all in good fun and lead

“Take a deep breath.”

Air rushed into your lungs and instinctively you shut your eyes, letting yourself surrender to the cadence of his voice. The low, rough timbre of melted honey surrounded you, filled up with the inhale and a second later there was the cold touch of his fingertips lacing up your spine. Gooseflesh appeared along every skimmed inch until he reached the back of your neck and delicately shifted the wisps of hair at the back away – just enough to expose the skin properly.

His lips met the juncture of your shoulder, just grazing the very last bump of your spine as he did, and you felt the warm wash of his breath that would betray the teeth hiding behind it. Taehyung purred a husky note, and you didn’t exhale, you couldn’t, you were too tense and your nerves felt like they were vibrating straight into your poor heart that would soon be pumping precious blood into his waiting mouth.

You felt his teeth. You felt the very tips of his fangs, and for a moment the earth stopped spinning, and–

“Just kidding. You’re so adorable when you’re panicking. Look at you! You’re shaking like a leaf, princess.”

The smile was rapidly wiped off Taehyung’s face when your tension peaked and your knees gave out. Reflex had him catching you without a second glance, but a mixture of embarrassment and indignation and a thousand other things left you wishing he had just left you on the floor.

You’d always been anxious. Such is life – crying over everything, shaking for no reason, constantly tongue-tied and stumbling over your own feet as well as your words. There was no reprieve to your permanent unease. The greatest moments of your life crumbled under the weight of fear and nerves, palpable in your body and heart and mind and soul.

And right now, you wished more deeply than you ever had, that the anxiety had not chosen you.

The room was startling in its beauty. You didn’t know what age it had come from – which great master had carved out the reliefs in the stone or chosen the massive marble pillars that rose from marble floor to towering ceiling – and didn’t dare fathom how old the deep velvet curtains ran. The chandelier alone intimidated you in its size and illumination – the candlelight ran through the crystals, genuine to be sure, like millions of dappled horses made of pure light, dancing around the room. You felt like you were in the ballroom from Anastasia.

Albeit, a sad, dark version, more horror than whimsical fancy. For the room was full of not ghosts, but vampires – true, real vampires, flitting about in gowns and fine silk and formal wear from a different century. A stale fragrance of copper filled the air, sickeningly sweet, and as another wave of nausea swept through you, you couldn’t help but look up at your date, as it were.

Taehyung was tight-lipped and quiet. It was unusual for him – unusual being a generous understatement. Despite yourself, you clung a fraction tighter to the arm he had proffered to you in some hilarious display of gentlemanliness, and swallowed gently down the lump in your throat.

“Taehyung,” you croaked, voice barely breaking.

At his name, his head swung down smoothly and a chill ran down your spine. You were certain, had been certain for quite some time, that you would never get used to the way he looked at you with all that black glassiness in his eyes. Like stained shards.

“Yes, dear?” he murmured back. Okay, that was weird. That was very weird. Taehyung was being too gentle. Something was wrong.

But he heard your heartbeat pick up, skittering wildly like a scared rabbit, and swept a thumb across the back of your exposed hand soothingly. He kept up soft, even strokes, forcing you to maintain eye contact in a way that made your head sleepy, less frantic.

“A-are you okay?” you still asked breathlessly.

Taehyung smiled a hard smile. His gaze flickered over the room and all its inhabitants for less than a second before returning to you, and you were wholly unprepared when he leaned in and let his mouth brush across yours in a soft, too-sweet kiss.

“I like your dress,” he whispered on your lips, head tilted and not even blinking once – though perhaps the curve of his own lips was a little more sincere now. “It looks good on you.”

It wasn’t an answer to your question, but you blushed anyway.

Somehow, stupidly, the sentiment made you calmer. It was why you loved and hated the vampire Kim Taehyung.

____________________________________________ well well if taehyung is really a vampire then we are like and hope you like it😁

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