Seth hopped out of his car and jogged the rest of the way to his favorite cliff to dive from. On another cliff, more than three times the height of his, he saw someone dive.

"Oh, shit!"

He plummeted down into the icy waters and swam as fast as his shape-shifting ass could move. When he and the other were back on the shore, a few hundred feet from Seth's car, he pressed his head needlessly to Marcus' dead heart. Marcus stared up at him, beyond confused, but somehow transfixed as well. When Seth inadvertently glanced down into his red irises, he jolted away to the other end of the beach, screaming "ghost" over and over again. Marcus felt hurt, betrayed, and a touch ashamed for what he was. When Seth finally gathered enough courage to run back, Marcus had taken to the water- running on top of it due to his vampiric speed- and was halfway between the North American and Asian coastlines.

~~Years Later~~~

Aro pulled Marcus' sleeved arm.

"Why did you leave? Where did you go? What did you see?"

Marcus continued to stare at the floor, not even bothering to blink or breathe. No, he thought, if I breathe, I want it to be his scent… When I close my eyes, I can only… see his horror at what I have unknowingly become. Why was I made to be a vampire? Why do they even exist?

"Marcus, please!"

Why did Aro change me? Marcus floated a little deeper into his mute depressive state that he'd been in since, well, since he got back from "studying the relationships of the world". Since him. No one had understood or accepted my sudden return after only fifty years, but even though Aro could have read my mind, he didn't. He said that my mind was "a mess, Marcus" and then complained about a headache. I had stopped listening after that. I couldn't care less for my "brother's" aches and pains with my own heartache seizing me tighter with each passing day.First, I "had" to go through the pain of losing my beloved, Didyme, because I was "getting to be too strong to exist underneath Aro's thumb". Then, I went through pain as Aro turned me into a vampire. I will never let him break my heart… again! Then, I found someone- completely by accident- that thought I was a human, a person, someone who deserved to be shown redemption and to be saved! And then I ran away. Why did I run away? Damn you to hell a thousand times over, Marcus!

"Marcus. Marcus, look at me! I am trying to talk to you!"

Exasperated, he shoved the oil painting into his brother-in-law's line of vision. At first, Marcus didn't notice. Then, as more time passed, he thought he was looking at a mirror, which he internally cursed Aro for, as he didn't want to see his lifeless eyes. When his eyes focused, he saw what he must have looked like on that day, from his perspective. Marcus snatched it away as carefully as he could, almost cradling the framed piece in his arms, though the painting itself was on the larger side.

"Finally! A reaction!"

Caius snickered.

"He's vain!"

Aro's lips twitched, and he had to mash them together firmly to keep from laughing hysterically, already plotting on how best the countless mirrors of the world could be used to his advantage against Marcus. Maybe withholding one whould have the desired effect?

"The artist is unknown-"

Marcus' face crumpled into one of pain. Caius howled with laughter, tears that would never fall springing to his eyes. Marcus had tears in his own eyes as he studied every brushstroke, each- to him- filled with promises of Marcus' heart's deepest, unvoiced desires being fulfilled in full. Acceptance. Love. Salvation.

"Do you like it?"

Marcus couldn't be bothered to answer.

"It was sent to us from the Olympic coven, though I doubt Carlisle would have painted this. A… friend of theirs, perhaps?"

Marcus was already at the airport, having sprinted, with the picture, all the way there as fast as he could after he heard Carlisle's name.

"Hello, sir. Will you be flying with us today?"

He took out the credit card Aro had given him to "help ease him into the fact that Didyme was dead". He had never used it, or taken it out of his robe's pocket where he'd shoved it in depressed fury. Her eyes widened.

"Well, sir, your picture is too big to fit in the carry-on compartments, so I'm afraid-"

He stabbed his credit card pointedly. She smiled.

"Yes, sir. I'll book a first-class flight to…?"

He frowned. Where was Carlisle? Maybe he should have stayed…? He closed his eyes to think, but found something he never wanted to feel again. A pull at his being. One of love. Hadn't he had enough heartache? It was leading to that spot. Their spot.

"Washington. Seattle."

