I Don't Bite (Unless You're Into That)

"Just tell him" Otto suggested casually, like this wasn't even an issue.

"'Just tell him'? Do you know what's at stake here? No pun intended."

Otto closed the book he was pointlessly trying to study, leaning back onto the couch in Awstens basement.

"Dude, Geoff isn't going to stake you."

"Well," Awsten started, sucking down another bottle of orange juice. "I know. Or, at least I think I know. The whole thing's pretty weird."

"Not as weird as the fact that my long time classmate and childhood friend have like...hooked up."

"Yeah it's actually much weirder. Hey this totally isn't a hookup, you know? This is serious. At least to me."

"Okay, I'm glad you know that. Cause, Geoff totally knows that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Otto gave him a knowing look.

"I know how you tend to...be. And I know how Geoff always is. I haven't known him for 20 years for nothing."

"This is different" Awsten assured. "Until, you know, you get me dumped. I've been trying to woo Geoff for, what, two years? And you want me to tell him this. Just say you want him for yourself" he joked.

"I see why Geoff likes you. You use words like 'woo'" Otto laughed, taking the second bottle of juice for himself, much to Awstens dismay.

"First of all, ew. Geoff is honestly almost quite literally my brother. We took baths together as kids. Secondly, in the event that I did like Geoff; again, ew. It wouldn't have taken me 20 years to tell him" Otto said. "It wouldn't even had taken me two."

Awsten frowned at that.

"It was so haarrddd he's so cool I'm gonna fuck this up"

"'Cool'...sure, thats the word. Anyway Geoff loves vampires"

"Geoff loves the idea of vampires. Fictional vampires."

"Calm down, whereas any human in their right mind would be completely freaked out by this- he won't care. Weirdly enough he seriously won't care."

"If you're wrong, you're my first victim of the year" Awsten half heartedly joked.

"Oh, bite me" Otto snarked, re-opening his biology textbook.

-

Geoff took the whole vampire thing...well.

"Is that it?" He had asked, legs dangling off the roof Awsten had taken them up to. Awsten was a few feet away, cross legged and worried.

"That's...a lot, Geoff."

Geoff glanced up at the moon, almost encased in fog but still lighting up the night, illuminating the eyes he turned to look into.

"Even in the event you took me up here to murder me and make me into a vamp snack," he chuckled "you still wouldn't be the worst guy I've dated"

Awsten laughed back.

"Vamp snack?"

"Oh don't act like you've never thought about it, Nosferatu."

"I have, but- hey why can't I be Dracula? Why do I have to be the ugly, ancient one what gives?"

"Hey, watch your mouth, Edward Cullen, Nosferatu was an unsung hero."

Awsten got up, pacing the roof at a human speed.

"You're not afraid that you're gonna upset me and I'm gonna like, kill you?"

Geoff chuckles again.

"About as afraid as you are that I'm secretly a vampire slayer.

Awsten tensed up at that, eyeing his mate suspiciously.

"...Are you?"

"What the fuck, no"

"Don't even joke" Awsten teased, grin showing off his fangs. In hindsight this all should have been obvious.

"Oh so you can joke about killing me but I can't joke about going modern day Buffy on you? Who has the advantage here? Besides, I like vampires."

"Okay Bella, Buffy was modern day Buffy."

"Bella my ass. Know that this totally isn't going to end like twilight. The only time your teeth are gonna be on me is when-"

"Chill! And we'll see about that." Awsten joked.

Geoff rolled his eyes at that, suddenly not being so sure of himself.

"So you actually have wanted to feed on me?"

Awsten blushed, something Geoff couldn't really catch. Couldn't see Awsten anymore.

Geoff took that silence as confirmation.

"That's cute" He said, into nothing.

-

Geoff thought about that well into the night; eyes wide open, cuddled into his sleeping boyfriend.

"Hey" Geoff whispered, nudging him softly. "Awsten, wake up"

"What the fuck" Awsten groaned groggily, looking over to the alarm on his nightstand.

"So were you fake sleeping just now?"

"No, asshole, I was actually sleeping. Like you should be right now! It's 4am."

"Why do you need to sleep?"

"Because I need to dream about smothering you in the middle of the night. Let me go back to bed."

"No chance" Geoff said, "when we eat food, do you like it?"

"You think I would buy like $100 worth of orange juice every day as some sort of vampiric beard?"

"Honestly? Yeah. Next question. Have you always been a vampire?"

Awsten sighed.

