Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Keith is a vampire. I’m sure of it.”

The table around him fell silent, staring at Lance with mixtures of shock, bewilderment, exasperation and amusement.

Pidge was the one to voice their thoughts, the one who seemed amused, and they flashed their glasses.

“This is a fucking hilarious conclusion to come to. Let’s hear the evidence.”

He started from the beginning.

Lance had been living alone in his two bedroom flat, but was close to running low on funds. He did what any broke college student would: he put out a craigslist ad.

He wanted someone about his age, preferably one with a job or was a student like him, was reliable with the rent on time and wasn’t super anal about cleaning. Lance only had time to do the bare minimum. They were just going to have to deal with it.

He got a few messages, but there was one that definitely stood out to him.

I’m in need of a new place.

My name is Keith. I’m 22 and live in Arus. I want to move out of my brother’s apartment and your listing is right around the corner from where I work. I’m a bartender at the Lion’s Castle Lounge. I make good money and I don’t have a lot of stuff. Just need somewhere to keep it. I’d probably be out really late and wouldn’t be there that much.

Since you asked for a phone number its: 1*******

No beating around the bush, straight to the point, bartenders make pretty good money and he was only a year older than Lance.

It was perfect.

They messaged privately a few times, arranged to meet up and Lance was feeling good.

Since Keith had night hours mostly, he asked if they could meet up after dark before his Monday night shift. Not very notable, as Lance expected that his sleeping schedule was probably pretty messed.

They arranged to meet up at a quiet diner close to the Lion’s Castle Lounge and Lance got a booth because he got there earlier. He messaged Keith what he was wearing and just waited by playing games on his phone.

The diner’s door opened up and a very attractive man walked in.

Lance paused to stare. Respectfully, of course.

The man had on a black leather jacket over a red t-shirt that was bulky and had tons of straps and buckles. His hair was pretty unkempt, only to the fact that it was straggly and stringy. But it only added to his grunge rocker look, with tight black jeans and dark red doc martens. His skin was almost a sickly pale, barely any color to it at all.

He scanned the place, then settled on Lance.

His eyes were the most intriguing thing about him.

Something about them pulled at Lance, an alluring shade of dark, deep blue that caught in the light to show almost a violet indigo. For some reason it made Lance’s vision tunnel to just be captivated by the stranger’s irises.

The man then started walking towards him.

Lance sat upright as he didn’t stop and just slid right into his booth across from him. A voice addressed him, a velvety soft deep rumble that cut right to Lance’s core.

“Lance, right?”

Ah, this was his new roommate then.

And Lance was totally fucked.

“Uh, y-yeah…Keith?”

Keith nodded, mouth twitching into a smirk.

“So…uh, how long do you have before your shift starts?” Lance asked, just wanting something to distract him from how hot this guy was.

“I’ve got about an hour or two. I had a coworker cover for me for a bit,” he said, with that incredible voice of his.

The waitress saw that Lance got a new tablemate and she headed over with a pen and notepad.

“Anything I can get ya, sweetheart?” she drawled, in a lovely southern accent.

“Just a water for me, thanks,” Keith said, without taking his eyes off Lance.

“Alright, suit yourself. Your burger will be out in just a jiffy,” she addressed the last part to Lance.

“Oh, uh, thanks!” he said, brightening into his best grin for her.

The waitress winked at him, smacked her gum, then left them alone again.

Keith then sat silent, waiting for Lance to be the first to speak.

“Uh, so…why are you moving out of your brother’s apartment?” he asked, curious.

“He got married over the summer and his husband is moving in. Didn’t want to intrude all the time, you know?” Keith said, shrugging.

The water came for Keith and the strawberry milkshake for Lance. He dug in immediately. Keith didn’t touch his water.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything? This place is really good,” Lance said, pointing to the menu.

Keith shrugged again. “Not hungry.”

And that was all he said on the matter.

They talked some more about moving in, best times to do so, where Keith could put his motorcycle in the parking lot, the rent amount, how to split up the electrical, etc. etc. All the new roommate things that wasn’t any reason to be alarmed about.

No weird signals happened for Lance until:

“So…you did say you have a cat?”

Lance blinked. “Oh yeah! Good ol’ Blue. You’re not allergic, are you?”

Keith pursed his lips slightly, then shook his head.

“No…just animals don’t really like me very much.”

“Really?” Lance asked, tilting his head. “Well, Blue’s a sweetheart. I haven’t met anyone she doesn’t like. Although she’s a huge cuddle monster, so be prepared.”

Lance chuckled after that, trying for a joke. Keith stayed unaffected.

“I have a feeling that won’t be a problem,” he said, cryptically.

“Oh…okay…” Lance said, studying his behavior.

But, hey. It was a weird city. Maybe Keith was just kind of quirky, you know?

A week later, he was all moved into the flat.

His brother and his new husband had stopped by, all gushing about how they were glad Keith was finally growing up and how proud they were of him. Keith rolled his eyes at that, while Lance laughed with them.

“I’ve been going at this for a long time, I don’t need you to say I’m ‘growing up’. It’s weird, Shiro,” Keith had said, shaking his head.

Lance found his phrasing particularly odd. Usually one would cite their age and history, right?

But Shiro was not bothered by it at all.

“Yes, yes, how could I forget. Now, come to the hospital pretty soon, alright? Gotta keep you all healthy and strong,” Shiro said, eyes twinkling.

Lance was concerned. “Wait, what? Are you sick? Are you okay?”

“Great, you just freaked him out,” Keith said, narrowing his eyes at Shiro. He turned to Lance, looking casual.

“I’m not sick or anything. I just…have a chronic condition. I need some medicine every once in a while.”

And that was all he said on the matter.

It started getting weird after that.

Blue was the first thing he noticed. She finally reappeared that night after hiding in Lance’s closet from all the noise of the boxes and people talking. Keith visibly froze at the sight of her and she stared right back at him. Lance watched the interaction from the couch.

And then Blue’s tail fluffed in fear, hissing at Keith menacingly.

“Wha-Blue!” Lance admonished, stunned.

She had never hissed at a person before.

The cat only snarled at Keith harder. The man seemed non-plussed by the encounter, but then the smallest of growls erupted. Keith narrowed his eyes at Blue, a tiny curl to the top of his lips. It didn’t sound like Blue was growling…but that would mean this guy was growling at his cat? Which was…way weirder than what he thought was going to happen?

Blue hushed immediately and would avoid Keith like the plague.

Lance also noticed that no new food ever appeared in the refrigerator. He knew that Keith had a mini fridge he kept in his room, but didn’t ever see any food going in or out of the door. And the cabinets were still bare other than Lance’s food.

But…well, Lance was busy. He was still a college student after all and he had classes and homework and of course, going out with his friends.

And Keith’s hours kept him basically nocturnal, sleeping all through the day and working through most of the night.

Which…that alone would usually alert Lance to something wrong about Keith. But things were starting to add up.

The idea that it might not just be weird quirky things and something could be very wrong about Keith came to him maybe a month into them living together. He and Keith were talking late at night on the couch, on one of Keith’s only nights off in the last few weeks he had been moved in.

“So what’s your view on roommates bringing people home?” Lance asked, casually.

Keith quirked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“As in…like one-night stands,” Lance said, waving a hand.

Keith hummed. “I don’t mind…I’d probably still be out anyway.”

“Is that where you go all the time? Do you just find cute hookups?” Lance asked, smirking.

“Ha, no way,” Keith said, chuckling. “I’d lose control.”

Lance paused, thinking that over. “Lose control how?”

Keith stared resolutely at the TV that had been playing something in the background but neither had paid it any attention. Lance slowly moved his head around to look at Keith’s expression. It was carefully blank and devoid of emotion.

“Are you like…just really kinky or something?” Lance asked, persistently.

Keith huffed. “Yeah…I guess you could say that.”

Lance couldn’t help the spike in his heartrate at the idea of Keith being domineering and liking really rough sex. And for some reason, Keith reacted a little, glancing to him in his peripherals.

“You secretly like it rough?” Keith asked, growing low and sultry.

Lance gulped. Keith’s eyes jumped to follow the movement, staring hard at Lance’s neck. Much longer than would be usual. Even for someone with say…a biting kink.

Lance tried to regulate his breathing, but he felt significantly off-kilter. He reached for his beer that sat on the coffee table and then it happened to drop from his slightly shaky fingers.

And in a flash so quick, Lance couldn’t even follow it, Keith bent down to catch the bottle in one hand.

“Careful now. Don’t want any broken glass to cut your pretty skin,” Keith said, voice so deep and song-like that Lance was basically melded to the couch.

He didn’t move from the couch the entire night after that. He doesn’t remember anything that happened until he woke up with a crick in his neck and weird fuzzy feelings in his ears. He only had half a beer.

Keith carefully avoided him after that night for some reason.

Lance was determined to get him to talk again. Just for curiosity’s sake.

So, he made certain to be awake and making food when Keith woke up. He usually started moving about at seven in the evening. Dinner time.

