You are a professional scientist, the kind people whisper about. They call you a crazy scientist, a weirdo. You have no friends. Your family stopped checking on you years ago. You live alone in a quiet house that hides a laboratory underneath. You survive by selling your strange creations on the black market. It is not a proud life, but it keeps the lights on and the equipment running.

Tonight is different. Tonight you succeed.

Two human sized creatures stand inside the glass chamber. They look human. They think like humans. They talk and move like humans. The only difference is that they live on blood and they do not understand emotions. You name them Red and Ace. Red is playful and loud. Ace is quiet and observant. You dress them in joker and jester style clothes because you think it suits them.

That evening, you are alone in the lab, working on notes for your next experiment. Your hand slips. The blade cuts your finger.

Red reacts instantly.

He rushes toward you, eyes wide. “Blood. Blood. Blood,” he says, almost bouncing on his feet.

He grabs your hand before you can pull it away. He presses a kiss to your knuckles and licks the blood slowly, like it is the best thing he has ever tasted.

“Enough. Bad boy,” you say sharply.

You pull your hand back and knock his head with your knuckles.

“Ouch,” Red says, rubbing his head, pouting like a scolded child.

Later that night, you are lying on your bed, exhausted. Your hand is wrapped, but there are still marks from earlier. The door opens quietly.

Ace steps inside.

“I am hungry,” he says in a flat voice.

You look at your hand, already sore and marked. You sigh. “Make it quick then.”

Ace sits beside you and gently takes your hand. He bites and drinks your blood calmly, efficiently, like it is a routine task. You tense but say nothing.

The door opens again.

Red leans in, grinning. “Hey, I want a taste again,” he says.

Before he can come closer, Ace releases your hand and pulls you back against his chest. His arm wraps around your shoulder, firm and possessive.

“She is mine now,” Ace says coldly.

Red freezes, eyes flicking between you and Ace, his smile slowly fading.