Fortunately, none of the vampires had thought to confiscate his things. Either they didn’t care enough to, didn’t think he could do much with his wallet and phone, or it was a test of trust. If it was the latter, then he was failing for sure. Knox flipped open his wallet, pulling out the thick piece of card stock with a golden dragon embossed on the front. Flint had given it to him the time he’d visited his hoard, when they’d devised a plan in the case that he was kidnapped.

The card was imbued with magic, apparently all he had to do was think of Flint while he ripped the paper in half, and somehow the dragon shifter would be alerted. He wasn’t entirely sure how it worked, but he’d learned not to question what little magic he came into contact with. If Flint said it worked, then it would work.

The other side of the card was blank, but he still flipped it over a couple of times, contemplating. The obvious choice was to rip the paper in half and patiently wait for the dragon shifter to arrive and save him like a damsel in distress. He had school and work to think about. Even if he didn’t need to pay rent for the next few months, it would be best if he got ahead then, saved up some money and focused on buying things he really needed. Besides it was getting closer and closer to finals, and he really needed to study if he had any hope of passing. Not that his classes were particularly hard, they were just so incredibly boring that it made the content difficult.

He took in a deep breath unsure of what to expect when he ripped the paper. Would Flint show up immediately? Would there be some sort of noise, some indication of the magic releasing? There was only one way to find out.

He barely ripped the paper before backing out. Even from the bathroom that he’d enclosed himself in he could smell that Valentine was cooking, something with chicken and spices and he hadn’t had a homemade meal since he was last here, and he’d be lying to himself if he said that he hadn’t missed the vampires’ cooking. For creatures who didn’t need to consume human food, they were pretty good at making it. He could hear August chattering too, couldn’t make out the words but he was glad he was in a better mood now, after how upset he’d been when Nash and Callum fought earlier.

The card was crumpled at the top where it’d resisted tearing, a tiny rip in the fibers that hopefully hadn’t done anything. It was barely torn, so he stuffed the paper back in his wallet, telling himself he would do it properly later.

Out in the kitchen, Valentine was indeed cooking, now clad in a nice sweater tucked into a pair of slacks. It was more familiar to see him dressed as a grandpa, rather than the gown he’d been sporting earlier. Not that he didn’t look good then, he certainly made for an intimidating figure in heels, but he was much more approachable like this. He was even wearing a flower-patterned apron as he dropped vegetables into a hot skillet to cook.

August was there too, perched on the counter as he watched Valentine cook. There was a small pout on his face, “That’s one thing I miss the most about being human. I miss eating.”

“Can’t you guys eat?” Knox asked, sitting on one of the stools at the island.

“Yes, it just holds no nutritional value for us. A lot of vampires still indulge themselves to human food, more of a comfort I think, but for nestlings it hurts their tummies.” Valentine explained, kissing August’s cheek as he passed on the way to the sink. “Their bodies are much more sensitive the first years after turning. You can handle some food, my love.”

“Nothing good though. I miss pizza.” August complained, “And pasta. And garlic bread.”

“Garlic?”

“Nestlings have a mild allergy to garlic. Must be where the myth came from.”

Several minutes later a plate was sat in front of him, chicken and vegetable stir fry with steamed rice. Valentine and August sat with him, August watching longingly as he shoveled the food into his mouth. He was pretty sure the stir fry had garlic in it, otherwise he would have offered him some. “If you still crave human food, then what’s blood like to you?”

August seemed surprised by the question, head tilting slightly as he thought about how to answer. “I crave blood too, like all the time, but it’s not the same? Like there’s so many options for human food, and I guess technically there’s lots of humans out there, but it’s not like we drink human blood directly anymore and just—I don’t know. Anyway, blood still tastes like iron, but it’s good now. Like a rare steak but it’s warm and filling and how it just slides down your throat so easily- ah.” August’s fangs dropped within a second, Knox blinked and suddenly they were poking into his bottom lip.

Valentine chuckled fondly as August felt his fangs with his fingers, sheepishly trying to smile without cutting his skin. “Go find Nash, little love. I’m sure having a lap full of you will brighten his mood.”

August stood immediately, sending him a tiny wave and a glance before fleeing the room.

Valentine watched him go with a soft sigh, nothing but love and adoration held in his caramel eyes. It was a strange thing to witness, such open and unadulterated affection. He’d never seen it from his own parents, nor from the humans he’d been around. Knox swallowed the bite of zucchini in his mouth, suddenly it tasted like dirt, “What do you want from me?”

The expression disappeared as he turned to look at him. Valentine rested his chin on his hand, face impassive as he asked, “What do you think I want from you?”

“I don’t know.” Knox responded, dropping his gaze as he pushed his rice around on his plate, “I can’t figure out why you care so much.”

“I’ve lived a long life, Knox. I have seen a lot and have everything I could possibly want or need. Is wanting to do a good deed not enough?” Valentine asked.

