you have a whole thing still and you’re fighting this theory so it's the best I can do.” He shrugged and walked out again.

Rei watched him with a scowl. “Come back here.”

Kaoru turned his head back pensively. “Hmmm? Does his wicked highness finally see fit to have my offering?” He turned around with a grin and a bow.

“What’s wrong with me just wanting to have you near?” He didn’t let up on his scowl. “Senior year you would be appalled by this behavior.”

“Hmmm? Why are you so caught up with how senior year me would feel? This is nothing! What senior year me would be devastated by is the amount of time we spend making out. Or how much sex we’ve had.” Kaoru smiled as he walked back into the bedroom. “Seriously Rei-kun! My one time of being pissed off at you for biting me has been waaaaay overshadowed by how many times you have given me head in the last, what? Four years? Since that whole ordeal.”

Rei buried his face again by the end of Kaoru’s ramble, burning red ears all that’s visible of his immodesty. He was right, technically speaking. High school Kaoru is at this point a different person than his current partner, that Kaoru would faint if he even knew they lived together.

“Honestly, Rei-kun?” Kaoru was next to his ear suddenly, causing Rei to jump and look over to catch the smug grin spreading across his tan skin. “I think it’d be suuuper hot if you took my blood during sex.”

“Gross, did talking about my mouth get you horny?” Rei pushed Kaoru’s face away and reburied his own.

“Hmmm? You act like you’ve never thought about it~.” He can hear the grin he still has. Hands grasp at his shoulders and begin to rub. “Like you don’t linger when giving me hickeys, or when you can’t help yourself and still bite slightly too hard.” He pressed harder into the knot Rei had there, the vampire letting out a moan.

“You almost sound like you want me to feed on you for your pleasure more than my well being.” He grumbled into his pillow.

“I can bring up non-sexual examples too~” Another tight push against Rei’s shoulder has the vampire letting out a small whimper. “Whenever we cuddle, you always nuzzle into my neck at least once. In fact, it’s more rare that you don’t immediately bury your face into my neck. I’m always thinking, wow, I feel super vulnerable with how close his mouth is to my neck!”

Rei whined into his pillow, half in embarrassment, half in pleasure from the massage. He turned his head so he wasn’t talking into it anymore. “Really? Always?”

Kaoru laughed. “So you don’t even do it on purpose?”

“No!”

“When I wear my turtlenecks, sometimes I catch you staring at my neck when I move in a way that exposes more skin.”

“Kaoru-kun, this is embarrassing me. I’m going to cry. Do you want me to cry?” He pouted, holding back a whine when Kaoru removed his hands from him. “Why do you hate me? What did I ever do to you?”

“Not drink my blood.” The pillow Rei had been attached to this whole time quickly left his hands and collided with Kaoru’s face.

-----------------------------

It was a bad day from the minute Rei woke up, but they had an important media interview today so he really pushed himself to get out of bed and face the day.

Honestly? It’s been a bad week for the vampire. With no real reason for his energy to be completely depleted, he understood what it meant. He really didn’t want to admit it though, he really didn’t want to have to rely on blood.

“Hey, Rei-kun.” Kaoru nudged at him on the couch, gaining only a groan from the vampire. “I know you’re tired, let’s try and get some food in you before we have to go.” Rei opened his eyes at that, already concerned.

“What time is it?”

“Really? It’s only been 20 minutes since you woke up.”

“…Really?” He almost wanted to cry at that, it’s felt like an hour.

Kaoru frowned at him. “Seriously…I know it’s an off day for you but even that’s a little concerning. Come on, let’s go eat.”

They stopped at a diner nearby that Kaoru likes, ordering something small each with some coffee. Coffee doesn’t usually work on Rei unless he’s really lucky, but it’s the thought that counts here.

“Oi-hey! No falling asleep.” Kaoru tapped on Rei’s plate with his fork to make noise, startling Rei from what he supposed was dozing. “Finish eating, maybe that’ll keep you awake.”

He stared down at his half-eaten omelette with a frown, picking up his fork again. Every little bit helps.

“We’re here, wake up.” Kaoru nudges Rei awake again. The cab had come to a stop and Kaoru was in the middle of paying her. Rei seemed to be only capable of frowning today, mainly at himself. Kaoru glanced to him, offering a smile as he started to push Rei out the door.

“This is the fourth time in the last two hours he’s fallen asleep.” Kaoru sighed. “I know I shouldn’t complain, it’s out of his control, but it’s really frustrating today.” Rei blinked his eyes open, watching Kaoru and Koga talk in the waiting room outside of the recording studio.

“Maybe once he gets talking he’ll stay awake.” Adonis shrugged beside Rei on the couch. “Oh, good morning Sakuma-san.” He smiled at him, and Rei couldn’t help but return the smile.

Kaoru sighed again, much more audibly than before. He dug into his bag and pulled out a juicebox, tossing it to Rei. “Please, this is just an hour and a half, Rei-kun.”

Rei fumbled to catch the juicebox, but he did nonetheless, and he carefully detached the straw and stuck it into the top. “I’m sorry, you know I’m not usually this bad…” He sipped slowly on the box.

“The weather’s kinda whack right now, more than usual, s’probably what’s affecting you.” Koga crossed his arms. “Plus the thing you were complainin’ about the other day with your juice.” He gestured at him with his chin.

“Yeah…” Rei deflated a bit into the couch, feeling everyone’s eyes on him.

“What’s wrong with your juice?” Adonis tilted his head.

“You know how he uses it in place of blood?” Kaoru kept his eyes on Rei, catching Adonis’s nod in the corner on his eye. “Well the past couple of months, it hasn’t been doing the job.”

“Huh? What do you mean past couple of months?” Koga eyed Rei.

“He’s been drinking twice the amount he usually does, he’s been drinking different brands, and he’s still slow as if he’s low on energy.” Rei tried to shrink down as much as he could in the couch, trying to avoid eye contact. It’s embarrassing. Kaoru tutted. “You are so annoying sometimes.”

“Then…are you saying he needs blood?” Adonis tilted his head.

“Exactly. And he’s refusing to take any.”

Koga clicked his tongue, then finally brought his eyes off Rei to look at Kaoru again. “We can’t really force him.”

Kaoru kept his eyes on his partner however. “…No, I suppose not.”

“UNDEAD?” A woman’s voice called out, breaking the tension. “We’re ready to get you guys set up.”

-----------------------------

Rare, these days, for Rei to turn down showering with Kaoru when they got home, and with how his health has been, he really should’ve taken the opportunity to share the shower with him. But he wanted time alone to think.

He’d really been trying to ignore it, not even out of pride really. He’s grown accustomed to admitting when he needs help. He has friends willing to accommodate his needs and he couldn’t be more grateful for them because of it.

It’s not pride, it’s…arrogance. That’s it. The refusal to admit that he’s wrong. It’s been several months now, at this point the tomato juice hasn’t been helping longer than it has this year. It’s at least worth a try now to take blood, no matter how little he actually wants to do it.

