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“Do I look alright?”
Mumbo smooths out his suit for the one hundredth time that night, fidgeting with it while staring at himself in the mirror. Grian groans somewhere off to the side, tired of Mumbo’s nonsense. “You look fine .” He repeats himself. “I promise.”
Running a hand through his hair, Mumbo spins around to look at him. He’s sure Grian’s telling the truth, the man isn’t one to sugarcoat things, but he can’t help but feel nervous. It’s his and Martyn’s first valentine’s day (technically night) together and he wants everything to go perfectly. They’ve been dating for quite a few months at this point and Mumbo knows Martyn will love him regardless of how this night goes, but unfortunately his anxiety disagrees.
“What if Martyn doesn’t think so?” He asks, well aware of how bothersome he’s being to Grian. After a few centuries of living together, the other vampire should be used to it by now.
Grian stands up from his seat and grabs Mumbo’s arm, dragging him towards the door and shoving the flowers he’d picked into his hands. “He will. If he didn’t like you he would’ve staked you by now. Go. ”
“You’re right.” Mumbo adjusts his hold on the white roses. It had been a pain to get them, considering he can’t just walk into a florist’s shop and purchase them. There was a bit of thieving from gardens, he’ll admit, but it was in the name of love so he’s sure it’s fine. “Yeah. Okay, I’m going now!”
He jitters with nerves as he makes his way down the porch’s stairs, not touching grass until he hears Grian lock the door behind him. Mumbo takes a deep breath in.
The way through the forest and to Martyn’s home is one he has memorized like the back of his hand. He could probably get there with his eyes closed. He hasn’t done this whole valentines thing in a good few centuries, he hopes he’s gotten everything right. Martyn’s done so much for him in the relatively short time they’ve known each other and Mumbo’s hoping to repay the favor tonight.
He runs the plan through his mind a few more times as he walks. He usually wears a suit but he’d made sure to put on his nicest one tonight.
Mumbo’s ear twitches as a twig snaps nearby. He brushes it off at first as a wild animal, as deer tend to find their way towards him, but as the rustling grows closer Mumbo begins to feel a bit concerned. Last time he felt like this in the forest he nearly died – though he did end up with a boyfriend after it all was over. It’s probably not the best way to get a date.
But he continues on, trying to ignore the ominous footsteps behind him.
Nothing is going to ruin the perfect valentine's day if he can help it. Getting murdered would definitely put a damper on the mood.
Clutching the white roses tightly, ignoring the sharp stabs from the thorns, Mumbo speeds up his pace a little. Nothing too noticeable – just enough to get him out of the situation.
Unfortunately the owner of said footsteps seems to have a different plan.
They speed up to a pace Mumbo can’t match, so he decides to suddenly turn around to stand his ground. As he does this he comes face to face with someone who is clearly a newly turned vampire; fangs bared and blood stained all over their clothes and skin. It’s been a while since he’s had a run in with one of these vampires and he’s not looking forward to this one. It’s never a pleasant experience for either party.
The vampire pauses in shock for a moment at the quick turn, caught in the act. They recover a few seconds later, shaking their head and launching themself at Mumbo. He dodges it, quick reflexes kicking in.
While he can’t exactly blame the person for their instincts, that doesn’t stop him from being annoyed. This new turn probably can’t differentiate between human and fellow vampire yet, which they’ll hopefully learn in time so they stop being a nuisance to the local vampire population.
Undeterred from Mumbo’s jump away, the vampire flings themself at him immediately again.
He’s less lucky this time – their sharp nails manage to dig into the skin of his shoulder, sending waves of burning pain down his arm. Mumbo sucks in a breath through his teeth, cringing at the blood beginning to flow. It’s rather impressive they managed to get through his suit to the skin, as it’s not made of thin material. He winces, knowing this has put an already large dent in his plans. If he can handle this quickly, maybe he’ll be able to keep most of the night on track with his schedule.
Mumbo doesn’t want to hurt the vampire. They’re just instinct ridden and probably not in their right mind.
While he’d been thinking, he’d lost track of the attacker. He spins around, hoping to jump away from wherever they come from next, but it’s already too late.
Hot, searing pain floods him as their claws rake down his back. He always forgets about the whole claw thing as he likes his nails short, and void do they hurt. He barely keeps himself from doubling over, his ears ringing. Mumbo has no more time for this nonsense; he needs to put a stop to this before he gets any more hurt.
The next few moments are a blur of blood and hisses. He doesn’t enjoy hurting people. Mumbo’s not sure if the dissociation is from the blood loss or the guilt.
All he’s truly aware of is the fact that he manages to scare the rogue vampire away.
Thoughts race through his mind as he can feel his vision blurring. He’d gotten a few more injuries in the scrap, though he’s not sure where. Everywhere burns terribly and he’d love if it would stop.
Martyn’s house, his mind reminds him, get to Martyn.
He does what the little voice tells him, because there’s nothing else he really can do. He thankfully knows the forest by heart and easily finds his way to his boyfriend’s home, the route being muscle memory at this point. Mumbo clumsily heads up to his door, stumbling around, and knocks. He looks down and realizes he still has the white roses, though they’re now stained red. Mumbo frowns. He hopes Martyn will still like them.
The man comes and opens the door quickly, probably because he’d been expecting Mumbo tonight, though surely not in his current state. He gasps as he realizes Mumbo’s shown up at his door bleeding out once again. “Hey…” Mumbo manages to get out, the letters all slurring together.
