A man was heading home after a hard day of work in a sweets' factory that made handmade candy. He hummed to himself as he made his way through the well-travelled streets.

There was nothing special about the man. He had finished culinary school freshly out of high school and hadn’t as much as thought about getting himself a degree in university. He was an immigrant, but that wasn’t strange in the states. His parents had emigrated from Bulgaria as soon as the borders had opened and had raised him in their new home.

Nikola Asenov, for that was the man’s name, had dark brown hair and green eyes. He didn’t have many friends as he had drifted apart from his classmates from high school and his work demanded all his attention.

When he would usually get back from work, the only things on his mind were to get his workout for the day done, shower, have dinner and then watch TV. This was life for the 25-year-old, and it was a good one as far as he was concerned.

That was until he got home that night to see that his door was already unlocked. Now, everyone else would have called the police, but Nikola simply thought that he had forgotten to lock his door on the way to work. Hoping it had gone unnoticed and nothing had been stolen, Nikola entered his home and turned on the light.

There, on his couch, flipping through a pamphlet on pastries, was a stranger. Now, that is not to say Nikola hadn’t seen the stranger before. These past days he had seen the man in the grocery store, in his favorite café, at his breakfast sandwich place and practically everywhere but at the factory, really. But Nikola had thought that the man was a new neighbor, not that he was following him.

“What are you doing here? Are you lost?” Asked Nikola hesitantly, hoping that no trouble will come of it.

“Oh, me? I have no place to stay, and you seem boring enough. So, I’m moving in with you, isn’t it great?” At that, the man set down the pamphlet on the coffee table and smiled brightly at him.

Nikola took a couple of steps back, determined to get out of the apartment and get help, when suddenly the man was behind him and shutting the door.

“Where were you going to run off to? What sort of host just abandons his guest like that? And you haven’t served me dinner yet!”

At that, Nikola paled and backed as far away as he could from the stranger. With a shaky voice, he said:

“How did you get there so fast? Look, if this is a robbery, I’ll give you all the money in my wallet. You’ll leave after that, won’t you?”

He was about to continue speaking when the man was once again in front of him, this time wrapping his arms around him and resting his head on Nikola’s left shoulder.

“I’m not here for your money, dear morsel. I came, so I can live with you and so you can feed me. Mmm, you smell just like candy. I know I choose well with you.”

At those words and without a warning, the stranger bit his neck with his surprisingly sharp canines. Nikola stood stunned in his arms for a while before his instincts kicked in, and he began trying to get free.

Trying being the key word as the man’s grip on him tightened painfully and Nikola was left standing there, his feet becoming unsteady from the blood loss.

Once the stranger, no vampire, was done feeding off of him, he gently set Nikola on the sofa, sitting himself right next to him and hugging him.

“Now, dear morsel, some ground rules. You don’t get to call the police on me, or I will tear your pretty throat one lovely night as you come back from work. Rule number two: You feed me when you get home. I promise I won’t take more than you can replenish. Speaking of, here, have some water.”

With that, the vampire handed Nikola a glass of liquid and helped the dazed man drink it up.

“Rule number three:” the creature began before Nikola could get his bearings and scream. Not that his beginning attempt wasn’t noticed, as his face ended up pressed right into the chest of his “guest”. “You don’t do anything to harm me, ever. It’s not only rude, as you will see I will do nothing to harm you in return, but it will also get me furious and there goes your throat. Do you understand?”

At that, Nikola nodded, but didn’t say anything as he was still too shocked to speak.

“Now that I have had my dinner, it’s only fair you have yours too. I’ve made you some healthy chicken with rice and got you fine dark chocolate for dessert. Be a dear and eat up.”

Not wanting to make the thing angry, Nikola got up and went to sit at his dining table where a heavily piled plate with rice, chicken and vegetables waited for him. Next to his meal there was freshly squeezed, if the smell was any indication, orange juice and near the glass there was a steaming cup of hot chocolate, which was probably the mentioned dark chocolate.

Nikola ate in silence and thought about what he was going to do. He certainly got bitten earlier, and the man had been too fast by far for him to be a normal human being. Apart from that, he couldn’t just do nothing and let a paranormal being live in his house!

As he got up and started to do the washing of the dishes, he sneaked a glance at the vampire. The man was blond and had red eyes. Apart from that, he had a small hat on his head that was put on the side of the man’s head.

Normally, Nikola would be doing push-ups right about now, but he didn’t feel like giving a show to his “guest”. His curiosity got the better of him, and so he approached the vampire.

“So…what is your name? Mine is Nikola.”