It partly has to do with Kaoru’s refusal that Easter, the fear of hurting him always at the back of his mind, but a lot does have to do with how he just doesn’t want to drink blood. He’s trying so hard to be human, he’s doing everything he can to be human. Drinking blood is not a human activity!

And he hates the taste of it!!! That’s why he settled with tomato juice, because it actually tastes good!!! Why should he have to do something he can’t even-

“Your turn.” Kaoru walked past Rei brooding on the couch and ruffled his hair, drawing him out of his thoughts for the moment. He looked up, lifting his head out of his hands, just when had he slouched over? He probably looked just as crazed as he felt. “Don’t think too hard in there, you might overheat.” Kaoru smiled.

Rei huffed a laugh, relaxing his shoulders a bit. “Yeah, of course.” He stood up with a few joint cracks and began to walk up the bathroom-

“I’m serious though. Try to sit while you’re in there, and leave the door unlocked, okay?” Kaoru dropped his smile. Ah, alright.

“Mm, of course.”

The shower was nice, he supposed, though it would be quicker to stand, sitting at least gave him time to think again. He really could just ask. It doesn’t need to have some special occasion. Though it’s kind of embarrassing at this point to admit defeat, after being urged to do this from family and friends for so long now. And again, sometimes just the smell of blood was enough to upset his stomach, thinking about the smell is even-

A trail of blood running down the drain with the water appears and it startles him, jumping back a bit to try and locate where the bleeding is coming from, knocking some bottles down in the process. He lifted a hand to his face and sighed as he drew it back. A nosebleed. Okay, sure, this might as well happen.

The bathroom door opened a crack. “You alright?” Right. The noise.

“Yea-” A cough, “Yeah I’m fine- Nosebleed.” He breathed in, head going light. “Could you come turn the water off, dear.” He lifted a hand to his head. A vampire who can’t even look at blood, how inane.

Kaoru opened the door further and walked in, opening the curtain on the side closer to the valve to shut it off. “Are you alright?” He asked again.

“A bit lightheaded is all, mind getting me some tissues?” He did his best to keep his head tilted downward until Kaoru pulled the curtain back, sitting on his knees, with a few tissues in hand. Instead of letting Rei take them from him, he instead reached in himself to block the nostril the blood was coming from.

“I told you not to think too hard.” Kaoru laughed, using his other hand to cradle Rei’s head. Rei leaned into his touch instinctively, doing his best to keep his head lowered. “It’s hot in here too, were you trying to instigate a nosebleed?”

Rei glowered at him, taking a deep breath in. It was a joke, he understands, and Kaoru simply chuckled at the stare. He pulled the tissue away momentarily to assess the bleed, then quickly repositioned it to a cleaner area to hold against the nostril again. Rei sighed, his health was never going to be easy, was it?

-----------------------------

Rei lie on his back on the bed, shirtless as he didn’t want to risk staining any shirts, fingers interlocked over his chest as he stared up at the ceiling, wad of tissue paper plugged up his nose to get the remaining blood taken care of. Kaoru entered the room after a few more minutes, bringing with him some tart slices that he had bought earlier that day.

“I got one for both of us~! Recovering from a shower nosebleed seems fitting time to eat it!” He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Usually eating in bed is against our rules but what’s the harm in bending this once?” He set the plate down on his lap and patted the spot next to him. “Come, sit.”

“…I…” Rei squinted with tightly knit brows, not looking away from the ceiling.

“Hm?” Kaoru was already picking up his slice to eat.

Rei stayed silent a moment before finally shifting his gaze to Kaoru. It softened when he saw how content he was with the bite he’d taken, a small smile stretching across the blond’s lips that he probably didn’t even notice he had. He opened his mouth again, then closed it when nothing came out and turned back to the ceiling.

Kaoru’s head tilted. “Babe, I’m not a mind reader, and if I was, your’s would be impossible anyways.”

“…” Rei turned his head completely away, embarrassed just a little. “I need blood.” It was quiet, small, not meant to leave this one piece of furniture. He refused to look in Kaoru’s direction. He could already feel his gaze on him and he wasn’t really keen on the teasing that would follow.

But there wasn’t a verbal response, he heard some movement, likely Kaoru setting the plate down, then felt the bed move as slowly his light was obstructed. Kaoru’s hand landed next to his head and he frowned, still refusing to look up at him.

“You open yourself up to me and yet refuse to look at me? You wound me, Rei-kun.” Kaoru sighed. Using the hand on the opposite side of Rei’s face, he lifted Rei’s chin to face him upwards, smiling a little at the blush covering his cheeks, then frowned when Rei still focused his gaze on the wall. With a huff, he pulled his waist up further onto the bed and placed his legs on either side of the vampire, sitting down onto his stomach. “What’s a guy got to do to get even a glance, huh?” He scowled as he watched Rei’s gaze shift not towards him, but upwards to further avoid looking at Kaoru.

Rei’s hands fidget on his chest, unlocking themselves to tap idly without thought. Kaoru clicked his tongue watching them, evidence that Rei isn’t entirely spaced out from the moment. In one swift motion, they’re taken from their place on his chest and pinned above his head, taking Rei off guard enough to finally look back at him with wide eyes.

“There we go~ All I had to do was surprise you!” Kaoru grinned, releasing his grip on Rei’s hands to lean in and place a kiss on his lips. “I don’t like being ignored, you know~” To punctuate, he pulled the tissue out of Rei’s nose, only taking a moment to examine how fresh the blood on it was before tossing it to the floor.

Rei watched the tissue fall to the floor with a frown. “Gross.” He couldn’t help but laugh, though, when Kaoru tried to go in for another kiss. “Hold on, hold on.” He placed a hand in front of his face to catch Kaoru’s, laughing when Kaoru still tried to push through. “Down boy!” He jokingly raised his voice.

Kaoru grinned. “Down?” The glint in his eye was mischievous. Rei sighed as Kaoru took the hand placed against his face and laced his fingers with it. “Easy command~” He followed through and started to kiss down Rei’s neck, hovering when Rei’s laugh bubbled out.

“You’re going to agitate my nosebleed, then I’m going to get blood all over the bed.” He squeezed Kaoru’s hand, using his other to slide into his blond hair.

“Oh you’ll be fine.” Kaoru hummed as he trailed further down. “We have tissues in here if it comes back.” He paused at Rei’s collarbone, glancing up at him. “It doesn’t help when you’re encouraging me, either.” He smiled, free hand aimlessly wandering Rei’s chest. Rei grinned down at him, then gripped his hair and pulled back with enough force to pull him away. “Ah!” Kaoru laughed. “Hey!”

“As much as I’d like to continue,” Rei let go of his hair to dramatically drape his arm across his forehead and closed his eyes, “I am oh-so tired from losing blood-”

“Then take some of mine.” Kaoru narrowed his eyes playfully.

