Chapter Text
The Demon’s share was Mondstadt’s most famous nightclub for magical creatures. Its signature cocktail was Life After Midnight, beloved by both humans and regular patrons. Its owner, Diluc Ragnvindr, was the richest man in the city and reputed the most handsome.
Mondstadt, the city of freedom, was a haven for humans and monsters alike. Witches, werewolves, and Jiangshi were the most common sightings in the club, but they happily mingled with mortals. Diluc made sure his establishment remained safe for everyone, so incidents were rare. Only one patron caused minor nuisances; Kaeya.
Diluc and his father Crepus were Vampires from a cursed clan who raised Kaeya, an orphan Demon. It had been centuries since they’d become sworn brothers. Diluc was ashen pale and beautiful, slept from sunrise to sunset, didn’t drink wine, and didn’t age like a human. As per his habit, Kaeya went to pester Diluc after his daytime work.
Just like Diluc, who’d never shown his fangs to anyone, Kaeya kept his true nature hidden. While Diluc had some ethereal qualities that people noticed if they looked closely, Kaeya was better at hiding his attributes. Diluc knew Kaeya was a Demon, but not what kind. Crepus wouldn’t have ever let his innocent, cute little Vampire fledgling sleep with such a dirty creature if he’d known.
Already as a child, Kaeya fantasized about visiting Diluc’s dreams in his death-like sleep. His ideas had started innocently at first, like having a fun adventure in dreamland to spend more time together. They became more dangerous with age, with his first wet dreams. A little voice in the corner of his head told him it was OK to visit Diluc; he wouldn’t remember, none of it would have been real, but Kaeya knew better.
As a teenager, Kaeya had shrunken himself to sit onto sleeping Diluc’s chest and found a strange kind of satisfaction in staying there. He’d repeated it almost every day. Luckily, Diluc remained deep asleep and didn’t seem to remember anything in the night. He’d never told Kaeya to not share the same tomb as him anymore.
When Kaeya realized he was an Incubus by fooling around with a maid in Diluc’s absence, his world fell apart. She’d fainted at her climax, and her energy surged inside of him. Even though he’d almost accidentally sucked her dry, she’d kept it secret and never complained. After that incident, he’d begun seducing humans, careful to select passing strangers in Mondstadt with no link to the Dusk Winery. His favorite hunting spot had become the Demon’s Share.
“Say, Luc, why do you keep ignoring me so coldly?” Kaeya whined, stretching his arms over the counter. Diluc pushed his grabby hands out of his way.
“Don’t you already get enough attention without mine?” Diluc poured wine into a cup and served a grinning goblin who gobbled it down with the cup.
“What if I wanted only yours?” Kaeya crooned. Diluc threw him a severe sideways glance.
Sometimes, Kaeya sensed such strong desire coming from human patrons for Diluc, it made him uncomfortable. Vampires had a powerful sex appeal; it was in the way they moved, graceful as if gliding on ice, and in the wild glint of their eyes. Diluc wasn’t aware his detached but commanding attitude fanned the flame rather than deterred anyone. Many would have offered their necks to him, just for the thrill of a brush with death and eternal life.
“Ah, everyone’s fawning so much over you, I get no attention,” Kaeya sighed.
“You’re one to talk, leaving with another person every night.”
Kaeya smirked, “Oh, you should have told me you were jealous.”
“In your dreams.”
Someone pulled a stool and sat next to Kaeya. “Good evening, Diluc. Some grape juice, please,” the Angel said, his fairy companion floating at his side. Eyes turned to the pair from Celestia, some disapproving.
“Oh, hi, Aether.” Kaeya greeted him with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
Aether was a local hero, but an Angel had no business in this club, even less when he looked like a minor and so politely asked for grape juice with his big golden eyes. Innocence, virtue, and virginity were almost irresistible to Vampires, and Aether had the sun-like glow of Celestia. Diluc smiled, and Kaeya looked away. Diluc never smiled at him, but he did softly at Aether.
Diluc saw Kaeya shamelessly flirt, seduce, and leave with another patron almost every night but tolerated it to allow his sworn brother to feed. He must have guessed Kaeya was an Incubus long ago but never mentioned it, perhaps because it disgusted him and shamed his noble lineage. While Diluc wouldn’t drink a drop of blood and suffered from thirst, Kaeya indulged himself right in front of his eyes.
“You alright, mister Dark Knight?” Aether’s sparkly fairy companion asked.
