After dinner, Cade tells me I need to get a bath again. I let him push me into the bathroom. He takes our clothes off and turns the water on.

"Even if you hate me, at least let me bathe you regularly..." Cade complains.

"If I hate you, I won't want you cleaning me," I say.

"Then I'll dump water on you or something!! You stink up the place if you go so long without bathing... isn't it uncomfortable being dirty?"

"No. I used to like being covered in blood after I hunted humans. Blood is warm and—"

"Stop!! You're gross!! And scary!!" Cade yells. He cautiously splashes me with water to start cleaning.

I go quiet. Cade scrubs my skin. He uses a sponge and a cloth to wash me. Sometimes his fingertips graze me. My skin feels strange where he touched me. I wonder why.

We finish cleaning up. Cade dresses us and falls onto his bed. He seems tired. I sit at the end of the bed.

"...hey..." Cade says.

"What?" I reply.

"Talk to me before you decide to sit in the corner of your room again."

"...alright."

"Why do you do that anyway? A bed would be more comfortable to sit or lay on."

"Perhaps it reminds me of the time I spent being locked up. I was like that for centuries. It's oddly familiar and comforting now."

"That's sad though!!" Cade sits up to look at me. His expression shows his sadness.

I look away. His eyes make me feel weird.

"If you ever feel like that again, then... uh..." Cade searches for an answer. "Then hug me! Or something! Like this!!"

Cade suddenly wraps his arms around me. I'm frozen, I don't know what to do. I can feel his soft breath on my neck. His warmth envelops me. His hair tickles my cheek. His body is pressed against mine.

I growl. "Get off of me."

Cade immediately lets go. "Wait, I'm sorry!! Don't be mad!"

I stand up and start to leave.

"Don't go!! Weren't we going to sleep together??" Cade calls after me.

"Don't want to," I say. I go to my room instead.

I nudge the door with my foot so it's only a crack open. I lean against the wall behind the door. For some reason... my cold dead heart feels warm. It usually beats slowly and you might think I'm actually dead. But I feel it beating a bit faster than normal. What is happening to me...? Does Cade know how to use magic or something? If he did, then he'd probably be able to undo the spell... he said he can't find any way to do so though.

I trudge to my bed and lie down. My heart has finally gone back to its original rhythm. It should stay that way.

After that, we continued our lives as usual. I was a bit wary of his touch from then on, but he didn't have any reason to touch me except when to clean and dress me. I tried to endure those times. But I kept feeling strange. I would begin to watch his face as he cleaned me and notice how long his eyelashes are... But why is that important? Why is that something I'm making note of? I should forget it.

Whenever he touched me and I wasn't expecting it, I would flinch. He always looked surprised and confused when that happened. He began to smile apologetically. It's not like he's doing anything wrong though... It's a problem with me. But since then, he's looked a bit down.

"Speak," I finally tell him after he's pouted for long enough. It's getting on my nerves.

"What do you mean?" He asks. He was moving his fork around his plate, looking down at it somberly.

"You have something you want to say. Say it."

Cade looks at me, looking like he doesn't want to. When I glare at him, he finally shakes his head.

"It's stupid! I just thought we got closer and...!" He shakes his head again.

"Say it or I'll use my intimidation until you do."

"So mean!! Fine!! I just... I just don't understand why you seem uncomfortable with my touch lately..."

So it was bothering him... Why must he get worked up over such things? Especially about an insignificant problem like this.

"It has nothing to do with you," I say. "It's a problem I need to work out myself."

"I see... but... what kind of problem is it...?"

That is the question... I feel pathetic for not knowing what it is either. There's no way I can tell him that.

"Just something you don't need to worry about. It'll get better with time." I will make sure of it. I will get to the bottom of this and everything will go back to the way it was.

Cade looks a bit unsure. He decides to let it go. He changes the topic. "What should we do about your restraints? I've tried everything to figure it out, but in the end..."

"There's no need to worry about it any further. I'll just stay like this for as long as the spell stays."

"Do you think it'll eventually lose power...?"

"I'm not sure." It doesn't feel like it's getting any weaker...

"I'm sorry..."

"Why? This is my problem. You tried to take my own problem upon yourself and help me. You don't need to do that anymore."

"Still... If I manage to hear anything new, I promise I'll look into it and see if I can finally help you!"

"I don't believe that'll happen. But do whatever you want."

"I'm sure that one day we'll get them off. Just wait!"

I'm not sure what makes him so confident. I don't have any hope at all. That small seed never grew further. I'll be cursed to have these restraints forever. Even when Cade is gone... I'm sure I'll still be stuck like this.

I feel a bit strange thinking about Cade growing old and dying. But every human has a lifespan, he can't live forever. He'll be gone and I'll live on. For eternity.

One day, Cade comes home soaked to the bone from the rain. He shivers, setting his keys down and taking off his jacket.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there..." He says.

"Cats and dogs...?" I ask from the couch.

"It's an expression..." Cade takes his shoes and wet socks off. "I'm going to jump in the bath. You want to join me?"

"Didn't I bathe recently?"

"I guess so. I'll be going then."

I watch him go before turning my attention back to the TV.

When Cade is done with his bath, he sits next to me.

"Hah..." He sighs. "I feel drained."

"Did work not go well?" I ask.

"It went fine. I just don't like gloomy rainy days. For some reason, it reminds me of unhappy times..."

"It's only weather. Rain is necessary for the ecosystem."

"...have you been watching the science channel?"

"You're the one who chose this channel. I can't use the remote."

"Right... Anyway, I don't feel like making a big dinner. Is it alright if it's something small?"

"As I've already told you many times, I don't need to eat."