Rei opened his eyes to peek down to him again. “Aside from the tart, have you eaten recently?”

Kaoru blinked, then looked up in thought. “Uhh…”

Rei clicked his tongue with a smile. “No blood drinking tonight then, dear.” He lifted his arm off his head to cup Kaoru’s cheek. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Come on, we’re in bed, it’s not like I’m going to go on stage right after.” Kaoru pouted.

“No, you’re still wanting to fool around though, which is still quite a rigorous activity, don’t you think?” Rei’s thumb brushed against Kaoru’s lips, which only prompted the blond to open them and take the digit into his mouth. “Kaoru-kun.”

“We can always stop if it gets too much~?” Kaoru leaned down again to be just in front of Rei’s lips. “I can be the one resting?” He lowered his voice as he lowered himself to brush lips.

Rei ran over the options in his head, subconsciously wetting his lips. Their hands let go of each other, Rei’s landing on Kaoru’s thigh and Kaoru’s coming to Rei’s face to tip him far enough to close the distance.

He still wasn’t keen on the idea of drinking blood, thinking about the taste is almost enough to make him pull away from the warmth of Kaoru’s mouth in disgust. He could feasibly take only a little bit, work himself up slowly to drinking more over time. He slowly pushed himself to sit up, Kaoru taking the hint to help ease the transfer of positions. They parted from each other temporarily to allow Kaoru to lie down and Rei to climb on top of him, then came back to each other as quickly as possible. Rei shuffled his hips further down on Kaoru so he could trail down his neck with ease.

Were they not idols, in some other universe, Rei would love to mark Kaoru up as much as possible, he hesitated in one spot on his neck and debated if it was too high up to cover with a turtleneck before deciding it was. He moved lower before taking the skin in his lips. Not biting, not here. A sigh leaves Kaoru’s mouth as Rei’s hand travels up underneath his shirt. Makeup would definitely need to be used to cover this one, but it won’t be as noticeable.

“A bit high up, don’t you think?” Kaoru carded his fingers through Rei’s hair.

Rei took a moment longer before pulling away, using both hands now to pull Kaoru’s shirt up, which Kaoru obliged and lifted his arms to remove the article. “I just wanted to do that one.” Once the shirt was removed, he moved back to where he was and traveled further, pausing once again in a spot, but this time to try and gauge where to bite. “I’ll only take a little…I’m not exactly…fond of the taste.” He hovered around a general area around Kaoru’s neck and collarbone.

“Alright, fair enough.”

“Don’t be offended if I don’t like it.”

“You’re still human, I think it’s rather normal to dislike the taste of blood.”

The reassurance was nice, it was almost the push that Rei needed to dive in. He checked the pulse in one spot and took a deep breath in before pressing his lips to the spot, then lightly placed his fangs against it. It’s not like he hasn’t bitten Kaoru before, or drawn his blood from a bite either, but those were different. Those were just bites to bite, this is fairly common practice in any couple. This bite was different, this is…

Kaoru’s fingers slowly brushed through Rei’s hair and it almost made Rei laugh. Why is the guy getting blood taken from him in such a monstrous way more relaxed about this than the one taking the blood?

No, he can’t be anxious about this when he’s already poised to strike. With another deep breath taken through his nose, he bites down, incisors piercing through Kaoru’s unblemished skin. Kaoru lets out a grunt at the bite, fingers gripping somewhat tighter into Rei’s hair. It takes everything in Rei to stay biting and let the blood into his mouth.

It wasn’t as bad as he had been dreading, not necessarily good either, but he isn’t immediately repelled by the taste and texture. It tasted like blood, that’s for sure, but perhaps it’s the thought that it’s Kaoru’s blood that has Rei thinking that it has something unique to it, a sweetness that Koga and Adonis’s blood didn’t have. The indifference didn't last for much longer, however, as the texture on his tongue began to become too much for him to handle and he released Kaoru, licking the puncture wounds as he had been taught in the past.

He pulled away completely to look Kaoru in the eyes once he was sure the blood wouldn’t flow too much more. Kaoru looked at him with a smile, eyes only slightly distant. “Are you alright?” Rei broke the silence first.

“I am, I think if you had gone any longer I would’ve had a problem, though.” He chuckled. “Are you alright?”

Rei nodded, returning Kaoru’s smile. “I am…I’m sorry, I should’ve stopped sooner, I spaced out.”

“I thought you didn’t like the taste?” Kaoru clasped his hands together to rest on his chest, mirroring Rei’s earlier pose.

“I…didn’t really. But it tasted different than I thought it would.” Rei huffed, averting his gaze. “I was distracted by that thought for a moment longer than I should’ve been.”

Kaoru chuckled. “Perhaps the necessity of it is what changed your thought process?”

“Perhaps.”

“Rei-kun.” He unlaced his fingers and slid his hands to Rei’s thighs, Rei’s gaze coming back to him. Kaoru’s smile widened, eyes squinting. “Ready to resume where we were?”

Rei blinked, then grinned back at him. “Wasting no time at all, are you?”

Kaoru’s hands traveled up Rei’s thighs to his hips. “What can I say? You’re like, glowing right now, and it’s kinda hot.”

Rei chuckled, then leaned back down to kiss him.

Kaoru doesn’t tell him that he still has blood on his chin, and when Rei’s nosebleed does come back a few minutes later, it covers up the prior blood when it leaks onto Kaoru’s face mid-kiss, making Kaoru laugh. They absolutely have to clean the sheets after this.

-----------------------------

It’s immediately apparent the next day at practice that Rei was feeling better. He was more energetic, more aware, more talkative. Koga and Adonis didn’t comment on it until Kaoru entered the practice room late after leaving his badly scheduled photoshoot and changed to a t-shirt, revealing just enough of his neck that the bite marks are visible.

Koga almost growled at him. “Why do you need to wear a collar that loose?”

He grinned. “It’s easier to practice choreography in loose clothing, isn’t it? Besides, don’t I usually wear shirts like this to practice?” He started his warm up stretches, eyeing Koga.

“So you let Sakuma-san take your blood?” Adonis chimed in to try to break up the tension.

“Mhm~ Though it’s more like he let himself take my blood.” He switched to a new stretch as he talked.

“That’s good.” Adonis smiled and looked over to Rei. “You seem a lot better.”

Rei returned the smile and began to start talking when Koga cut him off.

“Should Hakaze-san even be at practice today then?” He said it almost accusatory, pointing with his thumb over to him.

“He didn’t take a lot.”

“Mm, as Kaoru-kun says, I only took a small amount to ease myself into drinking blood. As you know, I don’t like the taste.” Rei nodded. “But yes, even that small amount did make me feel much better than I have in a while.”

“What made you decide to do it finally?” Adonis had shifted onto the floor to help Kaoru with his last stretches.