“Hey, I’m making tacos, you want some?” Lance asked, brightly.

Keith made a groggy noise and he rubbed his eyes. It was some of the only times that Lance had seen Keith not all put together was when he was just waking up.

“No. I’m good.”

Lance frowned. “Dude, do you eat anything? Like I’ve literally never seen you eat.”

“I eat,” Keith said, shortly.

“When do you eat?”

“When I’m out.”

Like that was very specific.

“Okay, what’s your favorite food?” Lance asked, putting a hand to his hip.

Keith hesitated much longer than he should have. “Uh…chocolate?”

“What? You’re not sure?” Lance asked, laughing.

“There’s a lot of food out there!” Keith said, throwing his hands up.

“Right…” Lance said, suspiciously. “So…what’s your favorite restaurant?”

Keith opened his mouth, but Lance held up a finger to stop him.

“Besides the ritzy bar you work at.”

Keith’s jaw clicked as he shut his mouth again and he glared.

“I’m going to get ready for work. Don’t wait up.”

Lance scoffed, watching him stalk off to his room again. He clicked his tongue, finishing up cutting the onions with an intense fervor.

“Fucking…weird ass roommate,” he muttered to himself.

And the distraction was enough. The knife he was wielding with an expert level slid too far out of his grasp and his thumb was too close to the end of the onion and the knife went straight through the tip.

“Fuck! Shit! Fuck me!” Lance yelled, as the pain blossomed and the blood dripped down his thumb.

He cradled the hand and gritted his teeth, groaning. A door burst open down the hall and then there was another person in the kitchen.

“What happen-,”

And then Keith froze.

Lance waved his non-injured hand to him, casually.

“Don’t worry about it. Just a cut, no biggie,” he said, heading over to the sink.

But Keith was silent.

Well…not entirely silent.

Lance heard harsh breathing muffled against something and he turned back around to see Keith’s eyes shut entirely and his hand clamped over his mouth and nose. Lance looked between his cut thumb and Keith’s reaction.

“Oh…do you have a thing about blood?” Lance asked, curiously.

Keith just coughed a few times into his hand.

“I have to go,” he said, voice gravelly and harsh.

And without even grabbing a jacket, he scrambled out of the apartment in a flash.

It didn’t actually occur to him to think ‘vampire’ until he was scrolling through the channels on the TV and then stopped on the very famous forest scene from Twilight. You know…that one. The one where Kristen Stewart is standing very awkwardly with Robert Pattinson just…creepily staring at her. And she goes:

‘I know what you are’

Or whatever.

Then it hit him. The weird non-eating habits, the nocturnal sleep schedule, the aversion to blood, the pale skin, Blue not liking him, his damn eyes, the strange freaky seductive allure.

Keith Kogane was a vampire.

“So there. That’s my evidence. Keith is totally a vampire and is probably going to drink my blood in my sleep.”

The table was again sent into silence.

“Actually…” Pidge said, looking very intrigued. “That’s…not bad for evidence.”

“What? No. No, we’re not entertaining this,” Allura said, firmly. “Lance, I love you dearly. But this is utter nonsense.”

“Yeah, buddy…Keith is probably just sort of eccentric,” Hunk said, shaking his head.

“Okay, I’m always one to point out when Lance is wrong, but this time I think he’s on to something,” Pidge said, starting to get excited.

“See? The genius agrees with me. Keith is a vampire and that’s that on that,” Lance said, sipping his frappuccino.

Hunk and Allura sighed in unison. Allura bent forward to set her head in her palm, like she was exhausted.

“Fine. So Keith is a…vampire,” she said, cringing as she said ‘vampire’.

“What now?”

Lance met Pidge’s eye and they grew identical smirks.

“Now…I prove it.”

Pidge chuckled menacingly, rubbing their palms together.

“Gays…we’re going on a vampire hunt.”

It started out subtly.

Lance would offer food whenever he could (including chocolate tons of times). A few times Keith would actually take the food, but as soon as he was out the door, Lance would look and see it was the trash.

He started wearing silver rings, necklaces and bracelets, gifts from Allura. He even wore a crucifix once, but with no reaction from Keith whatsoever. He threw that one to the bottom of his drawer.

He kept wearing the jewelry just because he ended up enjoying the look.

Lance would also cook with absurd amounts of garlic, keeping an eye on Keith.

The only thing he’d do is merely crinkle his nose at the smell.

The opportunity brought itself up when Keith actually emerged from his room one afternoon when it was still daylight out.

He looked incredibly annoyed by it, with full long-sleeves and a hoodie covering over his head. He glared at the sunspots on the carpet and Lance perked up from the couch.

“Well isn’t this a treat? You’re up before sunset,” Lance said, smirking.

Keith glared at him too. The look in his eye made Lance shrink in on himself. The bright indigo flashed harsher than normal and made it look like the pupils slitted for a split second.

“I need to go to the hospital,” Keith said, voice gravelly and harsh.

Lance’s heart sped up. “Are you okay? Do you need me to drive you?”

“No. Shiro’s coming to get me,” he said, dismissively.

And he just put his shoes on and headed out the door. Lance waited for the door to click and then he scrambled to get his phone and sent out a text.

The best snacc>the gay vampire hunters

>dracula has left the building

>REPEAT he is on the move

>hes on his way to the hospital for provisions

He gathered up his keys and hurried to follow after Keith. He kept a good distance behind him, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. Keith was about two stories of stairs down and he kept a close eye as they moved together. Keith got to the ground floor and Lance slowed down until he was out the door.

Lance hid behind the wall in the lobby, watching through the glass doors as Keith walked out into the parking lot and headed for a silver car. Lance inched out to open the glass door to get a better view of the make and model.

Keith then stopped and Lance sucked in a sharp breath, whirling to meld himself back against the wall again. This meant he lost sight of the parking lot.

He waited a few moments, then slowly turned back around.

And then shrieked, legs scrambling and losing purchase as he fell back.

Keith was standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and glaring daggers.

“Lance? What are you doing?”

“Ah…haha…hey, buddy…just you know…”

He looked over the ground, desperately.

“Lost my…contact?”

Keith looked unimpressed.

“You don’t wear contacts.”

“Wha-you-you don’t know that!” Lance said, standing up and pointing a finger. “I could wear contacts!”

“I have a gift to know when people are lying. And you’re lying,” Keith said, firmly.

Lance had a horrible thought.

If he was actually right…if Keith was actually a vampire…this could mean that Lance was actually in danger if Keith was mad enough.

Indigo eyes were rolling storms and hurricanes could be found in them.

“Lance…do you have something you’d like to ask me?”

Lance stepped back a few times, nervously looking to the stairs and back. His heart was pounding harshly with what felt like abject terror. He shook his head violently.

“N-no.”

And then he ran like a coward.

The next few days were rife with tension.

Even as they kept to their usual schedules, Lance made sure he was out of the apartment as soon as Keith woke up and then back in when he knew he’d be at work. It was a delicate process, as he wasn’t sure the exact time that Keith was supposed to start bartending.

And it finally happened that they met as Lance was coming back in and Keith was on his way out.

Lance stood terrified in the doorway, as Keith froze with his jacket half on.

He studied Lance for a few moments with a carefully blank face, then audibly sighed.

“I’m not mad.”

Lance jumped a little at the sound of Keith’s voice.

“I…uh, there’s…uh…”

“You’re not subtle at all, you know,” Keith said, looking both exhausted and sort of amused.

“What-I, uh…I don’t know what you mean by that?” Lance said, completely off guard.

Keith chuckled, shaking his head. “Come on. It’s not like I’m great at hiding it either.”

Oh…oh my god…ohmygodohmygodohmygod….

“And I know you’re freaking out. You don’t have to be so afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

Keith’s face was as open and honest as he could be, his voice was that soft, velvety tenor that made Lance’s insides all weak and gooey.

Ah, that might actually be the goal.

“So…I’m right? I’m actually…right about it, aren’t I?” Lance asked, voice shaking from nerves.

Keith sighed again and shrugged out of his jacket, revealing he was actually in a tank top. He absent-mindedly hooked it on the coat hangar and then grabbed Lance’s hand to pull him through the doorway. He closed the door behind them and locked it.

He then pushed Lance into the living room and sat him on the couch. He turned and planted himself next to him.

“So…what do you want to know?”

Lance was stunned by the question. Of course his first response was obvious…but now that he was actually faced with it all…

Saying Keith was a vampire out loud to the actual man himself? That was a whole new level of delusional that Lance wasn’t sure he was ready for yet.

“How old are you?” was what he went with instead.

Keith shot him an amused look.

“I’m twenty-two.”

Lance scoffed. “And you call me a liar.”

Keith grinned, something Lance probably had never seen before. It flashed the overlarge canines right there, that sharpened just further than was normal.

Oh my GOD

“I am. Well…I am to everyone else, that is. If you look that way, you just live that age,” Keith said, shrugging.

“Okay,” Lance wheezed out, still reeling from the fucking fangs that Keith just flashed him like it was no big deal.

“Then how about…how long have you been twenty-two? Like what year were you actually born?”

