beating heart(s) — [ MOON 04 ]
❝ In this world, the humans live on one side of the world and the vampires live on the other. There’s no conflict, no hunting, no mystery murders — there’s no knowledge of the Other Side. It’s always been like that.
... As long as people like you exist, it will always be like that. ❞
who + what: kuroo x f!reader + fluff
wc: 1,770
MOON: m.list . 04 . 05
credits: the art is a commissioned piece by the lovely @aserose! please show her some love and support for it and look forward to more~
The car ride to your new home was not quiet. The entire time the driver explained to you how your new life would go through the partition. It was confusing to you, but that only made you more curious about what’s to come.
You’d heard only stories of what life was like on the other side for Moon Bearers. Everything was made up because no one ever comes back from the vampires’ side of the world alive. You heard that Moon Bearers were treated like royalty. That while on the human side you were treated like a sacrifice and pitied, over there you would be glorified. It fills you with a sense of pride and duty the closer you get to the modern style condo at the top of the hill.
Royalty wasn’t even the right word to describe it — kings and queens would surely be jealous of the meal you were served upon arriving! And the sight of the garden with a koi fish pond outside the large glass walls in your room only made your heart soar. You had yet to meet Tetsurou — as your driver told you to call your buyer —but you can only imagine he would be like. A gentleman of sorts. Laidback and a lover of the arts, surely.
Lo and behold when you’re escorted to the master bedroom at sunset you were right.
“Y/N, I hope you had a wonderful afternoon getting accustomed to things,” he greets you, walking over from the open french doors that led to his balcony. You nod, prompting him to continue. “I just wanna let you know that while you’re here you can relax and do whatever you want. My only rules are you have to stay out of the office at the end of the hall and my dinner is at 7:00 PM every other day.”
You nod again while he gestures for you to sit on the bed with him.
“I don’t mind if you’re a little early or late — it’s not a strict thing and I promise you I can hold out even if we miss a day or somethin’. I’m just trying out this new thing where I schedule my days a little better so I hope you understand. Any questions or stuff you wanna let me know to make your new life here easier?”
With how wonderful things have been since your arrival, you really can’t think of any way to make it easier. There’s a heated blanket on your bed, fuzzy slippers, food in the frid-
“Can I have a pet?”
Tetsurou’s eyebrows shoot up. “A pet? Huh… I didn’t think about that. I guess so.”
And so you two got a pet. He mentioned being a dog person, but he figured a cat would be easier to take care of for now. With a sweet grin, he said “Let’s get a dog later,” already making promises for a long life with you.
But at the rate you were going, there probably wouldn’t be a long life for you.
“Y/N?” Tetsurou’s loud voice boomed through the walls despite him being in his office while you were in the kitchen. Months had passed and no matter how hard he tried to keep you safe and happy, he couldn’t keep you safe from yourself.
The scent of your blood instantly made his mouth water, but his need to ensure your safety came first. He rushed through the halls, finding you sucking on your thumb with a bloodied knife on the cutting board. The look of guilt and pain in your eyes says it all.
He groans, pulling out one of many first aid kids from the medicine cabinet behind you. “What’d I say about making food, Y/N?”
“Don’t make food without supervision,” you both say together monotonously.
You pout at him while he runs your thumb under the sink, being extra careful to clean it right after. “Tetsurou, I’m bored. I don’t like bothering you while you’re working to watch me cook. And I know Yaku wouldn’t- ow!”
“Sorry,” he mumbles, spraying the cut with disinfectant. “You’re lucky you don’t need stitches. You’ll be fine. Just please listen to me next time, Y/N.”
His eyes are pleading with you much more than you would expect, silently telling you that this is more than just a need to keep you safe from kitchen mishaps. The dark hue in his eyes is enough of a hint for you.
“Will you stay here and watch me mak-”
He shakes his head, rinsing the knife off before leaving it in the sink. “C’mon, let’s leave the cooking to Yaku. You can sit in the garden or something.”
You whine, but he isn’t having it. Tetsurou takes your hand — the undamaged one — and leads you outside to the white swing on the porch. You expect him to leave right away and go back to whatever it is he does in his office, but instead, he sits down with you. His arm finds itself resting on the back of the swing behind you, the two of you leisurely enjoying the slight breeze and the perfect weather.
