The Vanishing by Karla Nikole

 

One

Midnight. Haruka watches in awe as Nino steps out of the master bathroom. His honeyed skin radiates the luscious scent of cinnamon and mahogany. The light casts an angelic glow on his sculpted, naked shoulders.

“Grazie per avere aspettato, tesoro.” Nino grins, climbing onto the bed. He folds his legs in his soft sweatpants.

Thank you for waiting, darling,Haruka translates as he drags himself upright from lying on his side, adjusting to mirror his mate in front of him. Nino bites his lip. Haruka raises an eyebrow. “What?”

Reaching up, Nino moves his hands behind Haruka’s head and toward the large bun at the nape of his neck. He releases the tie, pulling it forward and allowing the heavy mass of Haruka’s hair to unfurl and rest against his shoulders. Nino combs through the length of it with his fingers. “It’s so damn long, Haru—and thick. Jesus… it’s amazing. When will your barber cut it to donate it?”

“Perhaps in another month?” Haruka guesses. This is a benevolent “punishment” for being lazy about getting his haircut. When he waits too long, his barber insists that he grow it out to have it donated to human children who are unwell. Strangely, there is a large, diverse market for purebred vampire hair. “Are you ready?” Haruka asks. “You wanted to show me something?”

“Yes,” says Nino. “Watch this.” His palm flat, he brings one hand up between them. Nino’s eyes shift from their natural, radiant amber to glow in vivid cranberry-orange. The color reminds Haruka of a fiery sunset. It is the color of their love: their unique bond and shared vampiric essence.

With his palm still open, Nino flexes his fingers. Haruka gasps when the tips glow in bright red-orange light. Nino looks up at him, smiling. “See? I can isolate my energy a little. You’re always fussing that I don’t take our meditations seriously, but I’m getting better.”

“I do not fuss.” Haruka lifts his chin. “I encourage you… passionately.”

Nino laughs. “Right.” He traces his fingertips along Haruka’s jawline. Nino’s touch is warm and fizzy, reflective of his inherent nature. He moves Haruka’s hair aside, caressing up and down the back of his neck, across the delicate grooves of his upper spine. The sensation is calming, making Haruka’s eyelids heavy.

“I still can’t press it outward to manipulate anything yet,” Nino says, quiet and soothing. “I feel a little like E.T., but it’s better than nothing.”

Haruka’s eyes open in a blank stare. Nino pouts. “Haruka—”

“E.T. is…” He glances sideways, hurriedly scanning the crammed files of his mind. “An animal—no. An… alien? From a children’s television show. Movie. I understand the reference. I do.”

Nino lifts and leans forward to place a quick kiss upside Haruka’s nose. “I have such a good mate that listens to me when I talk about trivial things. How did I get so lucky?”

“This isolation of your aura is wonderful progress. Pressing it outward with the same level of manipulation will be our next objective. Even if in a simple way, my hope is for you to have defensive capabilities.”

“I don’t know if my aura is made that way, Haru.”

“My essence within you unquestionably allows for the capability. It is only a matter of intent and focus, then manifesting the power according to your unique abilities. Shall we meditate to practice now?”

Nino scrunches his nose, reaching up to scratch the back of his coppery-brown head. He wears it tapered on the sides, but wavy and longer in the top. Modern, clean and easy. “We can try?”

Seizing the hair tie from Nino’s hands, Haruka refastens his dark tresses into a low bun. Once secured, he flips his palms flat between them, elbows resting on his thighs, back straight. Nino takes a deep breath before grasping his hands.

Haruka relaxes, closing his eyes and opening his mind to Nino. The objective is simple—calibrate their shared energy to practice manipulating it together. Haruka is exceptional in controlling his aura, capable of wielding it in a number of specific ways. By focusing and linking their minds, he can guide Nino in doing the same.

They have tried practicing multiple times, but their experiments are always cut short… somehow.

He breathes deep, emptying his mind of all thoughts, focusing on the frenetic energy of his vampiric essence deep within. The warmth of it swells and pulses outside Haruka’s body, making his eyes burn bright behind closed lids.

Shifting his attention to the strength of Nino’s hands gripping his own, Haruka mentally reaches out to him as his other half—as a fundamental but autonomous part of him.

He looks sexy in this robe… Is it new? Why does he always smell so damn good—

“Nino.”

“Sorry.”

Inhaling, exhaling, Haruka presses his aura out further. Nino’s essence swirls warm and vibrant into the proliferation of Haruka’s cool energy. He manipulates his essence around them so that it forms a large sphere, allowing Nino’s aura to pour in and fill the shape—ideally mimicking it. Nino’s thoughts echo like a whisper in Haruka’s mind.

It’s a sphere… Make a sphere…

Haruka opens his burning eyes. Nino’s are still closed, his brow furrowed in stern concentration.

And he’s naked—Stop. Sphere, Nino… God, he smells incredible—Shit. Sphere.

Like a balloon popping, Haruka releases his innate hold on their combined energy. The bright red-orange light of it glimmers and fades. Nino opens his amber eyes, apology set in his expression.

Before he can speak the words, Haruka closes the distance and kisses him. He slides his hand against Nino’s scalp, fingers threading and tangling into his thick hair. Haruka tilts his head, opening wider to coax Nino into letting him inside—to feel and taste him completely.

Kissing Nino is all-consuming, the force of it like being swept up into an effervescent, fiery tornado. When Nino’s mouth is on his, it’s as if Haruka becomes airborne, soaring across a red sky of heat and passion and losing his breath. Losing sense of himself and his rational mind.

