Jesse and Shintaro were already lounging in the dark living room, browsing through Netflix recommendations when Kochi came in. Even in the dim lighting his skin looked clearer and his eyes brighter than before, which was good. But his facial expression was more aghast than Jesse’s had been earlier, and Jesse’s heart sunk at the sight. He wrenched himself closer to the hand rest of the sofa, making room for Kochi to slump down in the middle.
“How was it?” Shintaro asked with a lopsided, hopeful smile. “You two took your time.”
Kochi stared into space for a good while before he sighed.
“Hokuto is anemic,” he finally said, shaking his head slowly. “I drunk from him, and he fainted. A complete blackout. I actually had time to check his pulse and breathing, and prop his legs up too before he came to. Can you believe it?” he moaned, letting himself slide even lower in his seat. “If you were applying for a job in which your main task was to donate blood, wouldn’t you consider your anemia a disqualifying medical condition?”
Horrified, Jesse put his hand to Kochi’s shoulder, squeezing it empathetically.
“Do you mean… that he lied to you?” Shintaro asked hesitantly. “Why would he do that?”
Kochi shook his head. “No. He was as surprised as I was, afterwards.”
“He didn’t know he was anemic?”
“He did. He just… He said he forgot to think about it when applying for the job. And it didn’t even come up to my mind to ask him about it in the interview,” Kochi grunted.
“Sucks,” Shintaro admitted.
“What are you going to do? Will you find a new familiar?” Jesse asked carefully. It would be a pity; Kochi and Hokuto had seemed to click so well at daytime, and Jesse had liked the man too. But if Kochi couldn’t drink his blood, it was going to be a problem quite soon. Taiga might have agreed to feed Kochi every now and then, if...well. Not a good idea. And to be honest Juri didn’t look like he’d have enough blood in him, either.
“No. I’m gonna make it work. I’ll make sure he gets enough iron in his meals,” Kochi answered, looking determined. “I like him. I want to keep him.”
Shintaro grinned, raising his brows alluringly. “Am I seeing someone blush? So soon?”
“You’re not seeing anyone blush,” Kochi said firmly, which was true in theory. There wasn’t any blood circulating in his veins, so him not being able to blush was a fact. But he was definitely flustered, and Jesse smiled. Surely feeling affectionate towards one’s familiar so quickly was a good sign. Jesse was definitely attracted to Taiga, after all.
“What about you two?” Kochi asked, much calmer now than he had been. “Better, I hope?”
“Marginally,” Jesse grimaced.
Shintaro made a similar face. “Spill the beans and I’ll spill mine.”
Expecting Shintaro to elaborate, Jesse looked at him, but he only nodded like ‘go on’ and waited.
“Fine. I tried to drink too,” Jesse sighed and hesitated for a moment. It was kind of embarrassing, really. Then again, these were Shintaro and Kochi. He didn’t have to hide anything from them. Moreover, he probably shouldn’t hide things from them. At least when it was about people’s health. Both his and Taiga's. “I’ve never been so scared before. I must be the clumsiest vampire in the world.”
Kochi let out a gloomy sound of empathy as he sat up from his slouch and pulled his feet up to the sofa, hugging his knees.
“I managed to do it in the end, but I- I took like a teaspoon, I swear it wasn’t more than that! And he just…fell so white. Like you know, paler than I am. And I’m the dead one!” Jesse blurted out and run his fingers through his hair, trying desperately to wipe the image of Taiga’s ashen face out of his memory.
“Ouch,” Shintaro said, making a pained expression. “So…then what?”
“I tried again but I couldn’t find a good spot to bite and I didn’t want him to have bruises all over his neck so I just…gave up I guess. He was tired anyway. I bet he fell asleep as soon as I left.”
Shintaro nodded. “Good. He should rest. They all should.” This time it was Jesse’s turn to give Shintaro a ‘go on’ nod, and Shintaro didn’t hide his frustration. “Juri wasn’t joking. He doesn’t. Fucking. Sleep.”
“Oh?” Kochi said, a frown of worry appearing on his forehead. “Does he have trouble with falling asleep?”
“He has trouble with wanting to sleep,” Shintaro huffed. “He’s a grown man, I can’t just tell him to switch off the games and go to bed, can I? I didn’t even try to bite yet. I'm afraid he'll just drop.”
Both Jesse and Kochi shook their heads in mutual understanding, though Jesse did wonder whether Shintaro could still have managed to retroactively slip proper sleep hours into Juri’s contract of employment.
“We’ll make it work,” Kochi said quietly, and Jesse wanted to believe him. How on earth they had managed to find three of the most unsuitable people as their familiars, he didn’t know. But he was used to trusting Kochi’s opinions.
They would make it work.
“Also, I need a bottle of Rouge,” Kochi said like an afterthought and stood up, stretching his limbs. “And by the sound of it you two might want some, too.”