“Arthur!” Liam yelled as he ran to his side, turning his heavy body over to get a good look at his face. His skin was almost paper white, cool and damp to the touch. “No…no, no, no. Arthur. Arthur, wake up. Please?” he asked frantically as he held Arthur’s face in his palms. He stroked the damp hair away from his forehead. “Wake up. Please, Arthur,” he pleaded as he pressed their foreheads together, supporting his shoulders with his other arm. 

His eyes burned as he fought back the tears desperately trying to escape. This is all my fault. If it wasn’t for me, Arthur wouldn’t be so weak now. I can hardly feel anything coming from his body, Liam’s mind raced. “You can’t die trying to save me, that’s not fair. Please, hold on Arthur. I’ll think of something. Just wait for me please.” 

He looked at the items scattered on the floor around them. There were a couple ingredients he recognized from the little he had skimmed through his books. Was he making a healing potion for himself? I know what marigold is for but I’ve never seen some of these things, he thought, lambasting himself for not making the time to study more.

He lifted Arthur, tucking the hand that once cradled his neck under his knees, his pale face resting against his chest.  “Let’s get you to bed first. I’ll come back and make something for you but I can’t have you laying on the cold floor.”

Setting Arthur down gently onto the bed, he could see now just how pallid he was. Even the light of the fire couldn’t bring warmth to his skin anymore. His eyes were sunk into his skull, making him look like he had already died centuries ago. Ice ran through Liam’s veins. Was he too late? He could have sworn he felt life within him, faint as it was. 

He leaned over Arthur’s deathly still body, pressing his ear to his chest. 

Nothing.

Not a single breath.

Not a single heartbeat.

He was too late. 

Liam grasped at the blanket around them as he struggled to breathe. No. Tears came streaming down his face, soaking Arthur’s cream colored tunic. This couldn’t be. How could he die just like that? This omnipotent being that gave him a reason to want to live, to feel, just to leave him as quickly as he came? Why was everything just so unbelievably unfair to him? His thoughts were twisting around each other and ripping at his heart strings when he felt movement beneath him.

Shocked, Liam propped himself up to lock eyes with the two obsidian orbs staring back at him. He couldn’t believe it. Surely he had no heartbeat just moments before. How could this be? He pressed his ear firmly against his chest again. Still, there was not a sound. I knew I wasn’t mistaken. He really doesn’t seem to be alive. But then how is he looking back at me right now!?

While Liam was frozen in awe, Arthur gently laid his hand under his ear, curling his fingers around the back of his head, petting his cheek with his thumb. Those endlessly black eyes stopping his thoughts in their tracks. Whatever Liam was thinking about before, now he couldn’t remember. All he could think about was Arthur’s hold on him and his heart. Everything he had, he would give it to him in a heartbeat. When he felt Arthur coaxing him closer, he followed his movements without batting an eye. 

He closed his eyes as their lips met. His cool skin, a welcoming sensation to the heat overtaking his body. Liam’s jet black hair fell around them, curtining their faces as their tongues intertwined, each exploring every crevice of each other's mouths. Goosebumps ran up his spine as Arthur’s hand trailed its curve. Every inch he touched burned like fire, causing Liam’s breath to quicken and his arms to shake. Just holding himself up was becoming a difficult task.

As if Arthur could read his mind, he slid his leg between Liam’s while guiding him onto his back. In one swift and gracefully executed movement, Liam was now pinned beneath this gaunt man who laid all of his weight against him.

 He was much heavier than he expected. Carrying this man in his arms was much different than having his entire body pressed to his. Before, when he was panicking, he had no time to think of how heavy he was. But now, all he could think about were the places they touched, and Arthur was touching everywhere he damn well pleased. 

Arthur braced himself with one arm as he slid Liam’s shirt up over his chest. Liam tightened his arms around Arthur’s shoulders, giving him just enough space to slide his shirt off the rest of the way. Everything was going so fast but Liam had been suppressing his yearning since they met. He never thought his feelings would be reciprocated, but right now, this mysterious man was giving him the validation he secretly hoped for. 