Rei hummed, closing his eyes in thought. “I am tired of feeling so weak. Kaoru-kun had me sit in the shower last night because he was worried I’d faint standing up and hurt myself. Then when I was in there, I got a nosebleed that usually wouldn’t be a problem, but since I’ve been this way, it nearly knocked me out.” He opened his eyes. “I need to do what is best for my body, I suppose.”

Adonis nodded. “I understand, I’m glad you feel better then, even if it requires doing something you don’t like. It’s like taking a medication with a bad taste.”

“Exactly, Adonis-kun.” Rei smiled.

Kaoru stood up with one last stretch. “And with Rei-kun feeling better, we should get on our practice, hm?”

“Agh, yeah we need to catch you up.” Koga groaned. “Alright. We’re moving on then.”

-----------------------------

As spring began rolling in, it became harder for Kaoru to cover up the bite marks on his neck, and they weren’t exactly keen on flaunting their relationship so publicly since they’re idols, so problem solving began. Because of Rei’s vampirism, he was able wean himself off of taking from Kaoru as often as he was—which was only every other week, changing it to every three weeks—and was able to play off his new fatigue as a sun problem, which wasn’t entirely a lie either. Supplementing it with tomato juice offered some extra relief, even if it wasn’t as good as blood.

Thankfully, there are other places to get the best blood flow that also weren’t dangerous for Kaoru. In a pinch, Rei could go for the inner elbow as if he was a doctor, though it’s not easy to bite there. If he’s well aware of what clothing Kaoru will be wearing for the next week and a half, Rei can go for practically any spot that’s likely to be mostly covered.

But the best area that is a catch all for privacy and decency, they found, was the thigh, which unless for some reason Kaoru wanted to wear more revealing swimwear, was completely hidden. Unfortunately, this required proper planning ahead, as it wasn’t something they could do last minute in a public place by sneaking away for a few moments.

“I suppose it was only a matter of time before we had to start planning our sex lives out.” Kaoru laughed as Rei dragged him to the bedroom.

Rei snorted in response. “It doesn’t have to end with sex every time, dear. We watched a movie after the last time.” He lightly pushed Kaoru to sit on the bed. “Besides, we’re not completely scheduling that out, this would be an outlier.” He lowered himself to his knees and scooted towards Kaoru’s legs.

“I suppose you’re right.” Kaoru grinned down as Rei unbuttons his pants. Rei looked up at him as he slid the jeans down. “You’re so pretty.”

Rei hummed, slipping his fingers into Kaoru’s waistband. “I’m beginning to think all this is just a means for you to get off instead of a means of me getting energy.” He slid his underwear down, revealing both thighs, one of which was still very bruised from the last feed. He heard Kaoru laugh above him.

With his own teasing remark and the bruised leg in sight, Rei hesitated as he really took in the severity of the situation again. He rested his hands on the inside of Kaoru’s thighs as he sat back on the balls of his feet with a frown. A minute passed and then there’s a hand on his chin, tilting his head to eye level. He looked past Kaoru, unable to meet his eyes all of a sudden.

“This is for you, babe.” Kaoru moved his head to try and catch Rei’s gaze. “I’m playing it up a bit, I’m sorry if it came out serious.” He smiled.

Rei still avoided looking him in the eye, staring at his forehead instead, then looked back down to his bruised leg. “Perhaps we should bump the frequency down to once a month…” He mumbled. “Or drop it entirely for the summer…”

Kaoru frowned. “It’s your life, if that’s what you want to do, we can. I’m just concerned about your energy levels if we were to drop this entirely, you’ve been much more active since we started doing this.”

He couldn’t fight the claim, this is the most awake he’s been since before the war, it’s kind of nice, all things considered. The bruises are turning green as they get closer to healing. “I don’t know.” It was hard for him to admit, he’s so accustomed to having to know everything.

Kaoru watched him for a moment, then sighed, sitting up. “Come here.” He held his arms open. “Let’s rest today, then. We have no other responsibilities until tomorrow afternoon.” Rei stood up, wrapped his arms around Kaoru, and immediately shifted all of his weight on him, causing them both to fall back on the bed. “Whoa!” He laughed, patting Rei’s back. “Hold on hold on my pants are still down-“

“Just kick them off.” Rei mumbled into the crook of Kaoru’s neck.

“Not when you still have pants on! The sensory problems I’ll have are chilling to think of!”

“Then take mine off.”

Kaoru laughed. “Fine!”

-----------------------------

As the weather cooled down again, Rei permitted himself to go back to two feedings a month, as Kaoru had begun to wear higher collars again. There was something about feeding from his neck that Rei didn’t have problems with like he had with the legs. Perhaps it was the cliche of it, or the intimacy, or the way it looks when he’s done.

It was frustrating to him how much he clearly needed the blood, life could never be simple for him. He pulled away from Kaoru with hesitation, watching the blood trickle down his collarbone for a moment. Kaoru’s hand in his hair ran through his curls lightly. It was the intimacy, he decided, that drew him more to the neck than anywhere else.

“Still find blood gross?” Kaoru whispered, not so much for privacy as they sat alone in the meeting room, waiting for their juniors, but more so from the lack of energy after having given it to Rei.

Rei licked at the wound, peppering light kisses around it. “A bit.” He murmured back.

“You’re not fooling me, you know. Perhaps you just like my blood~ I’m your exception now~.” With his other arm available now, he pat Rei’s back.

Rei chuckled and sat back, looking down at Kaoru’s face. “I didn’t take too much, did I?” He brushed some of Kaoru’s hair out of his face.

“I didn’t eat necessarily well today is all, no worries.” He let his arms fall to Rei’s thighs.

Rei idly fixed Kaoru’s collar to cover the bite, mainly to make sure it’s coverable. “And you let me drink from you? Bad Kaoru-kun.”

Kaoru opened his mouth to speak when the meeting room door opened, Rei quickly threw himself down next to Kaoru on the off chance it wasn't Koga and Adonis coming in. Koga paused at the door at the sound of Rei hitting the couch quite heavily.

“Should I be concerned?” He eyed them, watching Rei sigh.

“No, I was just being safe.” Rei smiled.

“You have blood on your chin, it wouldn’t have worked.” Koga sighed as he walked in, followed by Adonis, whose eyes widened at the sight. Rei bristled and lifted his sleeve to wipe at it, lightly slapping Kaoru’s arm.

“I wanted to see how far into the meeting we’d get before you noticed.” Kaoru grinned. “Thought it’d be funny.”

Adonis sat down across from them. “I fear it wouldn’t have lasted very long.”

Koga closed the door before sitting beside Adonis. “You two are disgusting.”

“You say that yet you haven’t complained about Rei not being active recently, so you have to pick~” Kaoru shot him a very cheeky grin.

“What is this, a game? I have 0 control over you freaks.” Koga scoffed. “You know, when you stopped flirting with girls I was glad because it made you less annoying, then you immediately began flirting with Sakuma-san-“ He squinted. “And you just dropped the honorific! Shameless!”