"Well, you're going to eat anyway!!" He stood up to go make his small meal.

Once it was done, we sat at the table to eat. I noticed that Cade looked particularly tired today. Something seemed a bit off... I watched him clean up and go to his room, saying he was going to head to bed early. When he settled down, I peeked in his room where he usually keeps the door open a crack if I need to get inside. He was bundled up in the blanket, sleeping.

Feeling a slight unease, I decided to sit outside his room. I could hear him breathing lightly as he slept. If anything sounds wrong, I'll be able to quickly enter to wake him. I just waited, hoping the feeling was false.

When the sound of a groan eventually came, I leapt to my feet. I pushed the door open and hurried over to Cade. I came to my senses, wondering why I was in such a hurry over a simple groan. But when I saw Cade's face, worry pricked my chest. His eyes were closed but his brows were knit together. He looked like he was sweating.

I wanted to reach over and touch him, cursing the dreadful restraints when I remembered that I couldn't. All I could do was wake Cade to understand what was wrong. I nudged him with my bound hands. It took a moment before he finally opened his eyes.

"Silas...?" He asked.

"Something is wrong with you. Is there anything we need to do?"

Cade looked like he was trying hard to process my words. He finally sighed and put his hand on his forehead. "I have a fever... I think that rain made me sick... I remember, it would always cause me to be sick when I was younger... I just suffered alone in bed as I waited it out... My parents didn't check on me even once..."

Fury burned inside my chest. "Should I kill them?"

Cade shook his head. "They were awful to me, but... I don't want you to kill them..."

As if parents like that deserve to live... But I can't kill them now anyway with my hands bound. I should focus on the current situation.

"So it's a fever? Do we just wait it out?" I ask.

"Yeah... It'd be nice to have something cold on my forehead... But I don't have the strength to get up..."

I leave the room to go to the fridge. I curse at my restraints again. I feel so pathetic... I can't even open a fridge to help Cade. And now he's... going to suffer... The way he looks now, knowing he's suffering from his fever, I don't like it. And I know he may suffer similarly at the end of his life... I don't want to see that...

Cade truly has wormed his way into my heart. Now I want to help that strange human. Now I don't want the end of his life to come. I was waiting for it to happen at one point. But I don't want to wait for it anymore. I wish I could stop time and live with him forever...

Or I could stop his time, just like with mine. I could turn him. He could be a vampire with me. The last two vampires for all of eternity... I go back to his room. I stand above him.

He slowly opens his eyes again. "I'll be alright... I just need some rest..." He says weakly.

All I have to do is bite his neck. Then he must drink some of my blood. He'll turn into a vampire. Since I'm the most powerful king of vampires, he should be about as powerful as I am. He wouldn't have to worry about getting sick, he wouldn't have to worry about dying. He can rule the human world by my side. Forever.

I bare my fangs and lean over. I target his neck and hover my fangs over it. I get ready to sink my teeth into his flesh.

"Silas..." Cade speaks. He puts his hand on my head, caressing my hair. "Humans get sick sometimes, you know... But we also get better from it... That's just life... And when there's a sickness that I can't escape, and I leave this world... I want you to continue on living... Never giving up, finding a way to free yourself from your restraints... I want you to be happy, Silas... I want you to be the amazing king of vampires and be happy... Even if I can't be with you forever..."

I stop. I raise my head and close my mouth. Cade has his eyes closed, resting. He's smiling. It's bittersweet...

I quietly step back. I leave the room and sit outside. I hang my head. What am I doing... I've never thought of turning a human before... Why would I want to have another vampire running around, possibly threatening my position as the king of vampires? Never. I am the one and only. I will be the only vampire, the only king of vampires, until the end of time.

Of course Cade wouldn't want to be a vampire... Being a vampire is lonely... You'll only have yourself at the end of time... Everyone else around you will have died... I can't subject him to that cruel fate. Having a lifespan is a blessing. I'm grateful that he has that blessing...

It took a few days for Cade to recover. I only watched since I couldn't do anything to help. He's quite resilient. When he had enough strength, he made himself something to eat, even if he didn't feel like eating. He forced it down so he would have the energy to get better. On the day that he was completely better, he looked like he was never sick in the first place.

"I feel great!! See, I told you I'd be alright! You worrying for me makes me happy though!" He grinned.

I shook my head. "I never said I was worried..."

"Oh, come on! You totally were!!"

I refused to say anything else as I avoided his gaze. I won't admit that I was worried. I care about him more than I thought I did...

"If you ever get sick, I'll nurse you back to health with everything I have!" He said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"I don't get sick."

"Really!?"

He was shocked, needing to process that. I looked at his hand on my shoulder. It's warm...

"Isn't it time for another bath?" I ask.

"Wow, you want a bath??"

I gave him an annoyed look. "You would have nagged me about it otherwise."

"But it's great that you mentioned it first! Let's take a bath!"

I felt like I didn't want to take one after all. But he dragged me to the bathroom and splashed me with water. When I had been wary of his touch, unsure what the feeling was inside me, I decided now that I would just enjoy it. The truth is that I don't have all the time in the world with Cade. I should enjoy my time with him as much as I can. When decades go by so quickly for me, I need to enjoy every second I have right now.

"Hm? What's up?" Cade asked.

I looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well... you look happy! Do you enjoy baths that much now?" He smirked.

I paused. "...no. I just enjoy you."

Cade stopped, staring at me. "...you... enjoy me...?"

A small smile spread on my face. "Yes. You."

Cade's face began to look a bit red. Is he sick again...?

"Are you—" I tried to ask when all of a sudden, there was a blinding light.