"Do we have to talk about it now?" Mavis wondered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"If not now, then when? Mavis, it's been three years since we started dating! I'm not getting any younger every passing day, quite the opposite, in fact. At this rate, before we decide, I'm gonna be too old!"

"Stop using that argument, Johnathan!" the vampire woman seethed, the intensity of the conversation escalating way too fast.

"Why?! Because you know it's true?"

"Because it's not fair, okay?! It's not fair that you get to sacrifice your family, and your normal life, for me! Just… just leave it at that, ok?" with that, the vampiress turned into a bat and flew out the window before Johnathan could shut it close and stop her.

"Great. Drac is so gonna kill me" he muttered to himself, deciding to go outside and maybe look around for her. He, of course, wasn't going to find her, since she was out on the forest having a stroll. While people would normally be freaked out by the spooky scenery, Mavis was always fascinated by it and found it soothing, especially lately that she had been fighting over the same topic with Johnathan.

It's not like they didn't love each other. No, far from it. The couple was pretty much in love yet, but the topic of Johnathan's mortality was stretching their relationship thin. She really was concerned about it, and she really wanted to solve the issue, but not like this. Johnathan had already sacrificed most of his normal life for her. He had forfeited travelling freely, now having to plan everything down to the smallest detail to make sure she would be safe. He hadn't visited his family in months, after how bad most of them reacted. Sure, three of his brothers and all her sisters-in-law approved of her, but Johnathan hadn't taken it well, and decided to not go until all of them decided to change their minds. It made her feel crappy, thinking that maybe she had broken the family up. He had also given up even his sleep cycle! He now looked permanently tired, even when he insisted that he was not. Mavis was seriously wondering if she was a positive influence in his life, having caused a rift in his relationship with his family and making him do big changes in his life that were not entirely positive… Mavis sighed, sitting on the cut trunk of a tree. She really needed to find a way to resolve this, and maybe even find a way to do it without him doing any more sacrificing. She wanted to sacrifice something for him, even if it was something meaningless.

"Here's your key, enjoy your stay, please" Count Dracula greeted as he handed over the key to the guest. The gill-man spoke gibberish and then left for his room, pulling his luggage along. The vampire sighed and relaxed, just as a familiar acrid smell hit him.

"Do you ever take a shower, or do you like the 'natural deterrence' factor?" he half-joked as he turned to face Johnathan.

"Come on, that's a low blow, especially from you Drac. Besides, Mavis likes me anyway, doesn't she?" hi ace almost fell on that last part, and Dracula could tell just fine.

"Which still boggles my mind. What's going on? Are you two in a fight again?" he cleverly deduced. Not like it was hard to, the couple had been in and out of fights for the best part of two months, and over the same topic. By now, Dracula had already listened to both sides of the conflict, but he hadn't done anything to help, and it was tiring him.

"Yeah. Drac, what am I gonna do? If I stay human, I'll shrivel and die. If I turn into vampire, Mavis will resent me and probably hate me the rest of our long, immortal lives. Either way, there's no right answer for me".

Dracula had grown fond of the id, and he really didn't want to see him suffer, so he discreetly motioned a zombie to cover the reception shift.

"Come with me, let's talk about this in private"

"Why is this topic such a sore spot for you two, Johnathan? From what I can gather, the answer to the problem is rather… simple, so to speak" the Count was choosing his words carefully, trying to keep secret the fact that he already knew both positions on the subject.

"That's exactly my point, Drac! It's an easy fix to a non-issue! Why is this such a problem? I mean… I've never seen Mavis so adamant about something. She's usually very reasonable, and now… I don't know what to do!", the youngster rubbed his face, the vivid image of worry. The vampire sighed and decided to cut the act.

"She does it because she thinks you've already sacrificed too much…"

"What?!"

"You heard me just fine. Johnathan… are you happy with this? With what you have given up to be with my daughter? As I understand, you've given up a hell of a lot to be here you are: your parents, your travelling plans… your whole life up to that point where you two met. You need to understand that Mavis doesn't want you making any more sacrifices, and it's quite understandable if you ask me. What about you?"

