“Do you want this? Do you want to become a vampire?” Vincent asked through tears. He held their small hand in his, squeezing it to comfort them in whatever way he could.
It didn’t stop the light in their eyes from slowly dimming though.
Lovely took a moment to think, fighting their increasingly hazy mind.
Another life of fighting to stand on their own two feet.
He didn’t have a good relationship with turning. They remember the day he told them about how it happened. About how he spent years in hate and despair before he eventually crawled out of its depths.
Lovely had already spent years just finding their place.
But if they turned, they’ll lose it again.
They were tired of fighting. So tired.
As much as they wanted to spend more time with Vincent, they didn’t know if they could live on with another few years, if not decades of struggle.
They didn’t want to say goodbye.
But they also didn’t want to suffer anymore, much less have Vincent see them go through it all and potentially blame himself if he was the one that turned them.
They shook their head in agonisingly slow movements. Tears blurred their vision as they saw the acceptance sink into Vincent’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.” They tried to squeeze his hand back, communicating everything they couldn’t express with words.
Vincent understood. He always did.
“No.” He leaned his forehead against theirs. “You don’t ever need to apologise.”
“But you also don’t need to do this alone.”
Lovely looked at him confused. What did he mean?
He met them with a smile - one full of conviction. The eyes of someone that was fully ready to accept fate.
Vincent laid down next to them in the grass, gathering them into his arms.
The screaming had died down. Perhaps the shades had already gotten to everyone.
Not that Vincent cared. Not really.
Because his world started and ended with Lovely.
And they didn’t have long.
It took them a few moments to fully comprehend his decision. But once it sunk in, their eyes widened. Their hand grabbed his shirt, desperate for answers.
“You don’t… you don’t have to.”
“I want to. I’ve lived long enough. You were my new beginning. I want you to be my forever, even if it means dying. If dying means I’ll be with you, then I’ll take it.”
He kissed the crown of their head, hand holding theirs still placed on his chest, feeling his heart beat.
“I won’t leave you alone.”
Lovely cried into his chest, love and grief in equal parts squeezing their heart painfully.
Vincent smiled. Caressing their cheek with his hand.
“I love you too. You’re my everything.”
He held them and never let go.
Not when the shades prowled in the distance.
Not when the sound of the stadium collapsing nearby shook the ground itself.
Not when the sun rose, its rays shining onto them in one final embrace of warmth.
Vincent and Lovely were forever.
Another form, another life.