Anri was at home, lurking on reddit fanger forums when he got the text from Simone. He read it and angrily put his phone down. He then picked it up, read it again, put it down, picked it up, read it one more time for good measure, began to type, stopped, sighed, and then read it again.

Seth is super cute. And delicious. 😉

He frowned, rolling his eyes at his phone as he typed out his response. Like you would know.

His phone buzzed in his hands barely seconds after he had hit send. Oh, but I do. And that lip ring. Yum. It is very inspiring, jewelry wise. She must have been anticipating his response, there was no way she typed all that out so fast.

And…he was sure he had not mentioned the lip ring to Simone. She had to have met him. And…if she knew how he tasted… It surprised him how fast his anger boiled, filling his chest with bitter jealousy and turning his vision red. He considered texting her back, then reconsidered and called her instead. She answered on the first ring.

Hey, ‘lil bro,” she answered sweetly. He could practically taste the saccharine sweetness in her voice. She was walking outside somewhere, the wind whipping around her, creating static over the line.  

“What are you doing, Simone?” he responded angrily. “What did you do to Seth? Where is he? Where are you? Did you bite him?”

She chuckled, pushing his buttons. “Oh, Anri, why are you so upset? I met him at Kintsugi, just went in for a quick drink. Are you worried I bled him? You should go check on him if you’re worried about him, I’m pretty sure he was waiting for you. He was so jealous of me at first. It was adorable,I think he thought I was your girlfriend. Don’t worry, I cleared that up.”

“I swear, Simone, if you bit him…what if he finds out?! What were you thinking! I told you not to go to the bar! Jesus, Simone! Jesus.” He was standing up, he realized, pacing as he tried his best not freak out about this. Because this was not something to freak out about. His hands raked through his messy hair.

He started putting his shoes on before he realized what he was doing. “Where are you? I’m coming to talk to you.”

“You’re talking to me now. I’m not coming home yet, and I’m not telling you where I am. You want to punch me right now. You’ll thank me later, though,” she said in a knowing way.

He took in a deep breath before continuing, sighing it out heavily as he said, “I’m not going to hurt you…too much. Why do you do these things, Simone? Did you bite him?” Anri stopped mid-thought, something tickling his mind. “Wait, did you say I’d be thanking you? For possibly exposing me because you bit some kid at my bar?”

“I was suave. He didn’t even realize I tasted him. Unlike some finger sucker I know.” Simone laughed. Anri’s face burned and he was glad she wasn’t able to see him.

“I…I mean…” Anri stuttered. “Shut up!”

“I’m messing with you, Anni. I didn’t bite, I promise. And you’re thanking me because now I know he’s a Wren, and that you aren’t the massive idiot you thought you were the other night.”

“Shit, Simone! How is that good news!? How do you know?” He cried out, sitting in the hallway tying his shoes, phone nestled between his shoulder and head.

“Oh, I tried to space him out and it totally didn’t work. So, he must be a Wren, right? And he did taste better than normal. Sweet, and kind of like nuts or something. Kind of like Christmas.”

“You said you didn’t bite him! You fucking did, didn’t you! You liar,” he accused her, boiling over with jealousy that she tasted Seth. Not that he was jealous, because he totally wasn’t. He was just really concerned for Seth, that’s all. He was not jealous, just concerned.

“Anni, I can’t believe you would call me a liar,” she said with a pout. “I was super suave with how I tasted him. He didn’t even suspect. It was only a drop. I would love to try more, though…” She said, false injury in her voice.

Anri pulled on his coat, balancing the phone on one shoulder then the other as he slipped his arms through the sleeves. “Goddamnit, Simone!” he barked harshly. “I said to stay away from him and you did the exact fucking opposite of that! I am so mad at you right now. Just leave him alone. Wren or not, he’s-”

Simone cut him off. “Oh, Anni. You’re absolutely adorable when you’re crushing on someone. But…if you don’t want him, I’ll chase him” she teased in that saccharine sweet tone of hers.