"Kind of, I technically died of scarlet fever when i was like...5. My father turned me to save me."

"That's incredible!"

"Not really, I often wish he would have let me die."

"Don't ever say that again" Geoff scolded, placing a chaste kiss to the base of Awstens throat.

"I've never kissed your throat" Awsten blurted, letting his arms bring his boyfriend closer.

Geoff responded with a tilt of his head, baring his neck to the man next to him.

"Oh, no, Geoff. That wasn't, like, a request."

"Why not?' Geoff said, scooting up higher so his jugular was almost directly in front of Awstens lips.

Awsten closed his eyes tightly, groaning in frustration.

"Don't you care how dangerous that is? What if I can't contain the urge to feed?"

"Not really, I trust you. I don't know anything about actual vampires so I can't tell when you're hungry but- wait. Do you feed on humans?"

"Well," Awsten started, "No. I order blood bags from these science websites that are supposed to be for educational purposes. I've never had fresh blood before... And I only really have to feed like...every couple days. After about a week I start getting the red eyes, sun irritation, can't touch silver or eat garlic, etc. A week after that I'll die. Sometimes I can't get the blood bags though and that's when I start to panic. And...yeah."

Geoff pulled back a little bit, looking into his boyfriends eyes.

"So how long has it been?"

Awsten shifted uncomfortably.

"A little over five days... I underestimated how much I needed last month then by the time I caught it and ordered more I remembered why I order so much at a time in the first place. It's gonna take like two weeks to get here, I was gonna try and sneak into a hospital or something"

"Like you tried to sneak into Kellin Quinns birthday party in the 12th grade?"

"No" Awsten groaned "Not like that"

"C'mon" Geoff insisted, repositioning his neck. "Just a little sip"

"That's honestly probably not how this is gonna go, babe. Besides, I thought you said no teeth outside the bedroom"

"We're in your bedroom"

"Geoff" Awsten whined, giving in and peppering kisses along his boyfriends jaw and along his throat. "I can't do this. Why are you okay with this?

In his head, Geoff said 'fuck it'

"Cause I love you and I want this bond with you, I've been thinking about it since you told me. Even more so now that you told me you're hungry, you're getting uncomfortably close to that week mark."

Awsten didn't skip a beat before adding-

"I love you too" and then "but the hospital-"

"Is going to wonder why you need a month supply of blood?"

Awsten sighed, running out of solutions.

"You're going to have this mark forever, you'll be bonded to me for life."

That made Geoff think for a second, but only a second.

"Sounds great when do we star- mmnf" He couldn't even fully get the words out before Awstens teeth were sinking into the side of his neck.

The sensation was so strange, it hurt like hell the first few seconds before dulling into a numb tingle.

Geoff weakly stroked his lovers hair, now on his back with Awsten between his legs that were once hooked loosely over the vampires hips.

Awsten pulled away just on time, leaving a bloody kiss on Geoff's cheek before he fainted from blood loss.

-

It was about a year and 20 trial and error love bites later that Awsten popped the question.

"Can I turn you?"

Geoff looked up to him, down to the scabbing "snake bite" he almost always sported on his neck, but was now an itchy addition to his wrist; as per Awstens recent little absent minded screw up.

"I don't know, Awsten" Geoff decided, secretly really happy to know awsten would.

"Why?" Awsten asked.

"Imagine you breaking up with me and me roaming the earth until the end of time, heartbroken" He replied, gently moving a beetle a little too close to him in the tree branch he was sitting in.

"Oh, like I wouldn't be heartbroken" Awsten said. Moving the beetle even farther from himself.

"So you admit it's a possibility?"

"It's honestly not" Awsten said. "The 'bonded forever' situation isn't just one sided. I can't fall in love with anyone else and I can't drink anyone else's blood either"

"And so how do I know that's not the only thing that will stop you from leaving me?"

"Geoff I've loved you for 3 years, since I first even saw you, I don't think I'll change my mind over the next 300"

Geoff blushed at that, intertwining his fingers in his mates.

"Will it hurt bad?"

Awsten frowned a little in pity.

"It'll make those bites feel like hickeys."

"Well," Geoff laughed, eyes on the sunset. "That's what I tell people they are anyways. They think you're a little overzealous but it's believable since it's you."

Awsten laughed back, "so that's a yes?"

"You want to spend the rest of your undead life with me? How can you be so sure?"

The sun fell farther, any light from the sunset lost behind the trees of the woods.