The vampire looked up at Nikola and smiled a sweet smile.

“My name is Dimitri Popescu. Pleasure to meet you, Nikola.”

The vampire petted the space next to him on the sofa, and Nikola reluctantly sat down. After which he was embraced once more and the vampire inhaled his scent.

“Tell me, candy man, why didn’t you do your exercises? They are good for your blood circulation and keep your heart healthy. You won’t stop on my account, will you?”

“I’ll…start visiting a gym from now on, actually. But I’ll skip for tonight. Mister Popescu, why are you hugging me?”

At that, Nikola suppressed the desire to wiggle in the arms of the stranger, as all the threads about his throat hadn’t gone unremembered.

“I want us to be friends, that’s why! Don’t you want us to be friends, Nikola?” At that, the vampire inhaled his prey’s scent again before whispering directly in his ear.

“I’ll be hurt if you feel it would be better not to be my friend, and then someone else will have to console me. But do you know what will happen to you? You,” Nikola’s earlobe was licked, and he drew in a sharp breath “will” a kiss was placed on the wound from the feeding “be very” at that the vampire gently used his hand to turn the frozen mortal’s head towards him and kissed him on his lips “dead.”

And the last part was whispered directly against Nikola’s lips, making the man gulp.

“So, friends?” The vampire said, staring into Nikola’s eyes, and the man simply nodded, too scared to speak. “I want to hear it with your own words, are we going to be very good friends or not?”

“Yes, sure, friends. Let’s be friends.” Came the whispered reply from Nikola.

“So now that we are friends and my undead heart will not be broken by living with a non-friend, let’s talk about your life so far, my dearest friend.”

“My life? What about my life?”

“Mainly, it’s going to change a little. And by a little, I mean a lot. Especially if we become very good friends and I decide to take you on my travels when I get bored with this little town. And it’s in your best interest if you don’t do like my former friend and just count the days until I leave. His funeral was last week, Niki. You don’t mind me shortening your name, do you? Because if you do…”

“No, no, I don’t! You can call me Niki, just please don’t…”

A finger was placed on his lips as he was about to continue, and the vampire begun talking anew.

“You see, Niki, I don’t like it when my friends fear me. That is not a real friendship. And I want to have a relaxing time for both of us. You see, you have a soul and with it emotions that I lack. I want to experience these emotions through you, and that means that you will have to get comfortable around me. But don’t fake anything. I’ll know and then you will be ripped limb from limb. We first start with you not fearing me so much. Tell me, how do I make you comfortable? Should I tuck you in bed, mm?”

At that Nikola got up as if burned and tried to get as far away from the vampire as possible only for the now displeased demonic entity to grab him and force him in his arms again.

“That’s enough!” Begun the Bulgarian as he trashed wildly in his captors arms. “Threaten me all you want, but you crossed the line. If you want to live here, then you are not allowed in my bedroom! If you don’t agree, go ahead and tear my throat now, but I won’t let you cross that line.”

“Yes You Will! In time, true, but you will. But fine, I’ll give you your space for now and not go in your bedroom. I suppose I’ll just have to wait for you to invite me like a good stereotypical vampire. Now what do you want us to do?”

“I want to go to bed. Without you,” came the weak reply from Nikola.

“Hm, good night then, Niki.”

With that, Dimitri let go of Nikola and waved at him good, naturally. Without wasting any time, but wanting to preserve the last shreds of his dignity, Nikola calmly walked up the stairs and closed and locked the bedroom door. He had no illusions that this wouldn’t stop the vampire, but he still hoped it would give him some warning in the night.

Without wasting any time, he turned on his laptop and sat on his desk. He tried to rake his mind on anything he knew about vampires. They supposedly died from holy water, garlic, the sun and being staked. But seeing as the vampire was both stronger and faster than him, Nikola was sure he couldn’t be able to use none of these things.

He searched the internet and found out that vampires died from decapitation. Just thinking about decapitating someone made Nikola’s stomach turn. There was also a weird footnote about them stopping to count spilled salt, but he very much doubted Dimitri would fall for such a trick. It would probably anger him, if nothing else.

Then he fell upon a book called the Book of Nod. He found a PDF of it and begun reading. Before he knew it, he was reading what was apparently the bible of all vampires. It was all entirely in prose and apparently translated in English from Latin. It told the story of Caine and his “children”. Even if it was all fictional, it was the most solid lead he had on the origins of his friend.

Before he knew it, the clock on his screen was showing 3:47 am and since he had to wake up at 6 am to get ready for work and the vampire hadn’t barged in to molest him as promised, Nikola closed his laptop and tried to catch some sleep.