Kaoru cackled at his response, throwing his head back as his chest shook for a moment.

“Oh my, you did drop the honorific.” Rei smiled, a hand coming up to his face to try and hide his smile.

“Both of you! Disgusting!”

Adonis smiled, letting out a small chuckle before speaking. “As fun as this interaction is, we do need to discuss funding.”

Rei beamed. “Yes yes.” He clapped his hands twice. “Serious mode everyone!”

-----------------------------

Adonis and Kaoru left the booth to go to the bathroom while they waited for their food to arrive, leaving Koga and Rei sitting across from each other. Rei hummed a song he had been fine-tuning for the last week while watching the direction of the bathroom. He faded out his humming as he glanced to Koga, feeling the other’s gaze piercing through him. “What’s on your mind, Koga-kun?”

Koga bristled for a second before sighing softly. “Are you happy? With drinking blood?” He frowned. crossing his arms.

Rei blinked, turning so he could look properly at his friend. “What do you mean?”

He slanted his lips as he thought of an answer. “You hate blood. Is it worth the energy?”

Rei thought for a moment, humming softly as he did. “I wonder the same thing, sometimes.” Is what he comes up with. “It’s different, having all this energy again.”

Koga huffed. “I don’t really think that answers the question.”

Rei closed his eyes, picturing the image of blood running down Kaoru’s neck. A year ago it would’ve made him queasy to think about drinking it, but now he felt indifferent towards it. “I guess I just don’t have an answer. It’s complicated.”

Koga was quiet, glancing to the bathroom’s direction again. “If the two of you weren’t dating, would you still do it?”

That was something that hadn’t really occurred to him. Would he? He can’t even imagine another reality where he was in this situation and he wasn’t in a loving relationship with Kaoru. He thought then about the possibility of it being Keito, or Wataru, maybe even Shu or Kanata. In each scenario, he could see it happening so long as they loved each other. “Hm…” But then again, would Keito be willing? The other oddballs would be different for sure, each one of them would have a different relationship to the act of blood drinking that just aren’t the same. “No. I think I’m only okay with it because of our relationship.”

Koga hummed. “Okay.”

“Any other questions?” Rei watched him as Koga tapped his fingers against his opposite arm. “You’re still curious, I can tell.”

“…Hakaze-san is fine with it?”

Rei laughed. “He was begging me to drink his blood, actually.”

Koga’s lips twitched almost into a smile before he caught himself. “Okay. That’s all I wanted to know.”

Rei opened his mouth to respond, only to close it as Adonis sat back down next to Koga and Kaoru next to him.

“Still no food?” Kaoru sighed. “I’m sooo hungry.”

“You went to piss, there’s no way the food would’ve come out in such a short amount of time.” Koga barked, uncrossing his arms.

“A man can hope! You’re hungry too, right, Adonis-kun?” Kaoru looked to Adonis pleadingly.

Adonis blinked, then raised his hands in defiance. “I am, but he’s right, we weren’t gone long enough.”

Rei smiled, watching the three of them bicker. It was strange to think about how distant the four of them were during school, he couldn’t imagine a world where they went their separate ways after graduation. The possibility of that was so real at one point, but now he’s sure only death would separate them, both as a unit and as friends, and these days, Rei didn’t feel that impending doom as hard as he once did.

“Rei, I can feel you thinking.” Kaoru nudged him out of thoughts. “Anything of note?” He smiled.

Rei hesitated to answer, then shook his head. “Just having my regular old man musings~ Pay me no mind, Kaoru.” Even though he had practically been waiting to drop the honorific since graduation, it still felt strange coming out of his mouth.

“Hmmm, I’ll have to pick your mind later then~” Kaoru glanced at the others, grinning when Koga made a disgusted face at them. He opened his mouth to say something more before the waiter finally came with their food. “Oh sweet!”

Rei kept his eyes on Kaoru, only glancing up at the waiter to give him a smile as his food was handed over.

Yeah, there’s no one else he would ever consider relying on for this. The only reality he cares about is this one.

“Are you not hungry, Sakuma-san?” Adonis didn’t necessarily sound concerned though, he surely understood Rei’s hesitance. He looked over to Adonis, then shook his head.

“My apologies, I was still caught up in my thoughts.” He put his hands together, said his thanks, and picked up his chopsticks, catching Koga shake his head at him out of the corner of his eye.

No other reality would be better than this one.

#enstars #ensemble stars #reikao #rei sakuma #Kaoru Hakaze #jenna named this one for me

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thebookofeibon · 2 months

Photo

this is like the only fic i didn't post over here bc i posted it to my art blog.

