Lucien unwrapped one of the candies Leon had stuffed into his pocket earlier and pushed it into his mouth slowly, strawberry sweetness spreading across his tongue while he avoided eye contact on purpose.

"Okay," he said quietly.

Leon actually blinked.

For a second he genuinely thought he misheard.

Lucien kept pretending nothing unusual had happened, though the candy rounded one cheek slightly while he stared very seriously at the table.

Leon wanted to bite that cheek.

Instead he repeated softly, copying Lucien's exact tone,

"Okay."

Lucien looked up sharply.

"Don't imitate me."

Leon stared at him for several long seconds.

God, he was cute.

If Leon had actually been a vampire tonight, he still wouldn't have wanted Lucien's blood.

He would've wanted him warm and sleepy in his lap while sinking tiny fake fangs into Leon's throat instead.

Lucien visibly pulled his cape tighter around himself beneath Leon's stare.

At this point he was starting to suspect the vampire thing had affected Leon psychologically.

Because the man kept looking at him like he planned to eat him alive.

Fortunately, the food arrived before Lucien combusted completely.

The table filled quickly with steak, pasta, seafood, roasted vegetables, sauces, desserts—

And one deeply depressing bowl of salad placed directly in front of Lucien.

Leon cut into his steak calmly.

"You don't need to diet."

Easy for him to say.

Lucien stabbed lettuce viciously.

Leon continued watching him.

"If anything, you should gain weight."

Lucien chewed harder.

Like he wasn't already suffering enough.

He absolutely refused to believe Leon could finish this entire table alone anyway.

A few moments later, Leon slid his own steak plate across the table toward him.

Lucien looked up.

"Hm?"

"I ordered too much," Leon said smoothly. "Help me out."

Two minutes later the steak had disappeared onto Lucien's side of the table, followed by several other dishes and eventually the dessert Leon clearly ordered specifically for him from the beginning.

By the end of dinner, Lucien looked devastatingly content.

Leon could've watched that expression forever.

They were already heading toward the exit before Lucien suddenly froze.

"Wait," he said. "I never paid."

Leon opened the restaurant door for him casually.

"If you really want to spend money, you can transfer it directly to me."

Lucien frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Leon took his hand again while leading him outside.

"It means I own the restaurant."

Lucien stopped walking entirely.

"…You what?"

Leon looked amused now.

"The ranch too, remember?"

Lucien stared at him in disbelief.

Farm.Restaurant.

At this point Leon probably owned half the city.

"Don't tell me all of New York belongs to you too," Lucien muttered darkly.

"Not yet."

Lucien narrowed his eyes.

Leon laughed under his breath and squeezed his hand lightly.

"You can buy me dinner next time."

"There won't be a next time."

"Alright," Leon agreed easily. "Then I'll buy you dinner again."

By the time Lucien got back to the dorm, it was already past midnight.

He barely managed to wash off the makeup before collapsing face-first into bed.

That night his dreams turned strange.

Dark castle corridors.Cold silk sheets.A hand gripping both his wrists above his head while black fabric covered his eyes.

He could feel himself trembling inside the dream, breath catching every time hot kisses moved lower across his throat and chest. Whoever held him down never seemed hurried, only patient in the terrifying way dangerous people often were.

Lucien tried turning away once.

The hand at his wrists tightened.

Then a mouth brushed against his neck.

"Don't bite me," Lucien whispered weakly inside the dream.

A low laugh answered beside his ear.

"I want to kiss you."

Lucien woke violently.

For several seconds he sat frozen in bed staring at the ceiling while reality struggled slowly back into place.

Then he looked beneath the blankets.

And next moment he wanted to die.

"Oh my God."

He fled toward the bathroom so fast he nearly crashed into the doorframe.

Standing beneath cold water afterward did absolutely nothing to improve the situation.

Especially because even without seeing the man's face in the dream, Lucien still knew exactly whose voice it had been.

Leon.

Of course it was Leon.

Lucien leaned both hands against the shower wall in despair.

What was wrong with him lately?

After getting dressed, he shoved the entire crisis aggressively to the back of his mind and headed toward the pizza shop instead since he finally had a free afternoon again.

Jamie happened to be working too.

The moment they reunited, they disappeared into the back kitchen to gossip while pretending to organize supplies.

"How've you been?" Jamie asked.

"Amazing. Look at my boyfriend's ass."

Lucien nearly choked on oxygen.

Jamie laughed.

"You're still so easy to embarrass. Seriously, you need a boyfriend."

Lucien frowned slightly.

Dating wasn't supposed to be something people did casually just to experiment.

At least not to him.

It felt bigger than that somehow.

More serious.

More dangerous.

"Anyway," Jamie said suddenly, leaning closer, "I have gossip."

Lucien became cautious.

"Somebody took pictures of Leon on Halloween."

Lucien almost inhaled his own soul.

"What?"

Jamie shoved his phone over excitedly.

"Look at him. He dressed like a vampire and somehow got even hotter."

Lucien's heartbeat shot into his throat instantly while the photo loaded.

Thankfully the lighting blurred his own face badly enough to stay unrecognizable.

Jamie zoomed in happily.

"Look, matching outfits too. Honestly though…" He paused slowly. "This smaller vampire kinda looks like you."

Lucien swallowed hard.

Jamie had been his first real friend after arriving here.

Lying suddenly felt awful.

So after several painful seconds, Lucien muttered quietly,

"It is me."

Jamie blinked once.

Then nearly screamed.

"WHAT?"

People outside the kitchen physically turned toward the noise.

"How do you even know him?"

"It's complicated."

Lucien rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We're just friends."

Jamie stared at him with complete disbelief.

"Friends don't spend Halloween looking at each other like that."

Lucien opened his mouth.

Closed it again.

Jamie narrowed his eyes.

"Did you sleep with him?"

Lucien shook his head so fast it almost became concerning.

Jamie nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, you guys still walk normally. Checks out."

Lucien covered his face briefly.

Jamie somehow turned every conversation sexual within thirty seconds regardless of topic.

"I'm serious," Jamie continued. "Has he actually confessed yet?"

"No."

Lucien answered too quickly again.

Jamie leaned against the counter.

"That's weird."

Lucien looked up.

"In what way?"

Jamie shrugged.

"Guys here usually don't drag things out this long if they're seriously interested. Especially someone like him."

Lucien's stomach tightened slightly before he could stop it.

Jamie kept talking.

"I mean, if he likes you, he'll say it eventually. If he wants you, he'll make a move."

Lucien stayed quiet.

Then Jamie tilted his head.

"Unless he's just not into your type."

Something inside Lucien dropped unpleasantly at the words.

He looked down, all the brightness fading slowly from his expression while Jamie continued rambling completely unaware of the damage he'd just done.