The alarm clock woke him up at exactly 6 and he, even as tired as he was, turned it off and got up. He couldn’t lose his job in the factory because he overslept. For one, he loved making candy, it was therapeutic. For another, he hated being late for anything.

As he took his shower, he thanked whatever deity was listening that it was on the same floor as his bedroom and he didn’t have to go downstairs and face his roommate. But as he finished dressing, he sucked in a breath and decided to get it over with. Go downstairs, grab his coat and leave for work. It would be easy to ignore the vampire if the man was asleep. That is, if vampires even slept.

He unhurriedly went down the stairs, only to be hit with the smell of something tasty cooking in the kitchen. Being curious, he went to investigate, only to see the vampire humming to himself as he flipped some eggs with peppers in a pan. Just as Nikola was going to turn back and try to erase the sight from his eyes, the vampire turned towards him and waved him over.

“Good morning, Niki! I’ve made you breakfast sandwiches and if you wait just a bit I’ll pack your lunch too.”

Not seeing any other option, Nikola sat down on the kitchen table and begun eating his breakfast. He was about to drink his coffee too when he noticed something off about its scent. There was a hint of something metallic in it. Remembering how in the Book of Nod, Caine enthralled his beloved by feeding her his blood three times, he put the cup down.

“What, you won’t drink your coffee? Do you like it plain or something? I even made a picture in it!” Asked a somewhat irritated vampire who was suddenly right next to him.

“Yes. I like making it myself, actually. But thank you for the cup.”

“Huh, fine. Well, the machine is right there, go make some, so I see how much different it is from mine!” Demanded the vampire, hands now crossed over his chest.

Nikola got up and threw away the leftover coffee in the sink, just in case the vampire had put blood in it as well. He washed the jug and put a fresh batch of coffee to be made. That got him thinking. He had had dark chocolate made by the vampire yesterday.

He had been too scared to notice anything strange about it yesterday, but he didn’t feel any different today, so maybe the vampire hadn’t tried to drug him with the chocolate. What had changed then? Was it because the Bulgarian had refused to be “tucked into bed” by the creature? So, what, thought Nikola angrily, he doesn’t get his way and I will have to be his thrall for as long as he is not bored with me?

His anger must have shown in his face as the vampire was packing his lunch because Dimitri commented on it.

“What got you so moody, Niki? Didn’t you like your breakfast? I made everything with your blood pressure in mind. Much better than the greasy sandwiches that you would usually buy.”

“No, no. Everything was fine. You are very considerate, thank you,” Nikola was quick to assure his guest with a smile, as he was sure the vampire’s patience was wearing thin with him. “So, what are you going to do while I’m at work? Do you need me to get you anything that is for tomorrow? I can pick whatever you need after work. It’s the least I can do after you cooked for me.”

At that, Dimitri chuckled and shock his head as he watches Nikola beginning to sip his coffee.

“When fed, I have no problem with sunlight, and you fed me well last night. I’ll pick my art supplies by myself. But thank you for asking, dear.”

Figuring that that was the end of their conversation, and having finished his cup of coffee, Nikola picked his packed lunch and made to go outside when two strong arms encircled him and the vampire nuzzled his neck.

“Niki, I’ve been thinking. It’s going to be sunny today and if I will be going shopping, and I need to do some shopping as I left most of my stuff with my last friend, could you feed me again? I’d very much need your blood and would like to have a taste of it after you’ve had your own batch of coffee. You don’t mind me having some breakfast of my own, do you?”

At that, Nikola gulped. He had felt faint after he was drank from last night. What was more, he hadn’t slept all that much. He knew that the vampire was asking only to be polite, and there was no real choice. He gripped the package in his hands harder and with a voice that was barely above a whisper he agreed.

This time the vampire used the same place, but he sucked at the spot first, which Nikola guessed made it look like a hickey. When he finally sunk his fangs, the Bulgarian noticed that it didn’t hurt as much. The vampire was taking big gulps from him and just as Nikola started to feel lightheaded he stopped and placed a soft kiss at the abused spot.

Once Nikola realized that Dimitri was finished, he tried to get out of his arms, but the vampire started to place soft feather-light kisses up and down his neck as his hands begun to roam over Nikola’s body.

“I really, mmn, I need to get to work. Dimitri, please.”

“Please? But I want to show you how good our friendship can be. Why don’t you come to the couch with me? I promise I won’t bite…much.” At that Dimitri chuckled right next to the hickey, the vibrations making the skin of Nikola’s neck get goosebumps and Nikola himself felt himself almost giving in to the temptation.

