Aether couldn't help but squeeze the cup of coffee nervously, the warm beverage doing nothing to calm his nerves. He glanced at his phone again: the message from Columbina was short and to the point, almost harshly so as it simply read "Meet me at your apartment, we need to talk." nothing else, no "I love you" or any of the rather heartwarming nicknames she had chosen for him. He tried to think back on their relationship, trying to pinpoint any moments he could've potentially made her unhappy, and try as he might he couldn't think of any, a pang in his heart caused him to wonder if she had simply refused to come to him for whatever reason.
After sitting by himself for an hour, he heard the door open and saw his - potentially soon - ex girlfriend walk in and take a seat next to him him. Despite the somber atmosphere, he couldn't help but take in what she was wearing: nothing too fancy, a simple pair of blue jeans and a white tank top which showed off the rather pale skin of her arms. The only other noteworthy thing about her was a pair of black shades, something that he had rarely seen her take off, only when she slept.
His downcast expression must have not been hidden well, as Columbina gently took his hands and squeezed them. "I'm sorry if I spooked you, Дорогая. I just need to tell you something very important." she spoke with a level of seriousness he hadn't heard from her before, but he couldn't help the small sigh of relief that left his lips as the worst hadn't happened.
The black haired girl took a deep breath, and instead of speaking, she took off her glasses and looked at him intently. The shock of finally seeing her eyes was immediately overtaken by the fact that they were red, blood red. He wanted to say something, but could tell by the way her mouth hung open slightly she was trying to think of something to say.
"I'm a vampire," she said simply, causing Aether to blink, whatever he wanted to say died in his throat as his girlfriend opened her mouth and he saw her teeth morph into sharp canine like fangs.
"…." Aether didn't say anything, instead he quickly threw his cup of coffee at the girl. He didn't have time to think about whether it hurt or not, bolting up he ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking it with a soft click. Frantically he looked around for something to use to defend himself. His eyes lit up as they settled on the shower rod hanging above the tub, quickly unscrewing it he waited in anticipation.
Standing in front of the door was his best bet, if she came in she would have no choice but to impale herself. His legs shook as he heard the doorknob jiggle, only to be followed by a soft tap. The tapping stopped and the jiggling didn't continue, maybe she'll leave me alone Aether couldn't help but think, however as soon as the hopeful thought entered his mind it was immediately dashed away as the door knob was knocked loose and hit the floor with a quiet thud.
The door opened slowly, and he came to face with the coffee covered image of the vampire. Her eyebrow arched as she took in the makeshift weapon, a sigh of what appeared to be exasperation leaving her lips. To his horror, she didn't back away, instead she walked forward, the metal piercing the middle of her chest and exiting out her back as she made her way closer to him.
"Honestly, love, I have to say, that Stoker fellow had it pretty close, you can't kill me unless you impale my heart and cut off my head." the casual way she spoke caused his blood to chill as she continued to move closer. A whimper left his lips and tears fell freely from his eyes as his legs gave out. So this was how he was going to die: on the floor of his bathroom, at the hands of his vampire girlfriend, he prayed that she would at least make it quick.
A small hiss of pain left his lips as pain shot into his body from.. the head. Wait what? opening his eyes, he saw Columbina crouched down in front of him, the shower rod wasn't in her chest anymore, instead it rested on the ground, covered in bits of blood and bone.
"Did you.. Did you just flick me?" he asked in confusion, only receiving a teasing smirk in response as she helped him sit up so he was resting comfortably on his butt.
"Wait here a minute Aether," Columbina said, and before he could say anything she was gone. A few minutes later she returned carrying a cardboard box, which she sat in front him.
"Open it," and with a gulp he did. Tilting his head, he reached inside of the box and pulled out a cross.
"What's this.." his question was cut off as he looked up and saw Columbina had backed out of the bathroom, glaring at the holy item with unrestrained contempt.
"See? Now you're safe. So please Aether, mein geliebter stern, ask me anything you want and I'll answer it." her eyes softened as she spoke. A sigh left his lips at the fact he had some manner of protection. Taking note of what she said, he tried to think on what to ask.
"You don't burn in the sunlight do you? I've seen you walk around in it just fine." as he asked the question he thought back to all vampire media he had consumed - which had increased significantly since he met Columbina he noted - and some of them had the vampires create some sort of work around their aversion to the sun.
At his question, Columbina responded with a "No" but added the fact that she lost access to her other abilities.
"What else can you do?" Aether asked with an arched eyebrow. The vampire girl reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, with a shrug she put her phone away and flashed him a smile. The blonde couldn't help as his eyes widened, in a matter of seconds Columbina was enveloped in a black shadow like substance, and when it dissipated instead of a woman stood a small white corgi.