read the updated version below the cut!

~~~~~

There are many ways to describe interpersonal relations, many words used to describe how one feels towards another person. With all the available words to use, Gentaro still finds himself at a loss when it comes to what exactly Fling Posse was. Sure, the original aspect of the group was that they are strangers who became a group on a fling, but time passes and more time is spent together and strangers turn to friends. Friends turn to...whatever they are now?

There's something to the way they look at each other in passing, the spark of electricity when they touch, the light in the eyes of one another when they talk. Friendship isn't quite what they are, Gentaro knows this isn't common amongst "just friends." The flutter he feels in his chest when he catches a genuine smile from Ramuda, or a toothy grin from Dice is more than one feels when a friend does the same. It became more common to be touchy-feely with the two of them and he's not entirely sure when that started, when he started to do buy into this behavior, or when the three of them somehow became able to read the others' minds enough to know what was okay with each other.

Gentaro woke groggy and still clinging to sleep, but dear God was he overheating. He wasn’t sure just how long he'd been asleep, but whatever the time is, he was sure it hadn't been long enough to warrant actually waking up. He blinked his eyes open reluctantly and with some difficulty--noticing Ramuda's face right next to his as his vision began to focus, sleeping peacefully, or he wanted to assume as much. He turned his head slightly, catching sight of Dice's limbs wrapped around both Ramuda and himself from behind. Ah, this must be why he was suffering from an oncoming heat stroke. He needed to escape from this arm prison so he could cool down, never in his life has he felt this need so desperately before. Well, that's probably a lie, but in the moment it sure felt like the truth.

The first part of that problem, however, was detangling himself from the mess of limbs that he's in. Currently locked in between two people, it made it kind of hard to maneuver. Dice's arm seemed to be overtop of Ramuda's, but at the same time, both of Ramuda's arms were wrapped around him, not even bothering to try to reach Dice over Gentaro. He huffed and began to try and solve the puzzle of limbs in his head. He was not getting any cooler like this and he felt like he was sweating more and more by the second. Now he could just push himself up and potentially wake them both up, or he can sneak out. The former is extremely tempting but he holds back, moving his arm to slip out from between himself and Ramuda to gently move Dice's arm off of them both. Dice is a very heavy sleeper so he wasn’t too worried about being too careful with him. It's Ramuda that he was most worried about, especially with how he's clung to him. Gentaro paused, trying to figure something out. He could just...wiggle out of Ramuda's grasp, maybe? He figures, "why not?" and wriggles himself up a little, but all that moving only caused Ramuda to nuzzle in closer to Gentaro. Great. He sighed, this time attempting to pry Ramuda's arm that was on top of him, off. This proved to be just a little difficult, but he was able to get free. Ramuda grumbled slightly, but thankfully didn't wake. He watched as Ramuda almost sadly nuzzled against the pillow rather than him and he smiled a little, reaching up to ruffle up Ramuda's hair.

"I'll be right back." He whispers, more to himself than a potentially listening pink demon. He pushed himself to sit up, find his legs in their own entanglement, and scoot himself down to the foot of the bed to get off. He'll take a quick trip to the kitchen, get some water to cool off, then come back and lie down again, not in the middle of his group. Any other day he'd probably go right back to where he was without really any thoughts on the matter, but with the temperature of the room, he does have a few gripes on doing so.

He avoided turning on any lights until he got further away from the room, and it's a blessing that Ramuda's studio wasn't too hard to navigate once you get used to it. Passing through the living room is a game of "did Ramuda leave any pins laying around?" and he walked through slowly while watching the ground for any glimmer of silver. He managed to avoid the one (1) pin laying stray on the ground and made it to the kitchen, which was very open. There's an island in the center with some stools set up alongside it, but they're opposite the side of the fridge so he doesn't exactly need to worry about bumping into them. He maneuvered over to the cabinets, not quite remembering where he kept his cups. He focused the most on making as little sound as possible, opening and closing three cabinets before finding them. Ramuda has one of those fancy fridges with a water dispenser ("These are actually quite common! Nothing fancy about it!" Is what Ramuda told them when Dice made a comment on it. Whatever the case, he still thinks they're neat), and he started to pour himself a glass before he remembered he could get ice too. The ice machine is so loud though...Wait, he can bypass the machine by just opening the freezer and grabbing a few ice cubes from the tray. He's a genius--and not just lagged by fatigue so the smart ideas don't come as soon--and he does just that. The cold of the ice felt much nicer than it should've against his palm and he lingers a moment while holding them, then--carefully to avoid making too much sound--slides the few ice cubes into his cup before returning to the water dispenser to fill the rest of the cup. He had half the mind to keep himself from just drenching himself with the water instead as he takes a sip. Despite the water dispenser being connected to the freezer side of the fridge, it still baffles him how the water remains room temperature and that's not what he was looking for. With a sigh, he made his way to the opposite side of the island after all and as silently as he could, pulled a stool out to sit and wait for his water to get cold. He could just eat the ice cubes, or let them melt in his mouth, but that won't provide the relief he's aiming for. Inner body heat needs to be maintained as well, after all.

"Gentaroooooooooo, what're you doing out here?" He nearly jumps out of his sweaty skin when he hears Ramuda speak. Since when has he allowed himself to relax so easily around others that he could even have that reaction in front of them? He turned—only slightly, as Ramuda had begun to approach him regardless—to catch his leader rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He clung to Gentaro's arm and rested his head against his shoulder. "It's like, 2am, you don't have a reason to be up so early..." He still sounded tired, Gentaro thought that was kind of cute- cute? Is that the word he's looking for?

"Ah, well you see, I actually have a plane to catch as I'm fleeing the country." He offered a smile to him. He lifted a hand to his mouth, as if to block off anyone listening. "I robbed 20 banks this past week and they finally caught me."

"Awww and you didn't invite us to run with you?" Ramuda nuzzled at Gentaro, seeming like he could fall asleep just like that. He hoped he wouldn't, that would be troublesome.

"Ah, that was a lie, sorry." He dropped his hand to the counter, reaching at his cup to test its temperature. Colder, but not enough. "Between you and Dice, and what with the heat of the summer, I overheated and needed to escape to relieve myself." He glanced to his cup for a second. "Did I wake you?"

Ramuda hummed, then let go of Gentaro's arm to go and grab himself a glass of water. "Kind of, I think you getting up woke me initially, but it was when I realized there was an empty space that I actually got up." Despite Gentaro's best efforts at keeping quiet and avoiding using the ice machine, Ramuda went ahead and activated it, the clinking of ice against glass causing Gentaro to grimace. Dice was the only one asleep now, so it won't be too much of an issue, at least. "You're right though, it's sooooo hot, I don't like being sweaty for no reason." He filled his glass then made his way to the stool beside Gentaro to sit. He leaned against him once he was sitting, Gentaro wrapping his arm around him to make sure he didn't fall.

"Me neither." Gentaro tested the cup's temperature again, colder once more and still not where he'd like it but he'd like to cool down faster so this is the best he's getting, he supposes. He intends to take just a small sip, but he ends up chugging most of it in one go. He frowns a little at the realization and sets the glass down again. "Don't you have AC here? I mean, even I have that."

Ramuda actually managed to only take a sip of his water, but it also probably wasn't super cold, that has to be why he didn't, not that he has better reflexes. "I didn't think it'd still be hot at night! The sun is gone!" He took another sip. "I'll turn it on before heading back in."

"That's called humidity, Ramuda. Even though the sun is gone, it's still quite humid. In fact, humidity is one of the main perpetrators of heat. It could be the same temperature tomorrow and less humid and it won't feel as bad." He says this mainly as a joke, and it seems like the point reached Ramuda just as he hoped, as he earns a light slap on the arm.

"I'm not an idiot, Gentaro."

This is not the banter of just friends, Gentaro thought. This feels closer. Their positions with each other are more intimate than friends would do...right? He finds himself wishing he had any sort of experience with friendships before this to compare to.

"Hmm, sure." He lifts his drink again to finish off what little water was amongst the ice. "I am just joking, however."

Ramuda smiled. "You cooled off enough yet? I'm tired~~!" He whined, taking another sip of his water. "I am." Then he downed the rest without much of a further thought. So much for being cooled down. Gentaro chuckled, nodding a little.

"I suppose I am." He pushed himself up, taking both his cup and Ramuda's--snatching it right from his hands--to the sink, dumping the ice out to melt in the sink instead of in the cups. Ramuda was already off to fiddle with the AC by the time Gentaro turned to leave. He assumed it was in the living room, so it's not too far away. He passed through the living room, making note of where that pin was, and made his way back to the bedroom. Dice was still passed out, making a stupid face as he's blissfully unaware that the two people he was just holding were out of the room for around 10 minutes.

Gentaro climbed back onto the bed, making his way back to where he was positioned again. He doesn't bother moving Dice back on him, he doesn't think he's cooled down enough to willingly put himself back into a snuggling position that would no doubt heat him up again (and to do so would further push this...thing that they are and he doesn't want to do that when he's aware of it, not yet).

"AC is on now~" Ramuda skips back into the room, practically jumping onto the bed. Without asking, wrapping his arms around Gentaro and dragging them both to lay down. "Sleep time again."

"If you hold me like that, my lungs will burst." Gentaro chuckled a little, trying to at least loosen up the grip on him. Ramuda didn't let up, rather, he held on tighter. "Ramuda, you're going to kill me."

"Nuh-uh."

Behind the two of them came a groan and an arm wrapped around them once more. Well, there goes Gentaro's plans to avoid this. "You guys're bein' too loud...'ts not even mornin'..."

"Uh oh! Dice is awake!" Ramuda chuckled, reaching up to pat his arm. "Go back to sleep, we're not being loud at all." Dice gave a hum and fell back asleep instantly. Ramuda looked at Gentaro with a cheeky grin. "And you're not dead!"

"That was a lie, of course."

This closeness is something Gentaro is unfamiliar with--sure, he's cuddled with his brother before, he's exchanged compliments and jokes in the same fashion--but there's an underlying tone to everything the three of them do and he feels as if he's the last one to catch on (though, knowing the other two, Dice would be the last to find out, he likes to think), or maybe he's just overthinking this whole thing. Nevertheless, he's here, everything between them has happened already, regardless of intent, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. He was just...unsure if he wants to get used to this...whatever it is. If he were to get used to, what then if he had just misread the auras and by accepting something he was unsure of, ruined everything they had. On top of that, he wasn't even sure if he was ready for whatever this is.

These aren't the thoughts he should be having while trying to fall back asleep. The bed has started to cool down some, his partners already asleep on both sides of him. Awake Gentaro can deal with his relationship crisis another time, sleepy Gentaro really just wanted to savor the moment as he slipped back into sleep.

the meaning of the word “friend”

Rating: G Words: 2418 Ships: Fling Poly, Amemura Ramuda/Yumeno Gentaro

read on ao3

read on squidgeworld (updated!)

dabs ya boy drew art for their fic this time so take it

#fling poly #hypmic #hypnosis mic #ramugen

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thebookofeibon · 2 months

Text

the afterlife of the party

Rating: Gen Chapters: 1/1 Words: 2378 Fandom: Ensemble Stars Ships: ReiKao

It isn’t that Rei is entirely private, but he isn’t entirely transparent either. He’s an open book partially written in a dead language only he knows, and to read that other language, you have to really get to know him.

read on ao3 (final reikao to be posted there 👍)

i'll add the squidgeworld link when i post there

you may also read under the cut :)