“I can’t be late for my work! I need to make the, ouch, ah, don’t bite me the…re. Please let me…ouch…let me go, please.”

Nikola felt like he was about to tear at his own hair in frustration, but something about the last whimper he had given made the vampire exhale in frustration and release him, albeit much gentler than Nikola imagined he would after being rejected for the second time.

“I suppose we can finish this conversation when you come back. Have a pleasant day at work, Niki.”

Finally, being released, Nikola didn’t waste any time going out of the door and into the calm street outside. He was a little shaken, but he quickly got a grip of himself and put the lunch in his backpack and headed towards the factory.

The day had been uneventful. He had made the sugar syrup and then made shapes out of it once it cooled. Today they were making candy with panda faces on it. The delicate work took his mind off what happened at home, and he had fun drawing cute black and white shapes on hard green candy circles all day.

Once his workday was over, he headed to a nice gym near his home and spend the next two hours in there making up for the skipped session yesterday. He hit the gym showers, as he wanted to avoid returning all sweaty home in case the vampire took it as an invitation.

Blushing at his own thoughts, he quickly got dressed and gathered his things, beginning the short trek home. Once he approached his home, he took out his keys and put them in the keyhole, only to find out it was unlocked again. He really should give the darned vampire his own keys, if only to prevent a burglar to get their throats slit.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, he was embraced and his lips were captured in a kiss. That was until the vampire stopped abruptly and sniffed him.

“Why have you showered after work, darling?” Came the question in a dangerously low voice. “You haven’t decided to become friends with someone else, have you? Because you were not in a relationship when I moved in.”

“What, no! I went to a gym. I told you about it, remember? I showered after doing my exercises, since I worked up a sweat.” Nikola tried to smile shaken, but that would be faking to hide his sudden unease, so he dropped his attempt.

The vampire eased his grip on Nikola’s hair and ran his fingers through his hair gently instead.

“I wouldn’t have minded if you came back sweaty and smelling of candy. Now the candy smell around you is really faint. I don’t like it. You will be doing your workouts here after I’ve had my dinner from now on. I like sipping from you best when you smell of sugar,” The vampire kissed his nose softly as he said the last part. “and spice” another kiss on the nose followed. “and everything nice.” And then the vampire was on his lips again.

Nikola just let it happen. It was kind of nice, if one forgets that he was making out with a creature who had threatened and was capable of tearing out his throat at any time. Not satisfied with his target’s inaction, the vampire pulled him slowly to the couch and laid both of them down on it.

This sends warning bells in Nikola’s head. A little kissing he could handle, but his couch was big enough for what the vampire had meant last night when he offered to tuck him into bed and Nikola, no matter the thread to his life, was not going to let himself sink so low as to allow it to happen.

“Dimitri, this is enough! I’m not laying down anywhere with you and ah, no! Bad vampire, take your hands off my shirt!”

Dimitri was both paying him and not paying him any attention as he slowly began to pull over his shirt and trying to get it off Nikola.

“Bad vampire, hm? I’d rather be good, but if you want me to be bad…” As he trailed, he took Nikola’s wrist from where the man was tugging his shirt back in place and squeezed painfully. “Then I’ll show you bad, Niki,” the last part was whispered in Nikola’s ear as his name was spelled out seductively letter by letter.

“This is not how friends behave!” Came the last weak attempt at resistance from Nikola, who by now had tears in his eyes from the pain in his wrist. That made the vampire stop and stare at him. Something in his fearful image he presented must have struck a chord with the vampire, as he exhaled again and let go of Nikola’s wrist. He also let go of the man’s shirt and straighten it for him, even going as far as to brush away imaginary dust off it.

“I suppose they don’t. My apologies, darling. You won’t withhold dinner from me because of my poor behavior, no?” This was said in a somewhat bored tone. The vampire already knew the answer to that.

    “No, of course not.” Came the defeated reply from Nikola and as he stared emptily and as his lifeblood was being drank away he couldn’t help but escape by clearing his mind and not thinking about anything. As Dimitri was once again satisfied, he let go of Nikola and let him have his own dinner. Some chicken salad with a peeled orange for desert. Nikola supposed he was being fed, so his blood will have a certain taste in the morning, just as it said in the Book of Nod.

When he was done washing the dishes, he was about to retreat upstairs when the vampire took his hands in his and led him to the couch.

“I’d like for you to model for me, so I can paint you. You can hide away in your room later, dear.”