Keith took a deep breath (okay, vampires do breathe?) and he just ran a hand over the side of his head.

“I was born in 1895,” Keith said, softly.

A bomb suddenly went off in Lance’s chest cavity, he was sure of it. He was freaking out.

“Holy shit, okay up to now…I was like…only seventy percent sure it was real. But if you’re actually just fucking with me, I’m going to lose my goddamn shit on you,” Lance said, in a rush.

Keith shook his head, suddenly very serious. His eyes were boring straight into Lance’s soul.

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you. We’ve been living together for almost two months now and it’s time you knew.”

Lance lost his goddamn shit anyway.

“You’re a whole ass fucking vampire!” Lance said, standing up and pointing a finger. “Like…blood sucker with fangs and hates sunlight and is in fucking horror movies! Dracula! Bunnicula!”

“Wha-what the fuck is a Bunnicula?” Keith asked, confused.

“Keith!” Lance shrieked, distraught. “What the fuck?!”

“Okay!” Keith yelled back, hands up to show innocence. “Yes! I’m a fucking vampire! But it’s not like the movies, alright? I’m not going to hurt you!”

Lance crossed his arms over the front of his neck. “You better the fuck not! Allura would stake the shit out of you!”

“Will you just calm down?!” Keith said, standing up and looking intimidating anyway.

“Why should I calm down, huh?!” Lance yelled, nearly shaking with fear. “You drink human blood!”

“I’m not. Going. To hurt you!” Keith yelled, voice taking on a more impressive baritone, as if it went through a computer.

Its effect was immediate. Lance took a few panicky breaths through his nose, before slowly bringing his arms down. Keith sighed with relief, falling back down to the couch. Lance decided to sit on the recliner.

“Okay…” Lance said, quietly. “Okay. So…what’s the story?”

Keith ran a hand over his face.

“I was born human. Not every vampire is, though. Those that were born a vampire are way more powerful than I am. Some call them the Ancients. Some call them the Family. I call them the Assholes,” he said, growing angry at the idea of these powerful vampires.

If this really was a joke, it was getting really complicated.

“And?” Lance asked, tilting his head.

Keith rubbed at the junction of his shoulder and neck, looking very bothered by what was going on in his memories.

“It was in the middle of the War. I was a soldier for the 5^th Field Artillery Regiment of the U.S. army. I was stationed on the frontlines of the trenches in France. That’s where I met him. Lotor.”

Lance frowned at the entirely military way of speaking and then really, really realized. This was not even close to being a joke.

“Was-or uh, is he an Ancient Asshole or whatever?” he asked, suddenly chomping at the bit for information.

Keith nodded. “Was. I took care of that myself. But he…uh…I guess seduced me would be the word. I knew he was shady as hell. It was fucking 1917 and I’m a raging homosexual. There was only so much a gay twenty-two-year-old World War 1 soldier is going to do for some attention.”

Woah, Keith is gay?

That was almost as shocking as being a vampire.

“O…kay. So, let me guess…Lotor, was it? Lotor decides to get frisky with you and things get a little too rough and then chomp, chomp…you’re a vampire, now?” Lance finishes the story eloquently.

Keith looked up with a disgusted look on his face. “That’s probably the most traumatic thing that’s ever happened to me in my living, dead and undead life…and you go ‘chomp, chomp?’”

Lance shrugged. “Well, am I wrong?”

He shook his head, laughing under his breath. “No…I guess. Essentially that is what happened.”

“So, then…now you’re a vampire. What did you do?”

“Well, first we won the war. And it was pretty easy to get blood around that time, except it tasted like gunpowder and shrapnel. The worst blood I’ve had to date. Until the next war, that is. Fought in that one, too,” he continued.

Lance shuddered, lips curling. “Oh…gross, okay.”

“But then…well, it got harder. We were in peace times then, minus the Cold War stuff. And so, I had to get creative,” Keith said, sheepishly.

“Oh…oh yeah, if you’ve lived this long…or uh, I guess been undead this long…then that means you’ve had to kill people, huh?” Lance asked, casually.

“No!” Keith said, loudly. His head whipped up and his eyes were wide.

Lance jumped back in surprise. “Wait, seriously? Never?”

Keith cringed, looking down again.

“Not…not on purpose. I-,” he cut off, hands curling into fists. “The ones that died just…tasted too good. I couldn’t control myself.”

“Oh…” Lance said, quietly. “Then…what do you do?”

Keith sighed, gesturing to his eyes vaguely. “Vampires have a way of suggestion. If I look into a human’s eyes and turn up the charm by a thousand, then I can usually get enough blood to hold me over and then wipe their memories. It’s an evolutionary thing, I think. But…”

He shrugged. “At the time, I was young and just a fledgling. I didn’t really know how to control it very well. Some people…uh, just didn’t make it.”

Lance sat quietly as Keith was lost in his guilt from his past.

“I’m sorry.”

Keith startled, surprised. “Huh? Sorry about what?”

“For saying that you’d hurt me and stuff. That probably brought up a lot of bad things for you,” Lance said, regretting his first reactions.

Keith’s mouth opened a little, then he relaxed into a soft smile.

“It’s okay, Lance. It was an honest reaction. It’s not exactly everyday that you meet a vampire.”

Lance chuckled, shaking his head. “This is still buck fucking wild for me. So if you don’t kill or anything…does that mean the trips to the hospital are getting…?”

“Yeah. Shiro has connections to get me donated blood from blood drives,” Keith said, nodding. “He and Adam both know.”

Lance hummed. “Okay…so here’s a completely different question. If you’re…what? A bajillion years old-,”

“A hundred twenty-five, asshole.”

“Okay, grandpa. If you’re that old and you’ve probably been around to make that much money…uh, why did you look for a place with a roommate?” he asked, confused.

Keith looked uncomfortable. “Uh…well, Shiro was worried I’d just shut myself away and get really lonely…or something…”

Lance blinked at him, then smiled. Keith glanced and bared his fangs.

“Not a word.”

“That’s adorable, Keith…oh my god, little grandpa Keith is a little baby brother, aww….”

“I swear to Satan, you little-,”

“Oh!” Lance said, remembering. “Wait, what about all the silver and garlic and crucifixes? None of those bothered you!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Those are just the movies. Although it is true that I can’t say-uh, the guy upstairs. The only things from the myths other than that is that vampires drink blood, don’t like sunlight and a form of mind control. And we’re super strong and fast. And some of the older ones do have some other powers, but that’s not something you need to know about.”

“Ah…” Lance said, nodding. “Interesting. So, who’s Shiro then? Is he a vampire, too?”

“Huh? No, no, he’s a werewolf.”

Lance went slack jawed. “You’re fucking with me.”

“No, he’s literally a werewolf.”

“I need a fucking drink, Jesus fuck.”

Pidge was angry as hell when all of a sudden Lance stopped obsessing about Keith being a vampire.

“Come on! You suddenly drop this thing as soon as things started getting interesting!” they said, as they all got together for coffee again.

“It was just me trying to distract from stress from college, Pidge. It was dumb and he started to get uncomfortable. I nearly stalked the guy, it got too much. He’s just weird,” Lance said, as casual as he could.

“This is fucking sus as hell, man,” Pidge said, narrowing their eyes at him.

“You just figured out you like him, huh?” Hunk asked, smirking.

It was just as Lance was taking a sip of his coffee and he gasped at the same time, choking on it. He coughed hysterically to dislodge it and he glared at his best friend.

“What-no! What are you-that’s crazy!”

“Oh right, the ‘his eyes are like gems that suck me in and I can never look away’ or ‘his voice literally captivates me so much that I don’t remember how to speak’ totally doesn’t scream that you’re attracted to him at all,” Allura said, with a twinkling laugh.

Lance’s face burst into heat and he pouted. He couldn’t come clean and say ‘he’s still like using suggestion because he really is a vampire’ because he promised to keep Keith’s secret. So he just grumbled.

“So what if he’s attractive? Doesn’t mean I like him. He may not be a vampire, but he’s still fucking weird as all hell,” Lance murmured, embarrassed.

Except that was a complete and utter lie, because Lance was so enamored by Keith. He couldn’t help it! Keith was gorgeous, true, but also really kind and caring and honest and selfless and really, really cute.

When he got home that night, he was greeted by Blue and he picked her up, cooing at her.

“Oh, baby, I know you’ve been all stressed about the big bad vampire around. It’s okay,” he said, scratching her head.

“Wow, thanks. That’s just great of you to say.”

Lance grinned as he looked up to see Keith in his sweatpants and a t-shirt, leaning against the wall in front of him. The picture of a totally relaxed vampire in his natural habitat.

“Aw, baby, I know you’ve been all stressed about the big mean pussy cat,” Lance repeated, pouting at Keith.

“Dick.”

Lance gasped, as a totally different question jumped to his mind. Keith didn’t look like he liked where it was going so he turned and headed back into the living room.