~~~~~~~~~

Kaoru had been asked by his brother to manage the live house for a few days, and with Undead not having any work for those days, he accepted. Rei had a clear schedule too and insisted on going to help out as well. Why? Because he’d never give up an opportunity to hang out with Kaoru all day, of course.

Which is how he wound up sweeping the stage while Kaoru handled some finances in the back. A quiet soundtrack filled the silence of the empty business while he worked, he wasn’t sure entirely what song it was, but it didn’t really matter in the end.

Really? He was bored. He didn’t really need to sweep anymore, the stage was clean and ready for the first band of the night to play, but Kaoru had a scary look in his eyes when Rei wouldn’t stop talking that he decided it would be better to stay out of his way when he did his pre-opening business.

He looked up over where the audience would be, and a pang of nostalgia washed over him. He still performed, sure, this nostalgia wasn’t for that. It was for when he performed here. He could almost feel the energy from those crowds, those people who either hated or loved him in his second year. They mostly loved him here, Kaoru and his father wouldn’t have let him continue playing here if he was solely hated. It was kind of why the place was almost a safe haven to him from the drama of school and home.

He glanced to the other side of the stage, where Keito usually was, and frowned. Now why is that the memory coming to him? The disappointment from how Keito was behaving, the frustration of being used, the depression of losing one of the only people who was ever really there for him. Yes, Koga stayed with him, Koga fought to keep Rei from truly slipping under, but Koga wasn’t his childhood friend who saw him as someone other than a vessel to unleash woes upon.

“Rei-kun~” A familiar airy voice brought him from his thoughts and he looked back to the pit, watching as Kaoru walked closer. “Are you getting tired? You seem a bit out of it. You can probably come to the back and rest if you want to.” He crossed his arms and stopped just in front of the stage. Rei blinked at him blankly.

He hesitated to answer, he wasn’t tired, not really. Kaoru seemed to be getting confused the longer he went without answering. Rei sighed. “I’m fine, thank you.” It came out harsher than he meant to and he immediately cringed at the tone.

Kaoru’s eyebrows raised with that and he climbed onto the stage. “Are you sure?”

“Hey, Kaoru-kun.”

“Hm?”

Rei looked down for a second as he thought of how to word his thoughts, then looked back into his partner’s eyes, the other stiffening some from the intense look. “You would let me know if I was upsetting you, right?”

“Huh?” Kaoru looked, sounded, and very much was confused by the question. “Where’s this coming from?”

Rei glanced back to where he was looking before, Keito’s shadow having vanished into thin air. “I was…just thinking. Sorry,” he turned back to Kaoru with a smile that wasn’t really as reassuring as he’d hoped, “ramblings of an old man. Forget I said anything~”

Kaoru frowned, approaching Rei and putting his hand on the vampire’s shoulder. “No, you looked like, really sad all of a sudden.” He followed Rei’s gaze to the side, then looked to the other side, suddenly feeling like he should’ve seen Keito and Koga there. Ah. “Oh…Were you thinking about Deadmanz?”

“How astute, Kaoru-kun~” He sighed, leaning into his broom.

With a hum of acknowledgement, Kaoru patted his shoulder, then leaned onto Rei as much as he could without toppling him. “Wellll, to answer your question. I already kinda do? I can’t think of any time in recent memory where you upset me and I didn’t tell you off for it.”

Rei hummed. “Yes…I suppose you have a point there.” It didn’t really ease his mind though, and he couldn’t help but glance back to where Keito once stood. “Would you tell me if our relationship wasn’t working for you?”

Kaoru was silent as he leaned into Rei’s gaze. The vampire shifted his gaze back to him, but the smile he tried to give was hardly a shift in his expression. “Wow, Hasumi-kun sounds like a dick.” It wasn’t an answer.

“He’s just bad at communication.”

“Hmmm, he can be both, you know?” Kaoru took his hand. “Do you want a drink before we open?”

Rei pouted. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Kaoru sighed, tugging on the hand he held and using his other to take the broom from Rei. “I already gave you my answer.” Rei let himself be pulled off the stage, though held tight to the broom. “I already do tell you when I’m upset. Why would that change when it’s about our relationship?” He began to lead the both of them to the bar. “I, unlike Hasumi-kun, have integrity.” He led Rei to a chair, and pushed on his shoulders to sit. “Hand me the broom.”

“Huh? Oh-” Rei loosened his grip on the broom, finally allowing Kaoru to take it. He frowned, placing his hands on his knees. “You paint Hasumi-kun as some apathetic brute, he was just…misguided, I suppose.”