“Mh, I might have taken a glass too much. Care to fly me home, Angel? I’m so vulnerable right now. Someone might attack me on the way home,” Kaeya leaned over to get closer to Aether and gently put a hand on his knee. There wasn’t any bite mark on Aether’s neck. If Diluc didn’t have the guts to nibble Aether after months of regular visits, Kaeya might as well snatch the little Angel.
“If you’re asking for a delivery commission, it will be five-thousand mora,” Aether replied, impassible.
“Aw, come on, a cutie like you is worth a million. I can also pay in nature if you want,” Kaeya said, leaning a bit closer, and Aether didn’t flinch or lower his eyes.
“If you have that much money, I’m sure we can make a transportation deal!” Sweet, oblivious, Paimon said, stars twinkling in her eyes.
“Couldn’t you go bother someone else? He’s here for business,” Diluc interrupted, like each time Kaeya got too close to Aether.
Kaeya, trying to be the responsible adult he ought to be, left the pair without question, his Demon tail neatly tucked in his pants and his heart in his stomach. Diluc got rid of him at the first opportunity and preferred the company of his favorite little Angel.
They looked good together, and Diluc seemed to relax as soon as Kaeya was far enough. The conversation became lively in his absence. Paimon did most of the talking, and Kaeya could tell Diluc was amused even as his expression remained neutral.
Kaeya roamed in the club for a short while and found a young, ginger-haired man with blue eyes. His outfit was quite flamboyant, clerical whites and golds from head to toe. A Fatui Hunter, the kind Diluc hated most. Even though his face was boyish, he observed the room with utmost seriousness, as if searching for someone. He also smelled a bit of fresh blood, so a risky choice; Kaeya’s favorite.
“Mh, you look like a strong one,” the Hunter noticed with a half-inviting, half-threatening smile. He had a foreign accent, probably from Snezhnaya. Kaeya could sense that man’s vital energy was beyond an ordinary human as if he had a second reservoir. His blue eyes lacked the glint of life, and There were scars on his forearms, and a part of his abdomen was provocatively exposed. “Are you looking for a fight by staring at me so intensely, comrade? I can give you a good one.”
He smiled and sat as gracefully as a cat next to the Hunter. They wore robes that looked clerical, but most weren’t even believers or employed by a church. He came into a Demon’s den with his armor, but Kaeya couldn’t see any weapons at his side. He was horny after fighting someone, the scent of their blood still lingering on his fair skin.
“Oh no, Mister Hunter. I’m a lover, not a fighter. There are more pleasant options if you want to put your hands around my neck.” He took the Hunter’s hand and put it against his throat.
“Try it,” Kaeya purred.
The Hunter giggled and pulled away, shaking his head. “You’re cute. I’m here in peace, as a tourist. Would you trust a Hunter who offers you a cup of liquor, Mister Incubus?”
He’d been found out at first glance, and that almost put Kaeya out of balance. That man had the eye and knew where to aim. Diluc might have heard that with his keen ears, but he was still busy talking with Aether.
“No, but you’re also cute, so I’ll make an exception,” Kaeya said, thigh to thigh with the most dangerous man in Mondstadt.
Diluc’s disapproving gaze was heavy on his back, but it didn’t have any jealous or lustful energy. As an Incubus, Kaeya could smell and tell the guy he was hitting on was aroused, drunk, wanted to suck his breasts and a have good lay. Diluc, on the other hand, didn’t seem to want anything from him anymore. There was no smell of desire, no hungry eyes, and no response to his advances. He didn’t seem to care when Kaeya flirted with other patrons than that Angel either.
It had been different when they were teenagers. Diluc was cute when his eyes narrowed, and eyelashes fluttered, unable to blush but still same as flustered. He’d even hiss if someone was too affectionate with Kaeya. Now it was as if Diluc had forgotten his old feelings, and it had all just been a hazy dream. It was centuries ago, but creatures who lived as long as them didn’t change much with time.
Kaeya hadn’t forgotten their first clumsy kiss and the taste of his bleeding lip after Diluc’s fang accidentally pricked it. Kaeya squeaked because Diluc’s grip suddenly became too tight. It gave him a bruise, but he’d wished that small bruise on his shoulder would stay forever. They’d spent hours ‘practicing’, hidden behind the garden shed. Now Kaeya prided himself at being a great kisser.
The stranger’s tongue tasted of strong liquor, and he hadn’t shaved in a day, and it prickled. His hand slipped into Kaeya’s chest window and caressed his breast. Kaeya straddled him closer, and their enthusiasm grew. They made out through most of the night, only teasing to see which one would lose patience before the other.