“Wait!…okay, so in all those movies…like vampires are super cold because they don’t have circulation and blood doesn’t pump through them or something…so does that mean your dick-,” Lance started to ask, before Keith flashed murderous eyes at him.

“If you ask how my dick gets hard, I will bite you.”

“Oh, kinky.”

Keith sighed, wearily. “Why did I end up with the fucking weirdest roommate on Earth?”

Lance cackled. “That’s so rich coming from you.”

Keith’s mouth twitched into an amused smile then. Blue ran off to Lance’s room again as they settled on the couch, Lance’s arm casually across the back behind Keith.

“It’s pretty early for you to be up,” Lance noticed, as it was still only five pm.

“I don’t actually have to sleep. It’s just nice and staves off the hunger longer. Plus, it’s safer so that I don’t accidentally go out and get sunburnt,” he said, pointing to the window.

Lance made a noise of affirmation. “Huh. Noted. So how sensitive are you?”

Keith made a face as if that was almost offensive. Lance tilted his head in confusion then gasped.

“No, no, oh my god, I meant how sensitive is your skin to the sun?”

“Ohh…” Keith said, shaking his head. “Uh…I don’t like burst into flames but I get really bad rashes and it does like…really burn if I’m out too long.”

“Also noted. Actually…yeah, I’m actually going to write this down. Gotta remember everything in case it comes up,” Lance said, pulling out a notebook from his bag.

Keith snorted. “Really?”

“It’s a good idea! I’m living with a vampire, this is a lot to process!”

Lance jotted down all the important stuff he remembered about vampires:

LIVING WITH A VAMPIRE 101

• The usual stuff from movies aren’t true
• DOES drink blood, does not eat anything else
• Sunlight DOES hurt, but not fatal
• Got this weird mind control thingy
• Unless it’s Keith, don’t look right in their eyes
• Don’t need sleep, but likes it? Or something?
• Problems with animals
• Werewolves are real too (which like is a whole different thing)
• There’s these crazy powerful vamps that are born vamps
• One of them turned Keith, but he killed the motherfucker like a G

“Okay, check it out and see if I missed anything.”

Keith rolled his eyes and took it, reading over it quickly. He smirked at the last one.

“Oh, you should add that animal blood does work as a substitute for a little bit of time, but soon enough human blood needs to be reintroduced, or else the vampire loses all its super strength and speed,” Keith said, casually.

Lance nodded, adding that to the list.

“Reading this over…yeah, it looks like I’ve just gone insane. So that’s awesome.”

“Trying living my life.”

“Is that supposed to be ironic?”

“I will bite you. Don’t test me.”

“So he told you? That he’s a vampire and that I’m a werewolf?” Shiro asked, looking very intimidating.

Lance shivered at the striking gleam in Shiro’s eyes and he nervously laughed. Keith rolled his eyes as he wiped down a glass.

It was the first time Shiro invited Lance to the Lion’s Castle Lounge. They had a private bar with Keith, while Lance was still feeling vastly underdressed even in his Sunday best. It was Shiro, Adam and Lance.

“Uh…actually…”

“He figured it out.”

Shiro whipped around to look at Keith. His mouth fell open and he turned back to Lance with even more suspicion.

“Really?”

Lance shrugged. “Keith is pretty bad at being normal sometimes.”

Adam snorted, turning breathless laughter. “Okay, that’s true. You have to admit that one, Takashi.”

Lance bent around Shiro to look at his husband.

“Oh, by the way, are you-?”

“I’m a witch. Warlock, eh whatever. I have magic and I’m immortal, too,” Adam said, casually.

Lance nodded, as if that didn’t just send him into another panic spiral. Magic? MAGIC??

Keith seemed to pick up on his freak out, chuckling. Lance glared at him.

“I’ve never asked, but you can totally hear like a bloodhound, can’t you?” Lance asked, sipping on his way too expensive cocktail.

All three of them turned to him with unimpressed expressions. Lance looked around.

“What?”

Keith sighed, barely keeping an amused smile off his face. “Yes. I can hear really well. Mostly your heartbeat and your blood pumping through your veins. Which is why I know when you’re lying. The anxiety of lying messes with your heart.”

“And you’re still just a normal human? And you’re not totally terrified of all of us?” Shiro asked, intrigued.

“No, I’m absolutely terrified of all of you. Especially you, Shiro. I’m very much shaking right now,” Lance said, winking at him.

They all blinked at him, incredulously.

“What? Keith said he knows when I’m lying, so might as well tell the truth!”

Keith looked a little bothered as he slowed down cleaning the bar. His eyes found Lance’s and they were stormy again.

“You’re...really afraid of me?”

Lance stared as Keith’s shoulders hunched on himself a little bit and he sighed.

“Not…really. It’s hard to describe. Like all of you people were supposed to just be myths and legends. It’s a little disorienting to find out I accidentally started living with a vampire, you know? And Shiro would be terrifying even if he wasn’t a werewolf,” he said, as Adam snorted.

He bent over the counter to poke at Keith’s hand, causing him to look up at him.

“It’s not…like actual fear. It’s more like…I have a healthy respect for all of you. Kind of like how I am with ghosts,” he said, shrugging.

The three of them were silent on that and Lance felt his stomach drop out. He gasped and a cold shiver went down his spine.

“Oh my god, please tell me ghosts aren’t actually real….” Lance wheezed, looking at all their faces.

Shiro cleared his throat, offering up his pint of beer as a toast.

“Welcome to the family, Lance.”

“Oh my GOD?!”

It wasn’t until Lance and Keith had been living together for about three and a half months, when Lance woke up to incessant buzzing from his phone.

He groaned, turning to look and see that it was past four am and it was a Wednesday night. He guessed that meant it was Thursday morning, whatever. He might be living with a vampire, but he needed his sleep.

Lance picked up his phone, seeing Keith’s caller ID. He sighed and answered.

“Hello?”

“Lance, thank Satan. I need your help.”

That woke him right up.

“What? What happened? Are you okay?”

There was heavy breathing on the other side and then the sound of a pained grunt.

“Um…I think the correct answer would be no. I’m not okay,” Keith said, coughing a little.

“Shit, okay, where are you? Do you know?” Lance asked, setting the phone to speaker as he scrambled to change into jeans and throw on a hoodie.

“By the harbor. In a…warehouse? I think?” he said, coughing a little again.

“Wha-why are you all the way by the harbor? Warehouse? Keith, if this is some weird ass vampire cult bullshit-,”

“Lance!”

“Okay, okay, I’m on my way. Share your location with me.”

The coordinates were sent and Lance thanked whoever was the creepy stalker-y person that came up with that very handy application.

“Are you hurt? Why are you calling me? Why not Shiro?” he asked, as he flew down the stairs two at a time.

“Yes, because I trust you and it’s a full moon. He and Adam should be currently preoccupied,” he said, groaning again.

“Alright then fangs, I’m getting into my car. Stay where you are. I should be there in twenty minutes.”

He drove like a total maniac, ignoring all speed limits and barely making yellow lights. He was scared out of his goddamn mind. He could only picture finding Keith beaten, bloody, dead.

Which then brought him…that he never asked what killed a vampire in real life.

He was actually able to shave off a few minutes of the drive time, which was good because it was approaching five am and the sun was ready to start coming out. They needed to hurry.

Lance brought up the coordinates to find the warehouses at the docks. He used the maps feature to find his way around, but soon enough it all got lost in the cinderblocks.

“Keith!” he yelled. “Keith!”

A few loud bangs erupted near him, making him jump so high in the air that he literally fell over. It sounded again and he heard that it was metallic in nature. He scanned the vicinity to see a metal door down the alleyway from where he was and he sprinted to it.

He threw it open and found an entirely abandoned warehouse that looked straight out of some mob boss hitman movie. He looked over to the left and saw a metal pillar and a figure chained to it.

“Keith? Keith!”

He ran in and fell to Keith’s side. Keith looked up and winced.

He didn’t look good. There were tons of bite marks all over him, blood was smeared all across his naked torso. His legs were bare too, but he did have on his boxer briefs (thank GOD). Bruises were all across his face and he had cracked skin around his knuckles.

“Jesus fuck, Keith! What happened?” Lance asked, as he got to work on undoing the chains.

Keith coughed a little, groaning again. “That vampire cult thing? Yeah, I’m sorry to tell you that’s actually real. And turns out the Family’s personal cult that worshipped Lotor found me. Wanted revenge for me killing him a hundred years ago.”

Lance let out a delirious laugh. “Oh, yeah. Of course the vampire cult is a real thing. Why wouldn’t it be? Here we are living nice, normal lives, but nope. Not anymore. Now there’s vampires and evil vampire cults and werewolves and magic? MAGIC?! Not to mention there’s apparently actual fucking ghosts walking around here.”

“Lance, shut up and hurry…”

“I’m working on it, fangs! In case you conveniently forgot…I am still a normal ass fucking human being and chains are fairly strong. Especially if they’re made to hold a whole ass vampire!” Lance said, grunting as he leveraged up the chains to move off of Keith’s torso.

Keith let out a pained cry as they rolled over the bruises and bite marks and cuts. Lance grimaced in sympathy.

