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the woods had always been eerie after the sun went down. how the birds seemed to grow silent after the last ray of light hid itself behind the hills, a symphony of crickets taking their place. it was even eerier when the fog rolled in and the full moon lit up the trees in its dim, white light.
discarded twigs and dried foliage cracked and crinkled under each step you made. your breath came out in small, white puffs from the chilled night breeze, the sharp winds snipping at the tip of your nose and brushing a dust of rose across your cheeks. your legs were tired and heavy beneath you, and your arms ached. but you had to keep going.
you had to keep running.
your lungs felt as though a a blazing hot fire burned within them as you struggled to scrambled through the dark forest. low-hanging branches caught at your bare flesh as you ran, stinging slightly when it sliced through. your body hummed with adrenaline, and no matter how much you wanted to–no–needed to stop, you couldn't.
an arrow whizzed past your face, and you stifled a gasp through your unsteady breaths. instinct told you to look back, but you knew nothing good ever came from that.
god, did this bloody forest ever end?!
the earth dropped in front of you, and you screamed. the world began to spin. rocks bruised your body with each roll as you tumbled down the slope. one rock in particular managed to catch your knee, tearing a hole in your jeans. pain throbbed through the joint, and you barely had any time to recover when you had ended up at the foot of the hill.
how you'd ended up being shot at by one of the most infamous vampire hunters, you really had no idea. well, you had an inkling, and that inkling being that your vampire boyfriend bakugou katsuki had royally pissed him the fuck off to which the hunter decided to retaliate by hunting you down because you were vulnerable and human and bakugou was so smart that he killed the slayer dude's wife which spurred the hunter to take revenge by using his girlfriend as leverage. but, maybe that wasn't so much of an inkling, and it was more of what was really happening.
guess the world would never know, you know?
a small formation of rocks caught your eye, and you limped behind it before the hunters could catch up to you. you could feel the blood trickle spread through your jeans, and you hesitantly brushed the tip of your finger over the wound. a hiss escaped your lips upon the slight pressure.
"where the fuck did you go, bitch?!" the hunter screamed out. "hide all you want, but i'll still fucking find you!"
heavy footsteps faded from the distance, and you breathed out a quiet sigh of relief.
the hunter had probably stalked yours and his every moves for the past few weeks, perhaps even months. he had to have. how else would he have known that you were going to be walking home from work at nine pm on a thursday evening without bakugou there to protect you and leaving you completely vulnerable? the blond was probably pacing your shared apartment wondering where the hell you were.
you'd felt the buzzing in your pocket just seconds after, and you struggled to fish your phone out of your pocket as the obnoxiously loud ringtone bakugou set for you went off. your heart jumped to your throat as you tried to silence the call with the name babes blinking across the screen before the hunter found you. but one, you'd hit answer, and two, you felt two hands grab you by the collar of your hoodie as you screamed. the phone dropped from your grip and fell into the foliage.
"gotcha," the hunter breathed. a sick grin was plastered across his face, breath smelling faintly of cigarettes and garbage as he held you with your back against him, his arm stretched across your chest to keep you still.
your nose twitched, "let me go, you fucking–"
his other hand moved to your neck, and you gasped painfully; your eyes stung as you struggled to breathe. "care to finish that sentence, bitch?"
"fu-fuck yo-you," you choked out.
"i don't think anyone would care if i shot you right now, huh? maybe that dumbass, shit-sucking boyfriend of yours might show up if he hears that over the phone." the tip of a gun wedged painfully into your back.
your eyes widened. "st-stop."
"so let's see how long it would take, hmm?"
the ominous echo of a gunshot rang out throughout the forest followed by your scream. the hunter's hold around your neck loosened, and you stumbled to the floor. your back hit the side of the rock formation, and you felt the wind knocked out of your lungs. your hip burned excruciatingly.
"don't worry, lover boy, i won't kill her just yet." his voice carried into the phone buried in the leaves underfoot. "though, she is bleeding quite a bit, so i'd hurry if i were you."
your hands shook as you looked down to the blood staining your hood, the deep color spreading through the cotton fabric like water soaking a tissue. your stomach did flips, and you felt like throwing up at the sight. the blood painted your fingertips as they brushed over the fabric.
so much blood.
your head began to feel woozy and cloudy, and your breath seemed to escape you with each ragged gasp you took. your eyelids felt heavier, too, and you could barely keep them open.
