AN: Written for Red, who read 30 page law papers to give me summaries of them so I wouldn't have to.

The whole family had been cursed since some gypsy decided to take out a grudge on them generations ago. The exact reason why had been long lost, but it was a hard story to ignore considering the consequences of her actions.

Ivan crouched lower behind his impromptu cover that consisted of a hedge and a trashcan as a few of his college peers sauntered past, joking and stumbling slightly. His eyes, which were now more reptilian than normal, followed their movements as they passed hardly two feet from him. If he wanted, he could reach an arm out and snag one of them by the leg. Would probably scare them to see a scaled claw attack them from the darkness and if he was someone else that thought would have been more amusing.

He let out a sigh as the small group moved on, unaware that their classmate was now a hideous beast hiding in the shadows. Ivan relaxed slightly, readjusting his wings and uncurling his tail from its clenched state against his leg. The story was that this gypsy woman had cursed his family to be the monsters that come out at night, and he was just forced to try to find a way to live like that.

He gave it another minute before he emerged from hiding and began sneaking back to his room once more. If it wasn't for the important exam he had coming up he wouldn't have been out so late, and it wouldn't have mattered when his phone died, taking with it the alarm that reminded him of his curfew. He slung his bag over his shoulder holding a couple of notebooks and what was left of shoes after his feet rapidly began to change and set out once again, twitching his wings as he wished he could use them to simply get himself back that little bit faster. There were far too many streetlights dotting the walkways of his campus and the night clear of clouds, leaving him little choice but to stick to the quiet paths with quick cover.

The majority of the trip was uneventful, bar the rare times he did actually see someone on his way back. There was little by way of campus events tonight which was in his favour. He needed at least a shred of luck after the way his evening had already gone. When at last he spotted the building he smiled in relief and quickened his pace. It was getting late and he still had classes in the morning. As he approached the side of the building that held his ground floor window, he froze.

A figure was standing outside his room and from the looks of it was attempting to break in. Ivan mumbled a few curses as he studied the scene. He couldn't afford for someone to steal anything out of his room and he even doubted they would find too much of value in there to begin with. He continued to watch in silence, noting the way the person struggled to get the simple latch open. Apparently they were not a very good thief.

Finally they somehow managed to pry the window open, and after a short happy exclamation tumbled through the open window and into his room. Ivan tilted his head. The entire situation seemed strange, but he gave it a few minutes for whoever had gone inside to find what they wanted and then leave. When nothing happened, he snuck forward and peered through the window himself.

Sprawled across his bed was his 'thief' with an arm and a leg dangling off the sides and a wide open mouth that was likely drooling on his sheets. Ivan grimaced once he recognized who it was. Now that he was close enough, he could see it was his neighbour, a kid who partied often and likely was simply drunk and unable to distinguish which room was his.

But this posed a problem of its own. Ivan wasn't looking to spend the night outside because of this fool, but he was afraid of the other waking up and seeing him like this if he entered. He studied the idiot on his bed and came to the conclusion that the other was passed out and wouldn't notice if he came in. With that decision made, he easily climbed through and closed the window behind him.

There was a heavy snore that emanated from his bed and Ivan glared at the mound of tangled limbs. Alfred, he hissed under his breath at recognizing him. It would have to be him, wouldn't it? The blonde appeared completely passed out and using one arm as a pillow that wrapped around his head. They had been neighbours for the semester, but the kid would play music late at night, or have friends over, or there were the sounds of late night duelling as Ivan assumed he was playing games into the early morning. And there was nothing he could do to tell him to quiet down without leaving his room and exposing his nightly affliction.

Ivan held still as he watched the rise and fall of Alfred's chest, proclaiming him truly asleep before thinking through what he would do. More than likely, Alfred would be passed out for the remainder of the night and he could avoid being seen in current state which provided him some comfort. He could simply sleep until daybreak and avoid any potentially awkward conversations.

He moved closer to the bed, being mindful of his footsteps to keep his approach as close to silent as he could manage. He had an extra blanket in his closet, but he wanted to rescue one of the pillows to sleep with. Alfred wasn't using them anyway, and he just needed to reach over him and claim what was his.

Slowly his arm stretched over the sleeping blonde, the claws making his hand look more like the crane in a game where you won a small toy. The corner of his prize was just within his grasp when a normal hand grabbed his and a loud voice proclaimed, "Dude!"

Ivan recoiled; a surprised yelp escaping as he viciously pulled his arm back against his chest. As he took several steps back Alfred sat up, a dazed expression on his face. "What are you doing in here?"

Pulling the wings, tail, and clawed appendages against him, Ivan was silent, seeing as he was too stunned to respond properly. Instead his mind was silently praying that it was too dark to be able to make out any of his oddities.

"I said," Alfred repeated himself, his tone sounding more serious despite the slur to it, "Why are you in here?"

"You're in my room!" Ivan managed to squeak out, returning to holding his breath while he awaited some kind of response.

