In the background, the bathroom faucet was dripping.

Staring up at the ceiling, my arms enclosed around Victor with his somewhat slackened from sleep, I found myself unable to rest as a thousand thoughts ran past my mind, a veritable parade of concerns without any concrete origin. Such had been present ever since earlier today and yet I could not figure out for the life of me what could be causing the heavy thoughts I entertained.

Was it the blood bond? We knew that had to be it, in part. Blinking in wonder, I contemplated this strange, new phenomenon endemic in Victor’s bloodline which knitted my maestro and I together; this eternal seal which would link us until one of us departed from this mortal coil.

“… Even the gods or fates would find themselves facing two very powerful beings if they ever tried to separate us.”

“… I know you and I would slay the gods themselves just to be with one another.”

And neither of us had any plans of allowing the kiss of second death to brush its cold lips past ours any time soon.

No, rather I knew this would be the state of my life from this point forth. To be near him would bring us both peace. To be separated would disquiet us in more ways than one. Sentiments ran from him to me like a conduit surging from one host to the next until neither of us could quite tell where the feelings began and where they ended. Our tapestry, knitted together. Two strands forming one work of art; two instruments playing one immortal symphony.

The notion inspired the ghost of a smile. But then the thoughts returned, chasing my grin away.

The steady cadence of water hitting the basin continued to tap out an echo in the stillness around us. One droplet followed another — drip… drip… drip… drip… — conspiring with the heaviness to keep me awake for heaven only knew how long. Dawn would be approaching soon and my broken vampire clock could not register one hour from the next, which meant that even when the sun reigned on the other side of the heavily-shaded windows, I might still find myself lying here, listening to the faucet dripping. I could turn it off, but then I might wake Victor and his vampire clock worked only slightly better than mine did after taking Celeste’s blood.

So, I laid in bed and stroked his back, stealing a kiss upon his head. His words from earlier resonated in my mind.

“This is the second time in these past two days you have spoken of guarding what we have, lover.”

“I suppose you are not the only one with irrational fears sometimes.”

My response said it all. Irrational fears. Ghosts in the machine which led one to wonder whether or not there was a real fear or merely something perceived. My talk of guarding what we had came on the heels of an existential discussion – a look into what made me who I am. Truth be known, I was petrified. Petrified of myself.

“I downplay who I am a great deal. perhaps to a fault, but… well… it is a bit… disquieting… having that at your fingertips.”

“I certainly can’t imagine.”

“If only you knew, maestro,” I said, whispering the words. I sighed before I could stop myself and pondered the remainder of my statement. ‘Once upon a time, I used to be an ordinary mortal. Then one day I woke with fangs and a short while afterward, I could read people’s thoughts and move things with my mind and all these other things you know about now.’ Why had I failed to enumerate each one of my talents prior to sharing stories of my past? Perhaps because admitting it all brought with it that heavy burden, knowing the cosmos might locate me in their stern eye again. And then what? Another mission? More turmoil when I now had such serenity? I never had so much to lose.

He looked at me after sitting back in his chair, his eyes opening after a pensive moment passed. “It is odd to be considering the idea that there really are forces at work in the world like fate and destiny. And yet… I suppose you have long accepted their existence by the fact of their presence in your life.”

I mustered as much of a smile as possible. “I have accepted that whatever it might be called… fate… destiny… exists. We assign it names, but what it truly is… who knows?” I paused, sighing. “Whatever it is that causes us to be here, it has dealt me both poor lots and serendipitous gifts. It might be only forces of nature, for all I know. I am only glad that whatever brought us together did, lover.”

“And I do not ascribe to doing as such, because what are we left with but fatalism?” Another sigh. I nodded once more. “Honestly, I do not know how the world itself works. I know what my bloodline has believed to be true and yet, I know that even if some force exists to grant either pain or blessing, we are still the agents of our own destiny in the end. Even if fate wanted us together, it is you and I who forged the bond we possess with one another.” I reached for one of his hands. “And you and I who will guard and foster what we have together.”

But was this really the case? I had to frown at myself. Now, surrounded by the darkness of those final moments before sunrise, I did not know if this was true or not. The agent of my own destiny… No, I often felt more like a puppet on a string. Thrown this way and that by the tumult; taken to one place of peace only to be tossed about by the next wave waiting to slam me onto another coast. This was not what I wanted. I wanted tranquility. I wanted what Victor and I possessed to continue through years and eons and epochs without one sideways glance from whatever forces were at work in this world.

I buried my nose into his hair. I breathed in deep. I shut my eyes, hell bent and determined to silence my thoughts and enjoy a few hours’ rest with my lover’s head atop my shoulder.

The faucet continued dripping in the background.

I sighed and opened my eyes again. Raising my head from the pillow, I glanced at the open doorway leading into the bathroom and peered into the pitch blackness for the offending instrument of torture. When I could not line it in my sights, I laid my head back on the pillow, but the shift caused Victor to stir slightly and immediately, I slid out from under him before my movements disturbed him further. He settled against the bed. I sat up fully and sighed. “Well, there goes that, Peter,” I murmured to myself. “Might as well shut the bloody faucet off now.”

Kicking my legs off the side of the bed, I came to a full stand and stretched once before padding into the bathroom. My hand felt around the side of the wall until coming to rest on the light switch situated by the door and a quick flip upward flooded the area with light. I shut the door in some effort to contain my disruptions, then sighed, running a hand through my hair and staring at the faucet.

But the dripping had ceased.

I narrowed my eyes at it. “Alright, are you fucking with me?” I asked it, as though it could respond. As such, I was startled when a voice responded from somewhere next to me.

“Maybe just a little, but I always did screw with you a bit, didn’t I?”

I whipped around and took a step backward when a figure appeared on the counter, sitting beside the sink, her legs dangling and kicking like a little girl whose feet could not reach the floor. The woman before me was no little girl, though, and no mere woman either. I stumbled until my back hit the wall and stared in awe. “How did… What are…

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