“Crushing?! Me? On who?! Did you not notice, when you were being little miss super suave, that he’s a guy?! Jesus, Simone, I’m not gay.” Anri felt his pockets, looking for his keys. “I swear to fucking christ, I’m never telling you anything ever again. I fucking swear to whatever powers that be. Never again. And…Simone? Stay. Away. From. Seth.”

She laughed again. He could tell she was having fun with this, which just made him even madder. “He’s still there, at the bar, Anni. I think he was waiting for you. You should go check on him.”

“Go to hell, Simone,” he said, and hung up on her.

He was shocked when the cold air hit him as he walked out into the cold. What exactly was he doing? Why did he care if Simone was messing with Seth? Why did he care if Seth was a Wren? Seth was a guy, obviously, so he would be better suited for Simone.

Anri thought about Seth and Simone together and his blood began to boil. It was so wrong. Simone couldn’t have him. Seth was his.

“Fuck…” He said as he ran a hand through his messy hair, free from it’s normal ponytail. He tucked it behind his ears and the wind immediately whipped it back into his face. “This is messed up. I’m messed up. What is wrong with me?” he said aloud into the cold night.

He couldn’t afford to get involved with a Wren. That was playing with fire. He couldn’t do it again, not after what happened last time. But…this was Seth. It was different. As he thought about Seth his resolve melted a bit. Maybe with Seth…but no. Not again. He really had learned his lesson regarding Wrens. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He couldn’t.

He was going to put an end to it, to clear it up with him. He would tell Seth that he should stay away from him. Tell Seth not to get involved with him. Seth was a man, and these feelings of desire, even if just for his blood…and it was just for his blood. Right?

Anyway, he was just lonely and confused. He really only wanted to taste Seth again, that was all. It wasn’t sexual, he told himself, it was just that Seth’s taste was so tantalizing. He needed to get his head straight, that was all. It was time to clear this up.

He walked the few blocks to Kintsugi, head swivelling, looking for Simone the whole way. He played through several alternative scenarios in his head of what he would say to Seth when he saw him. Halfway there, he realized that Seth might not even still be there, and this might all be a waste of time. He almost turned around, thinking he could just talk to Seth the next time he saw him at work.

Instead, he found himself standing at the door to the Kintsugi bar. As he was pushing the door, it suddenly swept out of his hands, pulled from the inside. Anri fell forward as the door opened, knocking him off balance. He stumbled right into someone, and embarrassed, jerked himself backwards quickly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled distractedly as he tried to get out of the way at the same time looking in to see if Seth was in the bar at the same time.

“Anri?” Seth said from right in front of him. “Are you okay?”

Shit. He had fallen right into Seth’s arms like a daytime soap opera. He was glad it was dark, as his face burned with embarrassment. “Oh, hi Seth. Um…yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. You were leaving?”

“Oh. Yeah, I was. Getting late, you know?” Seth stood awkwardly in the doorway, holding the door open.

“Yeah, oh, yeah. Sorry,” he replied feebly, backing up so that Seth could come out the door. He did, and it swung shut behind him. Anri stepped to the side of the door and leaned against the building. “Did…uh…”

Seth paused, watching him in the dark. The air was crisp and the sky was overcast, hiding any light they might have from the moon. The only light came from a streetlamp a dozen yards away at the end of the street. It was cold enough that Anri could see his breath on every exhale.

“I met your sister tonight. Or,” he said quickly, “she said she was your sister. She felt like your sister. I mean, she looks like you. Simone.”

“She texted me that she met you. She didn’t do anything weird to you, did she?” Anri asked. He groaned mentally. He was trying to play it cool but he couldn’t seem to pull it off around Seth.

“Weird? I guess she was a little strange. It seemed like she was looking for me, but she said she wasn’t. She came in and sat right down next to me, even though there were like a million other places to sit.” Seth shrugged. “She seemed alright, though. Nice enough. She is really pretty. I thought she was your girlfriend at first.” Seth’s backpack was on only one of his shoulders and he shifted, pulling it up over his other shoulder.