Suddenly, the Hunter withdrew and frowned before shaking his head. “Forgive me, comrade, but I just remembered I’ve seen you patrolling with the Favonius Knights. You’re a sneaky one, trying to distract me from the owner. He’s not my target.”
“Is someone here?” Kaeya narrowed his eyes, ready to lead the man out of the bar and into custody. Troublesome, with so many people around. How could he signal a problem without causing a fight with a man who could destroy the entire establishment and ruin its reputation?
The Hunter clicked his tongue and stood up. “I’m not here to harm anyone, but I’m not into spies either.” He put too much money on the table and left. Diluc was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Aether.
***
Kaeya was insufferable. Every night, the same circus. He acted as if he needed Diluc’s love and attention to survive and then suddenly turned his back on him to flirt with someone else. He might have been able to guess other people’s desires by smelling their scent, but Vampires didn’t smell of anything else than their perfume, even less when they didn’t drink blood. Kaeya couldn’t even imagine how much Diluc burned with jealousy.
Vampires were hypersensitive creatures who experienced everything with more intensity than humans. In reality, their sight was indeed different, as they needed to identify the veins in their prey’s body. Their sense of touch was also different and could pick up the slightest variation in a body’s temperature or pulse, even at a distance.
Diluc’s throat went dry when blood surged in a younger Kaeya’s face. When he touched Kaeya’s skin, he could feel his pulse and hear his heartbeat. He was dying to lick Kaeya’s throat, to taste his skin and feel how soft and fragile it was, but he clenched his jaw until it felt painful. Kissing with a closed mouth was the only dangerous tease he could afford.
Out of all of his options that night, Kaeya had chosen to flirt with a Hunter. His armor was an open provocation that could have owed him an expulsion from the Demon’s Share, but he wasn’t openly trying to pick a fight. The werewolf bouncer, Bennett, had let him in, perhaps for official reasons. Some Hunters worked for the state, but he hadn’t announced himself at the counter. Kaeya knew how to deal with one, but something told Diluc that he wasn’t an ordinary Hunter.
The war between Hunters and Vampires had ended centuries ago. While bigotry still ran deep in Teyvat’s villages, Hunters weren’t pardoned for killing a non-criminal Demon anymore, even if it went feral in a private setting.
Not one bit intimidated by Diluc’s warning glare, the Hunter kissed Kaeya and acted as if he’d noticed nothing. Diluc tried his best to not keep staring, even as the Hunter’s hands were all over his Kaeya and his tongue in his mouth. Kaeya was exceptionally insensitive for hitting on a Hunter, while he knew Diluc’s history with those people.
Crepus had been tricked by a Hunter organization into drinking artificial blood as a test subject. They’d said drinking the blood bags could quench his thirst and save lives if distributed widely, but it addicted him instead. When he started losing his self-control, Hunters received the authorization to destroy the Dusk Winery and clean it from its Vampires.
Enduring self-imposed withdrawal, Crepus had lost his hair, his red eyes bulged out, and he’d become so thin he was skeletal. When the Hunters attacked and threatened his son, he lost his self-control and massacred them gleefully. His consciousness returned too late.
The tall, dragging shape of Crepus’s shadow as he climbed the stairs to throw himself into the sun still haunted Diluc’s nightmares. He’d been unable to stop his father because the smell of blood was irresistible. He just salivated over the bodies until the Knights arrived, and Kaeya pulled him away.
For as much as Vampires loved innocents, they were perverse, lustful monsters. The softer the lamb, the sweeter the feeling of their skin breaking under the wolf’s fangs and life sucked out of their corrupted bodies. The bite of a vampire was adulteration, nothing of sincere love. A Vampire’s insatiable thirst was his punishment and damnation for tarnishing their prey, and while Diluc thirsted, he watched Kaeya feast with envy.
That Hunter might have been dangerous, but Diluc considered himself worse. So, he swallowed his spit as the Hunter caressed Kaeya’s breast, and the blood surged at that spot. Aether tugged at Diluc’s arm, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Diluc, Diluc?”
For an Angel, Aether was quite odd; he’d never encouraged Diluc to read the bible or ask the Gods for redemption and forgiveness. Instead, he listened as a friend and without judgment.
“You’re biting your hand again,” Paimon hummed.
“We have to do something before you hurt yourself.” Aether set his glass of grape juice.