Knox stared at him blankly. The vampire sighed.

“August likes you. If you died, he’d be sad. Is that what you want to hear, little one?”

“I guess it’s more plausible.” He shrugged.

“Truly, we have no ulterior motives. I don’t, at least, but I can’t say the same about August.”

Knox couldn’t figure out what he meant by that, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Or that Valentine would have answered him. Instead, he changed the topic. “What about my classes? And my job? My apartment? I can’t just up and quit everything just because some vampires think I look tasty suddenly.”

“You could continue your courses online, and your job at that convenience shop isn’t so important. Also, I think your living situation violates many safety and health codes, so that won’t be much of a loss either.”

There were so many red flags popping up in Knox’s mind. He would have liked to think that the vampires had good intentions… except they were vampires that were being weirdly nice (except for Callum, who was kind of mean). If he just fell off the face of the Earth though… would anyone notice? Aside from Flint, there wasn’t anyone who would miss him. His parents might realize he was gone after a while, but they would more likely be glad to be rid of him than be concerned over his disappearance.

Still, the idea of continuing to get up every day and spend his time going to classes he hated, and then losing sleep over a job he disliked just as much only to catch a few hours of sleep in an apartment that didn’t feel like home just sounded so exhausting. He was beyond tired all the time, trudging through life and barely getting by.

What did he have to lose anyway? If it went well and Valentine was telling the truth, then he gets to be taken care of for at least a little while. If he ended up in a ditch without a drop of blood in his system, then at least he wouldn’t have to write another paper on the importance of communication skills in the workplace.

Knox shook his head, steeling himself. His thoughts were taking a dangerous turn. “I don’t want that. I won’t do that. I’ll just take my chances with the vampire population.”

Valentine shook his head, “Your stubborn insistence on refusing help isn’t cute anymore. You’re stuck with us, whether you like it or not. I’ll talk with the others, we’ll settle on something.”

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

Knox was getting ready for bed. He didn’t really know what the vampires got up to during the night, which seemed to be when they were most active, but they largely left him alone during the nighttime hours. He was just glad they didn’t seem interested in watching him sleep.

He leaned down to spit toothpaste into the sink, and when he straightened back up to see August’s reflection staring at him in the mirror, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Scratch that, they almost never bothered him during sleeping hours.

“Oh, what the fuck?” He exclaimed, rinsing off his toothbrush and returning it to the medicine cabinet before turning to the young vampire. He looked normal again, well as normal as vampires ever looked, his fangs were no longer visible. There was a healthy flush to his freckled cheeks now, and he was in a matching striped pajama set you only ever see in movies.

“Can I sleep with you?” He asked, reaching up to touch his face. Knox didn’t move as August wiped away some toothpaste from the corner of his mouth, heart stuttering as his smooth hand touched his face. For a second, he thought August might be weird enough to put his thumb in his mouth, but fortunately he just wiped it off on the decorative hand towel hanging up beside him.

“Uhh, like just sleeping?”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Unless you had something else in mind?” He would have almost thought the question to be innocent, if not for the way that August’s eyes glittered with amusement. Even so, Knox could still feel his face go red, and he pushed past the vampire to get into the bedroom. “I’m going to put a pillow between us.”

August accepted the boundary without complaint. Soon they were laying facing each other, a pillow firmly shoved between their bodies. It was hard to see if August was looking at him in the darkness of the room, but he felt like he was, “How often do you have to sleep?”

“Pretty much every night still,” He responded immediately, “Nash says it’s my body still clinging to its human form, but I think it’s just comforting. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I can’t sleep every night anymore.”

“What do the others do?”

The sheets shifted like August had shrugged, “I dunno. Vampire-y things, I guess. Turn into bats. Mourn the fleeting memories of their human selves. Ponder the unchanging burden of living forever.”

Knox took a moment to let that sink in. “You guys can turn into bats?”

“Nah, I’m just fucking with you.” August laughed, “I’m sure there are some vamps who can shape shift, but most of us are stuck as we are. That’d be cool though, I think I’d want to be a fruit bat.”

“Fruit bats are cute,” He answered, unsure of what other sorts of bats existed. “I think if I could shape shift I’d want to be some sort of bird.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, flying just sounds so freeing, you know? I think it’d be fun to fly above trees and over lakes and stuff.”

“I’m afraid of heights.”

“Would falling from a building kill you?”

“Probably not. I doubt it’d feel good though.”

Their conversation continued like that, sharing tidbits of information with each other about themselves. By the time Knox finally drifted to sleep he found out that August’s favorite color was green, that he enjoyed playing video games on nights when he couldn’t sleep, and that he still had a stuffed animal from his childhood, a threadbare elephant that was missing one of its plastic eyes named Ellie. And if he woke up in the morning snuggled into August’s arms, warmed up from his own body heat seeping into the vampire’s cold frame, pillow barrier somehow on the floor, then no one needed to know.