Every movement of Arthur's hands treated him with the utmost care, caressing Liam with just enough pressure to drive him wild. He wanted more, never wanting to be away from his embrace again. The notion of losing himself in Arthur’s arms was a bliss he had always longed to experience. He dug his black painted nails into Arthur’s shoulders as kisses rained down the side of his neck. 

Just as Liam felt like his heart was going to burst from pleasure, two points of pain erupted from the crook of his neck. The feeling of fear and adrenaline rushed over his body, unable to tell if he was in ecstasy or pain. They laid like this for some time before Liam came back to his senses. His head started spinning, causing his grip on Arthur’s shoulder to slacken. If he didn't stop him now he felt like he was going to pass out. 

“Arthur, stop. That's enough,” he said, doing his best to push Arthur off of him, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. “Come on, give me a second. You're starting to freak me out. HEY, I said quit!” Liam asserted, using all of his strength to pull Arthur’s head back by his hair. 

Blood ran down Arthur’s chin as his glossy eyes came back into focus. “Liam?” He asked, still in a daze. 

“Yes, it's me. What the hell is going on?” Liam demanded. “Do you finally have your shit together?”

Arthur’s eyes fell to the mess he made of Liam’s neck. “Oh my god…” Arthur said, quickly pushing himself upright. “Liam, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do this. Are you okay? Does it hurt? Are you lightheaded? Here, let me go get something for that,” Arthur offered, standing up to fetch what he could to clean up Liam’s still dripping neck. 

“Just wait for a second,” Liam responded. “We need to talk first. I’m okay, just a little light headed but it doesn't really hurt. More importantly,  there are some things you need to tell me. Want to explain what the fuck just happened?” 

Arthur paused for a moment before sitting back down. He stared at his hands, terrified of what he had done and that Liam was probably furious with him. He had every right to be. He had been hiding a lot from him, and he could have killed him just now. 

“I haven't lost control like that in decades, Liam. I'm terribly sorry. If you never want to see me again, I would understand wholeheartedly,” Arthur assuaged, picking at the hems of his sleeves. “You wanted to know how I would know someone from 300 years ago? Well, that's because I am someone from 300 years ago.” 

If he had a heart it would be racing right now. He wanted them to know each other for a while longer before admitting this part of himself. It was too soon. “I'm an undead, Liam. A vampyre. I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I never wanted to put you in danger. You have already become something so precious to me,” Arthur elucidated as he started to shake. The thought that he just scared Liam away clouded his mind with anguish. He had been working so hard to nurture their relationship, slowly. All that just went out the window when he attacked Liam like a rabid dog. He felt so embarrassed and upset with himself. 

Liam took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes in thought. He wanted to be mad but he was finding it hard to do so. He could tell that Arthur genuinely didn't mean to harm him, and he didn't exactly hate any of it. At this point, he just expected all the stuff of fairy tales to be true. He was more concerned that Arthur’s feelings were purely instinctual instead of actually wanting to be intimate with him. He felt like a fool for believing he might stand a chance. Even if that was the case, he still wanted to cling to the glimmer of hope he had been given. 

He reached out to steady Arthur’s hands but his heart dropped when they pulled away from his touch. That glimmer of hope he had felt like it was about to flicker out. 

“You know, it really wasn't that bad,” Liam started, cupping his hands over his shins instead. “It would have been better to know beforehand because I was more surprised than anything. But look, Arthur,” Liam continued, “I’ll be honest with you. My life has been changing faster than I can keep up with at this point, but losing you is still not something I could handle right now. So, no, I won't be going anywhere. Although, I'm going to need some patience from you, and you can't hide anything from me anymore. You help me so much, you saved my life. All I want is to be close to you. I want to learn everything about you and I want to be able to support you like you support me, but I can't do that unless you tell me what's going on. 

“Can you look at me please?” Liam asked.