“Sorry, this is the only way. It’s going to really hurt. Probably. I don’t know much about vampire pain thresholds or whatever,” he said, moving it again.

Apparently, the threshold for pain is about as much as a human, because Keith yelled out in pain for the full minute it took to shimmy the chains off of him. Finally, he was free and he slumped over, out cold.

“Ah, oh shit, that’s super not good. Okay, fangs…” Lance stripped off his hoodie to expose his torso and covered Keith the best he could, before sweeping him up in a princess carry.

He spied outside and it was getting scarily sunny. He moved as quickly as he could back to his car and then shoved Keith in the back in between the front and back seats. He stripped off his pants and covered Keith entirely, so that any sunlight wouldn’t hit skin.

It left Lance completely naked other than his boxer briefs, but it didn’t matter. As long as Keith didn’t endure any more pain.

He drove back to the apartment with even more reckless abandon, thanking any god in existence that no cop pulled him over.

By that point, Keith started to stir.

“What the hell? Why are you naked?” he asked, peeking out from the clothes.

“Yeah, you’re welcome that I’m saving your vampire ass from getting fried extra crispy in the UV. You’ll just have to deal with seeing my golden tan body in its full glory,” Lance said, pulling into the parking lot.

Keith sat up as they were graciously under a tree’s shade and sighed. He pulled on Lance’s sweatshirt and then gave him back his pants.

“Can’t have you arrested for public indecency,” he said, gruffly.

Lance snorted, pulling on his jeans best he could, then opening up the back side door.

“Come on, hurry.”

Keith climbed out, shakily. Lance sighed, sweeping him up in a princess carry again. Keith made a strange squeaking sound as he did and Lance hurried in the back door of the apartment building.

Lance was proud that he was only kind of bogged down with Keith’s weight as they reached the third floor and finally managed to stumble into the apartment. Lance sighed with relief as he laid Keith on the couch. He hurried to shut all the blinds and curtains, then stopped to catch his breath.

Keith groaned again a few more times. Lance then went to grab some towels and wetted them. He didn’t bother getting a shirt.

“Alright, fangs. Take the hoodie off. Need to clean you up. Should I dress the wounds? Would that help?” he asked as he knelt down next to Keith on the ground.

Keith grunted as he slowly pulled the hoodie over his head. He sighed as he laid back again.

“No need. The bleeding should have already stopped. And no risk for infection, since there’s literally nothing to get infected,” he said, wincing.

Lance nodded as he got to work, carefully wiping off all the blood and paid attention to the still raw wounds. He didn’t meet Keith’s inquisitive eyes, just staring resolutely to…

Keith’s incredibly muscled chest and arms.

So, Lance was completely fucked no matter what. Great.

He took a few shallow breaths to hopefully calm his erratic heartbeat that Keith could totally hear. He finally looked up to see Keith indeed was staring at him and had a very interesting look in his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Lance asked, quietly.

Keith blinked, then flinched. “Been better.”

Lance leaned forward a little, hand coming up to gently grip Keith’s chin. Keith’s eyes widened a little and the indigo roared a thunderstorm. Lance gently wiped away the blood, sweat and tears from Keith’s face.

Huh. Vampires can cry. Noted.

Keith suddenly swayed a little, looking dizzy and out of sorts. Lance’s other hand held Keith’s head in place.

“Woah, you okay?” Lance asked, worried.

Keith huffed and looked down at his bruised chest. “I…lost too much blood. I need to eat. But Shiro’s probably still recovering from the full moon. He can’t get me my blood bags.”

“Oh…”

Then the idea.

Lance’s heart skipped a beat and he felt his world tip over. Because there was a very easy solution to that…but it gives way to an entirely different problem.

Keith frowned and looked at Lance again.

“What?”

Lance’s hand under his chin slowly released him. He swallowed hard and Keith’s eyes flickered to the movement. Then he seemed to realize and his face dawned in horror and terror.

“No.”

“If it helps-,”

“No, I’m not drinking from you,” Keith said, scrambling to try and get as far from Lance as possible to the other side of the couch.

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand in the only place he isn’t injured to keep him seated.

“Keith, you’re barely sitting up by yourself. You need human blood. Them’s the rules, right?” Lance said, trying for as casual as could be.

Keith shook his head feverishly. He then squeezed his eyes shut, as he looked to get really dizzy from the movement.

“Hey, come on. It’s an emergency and I trust you,” Lance said, persistently. “You’re a vampire and you need blood. And I’m right here, I’m a huge warm blood bag, really.”

“Lance, no. I can’t!” he said, desperately. “I haven’t fed straight from a human in nearly twenty years. And-and we all know the humans that will taste the best. We can smell it. And y-you-,”

Lance tilted his head as Keith cut off and bit his lip.

“And I what?”

“I just can’t. I know I wouldn’t be able to control myself,” he finished, breathy.

Lance sighed, pulling Keith over gently. Despite the resistance in voice, he still followed the movement. He situated himself right between Keith’s legs, so that his neck was just right within biting distance.

“Keith. I trust you. It’s okay. I’ll tell you when it gets too much.”

For real though, his heart was racing with anticipation and nerves.

Keith’s breathing turned shaky and uneven and seemingly without his say so, his mouth opened enough that those enlarged canines peeked out. His eyes were staring right at Lance’s pulse point, mesmerized. Lance set his hands gently on Keith’s hips.

“It’s…it’s too dangerous. I know…I know that-that I’ll get one taste and…and I’ll lose control. And I can’t-,” Keith’s voice trembled with fear but also laced with underlying hunger and desire.

“I don’t want to hurt you…”

“The first thing you told me when I figured it out was that you’d never hurt me,” Lance said, quietly.

Keith’s eyes jumped to Lance’s face and filled with tears. He gulped like he saw the tastiest meal of his life spread out just for him. Lance slowly stretched out his neck and tilted his head.

“So prove it to me.”

Keith’s hands slowly settled with one hand on the curve of his shoulder and the other came around to clench in Lance’s hair. He leaned in, so that his mouth hovered at just the right spot. He stayed that way for a few agonizing moments.

Hot breath puffed against Lance’s skin and he felt goosebumps. His heart kept racing, as though it were getting the warmest blood ready just for Keith to taste.

“Tell me when I go too far,” Keith whispered, finally giving in.

Then lips were latched onto the skin and Lance gasped involuntarily. Keith sucked hard like his life depended on it. Probably because it did.

Then teeth were nibbling to bruise harder, causing Lance’s eyes to roll back in his head. Keith’s arm moved down to encircle his waist and hold him steady as Lance’s knees went weak.

Lance panted from the stimulation of the pain and waves of pleasure rocking his body. He could feel as more blood rushed down than up to Keith. He wasn’t sure if he had it in him to feel embarrassed that he got a raging boner from this.

Because then Keith released him, panting some and audibly snarled.

Then he bit.

It was a sensation like none other.

Lance made a sound he was sure going to haunt his nightmares, a guttural moan that sat deep in his throat.

Waves of pain mixed with genuine euphoria as his vision swam. His blood went rushing through his body like he was on a roller coaster and it was like strobe lights were injected directly into his organs. Pulsing stimulation roamed over his skin, lighting him aflame.

Keith greedily drank from Lance, like a man starved.

It was intoxicating, the intimacy that the action created. Like Lance was made just for Keith’s enjoyment.

And Lance reveled in it.

Keith spent a full thirty or so seconds gulping, but then Lance felt pinpricks at his fingertips and saw black spots. The pain became more than the pleasure and suddenly Lance felt cold underneath his skin.

“K-Keith…” he croaked out, signaling it was approaching his breaking point.

Keith grunted, but stayed attached as he drank one last full gulp.

Lance let out a noise like a whimper and then Keith forcibly tore away from him. Lance sighed with relief as Keith spent some time licking the wound and Lance could feel the pain throbbing from it lessened to a dull ache.

They were both panting from exertion and Lance fell forward to rest his faint head against Keith’s shoulder.

“Fuck…” Lance whispered, boneless.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked, wrapping his arms around him.

Lance nodded against his shoulder. “Are you?”

“My wounds are all gone. That healed me,” Keith whispered.

“Oh thank Satan,” Lance said, laughing deliriously. “But I think I might take a sick day off classes. I’m pretty sure I’d pass out if I stood up right now.”

Keith moved him back to look straight into his eyes. He was right, all the bruises were now looking like they were weeks old and the bite marks were completely gone.

The indigo raged like a hurricane and Lance smiled at him.

“I’m fine, Keith. You stopped. Look at that.”

Keith sucked in a breath through his nose and his eyes shined.

“Thank you. For everything tonight. You saved my life.”

Lance nodded, unable to come up with anything coherent to say to that. Keith carefully moved him to lay up on the couch. He hurried to the kitchen, grabbing a few nutrition bars and three whole bottles of water. He also grabbed two bananas. He set the haul on the coffee table and brought the water bottle up to Lance’s mouth.

