Rune opened his tired eyes. The morning sun began to shine. He despised getting up this early, but they had a train to catch. He glanced down at Hyde sleeping in his arms, his face snuggled into the crook of his neck. Rune sighed. He didn’t want to wake him; he looked so sweet, clinging to him like this. He loved his warmth.

But again, train.

He moved back a little to get Hyde’s head out of his neck. He ran his hand through Hyde’s hair and whispered, “Hyde.”

Hyde pinched his eyes and groaned.

“Wake up, we have to catch the train.”

Hyde tried to push his face into Rune’s chest with a whine, but Rune put his hand on his forehead and stopped him. “No, love. Get up.”

Hyde opened his eyes slightly. He glanced up at Rune’s face. Rune smiled, he removed his hand from his forehead and placed a kiss there instead. “You can continue sleeping once we’re on the train, alright?”

Hyde sighed. Rune pushed himself up and got out of bed. He left the room to grab his backpack and pack some stuff.

Hyde dragged himself out, too. He looked at the sunrise through the window. This was too early, even for him. He went to his closet and opened it. He wondered what to wear. It was still warm here, but Enath would be cold. Maybe a shirt and a hoodie he could take off? Or bring a sweater he could pull on later? Perhaps he should bring a bag, too.

Should they even come back here, to the village? He didn’t feel the need to anymore, they could switch between Enath and Corburn. Either way, he didn’t have a bag big enough for all his clothes, he’d have to come back at least once. He’d do it when they’re in Corburn again.

He grabbed a small duffle bag from his closet, then began picking out clothes to bring. To put on now, he got some blue jeans and a plain, black shirt, as well as an olive green sweater from Rune he had taken with him from Enath.

“So, I’m out of blood,” Rune announced as he came into the room. “But the train should have a supply, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” He placed his backpack on the bed, then spotted Hyde’s bag. “Oh, you’re packing, too?”

“It’d be nice to have some of my own clothes this time, I don’t know how long we’ll stay,” Hyde told him without taking his eyes off his closet. “Plus, I’m not planning on staying in the village any longer. I’ll grab all my other clothes when we’re in Corburn again.”

“You don’t want to live here anymore?”

Hyde turned to him and saw Rune had the hood of his hoodie over his head, but let it drape over his shoulders. “What’s the point? Sure, I have a house here, but other than that, I’d much rather live with my family—or even your family.”

“Alright, sounds good to me.”

Hyde grabbed the black shirt. He pulled it over his head as he realised something. He pulled it down his torso and squinted at Rune. “Did you call me love?”

Rune stared at him for a second. “I suppose I did. Do you have a problem with that?”

Hyde’s face warmed a little, he evaded his eyes. “I didn’t say that.” He grabbed his jeans.

Rune snickered.

Hyde closed the button on his jeans, then took the green sweater from the bed and tied it around his waist. He glanced at Rune and hummed. “I’m kinda copying your look right now.”

“My look?”

“The black, sweater tied around my waist.”

Rune chuckled. “It’s practical.” He grabbed his backpack and carried it in his hand. He took Hyde’s hand with a smile. “Let’s go.”

Hyde pulled the handle of his bag over his shoulder and smiled back. “Let’s.”

They made their way to the front door. Hyde frowned at the way Rune loosely wore his hoodie. “Shouldn’t you actually pull it on?”

“Hm? Oh,” Rune looked at his hoodie, too. “Nah, it covers everything.”

Hyde shook his head with a smile. “Okay.”

They left for the station.

The sun continued to rise. Rune watched it, sitting in the window seat in their small cabin on the train. Hyde sat beside him, slumped in his own seat and his head on Rune’s shoulder. He had his eyes closed, but Rune wasn’t sure if he was asleep. Their bags laid on the seats across from them. Rune’s stomach rumbled.

Hyde sighed. Rune turned to him, his eyes were open.

“Can’t get to sleep?” Rune asked.

Hyde shook no.

Rune glanced at the bed in the wall above the seats in front of them. “You could lay in bed.” Hyde shook his head again and hugged Rune’s arm. Rune breathed out a chuckle. “Or stubbornly refuse to let go of me.”

Hyde loosened his grip. “You know that thing I wanted to say last night, but didn’t?”

Rune raised his eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Well, I wanted to tell you how much I missed you, but you can see that yourself. And I… I blamed myself for what happened.”

“What? Why would it be your fault?”

“If I had been a second faster, I would’ve saved you. But no, I was too slow.”