"I've been sure for 3 years. Vampire, remember? I know when I've found 'the one'"

"How?" Geoff pressed, scooting closer to the vampire and leaning his head on his shoulder. It was freezing cold, even if Awsten couldn't feel the severity of it.

"You're the only person I've ever really wanted to feed on" He confessed.

"That's cute, Dracula" Geoff teased, familiar nickname warm on his lips.

"Do you feel it with me?" Awsten asked, a little worried about the answer.

"I feel it in my gut every time I see you, Awsten. I always have. I look at you and it feels like you're squeezing my heart. I love you, I'll never love anyone else and I've never been so sure of anything."

Awsten grinned wide, pearly whites threateningly cute- to his boyfriend, at least.

"So, ask me again."

"Can I turn you?" Awsten asked, stroking Geoff's cheek. He looked into his eyes fondly, seeing the answer in them.

Geoff again bared his throat to him, exposing the one scar that would never heal.

"Right now?" And with the squeeze of Geoff's hands, Awsten turned to kiss him, more fervently than he had ever before.

Awsten let his hands wander under Geoff's sweater, electric and surprisingly warm on his boyfriend's skin as he trailed the kiss down to his chin. He caught Geoff's eyes in his once more, catching a small nod of consent and he kissed down to his jaw, then to his neck.

"I love you so much" Awsten said, pressing a final kiss to the old wound.

No one could hear blood curdling echo of Geoff's scream in the woods.

-

The next day they realized that what Awsten neglected to tell his boyfriend; was that the change wasn't instant.

Geoff lay there, half dead, on Otto's bed.

"You could have at least warned him, Awsten." Otto scolded, pressing a cold compress to Geoff's unnaturally hot forehead.

"No one I know has ever turned anyone I didn't think it would be this bad!" He defended, frowning at his hard breathing boyfriend, pressing a soft kiss to his damp cheek.

"It's okay, love" Geoff choked out.

Geoff looked terrible. The colour had drained out of his face, showing all his veins. The dark circles under his eyes didn't at all reflect that just last night he had gotten the best sleep of his life.

"You don't have to respond, Geoff. But there are some things that need to be said, that weren't" He said, giving a guilty looking Awsten the side eye.

"In order to turn, you have to die. This is Awstens venom killing you." He started. "Luckily, since Awsten is such an old vampire, he's extremely powerful. This usually takes a few days, you'll have turned by the end of tonight. Awstens blood will be the only thing your body will take for a while, because his dna is in your system."

Geoff gave a little smile, a little delirious with pain.

"I'm gonna go get you some medicine for that." Otto said, patting Geoff on his head and Awsten on his back before leaving to...wherever Otto goes.

"I'm really sorry, Geoff" Awsten said, hearing the door close.

"Worth it," Geoff coughed, sweating harder and harder each second. "To be with you."

Awsten smiled down at him fondly, pressing another soft peck to his lips this time.

"I love you" he said.

"I love you"

-

Otto's timing was a little off, but only by a few hours. It was about 2am when Geoff shot up in Awstens bed, screaming in pain. Yelling obscenities, feeling Awstens bite coursing and burning through his veins.

"Geoff?" Awsten called, turning on the nightstand light. He let a hand grab one if his boyfriend's wrists, yanking it back immediately in surprise.

Burning hot.

"Geoff?"

To say Awsten was nervous was an understatement, he grabbed onto his wrist again; holding him close as he screamed. Geoff clutched onto him, crying out in agony.

"How do you feel?" He asked, stroking his lovers hair through it.

"It burns!" He yelled, prompting Awsten to hold him even tighter.

It went on like that for about an hour; Geoff occasionally throwing up pure acid on Awstens floor, it burning though the wood.

They ended up with Geoff cornered against the bedroom wall, fetal position with Awsten making a protective barrier around him.

When the screaming stopped, Awsten led them both back to bed, shooting Otto a text he knew he wouldn't see until the morning. That was okay, though.

"Sweetheart?" He called to Geoff, hands over his face. Awsten cupped his hands with his own, bringing them down to his lap.

He gasped softly at the sight of the brunettes new glowing red eyes.

"How do you feel?" He asked again, watching a prick of blood well up on Geoff's lip where he accidentally bit himself with his fangs. He'd have to get used to that, like Awsten had all those hundreds of years ago.

Geoff looked up at him in curiosity.

"Hungry" he said.

Awsten placed another kiss to Geoff's slightly bloodied lips, lacing their fingers together- and then he was the one to expose his neck.