#saving grace.

It was morning, and surprisingly, the tyrant was awake. Even more surprising was that he wasn’t in his coffin back in his own home. The sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the house inside and the foggy, grassy landscape outside.

It was peaceful, but he was pacing. Anxiously.

Valvatorez’s head was swimming as he paced back and forth in the living room of Grace’s home. It was piling through emotions that he had never dealt with, hell, he didn’t even know he had these emotions. Anxiety balled in the pit of his stomach. Love, of all things, dared to make his undead heart beat out of his chest. Love for Grace, for that woman, that human woman who saved his life already so long ago. It was a strange feeling, and he wasn’t sure if he hated it or… well, loved it. 

He hadn’t noticed it right away, as one does. He had just liked staying with Grace, learning from her about humans and their ideals and teaching her properly about demons. Maybe it was her earnest promise to help him spread fear of demons through her own writing that had first stirred these feelings up within him. Or maybe it was her strange compassion and lack of feat when she was first healing his wounds. Her smile, her voice, her passion, her… just her. Her warm brown eyes that pulled him in, so friendly and homely… no one had ever looked at him like that before. Even his comrades had always looked at him with cold loyalty and tinges of fear. Nothing was quite like how Grace looked at him.

His pacing stops, a gloved hand covering his mouth. Was that… was his face flushed right now? Was his face seriously turning red at just the mere thought of her?

God above, he had to do something about these feelings.

But what does he say? Where does he begin? What if she doesn’t feel the same way? Love was so… confusing and anxiety inducing. Was he thrilled by this as well, on top of all of this? Was this more than just anxiety? Was there adrenaline in there too? He just… ugh. His hand moves from across his mouth to his forehead as he sits upon the couch with a groan. Oh, damn it all-

“Mornin’, Val.”

His head shoots up, and there she is. Freshly rolled out of bed, still in her sleep clothes, brown hair all tousled from being in bed. Those damn brown eyes of hers blink at him tiredly, before moving over to the kitchen area. “Kinda funny to find you still here. You want some coffee? … Or do you want my blood instead?” It’s a teasing jab she gives to him, but his mind flashes to their previous, intimate feedings. It had always been from her wrist, never her neck, but the mere thought of being close enough to let him feed from her neck… he feels his cheeks start to flush again, and he turns his head away from her.

“No thank you,” comes his answer- plain, detached, and simple. “I’m fine.”

She simply shrugs and starts making herself some coffee. He, meanwhile, stews in his thoughts on the couch, trying desperately not to watch after her like some kind of lovesick puppy. But maybe, his thoughts turned, maybe if he just…

“May I ask you something, Grace?”

Her head turns, sipping at the coffee. “Yea?”

“I apologize if this is a little out of the blue, but…” he hums in thought. “What is… love to humans?”

Grace’s face contorts into an expression of thought, and she hums, moving to sit next to him.

“Well, I guess…” she drawls, shrugging. “It means something different to everyone.” Sitting the coffee off to the side so as to use her hands, the human continues. “I mean, sometimes it’s in a thing, sometimes it’s in a person. All I know is, in my experience, you have to care deeply enough about it for it to be considered love.”

“Even in such a case as a person?” The tyrant presses, and she nods.

“Especially in the case of a person. Putting yourself all towards a person you love is truly a selfless and vulnerable act. It’s really brave.” Grace pauses then, turning to look at him, brows furrowed. “... Why do you ask?”

Crap. He tries not to jolt, looking away from her curious gaze. “No reason.” He replies, though he hopes it’s nonchalant enough for her to drop the topic. Her gaze remains on him for another brief moment, before she reaches over and picks up her coffee again.

The two sit in silence for a few long moments, but it’s awkward and endless- until Grace clears her throat. “So… when are you gonna head back?”

“Soon, I believe,” he says, thoughts still persisting. “I just have some… business I have to deal with.” Just tell her that you love her, you idiot!

“Ooooookay,” she says, but it’s followed closely by a smile and a gentle touch to his shoulder, and it makes him tense up. “Just… stay safe, yea?”

No, no, no. That did him in. The soft spoken words, the gentle touch, and… her smile. He doesn’t move, but their eyes meet, and he sees it, behind the warmth in her eyes. Love. Or what he thought was love, anyway. But Valvatorez was a risk taker, and it would be worth something if he could at least find out the truth about these feelings between the both of them. 

But he didn’t see Grace move slightly closer to him, as caught up in his thoughts as he was, until it was too late, and he had realized he had been subconsciously moving closer to her as well. With one last throwing of caution to the wind, the tyrant’s walls came crumbling down, and their lips met.

It was brief and gentle, but the strange, foreign sensation sent a pleasurable shiver through his body nonetheless- he wanted another one already, and as Grace pulled away shyly, no doubt to hastily apologize for her actions and for invading his space, he presses his lips to hers gently again. He feels her smile against his lips as she melts into the kiss, and is there longer this time, basking in the warmth of it. The next time she pulls away, the human giggles breathily, smile still on her face.

“I thought that question about love was fishy,” she teases, still close to him, and he cracks a crooked smile, a single fang peeking out over his lips. 

“Was I too obvious?”

“Hmmm… maybe. Maybe not.”

His walls were down, for the first time that he could remember. He trusted her enough to show her this, he knew she would keep it close to her, and that it was only for her… all for her. “Then I suppose I will have to be even more so.” Valvatorez takes her hands in his, and for the first time this morning, speaks the truth. “Grace, you have enchanted me, bewitched me, mind, body, and soul. I… I thought demons couldn’t feel love, but somehow, you made me feel it. I would do anything for you, whether you feel the same towards me or not. I… Grace, I love you.”

The smile she returns to him is the most joyous one the vampire has ever seen on her face, and she slides a hand out of his before reaching up to cup his cheek.