Rune caressed Hyde’s cheek. “You had a concussion. You already did everything you could. You tried to get us out of there, you tried to fight them off, you tried to save me. My death wasn’t your fault.”

Hyde’s eyes teared up, he hid his face in Rune’s shoulder. Rune rubbed his cheek against the top of his head.

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Rune’s stomach complained again. Hyde glanced down at it. “Want to grab some food?”

Rune nodded. “Yeah.”

They stood in front of a food table. Hyde considered his options while Rune searched for anything he could eat at all. Where was the vampire food? They always had it. He looked at the person behind the table. “Excuse me?”

The person turned to him. “Yes?”

“Do you have any vampire food?”

The person shook their head. “No, sorry. There wasn’t any supply in the south.”

Rune stared at them. “…Oh.”

Well, shit. What was he supposed to do? Starve?

Hyde took Rune’s hand and dragged him away. Rune saw he had grabbed a sandwich, he carried it on a plate with a napkin.

They returned to their cabin. Rune sat back in his window seat with a frustrated groan. Hyde sat beside him with a frown, he put the plate down on the table.

“Bloody hell. Why wouldn’t they have food for vampires? What do they expect me to eat?”

Hyde hummed. “They might not have expected there to be a vampire on the train, since they’re so uncommon in the heat of the south.”

“Yeah…”

“But, I have an idea.”

Rune squinted at Hyde. “What?”

Hyde tensed his shoulders and looked away. “You could drink my blood.”

Rune flinched and widened his eyes. “Wha- really?”

Hyde shrugged. “What else?”

“I don’t know. But I’m not sure if I trust myself not to kill you. I’ve never drunk from a person before.”

Hyde smiled a little. “It’ll be fine, I’ll tell you when I get dizzy.” He rubbed Rune’s cheek with his finger. “I trust you.”

Rune stared at him for a moment, then took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, then.”

They turned to face each other. Hyde moved closer, he kept his shoulder down and slightly tilted his head to expose his neck. “In the neck, right?”

Rune let out a worried sigh. “Yeah.”

“Why, actually?”

“The blood comes out the quickest, and the skin is soft and easy to puncture.”

“Oh.”

Rune put his hand on Hyde’s cheek and leaned in, but paused and said, “Promise me you’ll let me know at the first sign of dizziness or nausea or anything.”

Hyde huffed with a smile. “I promise.”

Rune got closer to his neck and bared his fangs, then pulled back with a whine.

“What?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s only two little stabs, it’s fine. I’ve felt worse.”

“That doesn’t make it better!”

“Do it! Dragging it out doesn’t help, either.”

Rune took a deep breath. He leaned into his neck again, baring his fangs. He bit. Hyde flinched and hissed, Rune’s stomach twisted. He removed his fangs from his skin and began to suck blood out of the two holes.

Fuck, it was warm. He was used to cooled or room temperature fake blood, but this, this tasted so much better. It was thicker, richer in flavour, more filling, he wanted to take it all. He let himself get lost in it, like he entered a trance.

Hyde shook his shoulder, snapping him awake. He stopped and moved away. He frowned. “Oh no.” Rune rubbed Hyde’s cheek. “You’re so pale.”

Hyde gave him a weak smile. “I’m fine, just dizzy, tired, and—you know—drained.” He leaned forward and placed his cheek on Rune’s shoulder.

Rune brushed his fingers through his hair. He stared at the wound, it kept bleeding. He wiped the blood away with his finger, he hummed. Hyde questioningly hummed back.

“It won’t stop bleeding.” Rune gently pushed Hyde off him. “I’ll try to find a plaster or something.”

“Oh, okay.” Hyde wanted to stand up to let him through, but Rune grabbed his shoulders.

“No, no, stay on your butt, you might faint if you stand up.”

“Then how will you—”

Rune licked the blood off his fingers and climbed on the table. He slid to the other side and stood up.

He looked at Hyde’s bleeding neck again with a frown, then glanced at the napkin on the table. “Hold the napkin against your neck for now.”

Hyde nodded and grabbed it. He pushed it on the wound. Rune pulled the sliding door open and went to find a plaster.

Rune returned to their cabin, plaster in hand. Hyde slid to the window side, Rune sat next to him. Hyde removed the napkin from his neck, it had a big, red stain on it. He left it on the table.

Rune pulled the package of the plaster open. Hyde tilted his head to the side. Rune placed the plaster over his bite, then tightly slid his fingers over it to make it stick.