"Yes, sir. When will you be coming back?"

He shrugged, already hating her for how long she'd taken already, though he knew it wasn't her fault. When the plane landed in Seattle, he sped as fast as he could without anyone batting so much as an eyelash out of place at him. When he was out of sight, he sprinted towards the pull on his person. Soon getting frustrated at the walls and buildings in his way, he decided to jump from roof to roof, then tree to tree, until he got to a house nestled a ways in from the road. He wrung his hands, the picture safely tucked into his robe, away from the rain. The door opened to a very surprised Carlisle.

"Marcus? Esme, it's Marcus! How are you, old friend?"

"Marcus is here? Oh, how delightful! Carlisle! Don't be rude and let him in, dear! It's raining outside!"

"Yes, dear."

Marcus sat on the couch nervously, the picture still hidden- mostly- from view.

"Are you still haunting-"

Marcus looked at her sharply.

"-the shores of Seattle?"

"Where is he?"

Her face scrunched up in genuine confusion. He sighed, showing them the picture. Carlisle started, causing Marcus to bore his red eyes into his friend's topaz ones.

"He's not here at the moment."

Esme coughed to try to lighten the mood. It fell flat.

"Who, dear?"

Edward came downstairs with a towel on his shoulder.

"He wants to know where Seth is."

"Oh!"

She blinked, bouncing happily at the fact that "her son" was finally getting some attention.

"But, why?"

Edward, who had been drawing a detailed map of La Push in the kitchen, walked over to Marcus with the drawing held behind his back.

"Do not hurt him. He has the purest, most genuine mind I have ever known, bar none."

"I promise I'll try my utmost best."

Edward contemplated, running his free hand through his hair. Carlisle sighed, then passed Marcus the map.

"This one here is his house. He lives there with his sister, Leah."

"Thank you."

Marcus knocked on Seth's front door before he could process leaving.

"It's open!"

Marcus scowled at that. Why would the door be unlocked? He was about to knock again when the door opened to reveal Seth- him- in all his half-naked glory. Marcus felt his eyes water at the sight, the scent, the devotion in his eyes.

"Ghost?"

Marcus nodded, quite happily, in fact. Seth's eyes fluttered, then he took the older's hand and led him inside, blushing darkly as he noticed he was only in his boxers.

"I'm… um… gonna be right back. I have to… um… make myself presentable."

He came back down in his favorite printed tank and dark denim skinny jeans- printed tanks and dark denim skinny jeans permeating his wardrobe to the extent that only one outfit deviated from that "unspoken rule". He sat with his knees to his chest, facing Marcus. His left arm was loosely around his legs, with the other arm resting on the back of the couch.

"So… I guess you got the gift I sent you. Carlisle did promise he'd get it there…"

Marcus smiled infinitesimally, but Seth caught it and blushed, quickly averting his eyes to the rest of the room.

"Hey, um…?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want something to eat?"

The unshedable tears in Marcus' eyes thanked Seth for "forgetting" he was a vampire- a being who didn't "take human food as nourishment". Marcus' hand traced invisible lines and swirls onto the back of Seth's hand nearest him. Seth shivered pleasantly, completely forgetting about food.

"Too cold?"

"What? N-no!"

They sat in comfortable silence as Marcus resumed his tracing shyly, Seth unconsciously leaning into the space between them.

"Why did you scream?"

"I didn't know about vampires then, so I'd never seen someone with red eyes before. And… I thought you were…"

"Dead?"

Seth nodded, the apology clear in his eyes as he swallowed.

"Why did you run?"

"I… was hurt. After you thinking I was a human, a person, a being to be given redemption and salvation, you saw my eyes and screamed. The pain… Oh, the pain! It was too much."

"I'm sorry I hurt you…?"

"Marcus."

"Oh. Right. I'm Seth."

They got lost in the other's eyes for several hours without either of them knowing. Seth rested himself into Marcus' arms, his face buried in the vampire's intoxicatingly luscious-smelling neck. Marcus was playing with Seth's fingers and hair. Seth grinned brightly into Marcus' neck, then pulled away.

"Yes?"

"Take me with you?"