"Will he be okay? I really worry for him…"

"Of course he will. Aunt just dropped by last night and injected some serum into his body. He should be fine…"

Vladimir's eyes slowly opened. A dull, throbbing pain numbed his senses as he sat up in the bed. Light streamed in from the tall, decorative windows. Stained glass? There was only stained glass in his cousin's room…

"Hey numbskull," the sardonic voice called out. "Welcome back to our world! Auntie paid a little visit. She's back home now though..."

Vladimir glanced around at the assorted colors of light filling the room. The small dust particles gently floated around the room. His mouth was dry, throat sore. He lifted his hands to inspect them. Dark purple-red bruises were scattered over his pale paper skin. Past his fingers, he could see the dark mahogany bed board and the four worried people behind it. Elizabeta, with an actual look of worry, stared at him intently. His cousin sat in a chair with a mundane expression as Dragomir filled up a big cup of blood. Emil, the fourth person, sat next to his cousin, sipping steaming coffee. He groaned and attempted speaking. His lips moved quietly before allowing gauche, guttural groans.

"..ood… Bl.. Blood…. Need…" The vampire gasped, his hands reaching out. He felt the light tingle of his fangs growing and digging into his lips. Dragomir dropped a few pills into the blood and handed it to Vladimir. Vladimir greedily finished the entire cup, small drops dribbling down his lips and onto the ivory colored sheets.

"And you're going to clean that up," his cousin moaned, complaining about the mess he had made. Emil shifted uncomfortably in his seat, almost disgusted by the ill vampire's thirst.

"Emil?" Vladimir grinned, "Come closer… I have a secret. For you!" Emil nervously glanced at Elizabeta before moving one step closer. "No! No, no, no! Closer!" Emil moved until the vampire could whisper in his ear. Vladimir chuckled before he cupped his hands and whispered, "I know you care about your brother. The expression you have, despite your attempts to hide it, only reveal something happened. If you want me to do something about it, you'll have to give something to me."

The Icelander's face flushed a light pink before the color was sucked back into his soft skin. "Give you what?"

Vladimir snickered, eyes glancing at his cousin and back to the purple-eyed Icelander. "Well," he cupped his hands and lowered his voice into a whisper, "you could live here and let me suck your blood whenever I want for mm… a month!"

"No way in fucking hell!"

"Think about it carefully. I will help your brother in whatever circumstance it is in exchange for your blood. A pretty good deal, don't you think? Pig's blood doesn't satisfy my needs. I need some sort of human blood to give me that good vampire strength? Right?"

Emil sat quietly. He glanced at the clock, at everyone else in the room, and back to Vladimir. "Fine… As long as you don't do some kinky shit like tying me up or something. I'll stay here for these circumstances but… after that month, I'm running like hell away from here!"

"Sounds like a deal, Egill! I can't guarantee a kinky free life here because of my bastard cousin but you know, other than that I think you're fine!"

Emil glanced at the cousin and swallowed hard. The cousin only winked his infamous smirk. "It's Emil! E-M-I-L you stupid vampire… Not… Egill…"

Vladimir stared at the others in the room. "Some privacy, if you will… Dragomir, another cup—Wait. No, wait, just leave." He waited until everyone was out and he sat alone with the Icelander. "I'm sorry. Before we begin our discussion, let's have our first trial of blood sucking."

Emil sighed and bit his lip. He seemed to curl up slightly, shoulders hunching in. He seemed to do that when he was nervous. The vampire gave a warm smile and beckoned him closer.

"When exactly did you start craving blood? You were always… so dependent on tomato juice. You swore you would never drink it." Emil was pulled lightly onto the bed. Vladimir's cold grip sent him shivering.

"Mm… I never wanted to drink blood because of your brother but… Now I have no reason to drink anything else. Everything else is bland compared to blood." Vladimir pulled the Icelander on top of him. He propped himself up with a pillow and leaned against the headboard of the bed. "Also, once you taste blood, you can't go back to drinking regular human drinks." His long, sharp nails poked around Emil's soft skin. He gently unbuttoned the first button of Emil's shirt and pulled the collar to the side, exposing the skin he desired. "You don't mind if I suck out of your neck, right? I know it's cliché, but it's the easiest access for me." Emil shook his head and tilted his head slightly, allowing Vladimir to see the beautiful snow skin before him. Vladimir's heart skipped a beat for a second. If only Emil had shiny golden locks like Lukas… The vampire groaned and slapped himself quietly. He licked his lips and dug his head into the crook of Emil's neck.

"Are you smelling me?" Emil blushed violently, hands gripping at the sheets. "You're really something…"

Vladimir laughed. "Just seeing what kind of flavor you have. You smell really sweet. I like it." He ran his pink tongue over a certain area of Emil's neck. Slowly, he pressed his sharp fangs into the other, skin tearing and the pearly whites sending pain into the Icelander.

"Stop… It hurts," Emil murmured, gripping at the sheets until his knuckles were white. "Can you be gentle?"

"Gentle isn't something you describe blood sucking, kiddo," the vampire chuckled and stabbed his teeth into the blood stream. He soon tasted a sweet liquid pouring into his mouth. He fell into ecstasy, the sweetness coiling around him and warming his heart. His heartrate quickened and he began to suck, wanting more. He suddenly felt a shock as the Icelander yanked himself away.

"Don't suck so much! If I'm going to give you blood for a month, at least ration it!" Emil placed his hand by the two holes and climbed off the vampire. He rushed over to the side table and found bandages.

"Sorry. Just enjoying myself. Now, where were we?" Vladimir sat up and ran his tongue over his lips. The sweet liquid would soon be addicting.

"Okay so… Lukas…" Emil struggled with finding correct words for a few seconds. "He…um… well, he's in the hospital."

Hospital. Ill. Coma? Is he hanging on the spider's thread for life?

"I was having coffee with him. And then he suddenly collapsed. He hit his head… And," he began to struggle even more with his words. "He… He was in a coma for about a week. No memory loss, thank the gods. And he woke up yesterday. The first thing he asked for was you. He said he would not get better until he sees you. If you don't take him here, in your cousin's guardianship, Mathias will take him back and beat him again and again whenever he gets drunk… which honestly, seems like every day. He wasn't like that… But please, Vladimir. I gave you my blood, now it's your turn to do a favor. Bring him here."

Together. Living together. That was possible?

"Does he even know that I'm a vampire? That I'm not human?" Vladimir felt nostalgic tears sting at the back of his eyes. How long has it been since he's imagined living with Lukas under the same roof. He never thought it would be under these circumstances that it would occur. He then realized, his hate was really never there. He thought it was, but it was anger and hurt confusing his mind. He wanted to apologize. But then, he didn't. Why apologize? Their relationship was too far down the road of ruin.

"No. He doesn't know."

"Are visiting hours over?"

"No. Ends in a few hours."

"Help me out of bed. We're going to pick up some flowers and head to the hospital."