“Here. This’ll help get your electrolytes back up. Tell me if you feel faint anymore or like your fingers or toes are tingly,” Keith said, softly.

Lance gulped the water, obediently. He sighed when he was done and laid back.

“How do you know all this?” he asked, voice cracking a little.

“Some vampires choose to have what we call consorts. A human that consents to the vampire feeding off them. You learn the best way to take care of your consort after an especially intense feeding. It’s designed to be mutually beneficial. The vampire gets blood straight from the vein and the human gets…”

Keith’s voice trailed off awkwardly. Lance gasped.

“Oh my god, the human gets an immortal sugar daddy…”

Keith’s sigh was especially long suffering after that one.

“Woah, Lance…that is the biggest hickey I’ve ever seen,” Shay said, astounded.

Lance’s hand clamped over the mark and he groaned, rushing to look in the reflective surface of the coffee machine while his shift started.

“I thought I covered it all!” Lance hissed, desperately trying to arrange his shirt right.

Shay giggled. “It’s the size of Montana, sweetheart. No makeup is that good.”

Lance sighed. “Well, I guess everyone is just…going to know everything about my bedroom life. Awesome.”

“I didn’t know you got an S.O.” Shay said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Or is that from an especially adventurous one-night stand?”

“No S.O. No one-night stand,” he said, starting on the orders she was writing on the cups.

“Wha-then what is it?” she asked, confused.

Lance hummed. “It’s…complicated.”

Shay quirked an eyebrow at him. Lance grinned at her, then called out the names from the cups as he finished.

The day went on normally, even though Lance was thinking about the incident from two days before. It seriously compromised his work ethic and he messed up way too many orders. With the present dull ache from the bite and the still thrumming pleasant buzz in his veins…

Well, Lance may have just found his new addiction.

He totally understood where those consorts were coming from.

The day finally ended later than usual, as it was a weekend and the shop stayed open past sunset. That meant that Keith could already be on his way to work. He was fairly disappointed in that. He felt like they needed to talk more.

Would it be totally ridiculous to ask for another feeding?

Yes. Yes, it would.

Feeding had to be Keith’s decision, right? It was for his hunger, after all. Lance was just the one on the menu. He was the one to be ordered, not the other way around.

Should he be concerned that he was already itching for Keith’s fangs again?

Yes. Yes, he should.

And yet, he was still disappointed that when he opened the door, it was a silent apartment. He sighed and headed to get himself some dinner. He ate while watching a YouTube video, mindlessly chewing and staring.

His mind and gaze wandered over to the couch. His memory dredged up kneeling on the ground, the feeling of Keith’s fangs deep in his shoulder, the ecstasy it produced through his entire body.

And he was hard again. Great.

But he stopped, thinking…the apartment was silent. Keith was at work.

That meant…

Lance slowly stood from the kitchen counter and then decided to take his hard-on to his bed. Keith still used the couch after all.

He shucked off his pants and shirt, then threw off his boxers too. He dug out the lube he kept in his nightstand and threw it on his sheets. He laid back on his bed, closing his eyes and then brought one hand up to knead on the bruised bite mark.

The pressure on the wound brought a zing of pain down his body and it brought him right back to that moment, with Keith’s mouth latched onto him.

He gasped as the memory of that moment fueled his erection and quickly used the lube to slick his fingers and he warmed it up before palming at his cock.

Lance’s left hand clenched on the bite mark and he moaned aloud, as his right hand started stroking his throbbing cock steadily.

The memory of Keith in his arms consumed him and the sensation of being the source of life for Keith, the body to save him.

His hand rubbed over the mark to precipitate the pain over his body and his heels dug into the mattress as the pleasure rocked his insides. His hand quickened its pace as he started to do more than just remember.

He started to fantasize about Keith picking him up and ravaging him fully against the wall, biting and then fucking entirely. Blood would be drunk just as they were both seeking their pleasure points, bringing both of them to completion.

Keith would be an animal, snarling and biting and Lance would take it all. He would love every second of being useful, important, integral to Keith’s very survival.

Just by existing as he was, Keith needed him.

Lance felt the orgasm build at the heat of his stomach, his abdomen blooming in warmth and he panted, putting intense pressure against the bite mark and then his vision whited out.

As he came down from his high, he gulped a few times, as though he were the man starved.

He might have been.

Keith was acting weird.

And yes, Lance knew that probably didn’t mean much. Considering he was a vampire.

But, he was acting weird even for vampire Keith.

He was staring at Lance for way longer than usual. Lance would catch him staring pretty much all the time. Bright, stormy indigo eyes followed almost his every move.

And he was starting to be incredibly protective of him.

“I don’t want you going out alone. It’s almost dark out,” Keith said, about a week after the Incident as Lance started calling it in his head.

“What? You afraid of me getting mugged or something? It’s fine, Keith. I’m just going to meet some friends for some drinks,” Lance said, dismissively.

“What friends? Do I know them? Do you know everyone who’s going to be there?” Keith asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Keith,” Lance said, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Dude, relax. These are my friends that I’ve known literally forever. I’ve told you about them tons of times. What’s gotten into you?”

Keith frowned, then groaned and shook his head. “I’m sorry. Sorry. I just…my head’s not in the right place. When…”

He paused, trying to find the words.

“Sometimes when a vampire feeds from someone they know really well…it gets to be like a magnetic pull. Whenever you see them again, it’s like there’s some instinct to…”

Lance watched as many conflicting emotions passed over his face.

“Instinct to what?” Lance asked, curiously.

Keith shook his head again. “Never mind. Don’t worry about it. Go and have fun. I’ll be at work later, but don’t hesitate to call or text if anything goes wrong.”

“Alright. If you’re sure. Well, see ya later!”

The bar was down the road from the school, so as to have a neutral ground for all of them to meet up. He got there just as the rest of them were settling together in a rounded booth.

“Hey guys!” he said, grinning.

There was a chorus of ‘hey’s and whoops as he scooted in. Hunk next to him clapped a big hand to his shoulder.

“Good to see you! It’s been a little bit!” he said, warm and inviting as always.

Lance patted the hand. “Yeah it has, buddy. Kind of busy as of late.”

“Busy with your mysterious new maybe non-vampire roommate?” Pidge asked, smirking.

“He’s not a vampire, Pidgey. But yes. Things with him have been kind of weird,” he said, taking off his coat and scarf to reveal the high-necked tight shirt underneath.

“What kind of weird?” Allura asked, curiously.

“Yeah, I thought his whole thing with being a person was just plain weird?” Hunk asked, tilting his head.

Lance chuckled, that one coming fairly close to home. “Well…he’s acting like he’s already my boyfriend…all protective and caring and attentive…but we’ve never had anything between us like that before. And…uh…well, something happened. But it wasn’t like that?”

They all hummed in acknowledgment.

“Do you want him to be your boyfriend?” Allura asked, smirking.

As he thought about it, it was undeniable that he at least was attracted to Keith. But even beyond that…the way they talked to each other, the way Keith trusted him so fully, the way that every moment between them felt so intense and real.

And just how truly kind and passionate and soft the grumpy vampire could be…

Well, there was no other answer.

Lance sighed. “Yes. I very much, really do.”

“Then you should tell him. It’ll help clear the air,” Pidge said, simply. “Then you can talk about how you want him to act in your relationship.”

Lance hesitated, the anxiety from that too much. “I don’t know. Everything’s still just…really weird.”

“Dude, your whole life has just gotten really weird,” Hunk said, chuckling. “At least then you can control the weird a little more.”

Lance considered that. His life had gotten entirely strange.

As the night went on and they ventured out into the crowded bar for more drinks and Lance was started to feel the effects. It was then that he felt a similar prickling feeling like someone was watching him.

“Dude, there’s this entirely gorgeous man that’s been eyeing you from the other end of the bar,” Hunk whispered in his ear.

Lance subtly glanced and sure enough, a man with a scar over one eye was staring at him, not even bothering to look subtle. Lance would usually be all for the attention, but something about this one felt off. It felt wrong.

He turned back around and stuck closer to Hunk.

But when his friends were pulled to the dance floor and he was just about to follow, he felt a hand grip at his arm to wheel him around.

“Hey there little fang slut. Where’s your collar?” the scarred man purred right into his ear.

Lance froze in terror, blood running cold.

Despite his slight panic, he tried to keep his composure.

“Uh…I’m sorry?”

The man smirked right in front of him. “I can smell the use on you. Right over such a lovely scent. It’s a real bold move to let a consort like you to go out alone. Your blood sucker must not care that much about you, huh?”

And then Lance saw the peeks of overlarge fangs in the guy’s mouth.

Shit. SHIT!

It’s okay. Keith is hella strong. He said he’d protect me.

“You’ll really not like messing with my vampire, dude,” Lance said, quietly.

And as he did so, he carefully reached into his pocket to swipe through his phone and send GPS coordinates to the number one emergency contact. He hoped he got the message and understood it in time.

“Oh yeah? You think your little fledgling is so big and tough because they’re stronger or faster than a human?” the man laughed. “I bet you I’m at least a hundred years older than your blood sucker. And I was sired by an Ancient.”