Alfred blinked several times as he took this in, confirming what he had already suspected about the kid's state. "I'm not? Shit. Sorry, dude."

"I-it's fine." Ivan mumbled. Now if only the blonde would leave…

"It alright if I just stay here?" He asked, already slumping back over onto Ivan's bed. Ivan made a few noises in protest that didn't make it to actual, understandable words. "We can share. I love cuddling."

"No!" His voice projected as it was suddenly no longer held back. He shook his head from side to side, already backing away from the bed. "No. No. No. No."

Alfred sat up once more, this time with more reluctance. "Dude, what's your glitch?" he hissed in his general direction. And then his eyebrows furrowed. With only some difficulty, the blonde stood up, his expression never changing and began to move. One foot forward followed by another that stumbled, but instead of heading for the door to leave, as Ivan had sincerely hoped, he walked towards him.

This sent a surge of panic through him and he tried to back away, finding quickly that his small dorm room left little space for him to do so. "Stay away from me!" he warned the other, wishing he was capable of disappearing through the wall that prevented him from escaping. Alfred showed no signs of listening and soon was close enough to reach out and run his hand over the other's arm.

Ivan flinched and moved the touched arm away, attempting to ignore the low whistle that the other made. "You are real." Alfred muttered.

"Go away…" Ivan pleaded, turning his head so he wouldn't have to see whatever face Alfred was about to make.

"What happened to you?" the blonde continued to question, his fingers brushing against Ivan's other arm which was also promptly jerked away.

"Leave me alone…"

"Was it an industrial accident? Radiation?" Alfred's eyes widened and he reached out for Ivan's arm again. "Do you have super powers?! Oh my god, that's so cool!"

"No!" Ivan twisted out of reach, "My family was cursed like this. I do not have special powers."

The blonde momentarily looked disappointed at this, but he tilted his head. "A curse?"

Ivan nodded slowly, spilling more than he normally would. Though normally didn't really count in this situation. The last person who saw him like this was when he was 8 and they had run away screaming. "A gypsy cursed my family and now we're all stuck like this and-"

He was quickly silenced as Alfred lunged forward and their lips collided in almost a painful manner. Alfred's attempts were a bit sloppy and he could taste the alcohol on his breath. Still, it was more than he usually allowed himself with anyone and there was a brief moment where he felt happier than he did normally. Even with that thought he couldn't allow this continue and pushed the other away at his shoulders. "What are you doing?"

Alfred's head lolled slightly. "Breaking you free from your curse?"

Ivan blinked several times. "What…?"

"You know, like in the movies." Alfred assured him. "You kiss someone and it breaks the curse."

"I…. I don't think that's how it works…"

Alfred mulled that over and shrugged. "We could try it again. Maybe see where it leads…?" He raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"I think you need sleep." Ivan stated firmly, feeling like anything else would be taking advantage of the blonde in this state.

Alfred yawned wide after hearing the suggestion. "Okay…" He leaned forward and slumped onto Ivan's chest, nuzzling and getting comfortable.

Although he shook his head, he dragged the kid back towards his bed and helped him get into it, surprised when Alfred refused to let go of him. "Stay with me?" he asked in a small cute voice making the request difficult to refuse. Alfred smiled sleepily as Ivan joined him in the bed beside him and wasted no time in cuddling into him.

He was awake for a while long after Alfred had passed out again to muse over the current situation he had found himself in. His father had told him stories when he was a kid about how his mother had found out about the family's curse and it made him wonder if this was the start of his own future relationship. He fell asleep that night feeling warm and happy with Alfred pulled snug against his chest.

In no way was Alfred a morning person as Ivan quickly discovered the next day. Hair mussed into an unrecognizable mess and eyes refusing to open and greet the day, Ivan was stuck in bed beside him while he groaned and clung to him. "What time is it…?"

Ivan tilted his head to glance at the clock on his desk. "Almost 10:30."

Alfred groaned again. "Fuck….."

This gained a few giggles and Ivan ran his fingers through the blonde hair, being mindful of tangles to give him something to do. Alfred seemed to enjoy this and he relaxed into the touches. "What happened last night?"

"You were drunk and got into my bed." Ivan reminded him. He wasn't sure if he was happy or disappointed that Alfred apparently didn't recall what had occurred the night before. Either way, it was probably for the best and to accept it as one happy night for him to remember in the future and look back on fondly.

"We didn't have sex or something, did we?"

Ivan shook his head. "No, you were too tired and went to sleep."

"Good… Good…" Alfred muttered, "Do that too often and makes everything awkward." He yawned again and opened his eyes officially, looking up to meet Ivan's gaze for the first time this morning. He paused and studied his face, forehead creasing in confusion and grabbed one of his hands and began to study it thoroughly.

"Is… Is something wrong…?" Ivan asked quietly, keeping a nervous eye on Alfred's movements.

After inspecting every inch of Ivan's arm, Alfred let go of his hand and shrugged slightly. "I guess I had a weird dream, that's all. You wanna hang out later?"

Ivan beamed. "I would like that a lot."