"That's just the thing, Drac! I don't care about the sacrifices! I love her, and I want to be with her no matter what! Why is that so bad for her?" Johnathan had actually started to cry lightly, maybe just out of all the frustration he had been feeling lately.

"Because nobody wants to bear the weight of watching a loved one give everything up for you, and this, right now, is a sacrifice that no one would ever dare to ask: giving up your mortality to live forever… is not a decision to be taken lightly. It's something that you two should talk seriously, and I'll admit that my daughter is not helping the case either. The best I can do for you both is put you in the same room and have you go out until you've reached an agreement. The rest is up to you two."

"Doing that will make her angry. I'll give her some time to cool it Drac. Maybe after that we can talk about it more seriously"

"I agree, my daughter does have her temperament, and this… it won't sit well with her right now. Why don't you go attend to your duties until she does? Maybe that will help you calm yourself too. In the meantime, I have a hotel to run. Look for me when you are ready to talk, alright?"

The older vampire stood and left, clapping the young man in the shoulder before disappearing from the room.

"Yeah, thanks" Johnathan last whispered before standing and leaving the room himself.

Mavis decided to go back, on foot, and normal walking speed, to think things over again, and maybe come up with another option. She was already near the bridge that connected the hotel with the mainland when she heard a familiar call for help.

"Johnny!?"

A minute earlier

Johnathan was making a round through the hallways, one of the tasks that Mavis' father had delegated to him as an employee of the hotel. He had just finished attending to a guest's complaint, and he was frankly not feeling very well with everything at the moment. Which is exactly the reason why he forgot that Blobby had passed just where he was heading towards. The slippery goo made him lose his footing at the most inconvenient spot, as he was flung into the air and straight out of one of the hotel's window. Johnathan was able to hang on to the frame of the window, avoiding a nasty fall, but he was feeling tired of it very soon, since he wasn't a particularly strong person. He tried to get a better grip, partially succeeding, and started to do the only thing that made sense to him: yell for help.

Mavis turned into a bat in the blink of an eye and flew as fast she could. The distance was short, but time was of the essence. The girl swooped upwards, able to catch the boy by the neck of his shirt, and swiftly let go of him when he was safe up on the roof. He was shaken by the experience, but deeply grateful when he realized who had saved him.

"M-mavy…" he tried to speak, but his voice was still broken from nearly dying.

"Are you alright?" the concern in her voice was palpable, as she turned back into 'human' form and hugged him tight. Both their respirations were agitated, and when it dawned on them what could have happened, they both had different reactions: while she started to cry at the idea that she almost lost him, he laughed in a way that anyone would describe as "hysterical", and it made Mavis feel strange.

"Why are you laughing?! Do you know that you were about to die? It's not funny!" She was mad that he was not taking it seriously. She was wrong.

"I know. But you saved me. Even after… after making you so mad. I thought you would hate me." He had stopped laughing mid-sentence, his voice trailing off when he was finishing.

"You are crazy, you know that? I was mad at you, but I would never hate you, and I would certainly not wish any of this upon you! Johnathan, I love you, even if we've hit a bump on the road. I can't imagine life without you anymore, so please, don't ever think that way, ok?"

They held each other tight, silently agreeing to give their disagreement a rest and instead focus on the fact that they still had and loved each other. They would eventually leave for their room (actually, Mavis' room, but it had un-officially become "theirs" months ago) to spend time with each other. No funny businesses, it was a serious thing they were going through at the moment, but Johnathan was contented with seating in a loveseat with his girlfriend sitting sideways in his lap, clinging to his shirt, and her head resting against his chest. It meant that it wasn't something insurmountable, what they were going through. It made him hope, that they could solve it before it could set them apart.

So... it's been way too long since I've done anything in here. It's not like I dont want to, but college is taking way too much of my time. This story was requested by retro mania... a week or two ago. Which shows how little time I've had lately. Anyways, with Hollow Memories hitting the bucket in some chapters, this story won't disrupt my already tardy updating rythm. I hope you like this, and please remember to leave a Review and feedback to help construct this story.