Lance stalled, mind going a million miles an hour. “What? Is that supposed to mean something?”

The man looked irritated, as if he wanted Lance to be impressed with the information.

“Being sired by an Ancient means that you’re at least five times more powerful than one not. Some even gain special abilities. Me, for instance? Much more heightened smell,” he said, growling.

He then bent in and curved Lance’s spine so that he could dig his nose in the crook of his neck and he sniffed so hard that it enveloped his whole body.

Lance shuddered, feeling rolls of discomfort and disgust over his body and he struggled against the grip on his arm.

“What the fuck? Dude, get off me you freak,” Lance said, gritting his teeth.

The man’s grip tightened as he gripped Lance by the chin to stare into his eyes. Lance felt adrenaline run through him and he immediately squeezed his eyes shut. The man snarled, angrily.

“You’re going to open your eyes for me and later your legs, little fang slut. You have to listen to me,” the man said, trying to suggest Lance into submission.

Lance twitched, as he was overcome with a form of the control. It wasn’t near as strong as Keith’s though, so he was able to stay firm in shutting the man out. The grip on his arm tightened again, but just as he could smell his rancid breath again to try and suggest even more, suddenly a voice ran over the music.

“Get away from him.”

And Lance’s eyes shot open.

Keith barreled through the crowd to grab the man by the collar and with that superhuman strength, shoved him backwards to hit the wall. Lance stumbled back, as he was released from the power of the suggestion.

Keith’s eyes were wild and flashing with the pupils slitted. The man’s lip curled with a snarl and Keith snarled right back. The patrons near them were all looking at them and each other with confusion and trepidation.

Lance jumped into action, grabbing Keith by the arm and leaning in close.

“Hey, it’s fine, I’m okay. Don’t make a scene, don’t blow your cover. It’ll only make things worse. Come on, just let him go,” he said, quietly.

Keith’s eyes glanced to him, then he slowly relaxed, letting the man go. The man huffed, then as he passed by, he lewdly groped at Lance’s crotch. He gasped and fell back into Keith.

And then his vampire lost it.

Keith grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and hurled him towards the back door with the superhuman speed, Lance stumbling to follow into the alley behind the bar as rain poured down in sheets.

It was only a few minutes of them fighting, but Keith really was an animal.

The sheer brutality of what went down between the two vampires in that dingy alleyway could never be wiped from Lance’s memory.

Claws, fangs, bites, punches, kicks, hair pulling and so much blood was spilled.

In the end, it was a blurred flurry of movement that Lance couldn’t describe for the life of him.

The only thing he knew was that the finality was Keith was standing and the other man no longer had a head attached to his body.

Lance clamped a hand over his mouth and nose and tried to keep from gagging. He trembled something fierce as he stared at the dead vampire. Then slowly, the vampire melted into a puddle of blood. The clothes he wore lay soaked and empty of a body.

Keith panted and then slowly turned to Lance.

His eyes were nearly consumed by his black pupils, the whites burning with yellow. His face was covered in blood at the mouth and was soaked through his clothes. Lance shivered at the cold and the expression.

Then Keith started to come back into himself.

Lance stepped forward, taking Keith’s face into his hands. The eyes softened and burned with guilt and fear and regret.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked, voice shaking.

Keith nodded. “I was stronger.”

Lance sputtered a laugh. “Yeah…yeah I can see that.”

“I’m…I’m sorry…” Keith whispered, wincing. “I’m sorry you had to see…”

Lance shook his head. “No. No, don’t be. I had to. I’ve seen you soft and sweet and I’ve seen you hurt and broken. But now I’ve seen you powerful and protective, too. That’s a part of you. And that’s important to me.”

Keith’s eyes widened with what looked like hope. “Really?”

Lance sniffled and nodded. “Yeah. Every part of you is important to me.”

Keith’s upper lip quivered in the most human way and then Lance knew he had to do it.

So he bent forward and kissed him right there in the rain and with blood on his lips.

After texting the others that he went home early and getting only encouraging replies, Lance and Keith stumbled into the apartment.

It was very late (or very early depending on who you asked), they were cold and shivering and wet.

And completely consumed by each other.

Their lips were locked together as Keith slammed him back against the door and Lance gasped. Keith took advantage of that and plunged his tongue right in. It was messy and uncoordinated, fueled by weeks of pent up sexual frustration and emotional turmoil.

Lance could feel the sharp tips of those fangs that drove him buck fucking wild as his tongue roamed over Keith’s mouth.

He tasted like the metallic copper of blood.

Keith took initiative to grab Lance by the back of his thigh and hoisting him up to wrap around his hips. Lance clutched on to him as friction brushed over his crotch and then the cold of the autumn rain melted away into blistering heat of arousal.

Keith panted against his collarbone, obviously thinking about the last time his face was there.

“Bite me,” Lance whispered, already sounding wrecked.

Keith tensed, looking up at him with his stormy eyes.

“Are you sure?” he whispered, looking apprehensive.

Lance quickly nodded. “Tear off my clothes and bite me.”

Keith gulped. And suddenly his back wasn’t even close to the door and in a blur, he was bouncing on his own bed.

“Woah!” Lance exclaimed, involuntarily. “Holy shit, that was fucking cool!”

Keith smirked as he stood at the foot of the bed, ripping off his clothes in a fervor. Lance was about to do the same, when Keith grabbed his hand.

“I thought the idea was for me to tear them off,” he said, with that velvety soft voice.

And it worked wonders as Lance felt pliant beneath him and Keith was suddenly stark naked.

And then Lance wondered if dicks got bigger when you were turned into a vampire because holy goddamn fucking shit.

Not to mention the salivating that he had in his mouth at the sight of Keith in all his glory, wet from rain and blood smeared over his body from a fresh kill on his pale alabaster skin.

Keith slowly crawled over him as Lance laid back and hands came to throw off the jacket, then a sharper claw grazed down Lance’s front. And then the material was pricked.

And the shirt then lay in tatters around him.

Lance gasped at the air and Keith moved on to the pants, fingers thumbing over the button of his fly and a claw running over the seam at the side.

“Oh, wait!” Lance said, finally finding his common sense.

Keith froze, head jerking up. His eyes were wide with fear and embarrassment.

“No, no, love what’s happening, this is super great,” Lance said, waving a hand. “Just…”

Keith tilted his head in confusion. Lance laughed nervously.

“I really like these pants. So if you could…maybe take them off normally?”

Keith sighed, head falling forward. “Lance…”

“Hey, you can still go ham whammy vampire on the briefs, they’re like totally ruined from the rain anyway,” Lance said, smirking.

Keith slowly showed a wry smile. “I can’t believe I want you to be my consort.”

“Oh my god, I’m so saying yes to that, because that is so fucking hot, now get to it and bite me!”

And then his pants were thrown off in a blur. And the briefs were shredded and Keith was hovering over his naked body.

For a second, Keith just unabashedly stared.

Lance squirmed a little under the look, then Keith met his eyes and within those hurricane indigos, he relaxed into a puddle of goo and warmth. He smiled down at him, leaning in and kissing him softly.

“Beautiful…”

Lance couldn’t find the words to be like ‘huh? You’re the most gorgeous creature on the planet’, but he appreciated the appreciation all the same.

Keith then moved on to kiss and suckle on the skin leading down his neck. At the thought of fangs right where they had been before, Lance’s cock jumped. Keith physically smirked against his neck and Lance whimpered for it.

“Did that guy call you fang slut?” Keith asked, breathless.

“Yes and I’m not even ashamed that I’m completely that and more,” Lance said, panting.

Keith’s chuckle was deep and rumbled against Lance’s skin, too. And it made Lance even more hard. The intense passion of coming in after Keith killed that other vampire had dulled into a fiery pot of magma, still as hot, but boiling slower and denser.

Keith’s tongue lapped over the still bruised mark on his neck and Lance’s back arched at the sensation.

“Wait…go somewhere that’s easier to cover…” he whispered, panting.

Keith nodded and travelled lower. He kissed and sucked on Lance’s nipples, that drove Lance wild and his hands clenched in the fabric around him. Then Keith journeyed on, lapping over the sweat and the beaded rain until he settled close to Lance’s bouncing cock.

Just before Lance could voice his concerns about fangs, Keith had taken him in to his wet heated mouth.

Lance moaned aloud, head falling back as his cock was getting the attention it so desperately craved for weeks.

Keith was very careful, lapping and tonguing over the cock, protecting it from the sharp fangs nestled in Keith’s mouth. He popped off when Lance was starting to make needy noises. Keith stared all over his skin, like he was trying to solve a really complicated puzzle.

Lance blinked at him, was about to ask what was wrong, when suddenly he was hoisted up to straddle Keith and the action brought their cocks brushing together. The friction sent sparks across Lance’s skin and he gasped.

“Oh fuck…”

Keith kissed over his chest, reverently. “Need to find the best spot…but I still want to watch you.”

“No need to explain, fangs. I’m down for whatever as long as it ends up with you biting me again,” Lance said, wheezing.

