Simon looked at Baz. Baz looked at Simon. Penelope looked at both of them. The atmosphere was thick and heavy, filled with shock and hurt. Baz's mouth hung open, looking as if he had just been slapped. It made his fangs pop. Simon was equally shocked at the words that had just come out of his mouth. Baz narrowed his eyes and closed his mouth, standing angrily. He turned and began putting on his coat.
"Baz, I didn't mean it like that-" started Simon, but was cut off.
"Like what?" Yelled Baz, turning dramatically. "What were you trying to say, Snow?" He hissed. Ouch, he only called Simon that when he was really pissed or really startled. It was his tell.
"Nothing! It just...slipped" said Simon, staring at his plate.
"I just slipped"
"Yes, you did. I'm going to go hunt" he mumbled, slamming the door behind him. Simon sighed and put his head in his hands, causing his golden hair to fall in his eyes. His tail lashed around slightly, thumping rhythmically against the wall. Nobody said anything until Penny stood shakily.
"Well, I think I'll just be going..."
"Pen, please. Just- what did I do so wrong?" Asked Simon, his voice cracking.
"Well for one, asking Baz not to be so gay in public..." she said sarcastically. Simon rolled his eyes.
"That is not what I said"
"Isn't it?"
"No! I just said I didn't like him being so affectionate in public!" He half shouted. He leaned down and grabbed his tail to keep it from thumping too loudly against the wall and annoying the neighbors. Again.
"Simon" said Penny softly. "You have to imagine how that felt for him" she explained.
"Yeah, it made him feel like I didn't like to admit I'm gay. Yadda yadda ya-"
"No! You pretty much just told him he embarrasses you!" Interrupted Penny quickly. "He gets enough of that from his family as is" she huffed after a minute. Simon cursed himself.
"God how could I have not known that? How thick can I get?" He whispered. Penny smiled and patted his head.
"Pretty thick. Now go out there and find the one person you love most in the world"
And he did.
"Baz? Baz are you out here?" Hissed Simon through clenched teeth. God it was cold out here. Snow was piled at least a foot from the ground. When he didn't hear anything, Simon went on, trudging through the trees. They had found a small cabin with a large, cheap, private forest behind it. Baz's private feeding grounds. God, how could he have said that? Simon growled and kicked a rock, then hopping up and down, cursing loudly.
"Christ, Snow! You'll scare off all of the livestock!" Hissed a voice to his right. Simon jumped back and saw Baz's figure leaning against a tree. All he was wearing was a light jacket, and yet he acted as though he couldn't feel the cold. On second thought, he probably couldn't, being undead and what not. Simon breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a cloud blocking his vision. He rushed forward and hugged Baz suddenly, causing him to take a sharp intake of breath. Baz tried to keep his arms at his sides, but couldn't resist wrapping his arms back around Simon. He was so warm. That was Snow for you, always warm, full of heat and life. The opposite of Baz.
"I'm sorry" Simon said into Baz's shoulder, making it come out muffled. Baz tried not to lean into the heat, but it was a struggle.
"It's okay, just..." he said trailing off.
"Just...?" Echoed Simon.
"I don't know" said Baz, breaking away. "Just, are you sure you still want this? Want me?" He asked turning away and staring at the sky. He held himself back from jumping when he felt Simon's hands on his back. Then his mouth on his ear.
"Of course I still want this. And you" he whispered. Baz snorted, cringing. Simon knew he hated people touching his neck. Simon laughed and took Baz's hand, pulling him down until they were both sitting in the snow. Simon started shivering quickly, so Baz lit a fire in his palm, holding it close.
"Put that out! I swear, one day you'll light yourself on fire, and I won't do a thing" claimed Simon, for the thousandth time, swatting Baz's hand. Baz laughed and wrapped an arm around Simon and holding up his other hand. Small snakes of fire wound themselves around his fingers. Simon rolled his eyes.
"Come off it, Simon. You'd 'stop drop and roll' me to death, then cry for a while." Said Baz, leaning into his lover until they both fell into the snow, laughing.