Anri gave him an appraising look, trying to read Seth’s body language in the dark. Seth put his hands up immediately. “No, no, don’t worry Anri, she isn’t my type. I wasn’t trying to pick her up or anything, I swear!”

Something in Anri relaxed a tiny bit. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, relieved that Simone wasn’t Seth’s type. Then, realizing that he was doing it again, he chastised himself. He reminded himself about the distance he was trying to set between them and said, “I don’t care if you hit on my sister or not, that’s none of my business. I just know she’s meddlesome. I was hoping she wasn’t harassing you or anything, that’s all.”

Seth frowned a little bit, biting his lip ring alluringly. “No, she didn’t harass me. If anything, I probably annoyed her. She didn’t hang around very long.” Seth’s frown deepened. “Actually, I’m pretty sure I did annoy her. She got kinda weird at the end and left abruptly, so I probably did something stupid.” He shook his head a little. “Not like I wanted anything from her anyway, it was just weird at the end. So,” he said, wrapping his arms around his body in the cold, “if she thinks I’m a weirdo, please tell her I’m sorry. ”

Seth shivered. He felt the urge to hug Seth to warm him up, then he caught himself. These stray thoughts were going to be the death of him. He needed to get away from Seth. Distance. He had to stick to the plan.

“Seth, you’re not a weirdo. You seem like a real nice guy. My family is weird. You should stay away from me. I mean us,” he caught himself, quickly clarifying, “you should stay away from us. Nothing good will come from getting involved with me,” he said, then added quickly, “I mean, you don’t need to stop coming to the bar or anything like that. Sorry, you can still go where you want, who am I to tell you what to do, I just wanted you to….I dunno. It’s not good to be involved with me and Simone. That’s all.” Anri was flustered. He knew he didn’t sound very convincing. The thought of never seeing Seth again hurt.

Seth stepped over to where he was leaning against the wall and leaned back beside him, leaning awkwardly with his backpack on his back. He was still hugging his arms to his chest. “Anri?” he asked seriously. “Are you messing with me? First I have an odd conversation with your sister, and now this? You know, when you mysteriously tell someone to stay away, it usually has the opposite effect, right?”

Anri couldn’t see Seth’s face cloaked in shadows. He paused a moment before answering, staring at Seth’s outline. Seth was a lot closer to him than he was comfortable with. “Seth…” Anri begged. “Seth, just…jesus. What is wrong with people tonight.” He leaned his head back against the bricks, sighing heavily.

Seth shivered, his teeth beginning to chatter a little as he replied. “It’s been a weird night. I’m tired and freezing, Anri. I’m going to go home, get some sleep, wake up and give my geomorphology exam tomorrow. And then, after that, I’ll come back here tomorrow night and we can talk about this some more.” He pushed up off the wall and turned to Anri. “I’m glad I got to see you tonight. I promise to come tomorrow, so we can finish this up then, okay? Good night, Anri.”

Seth’s hand went up to Anri’s face but he pulled back quickly before he actually made contact. Anri shivered, wishing Seth had made contact. His longing to feel Seth’s fingers on his skin startled him, immediately triggered self hatred. How was he so weak? What was wrong with him? Seth pushed up off the wall and turned towards the parking lot.

He walked away and didn’t look back. Anri watched him go, helpless with his frustration. He also caught himself staring at Seth’s ass as he walked away. He forced himself to look away, chastising himself again. He was seriously fucked up tonight. Since when did he check out men’s asses? Anri looked again in the direction Seth had walked, but he was already gone. He pushed himself off of the cold wall and walked home, trying to play out how their conversation would go tomorrow night.

Truth be told, he was secretly ecstatic that Seth was coming tomorrow. He would never admit it to anyone, ever.

He waited up late but Simone didn’t come home that night. Anri’s dreams were haunted by Seth.

Chapter 4 Nosy Siblings

Chapter 6: Dreams In Technicolor