Oliver gasped as his consciousness returned. Soft light greeted him, streaming in through the crack in his bedroom door. He winced as he sat up, frowning as his blanket fell into his lap.

The door swung gently into the room, and Seth froze at the threshold. “Oh. You’re back.”

“You moved me?” Oliver pulled back the blanket and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He paused, looking down at his lap. “Why didn’t you eat?”

Seth sighed, stepping into the room. Oliver’s eyebrows shot up as Seth set a quart of cinnamon swirl ice cream and a spoon on his bedside table. His gaze traveled up to Seth’s face in time to see the ghoul’s jaw flex. Seth turned away, pulling the door closed behind him. He paused just out of sight. “I’m sorry.”

Oliver sat in the dark, staring after him. He jerked at the sound of a door opening and closing. “What the fuck?”

Jumping to his feet, Oliver stormed out of his room and threw open Seth’s door. “What the hell is…”

The words died on his lips as he realized the room was empty. He turned to leave, but paused as his gaze snagged on the papers pinned to the wall behind the door. Stepping further into the room, Oliver’s jaw went slack as he took in the words and images. Articles and encyclopedia entries littered the wall, each giving information about ghouls.

And how to kill them.

Oliver’s heart pounded as he perused the clippings, each one offering a more gruesome method than the last. He looked around the room, his stomach dropping. Boxes stood stacked beside the stripped bed, neatly taped and labeled ‘For Donation.’ Oliver ripped the nearest one open, yanking out the contents. Seth’s clothing soon covered the floor and the foot of the bed. 

Oliver sank to the floor, his body numb. Tears blurred his vision as he stared at one of Seth’s shirts. Picking it up, he held it to his face, breathing in the woodsy scent. He couldn’t even guess how long Seth had been looking for… He couldn’t even bring himself to form the thought. His breath hitched as his tears fell, wetting the shirt.

Suddenly, anger bloomed hot and hard in him. Oliver threw the shirt down and climbed to his feet. Stomping through the apartment, he shoved his feet into his waiting shoes, grabbed his keys from the hook on the wall, and flew out the front door. Racing down the hall, he barely avoiding colliding with Mrs. Wilson as he made his way to the elevator.

“Could you boys please stop slamming your door so much? It’s very noisy.”

Oliver stabbed the call button for the elevator. “Suck my dick, Mrs. Wilson.”

He grinned at the older woman’s gasp as the elevator door opened. “Fuck. That fucking bastard.”

He loved him. He couldn’t keep denying it. Not if it meant losing Seth. Not if it meant…

The elevator finally brought him to the first floor. Oliver barreled through the doors and ran out into the street. His head swung left and right as he looked for the ghoul. Seeing no sign of him, Oliver went right.

He sidled past pedestrians, not even bothering to apologize as he raced for the cemetery. It was the one place where Seth would go to be alone. Even though he hated the idea of having to feed on the dead. As if being surrounded by them was some kind of punishment. Oliver hated the idea of him being there, forcing himself to suffer. And yet, as he ran, he prayed that was all that the idiot was doing.

His chest heaved as he reached [Name] Cemetery. A chain held the gate closed, giving the appearance that no one was inside. Running a few feet past it, Oliver stopped at the second set of bushes that stood along the fence. Throwing a cursory glance over his shoulder, he dove inside, finding the bent iron bars by feel. Pulling himself through the small hole, he stumbled into the cemetery and peered into the dark.

He spotted Seth a few seconds later. He stood near the back of the cemetery, his back to the street. But as Oliver stalked towards him, his steps slowed as he realized that Seth wasn’t alone.

Men stood around him, guns raised and aimed at Seth. Seth only stood there, his hands loose at his sides. One of the men stepped forward, the long blade in his hand catching the moonlight.

Oliver moved faster than he ever thought he could. He leapt over headstones and stomped on graves, his gaze fixed on the blade as it moved closer and closer to Seth’s neck. He shoved past two of the armed men, ignoring their shouts of anger and surprise. Pain erupted in his back as he reached Seth. Yanking the ghoul behind him, Oliver raised his arm just as the blade came down. 