Keith smiled, fangs on display and his eyes shined with danger and lust. It sent Lance into a tizzy for it. Keith’s hands roamed over his back, then moved down to rub over Lance’s entrance. Lance whined, grasping at Keith’s shoulders for purchase.

“Lube? Condom?” Keith asked, still sounding unfairly sexy when asking for something that should not sound sexy.

“Nightstand. Top drawer. Just lube. Don’t need condom, you’re dead,” Lance croaked out, obsessing with the dry finger still rubbing gently over his hole.

In a blur, Lance was alone on the bed and then was back in Keith’s lap, but this time with Keith sitting against the headboard. He reeled from the super speed and his mundane human mind not keeping up.

“Dios mio, that’s crazy, fuck…” Lance said, shaking his head a little.

Keith winked at him, before a lubed and warmed finger rubbed harder over Lance’s entrance. He gasped, fingers digging into Keith’s shoulders. Keith rubbed a comforting hand over Lance’s thigh. It made him realize that he was actually being very slow and careful for a killer creature of the night.

“Faster…” Lance said, pleading.

Keith frowned, just as a finger breached through. “Have to take care of you. Don’t want to hurt you.”

Lance grunted, shaking his head. “Maybe I want to hurt.”

Indigo eyes gleamed and then there were two slicked fingers in his asshole to the knuckles. Lance’s back arched at the sensation, as they went searching for that tried and true bundle of nerves. It was a harsh stinging stretch, but it fueled the desire burning low in Lance’s gut.

“Like that?” Keith asked, hoarsely.

Lance’s mouth twitched into a smirk. “Giving it good, little vampire.”

And then fingertips prodded over his prostate and Lance let out a cry, waves of pleasure overtaking the stretching sting. Keith moved his fingers in and out, then quickly added a third. Lance hissed and panted, slowly becoming more and more a mess.

His babble consisted of ‘fuck’, ‘shit’, Spanish and a mantra of ‘bite me’.

As he thought he would be ready, Keith surprised him by adding a fourth. Lance moaned, keening at the stretch.

“Holy shit!” he cried, as curled fingers worked him open and prodded insistently at his prostate.

“Lance…” Keith breathed out, leaning in and wrapping his other arm around his waist.

Then suddenly Lance was empty, which made him whimper desperately. Keith quickly lubed up his cock, then with hot sexy vampire strength, he hooked hands under Lance’s thighs and picked him up. Lance squealed in his throat, then Keith lowered him right onto his cock.

Lance’s head fell back as Keith’s cock filled him, his thighs meeting hips soon enough and the huge vampire dick was entirely in his ass.

“Keith, holy shit!” he moaned, panting.

“So tight and warm,” Keith purred, reverently. “Satan, you feel incredible, Lance. Haven’t had something as good as you in my entire life. How are you a normal human being?”

Lance whined, desperate for him to move. Keith took the initiative and he kept a bruising hold on Lance’s sides as he used his vampire strength to move Lance up and down.

Lance didn’t need to use his knees or legs as leverage at all, he just got to let Keith use him for what he wanted. He was bouncing in his lap and meeting skin to skin. The sensations over his body felt waves of pleasure and his cock was so damn hard that it was nearing painful.

As Keith angled Lance’s body back a little, the giant vampire dick angled too and then slammed right against his prostate. Lance screamed and Keith thrusted Lance on him a few more times.

Then a familiar snarl and Lance’s head whipped down to see Keith’s mouth entirely open, overlarge canines on top and bottom in presentation.

“Yes, Keith. Oh my god, yes, bite me!” Lance practically yelled out.

Keith’s lips latched onto the area just below Lance’s rib cage and he sucked hard. Lance whined again, nails scraping against Keith’s shoulder blades. The movement got scrambled and teeth were scraping against the spot too.

Lance panted and felt like he needed some preparation for the coming stimulation, just as a guttural growl erupted.

And Keith sank his fangs right into Lance’s supple skin.

Lance orgasmed right on the spot.

The waves of sharp pain crested his pleasure over and he shrieked, bending backwards as Keith gulped down mouthfuls of Lance’s blood and then Lance’s insides grew hot as Keith finished too.

Lance’s vision went dark for a full second, overwhelmed by sensations and stimulation.

Cum splattered messily over Keith’s shoulder and hair, as he was bent down to feed on Lance. He drank Lance through the orgasm, then as Lance came down from it, he released him.

Keith spent time to lick the wound closed and Lance slowly panted and trembled. As Keith was satisfied in how the wound looked, Lance righted himself to look down at him.

Keith’s eyes were burning yellow and slitted at the pupils, mouth agape with a blood red staining on his teeth and lips. They were both breathing hard, staring at each other.

Keith looked him over too, then closed his eyes and mouth. He licked the last remnants of blood off his lips and opened his eyes again, now looking normal. He carefully shuffled so that he turned and laid Lance down on his back with his head on a pillow.

Keith carefully pulled out and Lance winced. Keith then sped to the bathroom and brought back a wet towel in less than a second. He wiped down Lance’s stomach and then over his legs and asshole. He used the other side to clean himself up, taking time to wipe down his hair with a casual look.

Then he did another vampire sprint to get water and an orange from kitchen, setting them on the nightstand next to Lance’s head.

“If you get dizzy or anything,” Keith said, quietly.

Lance smiled at him, reaching up to beckon him closer. He accepted the invitation to lay against Lance’s chest and Lance carded his fingers through his hair.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay? Did I hurt you too much?” Keith asked, fingers brushing over the bite mark.

“Hell no, dude. That was incredible. I came so hard I think I blacked out,” he said, sounding wrecked beyond belief.

Keith huffed a deep chuckle and pressed his forehead against Lance’s shoulder.

“Fang slut.”

“Shut the hell up, grandpa.”

Shiro was staring at Lance very hard as him and Adam came for a visit after hearing that a vampire coven in the area mysteriously lost one of their oldest members. It was about three days after that night from the bar.

Lance sat with his back rigged on the couch as Keith stayed close to the kitchen, glaring at Shiro’s critical stare. Then Lance yipped as Shiro bent over Lance’s shoulder and sniffed.

“Keith…” Shiro growled, eyes sharpening and turning to what he considered a guilty little brother.

Keith bared his fangs and growled right back. “It’s not your business.”

Adam huffed, not concerned at all as he settled on the couch next to Lance. He glanced to the younger man and smirked.

“This is a very interesting turn of events,” he said, like he was just hearing the news.

“How did you guys know?” Lance asked, nervously.

“You smell like Keith. Not your usual scent,” Shiro said, still glaring daggers at Keith. “Lance I’m going to need you to listen to me carefully. When a vampire bites a human, it changes their physiology. You’re now bound to Keith forever until another supernatural being breaks that bond. Your blood is now sweeter and tastes better to every vampire. You’re going to smell like a fucking buffet as you walk down the street.”

Lance glanced between Keith and Shiro. They were still menacingly growling to each other.

“Huh. Okay, noted,” he said, shrugging.

Shiro blinked and turned to look at him, incredulously. “That means you’re in a lot more danger. Vampires will know you’re bound to Keith.”

“Cool,” Lance said, grinning. “I’m good with that.”

Keith flicked his eyes over to him, then smirked. “It was consensual, Shiro. And we talked about it before.”

Lance tried to hide the snort. They maybe had a single word to each other about it while consumed by fucking each other. But they did in fact, talk about it.

“So you’re comfortable with being his consort?” Adam asked, curiously.

“Uh…I mean, yeah. Although I do prefer the term ‘boyfriend’, since you know…this isn’t just me getting slurped like a slushie,” Lance said, winking at Keith.

If vampires could blush, it seemed like that was what was happening to Keith. Lance grinned even wider. Shiro rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Fucking hell, I need a drink.”

“And there you go. I’m dating Keith now. He’s my boyfriend,” Lance announced to the group at their weekly coffee hangout.

The table all whooped and sent out congratulations. Lance grinned as Hunk hugged him tightly. He tried to hide the wince as it pulled on his still bruised sides and stomach.

“Okay. You’re dating the creepy ass weirdo that you picked off the internet,” Pidge said, curious. “The one you were convinced was a vampire.”

“Wait, how weird is the sex? Is he really kinky? All the weird guys are,” Matt asked, a newcomer to the group.

“I’m not telling you that!” Lance said, face flushing with embarrassment.

“Oh come on!” Pidge said, leaning forward across from him. “Give us the juicy details about how kinky the weird non-vampire roommate is!”

“Actually, I’d rather you not,” Hunk said, cringing.

“I second that,” Allura said, shaking her head.

Lance sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine, I mean…he might actually be a vampire so it is pretty rough.”

Pidge and Matt gasped in unison, smacking each other. Hunk and Allura groaned and rolled their eyes.

“What? Tell us! What happened? How do you know? Are you fucking with us?” Matt asked, grinning wide.

Lance smirked, finishing up his coffee with a slurp.

“Well…he’s actually really into biting.”

The table was thrown into chaos.