Sacrifices || Jackson Wang \ Han Sanghyuk au

• Chapter 17 •

Yue.

I felt as if I had been frozen in place. My body grounded there, unmoving as my eyes switched between the two I saw before me. Hoseok. And then.. And then a little girl whom I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around. Her eyes bright silver, just like mine, fresh blood staining the front of her dress, two fangs sticking out from where any normal human's canines would have been. But she wasn't human.

"Yue, I can explain." Hoseok began to speak, but I couldn't listen to him, the only thing I was capable of was the gasp that fell lightly from my mouth as that girl decided on walking up to me, bowing and smiling wide. I shouldn't have been as terrified as I was.

"You must be Aunt Yue, Daddy has talked a lot about you." Daddy. She just called him..

"Daddy?" I yelled now, a pit of anger boiling in my stomach, my eyes trained on my older brother. At this point, we could be the biggest threat to Lord N, with our history of vampyre feeding and now a child vampyre that we had no choice but to either slay, or keep within the walls of our clan. And by the look upon Hoseok's face, killing her was no longer an available option.

My mind was racing, a mix of anger and fear blinding me as I felt light headed. I wanted to scream, I wanted to attack him. How could I focus on keeping my self alive on my own judgement day when he had brought home such a premature being who could risk absolutely everything.

Again, this wasn't a law that Lord N had enforced, but because of the ignorance new vampyres held, our secret and hidden lives were even more often brought to the surface due to the children's lack of understanding. Myself, I'd never met a vampyre under the human age of fourteen years until this instant.

I fought every will in my body not to lunge forward, breathing in and out slowly, attempting at simply ignoring the child. "Is everything alright?" I heard Jackson say, appearing behind me, though I didn't move to look at him, I knew his exact facial expression as his eyes fell upon what was in front of me. "What is-"

"Haru, why don't you go inside with Uncle Jackson while your Aunt and I talk, okay?" Hoseok was indeed like a father, his voice tender and sweet, though it made my stomach turn. The little girl nodded, confusion washing over her as Jackson, without any protest, grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house.

"Now Yue," My brother whispered, his voice leveling as he could physically feel the rage building within me. "Let me explain."

And he did, talking of a sob story that I tried not to get myself caught up in. How he'd killed the girl's parents without knowing that she was so close behind. I hated him for doing something so incredibly selfish, putting us at risk and destroying that girl's only family she's known.

But somehow, I also respected the decision he made, the humanity he showed. Ever since Hyuk, my mind was at a constant battle within itself, and sometimes I had no other choice but to give in.

It took awhile, hours maybe, of sitting across the room, watching as Haru became acquainted with both Jackson and Hyuk, before I relaxed at the idea of the girl being in our home. I wasn't completely comfortable, but as I watched as how she attached herself to Jackson, my heart ached.

***

The year we met, it was early November, and although it typically wasn't cold enough, snow had blanketed the road we walked before us. Jackson's hand wrapped around mine, I could hear every shiver he made, his body so close to mine.

I looked at him, my mouth forming into a slight smirk. "You wouldn't be so cold if you brought a coat." I winked, but he didn't find me amusing, his black shirt and jeans being held up by a pair of suspenders being the only warmth he had. I giggled, wrapping my sweater clad arms around his torso, burying my head into his chest. I loved being able to feel his heart beat against my cheek.

"I'm not cold," He whined, his thick arms wrapping around my shoulders, his fingers lacing themselves in my hair. The breeze picked up, and I could hear his breath hitch, his breathing shook.

"Not cold, huh?" I winked, pulling away from him, grabbing some snow in my hands, forming it into a tight ball. He winced.

"You wouldn't.." But I did, hitting him directly in the face, causing me to erupt in laughter as his hand wiped away at his cheek.

"Damn it, Yue." He laughed, growing closer, and all I could do was scream before he lifted me up, tossing me into the snow. I just laid there, watching as he sat next to me, his red eyes looking down at me with such care, I held little notice to what the color meant.

We sat there for awhile, and somehow, the cold must have stopped bothering him, not once did he ask to go home. I smiled, more flakes falling from the whitened sky. "Can we make a snowman?" The idea was simple, but it had been upwards of a hundred years since I had made one, and when he nodded, I shot straight up, a smile wide against my frozen cheeks.

In minutes, mine had been done, it's body as tall as me, my scarf wrapped tightly around it's neck. I was proud, and as I felt my boyfriend's arms wrap around my waist and his head rest against my shoulder, I felt a feeling of warmth past the brisk air. "It's beautiful." He whispered, his breath hitting my ear, sending waves to my heart. "I want to do this again."

I tilted my head, our eyes meeting as I saw his mouth pulled up into a smile. "Next time we do this, I want to do it with our children."

Children. We were in love, and speaking of such an idea was our normal, but I knew that it wouldn't happen. Two vampyres couldn't birth children, it just wasn't possible. And even though it made my heart race at a mention of our future, it also made it sink at our bitter reality.

"Hey." He turned me around, somehow knowing exactly what my mind had been thinking. His finger lifted my chin, his cold lips pressing lightly against mine. And when he pulled away, his voice was tender. "Don't think about all of that. Don't worry about things," His lips pressed against my forehead.

The sad reality was, that no matter what we wanted, our immortality interfered with the only thing that kept us from a full, blissful future. A baby.

***

Hoseok had moved over to me, sitting on the couch a few spots over, giving up on bonding more with his 'daughter' as she relentlessly giggled at the faces that both Hyuk and Jackson were giving her.

"How old is she?" I asked, not pealing my eyes from how Jackson smiled at the little one before him. I tried not to watch, it evoked to many feelings that left me confused and hurt.

"I'd say six. I never asked." He breathed. And it was a weird situation, for each one of us, though the girl hadn't even the slightest idea that this wasn't her born family. No, her new memory only knew of Hoseok as her father, and the people around her being her uncles and only aunt.

I envied Hoseok, as he had what I had always wanted. A child that loved him unconditionally, whether it had been through deception and ignorance, or actual birth, it was still there for him and not for me.

That night, it was decided that Hoseok and Haru would share their room, kicking Jackson out and as his and Hyuk's relationship was nothing more of hostile tension, he was to sleep on our couch. He didn't seem to mind though, until everyone was tucked away and asleep, I noticed how he tossed and turned on the dense sofa.

"Hey," I breathed out at the doorway, peering in and watching him as he turned. He stopped, lifting himself up and looking at me.

He smiled, patting a seat beside him and I sat, my eyes burying into the wall in front of me. It was as if it was old times. He knew what I was thinking. "You know, he didn't do this to upset you."

I felt his hand rest on my shoulder, my body instantly relaxing at his touch. Tears heated my cheeks. "I just.." I couldn't get any thing else out, my lips trembling and my eyes flooding over.

Without another word, I was engulfed in an embrace that I no longer cared to hide the feelings if gave me. His arms strong around my chest, he pulled me onto his lap, his chin placed on my shoulder and fingers weaving through my messy black hair. I sobbed, my body shaking as Jackson mumbled words of comfort into my ear. "Shhhhh," He'd whisper as my cries grew in volume. "One day, I promise you, you'll get everything you want, Yue."

I fell asleep in his arms, my cheeks damp and heart swollen.