“Holy shit – Mumbo, what happened? Get inside, come on!” Martyn ushers him in, barely closing the door before he’s all over Mumbo and inspecting his wounds.
He drags the vampire to the bed and forces him to sit down, which Mumbo does without complaint. All of Martyn’s words mix together in an unintelligible manner that makes it impossible for him to understand and properly reply, as much as he wants to.
His suit jacket and the shirt under are pulled off, making Mumbo shiver as the air hits his bare skin. He frowns when he realizes those pieces of clothing are probably ruined. They were his nicest bits of attire.
Martyn runs off and comes back with a washcloth and other assorted medical supplies to care for Mumbo’s wounds, a first aid collection that had grown exponentially after meeting Mumbo.
Mumbo does his best to stay still as Martyn tries to clean all of the still-bleeding gashes.
It burns a lot, and even the human’s whispered apologies do little to dull the ache. He feels multiple bandages being applied and he feels the blood soaking through them, running down his back and onto Martyn’s bedsheets. He makes a mental note to apologize for those.
He might not be able to die from this, but it sure feels like he might. Mumbo feels dizzier by the minute, more lightheaded with every second that ticks by. His eyes close, only to be snapped open when Martyn insists he stays awake. All he wants is to take a nice, long nap, and wake up with all of his wounds gone.
Eventually he’s able to make out Martyn’s beautiful voice again, though he doesn’t like how worried the man sounds. “You’re so pale, like, more than usual, and that’s impressive.”
Mumbo nods along. He’s not fully able to comprehend the words properly, but at least he has a vague understanding of them.
“I’ve been doing research on vampires lately,” Martyn says, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the bed. Mumbo wishes he could reach out and give him a hug, but the burning fire in his shoulder prohibits that movement. “You heal quicker if you’ve recently drank blood.”
“Hmm?” Mumbo perks up at the mention of blood.
Martyn chuckles a little. “You’re going to drink some of my blood.”
Blinking slowly, Mumbo takes a minute to process the request. He doesn’t want to take from Martyn, he doesn’t want to harm his boyfriend. He shakes his head, wanting no part in this idea.
“Mumbo, you have to. You look like you’re about to die.” Martyn sits back down next to him and gently turns the vampire to face him, being careful of the wounds. He grabs the bandana that had been set on the bedside table and uses it to tie his hair up, getting it all off of his neck. Mumbo watches in awe of how beautiful he is, completely ignoring the circumstances of it all.
The two adjust again to be facing each other. Martyn leans forward and tilts his head, then gently guides Mumbo’s face towards his neck.
Now that he’s here, and Martyn’s offering himself up, it doesn’t sound too bad. Mumbo would prefer a different solution, but there’s none, and he can hear the blood pulsing through the man’s veins, right there for him to take. He hesitates for a moment, fighting himself, when Martyn begins to run his hand comfortingly through Mumbo’s hair. The softness of the action versus the rough conditions makes him melt as he sinks his fangs into the skin.
He can hear Martyn flinch at the pain, but other than that he stays perfectly still.
Mumbo laps up the blood that spills from the puncture wounds, making sure to take every last drop. He can feel the relief flood through him and the strength slowly return to his body.
It’s not going to fully heal him, but it’ll take the edge off and make the healing process go by quicker, so that’s a win to him.
Once his thoughts are coherent again he pulls away, licking up the last few bits of blood. He wipes his mouth off with his hand, which only smears the red substance more than anything else.
He blinks rapidly, finally regaining his senses. The wounds still burn and his limbs are stiff but at least he’s able to think clearly. Martyn looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed in concern, watching his every move carefully to make sure he doesn’t fall over.
Mumbo gazes into the ocean of blue that the eyes in front of him hold. They stay like that for a while, basking in each other’s presence. Valentine’s day definitely did not go as planned, not one bit, but in the end it all turned out mostly fine. He’s here, he’s alive, and he’s in Martyn’s arms – he doesn’t need much else in this world.
Looking around the room, Mumbo notices the way his hands are empty. “Where– where are the flowers?”
He’d spent so long getting those white roses, if they’ve disappeared he’ll be livid.
“They’re on the table. Completely covered in blood, though.” Martyn replies quietly, vaguely gesturing across the room with a shrug of his shoulder. Mumbo frowns at this news. He wanted everything to go perfectly tonight, but not even the flowers made it out unscathed. Martyn then speaks again as if he’d read Mumbo’s mind. “I think they look cool, the white all stained red.”
“You do?” Mumbo asks, turning his attention back to the man in front of him.
Martyn nods with a soft smile. “Yeah.”
Returning the smile, Mumbo pulls him in for a quick kiss. It probably isn’t the best in the world considering Mumbo’s limbs are all wobbly and there’s still some blood drying on his lips, but it sends butterflies to his stomach regardless. They pull apart, though keeping less distance between them this time. Mumbo can’t help but laugh at the absurdity that the entire night had been; from the attack to the drinking. Martyn chuckles along with him, a sound that’s like music to Mumbo’s ears.
It definitely wasn’t a traditional valentine’s day, but it was very them.
He’s sure they’ll look back on it in a few years and laugh, but for now he’ll just live in the moment and suck in all of the beauty around him, bloodstained roses included.