He moved back with a sigh. Hyde certainly looked drained; pale, bags under his eyes, shoulders slumped, shivering a little. “You should eat your breakfast.”

Hyde frowned. “Was it enough?”

Rune smiled. “It should be enough until we arrive in Enath. Real blood is a lot more filling.”

“Okay.” Hyde grabbed his sandwich. He leaned against Rune and munched on it. Rune wrapped his arm around Hyde’s waist.

“Thank you,” Rune whispered.

“Of course,” Hyde whispered back.

Hyde had finished eating. He laid exhausted against Rune and whined, “Now I really wanna sleep.”

“You can.”

“I wanna sleep on you.”

“What’s stopping you?”

Hyde sighed. “These seats aren’t comfortable for that.”

Rune rubbed his side. “Then what do you want?”

Hyde glanced up at the small bed above them.

“Oh, now you want to lay in bed?”

Hyde nodded.

Rune chuckled. “Alright.” He sat up, moved onto his knees and climbed on the bed. Hyde followed suit. Rune leaned his shoulder blades against the wooden wall of the bed, not fully laying down. Hyde crawled over his legs and laid down on Rune, his head on his shoulder. They couldn’t stretch their legs in these small beds, but they managed.

Hyde placed his hand above Rune’s heart. He smiled a little.

Rune raised his eyebrow. “Hm?”

“I love feeling your heartbeat, now.”

Rune frowned. He massaged his head with his fingers, making Hyde close his eyes. “Get some sleep, love.”

Hyde woke up to the soothing rise and fall of Rune’s chest. He groaned and turned to lay on his back. He let his legs hang out of the bed and stretched his whole body. He relaxed his muscles again with a grunt. He looked up at his mattress’s face.

“Rest well?” Rune asked.

Hyde hummed as he stared out of the window. Judging by the sun, it was getting close to noon, now. “How long was I out?”

“Several hours, I didn’t keep track.” Rune rubbed Hyde’s chin. “But you seem less pale. Do you feel any better?”

Hyde smiled. “Yeah.” He wrapped Rune’s arms around his stomach and held his hand. He lightly scratched Rune’s jaw.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“I want to tell you something.”

“Okay, I’m all ears.”

“I want you to know how important you are to me, and how much I care about you.” He pulled Rune’s face closer. “And how thankful I am you entered my life. I would still be stuck in the village and in my own head if it weren’t for you.”

Rune hugged him tighter. “Well,” there was a small tremble in his voice, “I want you to know that I feel the same. I would still be stuck working for them without you. You mean a lot to me,” he finished in a whisper, then pressed a kiss on Hyde’s hair.

Hyde moved up to see his face. Rune had tears in his eyes. Hyde smiled sadly and wiped them away. He pecked his cheek.

He looked down with a frown as a question came to him. “Do you”—he hesitated for a moment—“want to be my boyfriend?” His face warmed.

A pause. “I thought I already was.”

Hyde scratched his cheek and chuckled. “I want to confirm it. We never said the word.”

Rune smiled, he took a hold of Hyde’s chin. “Yes, I want to be your boyfriend.” He kissed him. Hyde closed his eyes and kissed back.

Rune pulled away and hummed. He left his hands on Hyde’s waist. “You know, when we first met, I had considered what a relationship between us would look like.”

Hyde raised his eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I was attracted to you. And I had a lot of time to think in that cell.”

Hyde snorted. “Right.”

“At first, I had expected me to be the little spoon out of the two of us. But, you’re a lot more sensitive and cuddly than I had expected.”

Hyde grinned. “What, you thought I was some tough guy?”

Rune shrugged. “You can be. But I like this softer side of you, too.” He placed a kiss on his nose, Hyde pinched his eyes closed. “It’s cute.”

Hyde squinted as he came to a realisation. “Do you wanna be the little spoon more often? Cause I’d enjoy being big spoon, too.”

Rune shrugged. “I’m in the mood for it, sometimes.”

“Are you in the mood now?”

Rune blushed a little and glanced away. “Maybe.”

Hyde pushed himself off Rune and sat on his knees. Rune sat up. Hyde nudged him to the side. “Move.” Rune made space for him and Hyde laid in Rune’s previous position. He grabbed Rune’s shoulders and pulled him onto his chest, with his head on his shoulder.

Rune smiled and snuggled into him. Hyde hugged him and stared out of the window with his cheek pressed into Rune’s hair.