Tears formed in Damien’s eyes, but he let go of Pram to wipe them before they could fall. He stopped himself from sniffing as he mumbled, “I know…” He leaned back in the driver’s seat and stared down. His hands wrapped around the steering wheel and clenched. The cracking leather pressed into his hands and steadied him.

Pram sighed, patting his boyfriend’s head softly. He tried to smooth over the mess he’d made of the man’s hair. He knew Damien would be angry to see it in such a nest later. Pram always did have a penchant for unrefined affection such as this.

Damien looked outside, towards the open air of the parking garage. “Do you have your ticket?” he asks. The sky was taking on a beautiful shade of pink and orange, blooming into a deep red he knew he would remember, always.

“Yes, right…” Pram patted his jacket several times before lifting his hips and digging into the back pockets of his jeans. He pulled a folded envelope out. The car shook slightly as he dropped back down into his seat. “Right here.”

Damien turned to Pram again and the man waved the crumpled paper in his face. Snatching it, Damien unfolded and opened it to check. A 6:30 flight for one Pram Candden. “Why do you always fold up and crumple important things like this.” It had been folded unevenly and multiple times. Damien tried to smooth it out on his thigh.

“Hey, it may look a mess, but at least I kept it on me!” Pram pouted. “I didn’t forget it this time.”

“That’s true.” A smile came back to Damien’s lips, though it was slighter, softer. Pram was always on to forget important things. Concert tickets, keys to a rental house, appropriate clothing for the weather—just this once, he’d made sure to remember. Damien tossed the ticket up onto the dash. His eyes wanders to the backseat where a bag sits, then back again to his lover.

“Ah, it’s about time I go inside,” Pram said, looking at his phone. He yawned again and scratched his head. “So damn early…I wish I could stay.”

Damien wished so, too.

Pram stretched in his seat. “Is my camera in the carry-on? You packed everything for me while I was asleep.”

“It is. I packed exactly what was needed, as always.”

“I have the most meticulous boyfriend,” Pram laughed. His hand reached for the door handle to leave. Damien’s pinched the arm of his jacket to stop him.

“Wait,” Damien said, “I have one last thing for you.” He unbuckled and leaned over the center console to root through the back in the backseat.

Pram beamed. “Oh, what could my love have for me that’s so special as to leave it until the last minute? It must be somethin…” Pram went silent, and the sunlight streaming into the car could not hide the dimming of his expression. Then, the dulling of his eyes.

His hair glowed, still, like a halo. The knife that slid out of his neck shined, too, like the reddened sunrise. Damien hated it most of all.

Pram’s mouth opened, but there was no sound. Damien had severed his vocal cords and jugular in one motion. Blood dribbled from his lips as he tried to wrap his hand around the wound. He knew, though, as his world pun, that this was already a point of no return. His vision blurred as he started at his bloodied hand, but as he looked back again at Damien, his lover’s face was in sharp focus. 

The tears fell from Damien’s eyes, this time. “I’m sorry.” They rolled down his cheeks and stained his shirt. The hand holding the knife shook, and the weapon clattered against the center console and onto the backseat floor. “It’s the same f-for me. I couldn’t say no.” His hand goes to Pram’s mouth to wipe some of the dripping blood away. A meaningless gesture for a dying man, who’s opened throat continued to pour blood onto his chest.

Pram wished he had the strength to wipe away his lover’s tears. That, at least, would be meaningful in the end. Damien’s hand flinched back when Pram smiled. Tears fell, catching in the blood smeared from his mouth, and he closed his eyes, settling into the seat. His shoulders sagged and his head grew heavy. The last thing Pram heard was another car rolling by. It covered Damien’s quiet sobs.

*