He leans back, hands still laced in Nino’s hair as he drags him down toward the bed. He needs to feel the weight and heaviness of his body. Haruka unfolds his legs and gaps his thighs so Nino can rest in between. The moment Nino settles, their mouths connect in another burst of passion: tongues twisting and sliding, hungry and exploring. He kisses Haruka, ravenous, as if his sanity is at stake. As if the taste and feel of his mouth is Nino’s only solace in the face of total madness.

After pulling the belt of Haruka’s robe loose, Nino lifts, then moves his hand between their bodies to open and push the material aside. He reaches down, lightly caressing his fingertips along the center of Haruka’s belly. He grazes his navel and Haruka sighs, writhing from the prospect of Nino’s hand moving lower.

Nino raises his head from the kiss, his voice low. “I couldn’t concentrate… again.”

“I heard,” Haruka breathes.

“Maybe…” Nino dips to sprinkle kisses along Haruka’s jawline. “I can have tonight off? Because today is special.”

Haruka slides his hands up Nino’s firm back, caressing the smooth contours of elegant definition and muscle. “Is it?” he asks.

“I know we usually focus on centennial milestones in our culture, but… today is our one-year anniversary, tesoro.”

Tracing his fingertips along the shallow concave of Nino’s spine, Haruka grins. “Has it already been a year?”

“Mmhm. Asao kept your calendar clear for later tonight, right?”

“I believe so.”

“I’m making dinner for you,” Nino whispers, leaning down to rub their noses together. “The menu is a surprise—and I found the Merlot we had the night we first met. Remember? You walked into my bar and I forgot how to breathe when I saw you.”

The butterflies in Haruka’s stomach float and dance as he raises his chin to connect with Nino’s full lips. He kisses him twice before resting back down against the bed. “I do. I love it when you cook for me.”

“Look forward to it.” Nino beams, lifting on all fours. He looks at the nightstand just beside the bed. “Did you put the new bottle in my drawer or yours?”

“Yours.”

Nino leans past his head and Haruka admires the distinct lines of his torso, watching them move and stretch as he reaches to open the drawer. Nino’s body is exquisite, like a marble sculpture of a young Greek god but drenched in golden honey.

Nino stops, frozen. “You—There’s… a ring box in here.”

“Perhaps you should open it?”

For a moment, Nino remains still, his eyes shifting between Haruka’s face and the open drawer. He leans forward again to grab the small black box, then crawls backward, resting against his shins. Haruka sits upright to face him.

Nino focuses on the suede box, his shoulders rising and falling as he breathes. He’s trying to stay calm, but Haruka can feel the subdued joy radiating from within him. Nino flips the box open. The two handsome and polished bands that Haruka has chosen glisten in the dim light.

“Do you like them?” Haruka asks.

“I…” Nino takes a deep breath, running his fingers into the top of his hair. “I love them. Haru, I—When I mentioned this to you, you didn’t seem interested.”

“I am interested in anything that pleases you,” Haruka says, taking the box from Nino’s hands. Wearing and exchanging rings this way is a human practice, something rarely done among bonded couples. Everything between vampires is organic—the biological pull and connection dominant over anything else, with no need for material frills or symbolism.

But if this is what makes his mate happy, then so be it.

He takes Nino’s band from its small holding space in the box. The black, shiny metal is cool to the touch and the intricate amber inlay mirrors his husband’s eyes. He grasps Nino’s left hand. “I realize that when we bonded a year ago, it was unexpected… My behavior at that time left much to be desired.”

Carefully, he guides the ring onto Nino’s finger. A perfect fit. “I… I do not express these sentimentalities well. But please know that you revived me—from a place of bitterness and loneliness. You have always been pure in your kindness toward me. And I… Perhaps I can never express how grateful I am to you. How much I love you.”

Haruka takes a deep breath, his heart in his throat. Speaking this way—candid and emotional—is difficult. He is unaccustomed to it, but wants to try being more open and straightforward like his mate. “Thank you for choosing me. For loving me,” he says, watching Nino and waiting.

Swooning, Nino’s eyes shut as he falls against the mattress—dead weight. He rolls onto his back and presses his ringed palm to his face. Haruka leans over him. “Nino, why?”

Pulling Nino’s wrist, Haruka drags his hand from his hairline. Nino’s wavy hair is a mess and his honeyed skin flush. Tears are silently gathered and running from the corners of his almond-shaped eyes.

Haruka bends down, using his fingertips to wipe and dab the tears. “My love, why are you upset?”

Nino’s chest rises and falls in a gasp. “I’m just… a little overwhelmed.”

He nods, understanding. “This is my transgression. If I expressed these things to you more often, your reaction would not be so extreme.”

“Haru, I—I love you more than I can even say. You always encourage me to be confident and you’re so patient. Thank you for trusting me with your heart… for giving yourself to me.”

Haruka leans down, soft in kissing Nino’s lips as he holds his tear-stained face. “Will you put my ring on?” he asks. Nino nods against the mattress. Haruka grabs the box, opens it and gives the band to his mate. While Nino lies there, he holds Haruka’s palm above his face, then slides the ring onto the appropriate finger of his left hand.

He reaches up and grips Haruka’s collar, pulling him into his body. He removes the tie from Haruka’s bun once more and the weight of his hair falls forward like a black wave. Nino runs his fingers into it, sweeping it away from Haruka’s face while bringing him down to meet his parted lips.

Kissing Nino. His mate’s movement is so slow and intentional that Haruka’s chest tightens. When they break the kiss, their irises are alighted as they stare at each other in the warm darkness. Nino’s sunset gaze is soft but unwavering. “Will you please stretch me and come inside me?”

Haruka bites his lip. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever be this straightforward, but if this is what will make his mate happy, then so be it.