“Do you know why I bought you at that auction, Y/N?” he asks suddenly.
You shake your head. He’s never explained it to you and you never bothered to ask.
“Every week a catalog is sent out to vampires that can afford to subscribe to it. It’s digital, but years ago it used to be physical ‘n stuff. In that catalog is all the Moon Bearers that’ll be up for auction at every auction house in the hemisphere.”
You nod along. “Okay. Kinda like a magazine but instead of horoscopes, it’s humans. Go on.”
He snorts in amusement at your comment, shuffling you a little closer to him. His arm is cold behind you, but you find yourself feeling warm inside at the proximity of the two of you.
“I’m lonely,” he admits softly.
Looking up at him, you wouldn’t have expected that. Nor would you have expected the hardened expression on his face as he stares at the koi pond in the distance, not meeting your eyes.
“My dad died centuries ago; grandparents too o’course. It’s been just me, Yaku, ‘n Kenma for so long. I’m lucky to have them, and I’ve had some girlfriends now and then and other Moon Bearers, but I never really felt lonely until recently. I figured I needed something new.”
“Well…” you furrow your brows in confusion. “I’m just another Moon Bearer — that’s not exactly new.”
“That, Y/N, is where you’re wrong,” he tells you, grinning at you briefly in amusement. “The catalogs say everything there is to know about each Moon Bearer. Your arousal levels when you’re fed on, your hobbies, your maintenance level, any allergies, lots of stuff. What stuck out to me though was that you mentioned in your bio that you’re proud to be a Moon Bearer. That you hope to find a good home and a good life in this world despite being shipped off from home. Which that attitude is extremely rare in a Moon Bearer with such a high arousal level.”
His words are starting to sink in.
“I wasn’t gonna let someone else have you and ruin your perception of this world. Practically everyone wanted to bid on you, but I know it would’ve been for the wrong reasons. They would’ve taken advantage of your innocence and confidence.”
You sit quietly, letting the air settle between the two of you while his words echo in your head. You knew Tetsurou was a caring person from how he’s always doting on you, never feeding on you too much, buying you gifts from time to time and even taking you out. You knew he cared about you. But you didn’t expect that to extend even to before you met him. You didn’t think he was this soft on the inside, but you can’t help when you melt beside him with an elated smile.
He continues his little speech, getting everything off his chest now. “I figured if you wanted to live a happy life here and I wanted to find someone to live happily with then you’d be the perfect match for me. Kinda dumb, right? Usually, vampires end up killing their Moon Bearers before they get too old and they typically don’t care about that kind of stuff. We can just turn our emotions off when we want, did’ya know that?”
You nod, snickering beside him. It seems he has a lot to say but you don’t mind.
“It’s probably not something you had considered before, but if things between us do end up getting more serious and fall outside of the lines of Predator and Prey, I wouldn’t mind having you around. Like… Forever.”
Forever, huh? You nod again, the silence comforting while you watch the branches sway and the flower petals dance through the air to an unheard sonnet. Your beating heart has gradually become his favorite rhythm, but he has just proposed to stop the music you create only for him. He was expecting more than a simple nod, but he should’ve realized you wouldn’t respond any other way. You were happy here — he can proudly say that. And when you’re happy you’re quiet, always taking in the view or sitting around in your thoughts like it’s the best thing you could be doing. When you’re happy, he’s happy.
“Is… Is that okay with you?” he asks, finally looking at you. Your faces are much closer than he realized, and for the first time, he’s seeing the deep hues in your eyes that reflect his expression of wonder and slight uncertainty. He’s never been this close to you before — have you always looked this beautiful?
“Of course it is,” you answer in rhythm to your heart, almost making his own want to beat along with yours. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”
He grins, hesitating when he leans down to capture your lips with his. He changes his mind at the very last second, not wanting to push any other boundaries with you today. Instead, his lips land softly on the tip of your nose before pulling away even faster. It’s like a fairy’s wings had buzzed right over your face, except the glimmer in his eyes is one that obviously says he’s satisfied with your response.
“Except I want a pet,” you repeat.
“Let’s get a dog then,” he smiles out, pulling you closer again while watching the waves over the pond.
soft kuroo fav kuroo i will say it... also did not realize that this chappy was kuroo otherwise i would’ve posted a diff au for thursday LMFAO oops
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