Metal sliced through his skin and bit into bone. Oliver hissed, biting back a scream as he glared at the man wielding the machete. “Back the fuck up or I will kill you myself.”

“What are you doing here?” Seth pulled at Oliver’s shoulder, his voice heavy with tension. “How did you even–”

Oliver jerked his arm down, dislodging the machete. Barely giving the wielder time to retreat, he turned and swung his fist, punching Seth in the jaw. “What the fuck are you doing, you piece of shit?!”

Seth’s head snapped to the side. He flexed his jaw and took a deep breath. “You should have stayed at home.”

“And let you run off to fucking die?” Oliver grabbed Seth’s collar, yanking at the man. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“It’s better this way. You won’t have to put up with me anymore.” Seth turned to meet his gaze. “You don’t need this.”

Oliver scoffed. “Last I checked, my dad is two rows over, asshole. So don’t tell me what’s better for me.”

“I’m getting worse!” Seth’s eyes went black in an instant, his canines punching through his gums.

Metallic clanks rang out around them, and Oliver glanced over Seth’s shoulder. The men around them stood tense, their guns raised even higher. Aiming for Seth’s head. Oliver took a deep breath. “Who are they?”

Seth stood with his eyes closed, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Monster hunters.”

“You found a bunch of fuckwits on the internet and asked them to kill you?” Oliver barked in laughter, earning another round of clicks as the men grew even more nervous. “I don’t think being extremely stupid counts as ‘getting worse.”

“You don’t get it.” Seth finally opened his eyes and met Seth’s gaze. “I… I didn’t mean to hurt you tonight. But I couldn’t control myself. What if I do it again?”

Oliver stepped towards him and lifted a hand to his cheek. He stared into Seth’s black eyes, then slapped him as hard as he could. “Wake the fuck up, genius. I don’t care if you hurt me. I don’t care if you kill me. You do it every fucking night. You think I don’t know that you didn’t mean it? You think I’m that fucking sensitive? Or are you calling me stupid?”

“Why is everything a fucking argument with you?” Seth stepped closer, bringing his face within inches of Oliver’s. “I’m trying to solve the fucking problem. Why are you fighting me? On this, of all fucking things!”

“Because I fucking love you, you moron.” Oliver snarled at the ghoul. “Because I fucking fell in love with you from the moment I saw you two rows over, and I have loved you ever since and you’re too fucking stupid to notice and I fucking hate you for that!”

Pain exploded in the back of Oliver’s head. Blood gushed down his neck, seeping into his shirt. He caught a glimpse of his brain and bones splattered across Seth’s face just before his vision faded. “Oh, for fuck’s sake…”

He woke to screams, and bit back his own as the last of his skin and bone knitted itself back together. He cracked open his eyes only to find a man staring back at him. Bloody lacerations crossed what was left of his face, his eyes blank and wide. Oliver’s gaze slid down, finding that there was no body attached to the head next to him. He sat up, the quick movement blurring his vision for a moment. He blinked into the night, his eyes adjusting as he searched for Seth.

Seth’s back appeared, his arms whirling as he ripped into another man. Blood flew through the air, slung from his clawed fingers as he tore into the man’s flesh. Before the hunter could drop to the ground, Seth spun on his heels, his face contorted in rage as he searched for his next victim.

Oliver climbed to his feet and took a deep breath. “Seth, what the hell are you doing?”

Seth turned towards him, his black eyes feral under the blood dripping from his face. He growled, baring teeth nearly black with viscera.

Oliver moved slowly, his palms raised. “Seth, it’s me.”

The words fell on deaf ears, and Oliver hissed as Seth charged him. Claws ripped into his chest, tearing his shirt to ribbons. 

“Ouch.” Oliver clenched his jaw and held Seth’s gaze. “Seth. You have to stop.”

Seth raised his arm, his fingers curled and his claws poised for another strike.