“I’m not taking any blood bags, Aether. I already told you—”
Aether shook his head. “Of course not. Perhaps if you were less frustrated about Kaeya, you’d feel less like biting him. Honestly, I also feel like biting and kicking him.”
As an Angel, Aether didn’t feel desire, but he could tell Diluc was sexually frustrated. A Vampire’s thirst wasn’t limited to blood, but those who fasted usually abstained as well.
“What if you took the lead and told him how much you want to give?”
“I… Well, Vampires can’t quite, er… Give, without drinking blood.” Diluc whispered, leaning towards Aether.
Aether scratched his cheek and looked away, a bit pink in the cheeks. “That’s not what I meant at all. I meant confessing. So, you believe he’d only, mmmh, take?”
Glancing at Kaeya that was now almost riding the Hunter’s crotch, hands on his butt, gave him the impression Kaeya was on the taking side. Diluc squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed. His thoughts were going in the wrong direction.
“Let’s go somewhere. I can’t watch this circus anymore! It’s distracting me,” he grumbled, and Aether followed him downstairs.
Diluc had his apartment right under the Demon’s share. His tomb was a floor lower, in a comfortable, reinforced stone crypt built like a safe. He couldn’t sleep without the certainty Hunters, or an angry villager mob wouldn’t be able to surprise him at day.
“Feeling better?” Aether asked from his couch as Diluc came back from preparing some tea.
Diluc nodded and sat on the opposite couch. Drinking tea didn’t quench his thirst, but the taste of mint grounded and refreshed him a bit.
They discussed for a short while. Diluc explained his dilemma, and without much detail or emotion, what had happened to his father. He’d mourned for three centuries on a world tour, so it wasn’t as hard talking about it anymore. His father had suffered from addiction and died unfairly, but there wasn’t anything he could have done while Crepus drank in secret. His slow downfall and Diluc’s denial were the product of what they were, not what they wanted.
“So, you’re afraid of hurting Kaeya because you’re a Vampire,” Aether resumed, holding his chin as he thought. “You consider he’s as fragile as a human.”
“We… Have a complicated history,” Diluc argued. “He blames me for having killed our father, I mean, for not having stopped him. He can’t understand the thirst. Only Vampires can.”
“You really think so? Don’t you think he might blame himself too?” Paimon asked, and Diluc couldn’t reply to that question.
“Do you think Kaeya really needs to do what he’s doing right in front of you? If you’ve been holding back from drinking blood since birth, why couldn’t he abstain for one night?”
“He’s an Incubus! They die if they don’t have sex.”
“Every night?” Aether hummed, unconvinced. “And you, don’t you need blood?”
“I do, but I wouldn’t be able to control myself anymore if I start drinking.”
“You won’t, even though real blood isn’t the same as your father took?” Aether was sternly looking at him in the eyes. Diluc put his head between his hands and looked away.
“You believe you’re that selfish and predatory?”
Diluc grunted, and Aether sighed. There was no way to convince a person who had spent his life in self-loathing that he was harmless. They stayed silent for a while until Aether had an epiphany. He sat next to Diluc and rubbed his back.
“Why not show him what you can give? What can a Vampire do better than anyone else?”
“Fascinate and manipulate, I guess…” Diluc chuckled bitterly.
Someone knocked at the door upstairs. “Master Diluc, sorry for interrupting, but I can’t find Bennett. Could you check if he fell in a hole outside, please? I can’t go out like this, and Charles is too busy.”
It was Mona, the exotic dancer, ready for her closing strip show. Bennett was a young Werewolf with terrible luck. He might have taken a step outside for fresh air and fallen into a manhole. It was a crescent moon that night, and it would have explained how a Hunter could have entered the establishment in his armor.
Diluc cleared his throat, worried for the young man. “Mona.” She was taken aback by his sudden approach, covering her cleavage with her witch hat, but he was looking into her eyes. “You’re talented at fascinating an audience without magic, aren’t you?”
“Um, I guess so, yes?” she giggled nervously.
While he wasn’t as tall as Kaeya, Diluc was tall and bulky compared to her, and they never had a friendly conversation before, just the professional basics. She was short and lithe, and he could have picked her up like he did the goblin earlier. She was always a bit intimidated by her commissioner.
“I need some advice and for you to look for Bennett,” Diluc said.
