Highness (Jeongcheol)

Seungcheol

Something was off. Clearly.

Seungcheol eyed the blond vampire across from him warily. Ferdy had greeted them with exuberance at the door, yipping excitedly, sniffing first Jeonghan's pant legs and then Seungcheol's own. Seungcheol was sure that, after the club, they had many interesting smells between the two of them. Jeonghan was using it all as an excuse to avoid Seungcheol's eyes, focusing all his attention on the wiggling puppy instead.

The night had started off so well.

Seungcheol hadn't gone out like that in...he didn't even know how long. His big nights out since moving back to Hyde Park had usually just consisted of a few drinks at the local bar with old acquaintances or a prospective hookup.

But dancing with Jeonghan had been so fucking fun. Not to mention an unexpected turn-on. Seeing the way the vampire translated his otherworldly grace on the dance floor, his hips moving in a hypnotic rhythm, had left Seungcheol practically panting. And then that hint of possessiveness when their dance partner had gotten overly handsy...

And not to mention the bite. The bite.

Talk about an unexpected turn-on. Fuck.

Joshua hadn't been exaggerating when he said vampire bites felt good. Seungcheol thought back on their past conversations about it with new embarrassment. Now that he knew what a bite felt like—like there was a direct line from his neck to his cock, like two seconds more and he would have been begging Jeonghan to let him fuck him in that corner—he was more than a little mortified to have even discussed it with Joshua. He didn't need to picture that between Seokmin and his little brother.

But then it had all gone to hell.

The bite may have felt amazing—Seungcheol's cock twitched at his even thinking about it—but it had left him feeling...vulnerable. On edge. He'd let another person drink his blood, for fuck's sake. Had even gone so far as to offer himself up on a platter weekly, in exchange for being Jeonghan's...what, exactly? One and only?

He'd felt like a blushing virgin asking for exclusivity from his more experienced boyfriend, a position Seungcheol had never found himself in before.

But the moment had been so...intimate. Seungcheol didn't want to imagine Jeonghan doing that with anyone else, now that he knew what it felt like.

And Jeonghan had mocked him for it. Likened him to a pet.

Well, okay, Jeonghan always mocked him; that was nothing new. But then the vampire had just...vanished. Leaving Seungcheol there in the corner, stewing over the whole encounter.

And now here they were, Jeonghan still studiously avoiding Seungcheol's eyes. For a vampire that was usually pretty in-your-face with his personality, he was being awfully cagey.

It was all just...off.

Sex between them hadn't made things nearly this awkward, so why had this bite? It had to be something else, something more. Seungcheol was aware that driving home had taken way longer than it should have, like Jeonghan had been going some roundabout way. Avoiding someone? Was he worried that Mingyu was back? Then why wouldn't he just tell Seungcheol that?

"You need water." Jeonghan's eyes were still on the dog, but Seungcheol had to assume the comment was directed at him. "The drinking and dancing. The blood I took. You're probably pretty dehydrated at this point."

Seungcheol shrugged but didn't argue. He headed toward the kitchen, Jeonghan and the puppy both at his heels. He downed a glass of water, only for Jeonghan to take the empty cup and refill it for him, then fish a sports drink out of the fridge and shove it into Seungcheol's hand.