“Seth.” Oliver stepped towards him, his hands reaching for the ghoul’s bloody face. “Come back, dumbass. I’m not cleaning this mess up by myself.”

Oliver choked down a scream as Seth’s claws dug into his side. Grabbing his face, Oliver pulled his head down and smashed his lips against Seth’s. He held on, fighting to stay conscious as Seth ripped into him, his hands slipping over Seth’s bloody cheeks. He smiled against Seth’s mouth. “You fucking bastard. I finally tell you how I feel, and this is how you react?”

Seth stilled around him, his claws easing out of Oliver’s flesh. “Oliver?”

“About time, idiot.” Oliver chuckled as his legs gave out. He winced as Seth caught him, his arms jamming into the fresh wounds. “Watch it, asshole.”

“Oh, God.” Seth’s eyes widened, bleeding from black to white as he scanned Oliver’s body. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t–”

“Stop apologizing. I’m not an idiot.” Oliver hissed as Seth lowered him to the ground. “Well, maybe I am.”

“I couldn’t stop myself.” Seth pulled his arms from around Oliver’s waist, his gaze roaming Oliver’s body before finally coming to his eyes. “They fucking shot you, and I just… lost it.”

Oliver blinked. “Wait. That’s what you’re apologizing for?”

Seth winced. “I kinda… ate most of them.”

Oliver looked around them. He found the head he’d woken up to, and spotted the remains of a torso a few feet away. He frowned as he struggled to remember how many men had been surrounding them. “You ate… There were at least a dozen men here, Seth.”

Seth shrugged. “Ten. But one got away.”

Oliver’s head snapped towards Seth. “And you’re just now saying something about it?”

“What’s he going to do, go to the police and tell them that his boss killed a man, and a famous actor ate his friends?”

Oliver rolled his eyes, unable to argue with the logic. “The fact that you just referred to yourself as ‘a famous actor’ is so not cute.”

“Then why?”

“Why what?” Oliver hissed as the claw wounds finished closing on his side. “Fuck, that itches.”

“Why do you love me?”

Oliver froze, his gaze locked on the grass beneath him. “Does it matter?”

“I literally kill and eat you every night.” Seth sank to the ground next to him, his back falling onto a blood-spattered headstone. “I hated that you only thought I was there for your body. I hate making you suffer. And most of all, I hate that you only see this… bullshit.” He gestured at himself and the corpse-littered ground around them.

“But I couldn’t help wanting you. I couldn’t keep from wanting to be around you, even if you hated my fucking guts. I couldn’t leave knowing that I’d never hear your smart-ass comments, or hear you nag me about dumb shit. I couldn’t not show up for dinners that neither of us need, or not hear your laugh, or listen to you bitch about the scene that’s making you want to quit writing. Even if I never got to touch you while you were breathing, I couldn’t stay away from you.”

Oliver struggled to breathe, his fingers clawing into the dirt. “And yet you took it upon yourself to go commit suicide.”

“Did you miss the part about how I hate making you suffer?”

Oliver sighed. “Make me suffer. Be a fucking monster. I already have to deal with you being an actor, for fuck’s sake. Do you know how fucking annoying it is to see all those people fawning over you when I can’t even kiss you? Do you know how hard I wanted to kick that Pamela bitch in the cu–”

Oliver stilled as Seth’s lips collided with his. His eyes fluttered closed as Seth’s hands wrapped around his face, pulling him closer. His lips parted at the urging of Seth’s tongue, a moan rolling up his throat. He wrapped his arms around Seth’s neck, deepening the kiss even as blood and other things he chose to ignore flowed into his mouth.

Seth nibbled at his lip before pulling away. “I’m hungry.”

Oliver scoffed. “You literally just ate an entire football team.”

“Stop pretending you know shit about sports.” Seth licked the blood from Oliver’s lips. “Besides… You taste better.”

Oliver glared at him. “I’m almost two centuries old. I know about sports, asshole. And how are we supposed to get home looking like this? Marty would have a fucking heart attack at the first tabloid you show up in.”

Seth grinned. “You really think I just walk around the city like a normal person?”