"Paimon?" he asked with a tilt of his head, and, as soon as the name left his lips he immediately heard claws scraping against the wooden floor of the apartment only to have Paimon appear in the bathroom doorway. The pup looked at him in happiness, tongue sticking out as she panted and huffed. The small moment ended almost instantly as Paimon looked to her side, head tilting curiously as she took in the exact replica of herself.
A whine left Paimon's lips as Columbina quickly changed back to her normal appearance, the white corgi quickly seeking shelter in his arms, her tiny body shaking in fear. Patting her fur consolingly, Aether eyed the black haired girl curiously: "Can you only change into animals?"
"I can change into anyone's blood I've drank, it doesn't have to be all of it." she said with a shrug. Next, instead of saying anything, Columbina raised her hand to the top of the door frame and causally pulled herself up, however instead of gripping it any way, it was all done with a flat palm: she was sticking to it like some kind of spider. A smirk crossed her face, and after a few seconds she let herself drop to the ground.
"Close your mouth, love, you'll catch flies." she said teasingly, causing his cheeks to burn but did as she said. The questions continued and Columbina answered every one with patience and showed physical demonstrations of what she could do: including lifting the couch in the living room with one hand and floating in the air casually. A small chuckle left both of their lips as when she showed the ability to change into a mist like substance, it caused Paimon to sneeze.
"Paimon, come here," and, as she spoke, the vampire looked directly into the dog's eyes, surprisingly Paimon left his lap and walked over to Columbina in an almost trance like state. Upon reaching her destination, Paimon was rewarded with a fond pat to the head. At the contact the trance seemed to break, causing Paimon to shake her head and bark in annoyance before walking back over to his lap in an indignant huff.
"Well that's I all have in my bag of tricks. Do you want to know what can be used against me?" her question was asked with no hatred just calm indifference. A pang in his heart stopped him from responding instantly but he eventually offered a simple "yes".
Upon his answer, Columbina started her explanation: "Holy artifacts, silver, I can shapeshift during the day, but if I do I'll be stuck like that until nighttime." Each item was met with her ticking off her fingers. "Garlic, I have to ingest the blood of something that is alive, I can't enter a privately owned building unless I've been invited in," as she spoke he couldn't help but find her bored expression rather adorable.
As she finished off the last item, her mouth morphed into a calm smile, something he couldn't help but reciprocate as he put the cross back in the box. Taking a deep breath he had one last question: "Have you drank any of my blood?" and he couldn't help but squirm at the sickly sweet smile that she sent him. In the blink of an eye, she was behind him and had her arms wrapped gently around his torso, cool breath hitting his ear.
"I have no doubt your blood would taste absolutely amazing, sweetheart, but I wanted to wait until you offered yourself to me. I want you to accept that you're mine." she said with a possessive purr that caused him to shudder.
"You.. you can have some of my blood if you want," he said whimpering as he felt her fangs graze his neck, but instead of bitting down, a gentle kiss was placed on his skin.
"I appreciate you trusting me so much Aether, however, I've learned that increasing the heart rate makes blood taste even sweeter." she didn't say anything else, but let her hand wander further down his body, he got the message. With his body blazing like an inferno, he gently ushered Paimon off him, the corgi sending him a look of hurt before scampering out of the bathroom. Standing up, he picked up the box containing the cross and carried it out to the living room and sat it on the couch.
Turning around he saw Columbina standing behind him, holding the ruined shower rod with an apologetic smile on her face. Taking the rod from her, he quickly put it in the kitchen next to the trash can. A soft hum caught his attention, turning around he saw his girlfriend standing in the doorway of his bedroom, beckoning him forward with a crook of her finger.
A tired - yet satisfied - sigh left Aether's lips as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, who rested her head comfortably on his chest and started to trace invisible circles.
"You were amazing, my love," she said sweetly, looking up from his chest and directly into his eyes. A soft moan left his lips as she began to trail kisses up his chest, to his neck where a small incision had been made. A giggle left Columbina's lips as she nuzzled the mark.
He couldn't say anything, they had spent who knows how long simply expiring each other's bodies, helped by Columbina's lack of needing to stop, she spent most of the time on top, he had a sneaking suspicion the bed was going to be occupied for most of the next day. His body had been covered in all manner of scratches, bites and nips, she hadn't taken his blood until the very end, claiming it was a "Crescendo to a lovely dance" between them.
A soft hum reached his ears and he felt hands start running through his hair gently. His girlfriend claimed his lips in a tender peck, both of them moaning into the kiss. The humming continued and he felt his eyes begin to close, something he stubbornly tried to fight.
"Shhh," a soft coo reached his ears, he was about to protest when Columbina continued to speak: "Спи, моя прекрасная звезда. Когда ты проснешься, я буду здесь. Сейчас и навсегда."
The tender words from his lover was the final push he needed, his eyes closing as he started to drift off to sleep, the hypnotic humming being the last thing he heard.