Without saying anything, Nikola allowed himself to be positioned on the couch, laying down with the very same pastry pamphlet the vampire had read in his hands. He was instructed to just watch the vampire and not force any expression on his face. Apparently, Dimitri was going to paint his body first and leave his face for last, choosing whichever expression he liked most from the spectrum.

“Why are you painting me?” Came the soft question from Nikola. Even though he had numerous pillows, which he didn’t remember owning before Dimitri moved in, underneath his head being watched and sketched made him feel uncomfortable. And as the vampire wasn’t molesting him right now, he was going to be grateful for just about any way to break the silence.

“I’m just sketching you right now, actually. Painting you will take me some time, so you will just have to model for me again. It will help me get to know you better, too.”

“Did you paint your former friend too?” Asked Nikola, genuine curious. Momentarily forgetting the danger he was in.  

 “I did. I finished his portrait just before I left, but he was a horrible friend. He didn’t appreciate it at all. He was so rude too, nothing like you. Which is why his brain is now maggot pie and yours is working in overdrive.”

“Why couldn’t you have left him alive? He fed you and must have had family and friends who miss him now. You could have just…” His sentence was abruptly stopped as Dimitri send him a sharp silencing look. The vampire stopped his painting and turned to face Nikola fully.

“What I do, dear morsel, is none of your concern! Gilbert deserved to have his throat slit after he tried to stake me just a few hours after we made love. Not that staking me with just any sharp wood would help take me out of your life. Just so you know if you have considered it yourself.”

At that, Nikola lowered his head and became silent. He had considered it. But he wasn’t willing to go to such extremes as to sleep with the man to try and kill him. And if it hadn’t worked for this Gilbert, then it probably wouldn’t work for him too.

“Judging by your expression, I guess you did consider it. In your situation, I guess it’s normal. I was still mad at Gilbert, and I took it out on you yesterday. I was pretty demanding, wasn’t I? Look,” at that the vampire looked a little remorseful, but his expression quickly changed to a happy one. “No, it’s better this way. It’s good that we can be friends instead. I’ve missed having friends who don’t want to achieve immortality through me. Because that was what Gilbert wanted from me: immortality. And when I told him I wasn’t interested in giving it to him, he started faking around me. Don’t Do That To Me Ever.” 

Hours passed and Dimitri continued to sketch away. Once he was done with the initial lines, he looked up at a nearly sleeping Nikola on the couch. The Bulgarian had a soft smile on his face as he was spaced out and staring at a faraway spot on the wall just behind the vampire.

The man stared at Nikola in return before muttering. “And here is my expression,” he did it so quietly that Nikola didn’t hear him, and he quickly sketched the dreamy look the man had on his face onto the canvas. Once he was done, he got up and moved towards Nikola who noticed him finally and made to sit up only to slip on the soft silk pillows and plop back down on the couch.

“I’m done. Do I get an invitation to your room tonight? I promise I’m only after your bed, your couch is very uncomfortable to sleep on.”

“I…Dimitri. I don’t trust you to not try anything during the night. Maybe if you would stop molesting me every time you see me then maybe I’d believe you, but as things stand now I just can’t…”

“Am I undesirable to you? Am I not pretty enough? Not good enough?” The vampire was glaring daggers into Nikola, and his hand was gripping a fistful of the brunette’s shirt.

Deciding to be truthful and not dig his grave with empty evasions that might end up with him being molested in his own bed, he murmured softly.

“To tell you the truth, I am far too afraid of you and your power to consider you as anything but a danger to me.”

At that, the vampire laughed darkly and let go of his shirt.

“Of course you are afraid. I made it pretty clear you are prey from night one, didn’t I? Some Toreador I am. Fine, go and hide from me morsel. But I’ll get you to trust me and desire me, one way or the other.”

Without missing a beat, but not wanting to anger the vampire further, Nikola got upstairs and closed the door. He didn’t bother locking it. One thing gnarled at his mind. Dimitri had called himself Toreador. Like the clan full of “succubus and incubus” from the Book of Nod. So, unless it was some sort of coincidence, then that mean that the Book of Nod was the real deal!

He really wanted to research more about it and the Vampire Masquerade “game”, to figure out in how much shit he was thrown in, but a look at the clock showed him it was 23:54. He had been half-asleep today at work, and he couldn’t allow for something like that to happen again, even thou tomorrow was Saturday, he still needed his rest.

With a heavy sigh, he changed in his pajamas and went to sleep. Grateful that so far, Dimitri respected his refusal to sleep with him and that the vampire wasn’t invading his bedroom.