"you good-for-nothing piece of shit hunter, i'm gonna fucking kill you!"
though sounding as though you were underwater, you could hear a voice disrupting the silence, and then there was a roar of animosity, followed by shuffling and grunting and faint yells. but, you couldn't keep up much, not with your head pounding and your heart racing in your ears. you could feel your breathing become shallow intakes dragging in your lungs. you just wanted to sleep, just for a little while. all this had to be a dream.
it felt like it was only a minute of rest before you felt hands tap your cheek, and you heard the faint cry of your name.
bakugou rushed to your unmoving form and cradled you in his arms with an unfamiliar gentleness, his breathing quick and rushed. his eyes raked your injured body with his blood boiling; his skin flushed with rage.
"(name), wake up! wake the fuck up right now! i swear to fucking god, you are not allowed to die on me, dammit!"
your eyelids cracked open, "ka-tsuki?" your voice was soft, a mere whisper among the deafening silence of the forest's symphony. "'m tired."
"no, no, you can't go to sleep, (name), just... just stay with me," the blond panicked, his dark t-shirt being stained with your blood. "fuck, please, (name), don't fucking close your eyes."
"i-i love you," you mumbled sleepily, eyelids snapping shut once more.
"dammit, no, you can't fucking–" the blond felt his chest tighten and breath pick up as panic set in his heart. "(name)? (name)!" he lightly slapped your cheek to get you to wake up again, but his blood ran cold as he felt the temperature of your body drop, your heart rate slowing drastically. "fuck."
there was only one way to save you.
~
there was something about waking up from unsuspected naps that always made you feel sick. your throat was always dry, and your body felt heavy, and there was always that weird feeling in the back of your head. rising from the dead had a similar feeling.
a deep breath of air filled your lungs as you gasped; it felt like you were being turned back on, as though you were a computer dormant for years and finally you need to be used again. you ears twitched as an assault of various noises hit your eardrums, your sense of smell catching an array of things you knew weren't within your surroundings.
you sat up with wide eyes, your sight surveying the room before you. you were home, that much was true. it was the how you got home that you couldn't think of.
even in the dark, you could see every little detail of how you left yours and bakugou's shared bedroom; the clothes scattered near the hamper but never actually in it, the walls lined with bookshelves littered with assorted knickknacks from your childhood and bakugou's, the window cracked open just a smidgen to allow in the summer breeze.
you attempted to move from your place on the bed, but as your feet touched the cool, hardwood floor, your legs gave out from under you and you tumbled to the ground.
not even a moment later, bakugou rushed in. "fucking dumbass." he picked you up and gently laid you back down with your back pressed against the headboard; he took a seat on the edge, one arm on the other side of your legs as though to cage you in. "you can't move just yet, your body's still adjusting."
"ad-adjusting?" your voice cracked. you coughed from the dry tickle in your throat. "can i have some water?"
"water isn't gonna do you any good," the blond replied.
your brows furrowed. "what? how come?"
he sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. "do you remember what happened? with the hunter and the gunshot?"
you were about to shake your head when a flash of images crossed your mind. your eyes widened. "b-but–i should be dead. if-if that actually happened, i should be dead, katsuki."
"you almost were," he murmured.
"th-then, how...?"
"you're smart, you know what i did." his crimson eyes held yours with a knowing glance.
"you couldn't have," you gasped. "katsuki, how–?"
"i panicked!" he shouted, eyes flicking to the window as he was unable to face you. "you were bleeding out, and i didn't know what the fuck to do. you wouldn't have made it to a hospital in time, and i couldn't bare the thought of losing you, and–"
you placed a shaky hand atop of his, giving him a small smile. "breathe. it's okay."
"shouldn't that be me fucking saying that?" he grumbled. "besides, you should fucking hate me right now. we never even fucking talked about this, i wasn't even thinking if you wanted to be a damn vampire or not."
a soft giggle came from your lips, and bakugou's crimson gaze wide with surprise at the sound. "katsuki, you saved my life. and being a vampire can't be all that bad. i-i mean, i was going to ask eventually anyway, to be honest."
the blond's head dropped to your lap as he sighed in relief. "at least you don't hate me," he mumbled into your thigh.
you raked a hand through his hair. "no, i don't hate you. but, i am still thirsty."
"fuck, right." he shot up from the bed, leaving the room for half a second before returning with one of the blood bags he stashed in the fridge. "careful not to fucking pop it, alright?"
you hummed as you took the bag from his hand. he clambered onto the bed with you and watched as you sank your new fangs into the plastic. there was a small smile on his face, not because watching you drink blood with your bright red eyes and now-blood stained, pearly white fangs was cute–though, it was–but because you were no longer human, no longer had an easier chance of dying. the two of you were going to live for centuries, happy and immortal.