"And you're saying you wouldn't do the same?" Asked Simon, faking surprise. He leaned down and kissed the top of Baz's head.
"I'm not saying that at all. I'd cry like a baby if I lost you" replied Baz, leaning up and kissing Simons jaw. The two laughed and lied back, holding each other's hands. They sat in silence, staring at the sky and breathing in the cold air. After a few minutes, Baz started laughing. Simons head whipped around, staring in bewilderment at his cackling boyfriend.
"What are you doing?" Simon asked slowly after Baz had calmed down. Baz looked over at him, wiping at a stray tear.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about... everything. Remember back in our first year when you went to the mage and demanded a new roommate? And you told me you would sleep in the bathtub every night with the door locked because you didn't want to sleep in the same room?" He asked, watching Simon wrinkle his nose and laugh, nodding. "Remember how that lasted for about two hours until you came trudging out of the bathroom, and held up your hand, placing your other one on your hip, and said, in a very sassy tone, 'not one word'?" And Simon laughed harder.
"Was I a little thug or what?" He asked, running his thumb in small circles along the back of Baz's hand.
"The word I thought of was 'diva'" he replied, squeezing Simons hand back. Simon blushed lightly.
"Well" he started back. "Remember in our second year when you kept leaving white roses on my bed every night, and saying that Penny brought them up from Agatha?" He asked, poking Baz in the side. He snorted out a laugh, nodding slowly. "Why exactly was that?"
"Well, I knew you liked her, and she liked you, and it hurt hearing you come back every day talking about how beautiful she was. I assumed that giving you that extra courage would get you to ask her out, then you'd stop coming into our room like you were floating on a bubble" he explained nonchalantly.
"Hah! Sorry, but that was awful logic" said Simon.
"Well, it got you to shower more, so it wasn't a complete loss" replied Baz, shrugging awkwardly.
"Hmm, how about in third year when you fell into the habit of watching me sleep? What about that?"
"That's only because you would watch me!" Argued Simon.
"Oh really? I always thought it was because you were so entranced by my devilishly good looks" smirked Baz.
"Oh ho! So were talking about good looks now, are we? How about in fourth year when you would always glance at me from the corner of your eye in class?"
"What about in fifth year when you followed me around all year?"
"What about in sixth year when you would hiss at me behind everyone's backs, like you were saying 'who'll believe that I'm a vampire?'" Simon finished. Baz laughed more, and this time Simon joined him.
"Remember in seventh year..." started Simon, leaning over Baz. "When I realized I loved you?"
Baz and Simon walked back to their house half an hour later, hand in hand. After a little while of adorable kissing time, Baz had gotten up and went to find some livestock. Simon, the idiot he was, followed him. This was a constant tick for Simon. He always hated that Baz didn't let him watch him feed, saying that they shouldn't keep secrets. Baz lost him in the woods and fed quickly, just before Simon broke out of a bush behind him.
"Christ Snow! Why do you always want to watch me feed?" He shouted, his hand over his heart.
"I never get to see this part of you" said Simon, tossing him a rag. Baz caught it and wiped his mouth and hands.
"What, the part of me that's dead?" Baz had said.
"No, the part of you that..." said Simon, trailing off in thought. "Uhrm, well, the part of you that's different"
"Nice save."
Penelope ran out of the front door and hugged both of them, nearly causing them all to topple over.
"Where did you guys go!? You've been out there for nearly two hours!" She cried, leading them inside.
"I see it didn't keep you from making yourself comfortable" said Baz, regarding the many lit candles and plush chair angled at the TV. Penny blushed slightly and blew the candles out, gathering her things.
"Well, I'm glad you two worked things out" she said, grinning at their intertwined fingers. Baz moved to let go, but Simon squeezed, smiling at him.
"Yes, we did. Thanks for coming over, Pen. We'll see you next week?" Asked Simon, still holding tight to Baz.
"Wouldn't miss it. Bye guys" she said, closing the door behind her. Simon and Baz silently walked into their living room and sat on their couch. Simon grabbed the remote, and Baz leaned into his embrace.