Kaoru walked behind the bar to set the broom away and grab drinks. “Well yeah, I’m not saying he’s a bad guy, I don’t have anything against him, but…” He set the tomato juice container on the counter and went back in for the apple juice. “He was still kind of a dick. He can still be one every now and then, but back then? To you?”

Rei fell silent with a sigh, leaning onto the counter with his arms to rest his head. He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly so down, had he known he’d be like this, he would’ve stayed home. He lowered his head to the table, wrapping his arms around it to cage himself in. There was a tap of a glass against his right arm, but he stayed put. His brain was full of prickling static, almost to the point of developing a headache. His fingers momentarily dug into the back of his scalp before Kaoru’s own took them in.

“You need to stop thinking so hard, demon king, what’s done is done. You’ve said it yourself, the two of you were destined to split.” Kaoru leaned against Rei’s back, rubbing his thumbs into the back of Rei’s much more pale and lithe hands. “If it’s any sentiment, I’m quite satisfied with our relationship, even if I get fed up with you sometimes. That’s what a normal relationship is.”

“I don’t understand these things, Kaoru-kun.” He lifted his head some, staring straight ahead into the cabinets behind the bar. “When I was young, people came to me for relationship advice, as if I was an expert rather than a nine year old who liked to read. Nowadays I wish I, too, could walk into the local cemetery to ask a random child what I should be doing with my life.”

“Hmmm,” Kaoru moved to sit in the stool next to Rei, “what would you tell yourself if you traveled back to then? Would little Rei-chan have any answers for you?” He pulled Rei to turn around, the vampire begrudgingly spinning to face him on the stool and avoiding eye contact.

“Some things I wouldn’t like to hear, for sure.” He huffed, placing his hands on his knees again. “He would know who I am, though. I couldn’t bear letting him think life was so bad that I had to go back in time.” He chuckled to himself. “I can’t take away his only friend.” He spoke quieter, as if he didn’t really want Kaoru to hear.

Kaoru listened, and hummed to acknowledge all he said. “Would he believe you?” Kaoru pushed Rei’s bangs from his face.

“Yes. Without hesitation.” He still avoided eye contact.

“Rei-kun.” He cupped Rei’s cheek, lifting his head. “You can’t go back in time to do this, don’t make yourself upset over a situation that can’t happen.”

Rei made eye contact, softening at Kaoru’s caring gaze. He glanced down at his hands, then lifted one to take Kaoru’s off of his face. “Is it pathetic to say I miss it sometimes.” He looked back to Kaoru, watching the way he scrunched his eyebrows together with a somber smile.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean? Miss what?”

Rei turned to look at the stage again, lowering their joined hands to his lap. “All of it, before the war. It’s not like my life was much better at that point, but I had Hasumi-kun.” He rubbed his thumb against Kaoru’s hand.

“Mmm, I see.” Kaoru’s gaze followed Rei’s, thumb mirroring his as well. “Well, I’m a little jealous that you’d miss it at all considering you’re waaay better off now with me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you would prefer him over me. Thankfully, I do know better.” He chuckled. “But I don’t think it’s pathetic, no.”

Rei scrunched his eyes closed in frustration. It was an inconsiderate question, wasn’t it? “That wasn’t my intention-“

“I know.”

Rei turned back to the counter, taking his tomato juice to sip at, and dropped the conversation. It was a pointless conversation in the end, all it did was depress him, the static in his head only growing louder and sharper. Kaoru kept rubbing at his hand every few minutes as they sat in silence, the only sounds being from their glasses and the tap of Kaoru’s slightly grown nail hitting the screen of his phone as he scrolled some social media that Rei couldn’t even be bothered to try and guess. He finished his juice and set the glass down with a sigh.

“How much longer ‘till opening?” He glanced to Kaoru, not fully turning to him.

“Hm?” Kaoru looked up, blinking in confusion as he thought more on what was said. “Oh, uh…” A glance down at his phone’s clock. “Just under an hour.”

Rei nodded, then stood up, letting go of Kaoru’s hand in the process. “May I go mic check?”

Kaoru blinked again, not answering right away. Rei looked back at him again. “Go ahead.” He finally got out, nodding.

With the confirmation, Rei took back off to the stage, running to the back to load up an instrumental that he knew was still on the livehouse’s computer. As the instrumental began to play, he walked back onto the stage, pulling the mic to him to turn it on.

It’s an older solo song of his, prior to the unit requirement. He hadn’t really touched it since the war, but the words came to him with ease.

Kaoru sat turned to the stage, juice in hand. He considered taking his phone out to record, but decided against it when he thought about the possibility of someone seeing it.

This wasn’t a performance, this was a display. The song wasn’t necessarily emotional or negative, but Kaoru understood the rawness in Rei’s voice as he sang. The Rei Sakuma of that time is gone, not even present in the current mic check despite it being a song from then, but the Rei Sakuma on stage now isn’t one seen by many either.

This is one of those moments for Kaoru to get to understand that dead tongue and really sit in the knowledge he’s being taught. He smiled when Rei glanced over to him, smiling slightly more when Rei gave him an honest grin back as he sang. This was a moment for his eyes only, a moment meant to bring only them closer together without an outsider being able to tell. They’re having a conversation when Rei looks to him, despite the only words being spoken are the lyrics he’s singing to the empty livehouse, despite Kaoru not responding verbally.

The last notes of the song play out without the fanfare that would usually come with the ending from the audience and it felt a little off because there was no cheering. Kaoru set his glass down and clapped lightly, a smile on his face as Rei hopped down from the stage to walk back over to him. “Feel better?” Kaoru smiled.

Rei offered a small smile in response, reaching to take Kaoru’s hands in his again. “A bit, I supp-” A yawn cut him off, and he let go of one hand to cover his mouth as it went longer than expected. He blinked sleepily as it finished and dropped his arm to his side again. “Excuse me…I believe I wore myself out with that.”

Kaoru stood, taking Rei’s hand back. “You can come take a nap in the office. I’ve got everything under control.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that this time.” Rei smiled. “It’s best I not interfere with the expert’s business here.”

Kaoru laughed, letting go of Rei’s one hand again to drag him towards the back. The couch in the office was small, but Rei was no stranger to sleeping in cramped spaces. Kaoru dug out an old blanket that most definitely needed to be washed and lightly set it over Rei’s curled up figure, already almost asleep with his head on the arm of the couch.

The static in his head had mostly dissipated with his song, though he wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up dreaming about the war during his nap. His eyes slid closed without much of a fight, though he did fight to open them after feeling Kaoru’s lips against his forehead.

“Come find me when you wake up, k?” Kaoru smiled, not yet standing up.

Rei gave a small smile as he closed his eyes again. “Always.”

#enstars #ensemble stars #reikao #rei sakuma #Kaoru Hakaze

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