***
The Hunter was gone. Kaeya scratched the back of his head and looked around the room if he could find another meal. As dawn was approaching, the bar was about to close, and most remaining patrons were either too drunk to be approachable or unavailable. Everyone was waiting for the exotic dancer’s closing dance at the pole stage.
Incubus could absorb people’s emotional arousal, but that was hardly a satisfying breakfast. Lonely, frustrated, and tipsy, Kaeya decided he might as well watch the show and knock himself out while breathing in the audience’s horny energy. Mona was an ace in her art and had her fans.
Charles shook his head as Kaeya took a bottle of wine from behind the counter. “On my tab,” he said, slinking to the stage. He threw himself on the closest chair to the stage and slouched into it.
Usually, when Mona did her strip, the room became noisy, and they were calling her name as she was late. Kaeya was half through his bottle when the dancer arrived, so it took him a few seconds to notice all the noise came from the music. The room had gone silent.
It seemed to be a special event because it wasn’t Mona on the stage. That person had legs, wore tight black pants rather than a skimpy leotard, and thigh-high boots. A male dancer? Kaeya looked up higher. Diluc was looking down at Kaeya with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. He’d always worn skinny pants, but these were in leather and sinfully low on his bare hips. His white shirt’s buttons barely held on his athletic pecs, and a part of his abdomen peeked out. Kaeya’s eyes widened, and he sank into his chair, the bottle almost slipping from his hand.
His attention gained, Diluc began dancing. The room, silent moments before, went insane. Those who weren’t aroused were amused at first, but the mood quickly changed. Vampires were naturally solid and supple, so dancing on the pole wasn’t a big deal. That was so out of Diluc’s character, Kaeya giggled until Diluc banged a heel on the stage near him, commanding him to attention. His heart skipped a beat.
Diluc was glowing under the spotlight, swinging and twirling energetically. It was more like watching a sports training than an artist trying to convey something erotic, but the raw, virile power in his moves got to everyone. The show was completely improvised, not quite in sync with the song. Most patrons were so drunk it didn’t matter.
He languidly unbuttoned his shirt, sweaty and a bit out of breath, not taking his eyes away from Kaeya for a second. The audience was on fire. He’d actually broken a sweat, which meant he hadn’t had a drop of blood as a booster. He smelled of mint tea.
Diluc was out of his mind. Kaeya held to his chair to not jump on the stage and pull the Vampire away. But at the same time, seeing Diluc’s muscles flex with the effort, his long red hair swing, and his burning eyes made Kaeya unbearably hot. Diluc split his legs and slipped down, crouching.
The entire room was fascinated. Kaeya could tell Diluc wasn’t using any magic or hypnotism, something he’d never done to attract someone. He could have put anyone at his feet. Some of the drunk patrons were even crying as if they’d seen a miracle.
Then suddenly, Diluc slipped off the stage and was over Kaeya, whose chair almost toppled, his hands grabbing thin air. As Kaeya opened his mouth to say something stupid, he felt his Incubus fangs were out. Diluc caressed one of his horns and began lap-dancing on him, his shirt discarded. Kaeya held the armrests so tight the wood creaked.
Diluc’s skin was white, but under the warm light, it looked tan. It was as if all the lacking life in his body had returned, and Kaeya could feel its warmth. Diluc’s body was never cold, including the days Kayea had sat on his chest. It had grown since.
Kaeya was panting, and all of his Incubus features had become visible, his tail whipping restlessly. There was no more hiding his true nature; bat wings had torn through his shirt. Diluc untied his hair, and they pooled down, ticking Kaeya’s neck. He almost howled.
“Oh, Luc!” Kaeya cried as a pretty little butt that he couldn’t touch swayed close to his eyes. He wanted those to sit on his face. Diluc straddled him from the front and put his hand onto his breast.
“Diluc?!”
Diluc’s eyes were glowing, and he looked hungry as if he wanted Kaeya. His appearance was so erotic, demanding to be taken, that Kaeya was afraid to lose control. Diluc was dominating him entirely and looked like he could bite. Kaeya tried to make sense of his switch in attitude. He panicked when a daunting thought came to his mind.
It happened to Vampires who fasted too often and, for too long, lost control. Eventually, even if it took centuries, they reached a tipping point and went feral if they didn’t take blood bags. The Angel might have given him a drop, and this was the result.
“I’m taking you home! You need help!”
Diluc blinked a few times in confusion and opened his mouth to say something, but it was too late. Kaeya picked him up, and they were out of the Demon’s Share, pursued by applause. Charles announced something, but Kaeya and Diluc were already gone in the night.