Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I'm fine”

It had been a long day of hiking through the woods. The townsfolk were so close to finding the cure, they only needed to find one more tome. That morning they had broken into pairs to search the tombs for the last book, fearing what would happen if the vampires were to get their hands on it first. Red light starts to paint the sky as dusk approaches.

“Are you sure? You look even paler than usual,” Pearl asks in concern.

“Yes, I’m a vampire now, keep up,” Cleo replies, sarcastically.

She rolls her eyes. “I mean your new usual.”

“Look, just because some of us can’t have perfectly tanned skin, it doesn’t mean I can’t—” Her foot catches on a root and they fall to the forest floor.

Pearl looks down at them. “Can’t stay up on your feet?”

“I’m just thirsty,” she groans as she sits up, “I haven’t seen any damn animals in hours. We must be trailing another vampire because there’s just nothing to eat!”

“Well, we’ve got to get you fed somehow. Wouldn’t want a hungry vampire on the loose,” Pearl teases.

“I’m fine. I’ll just tough it out until we can get back to town,” Cleo grumbles. As she begins to stand, her legs wobble and they have to use a tree as support.

“Cleo, look at you. You can barely stand up straight. Let me get you some food,” she guides Cleo back to the ground and sits with her.

“Unless you have some chicken eggs on you and hoping one will hatch I’m not sure how you’re going to do that sitting down,” Cleo remarks.

“Well, I’ve got blood,” Pearl says.

“I—” she blinks, “I mean, you can’t be offering that. What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t hurt me.” Pearl pulls out a drying sunflower head from her pocket. “I trust you.”

Cleo tentatively pulls out the sunflower from their own pocket, rubbing the center like a worry stone. “Of course I don’t want to hurt you. I could never. But I’m new to this. What if I can’t control myself?” she worries.

“I’ll have a stake on me the whole time. Here,” she reaches into her bag, pulling out a wooden stake. “If you start hurting me, I’ll use this on you. Mutually assured destruction,” she says in a tone far too cheerful.

Cleo put their hands on her shoulders, “Are you sure about this? You…”

“Cleo, if I didn’t trust you, I would’ve already told the entire town about you.”

Cleo lays her ear against Pearl’s chest, hearing the pounding of her heart, imaging that blood coursing through their veins.

“Okay. Well let's get on with it then.”

Cleo moves their mouth an inch away from her neck. She unsheathes her fangs and presses in.

“Ah!”

Cleo starts to pull out, “What’s a matter? Am I hurting you?”

“No! No, I-I just, uhm, didn't expect it to feel like… that. K-Keep going.” Pearl grabs the back of their head and pushes them back to her neck.

Cleo raises an eyebrow but obeys anyways “Don't need to tell me twice,” they mumble against her throat.

The taste of blood overwhelms her senses. It’s little like the metallic flavor familiar from childhood wounds. It’s much sweeter, almost… floral? Like sipping the nectar from a honeysuckle in late spring. As she sucks it feels like getting a shot of morphine. Every cell in their body warms as they glut on her blood.

In the back of her mind, she starts to register the noises coming out of Pearl’s mouth. Small grunts and whines. Worried she's gone too far, Cleo detaches herself from her neck.

Pearl whimpers.

Oh.

She looks up at her face, flush with blood and a slight frown.

“You're done already?” She sounds disappointed.

“You… enjoyed that?”

Somehow, even with the blood loss, her face becomes even more red.

“Well, I-I mean I just thought, I-I wanted you, I mean—”

Cleo eyes a pair of blood drops pearling up on her throat, and licks them off.

Pearl moans.

It's the nail in the coffin.

Cleo stares up at her.

“It's surprisingly pleasant” Pearl avoids eye contact.

“Pleasant?” Cleo smirks, “What am I, a scented candle?”

“Gosh, do you want me to talk like we're in one of Sausage's books? ‘Oh darling, I feel like I'm bursting with pleasure!’” she says dramatically.

Cleo grins, “Point taken, never say something so ridiculous to me again.”

“Oh but my lady, your beauty is simply—”

“Stop before I use that stake myself.”

“Alright! Alright. Wouldn’t want all that blood to go to waste now would we?” she teases.

Cleo buries herself back into Pearl’s chest, listening to her soothing heartbeat. Remembering what they can’t have.

“Thank you for trusting me,” Cleo says, “I never want to hurt you.”

Pearl runs a hand through their fiery hair, “Of course. You’re my sunflower.”

Cleo feels on the verge of tears, but they never come.

The sky is now fully dark. Cleo stands.

“We should probably get a move on now. Don’t want to worry the others,” they say, looking towards the town.

“Of course,” Pearl follows their lead, “can’t have them sending out a search party and finding us like this!”

Cleo glares back at her, and Pearl catches a glimpse of their newly crimson eyes.