A/N: So. I was in the mood to write some nice bromance between Casimiro and Finas. But, in the end, I guess it could be seen as romantic, if you tilt your head and squint. I'm going with the sense that Adelaide is the reason behind Casimiro's cursed eye and whatnot.
Also, Adelaide dies. Sorry.
Finas grit his teeth against Casimiro's wild flailing and screaming as he held him down. One hand pressing harshly enough against the Italian vampire's chest to leave a bruise, the other was scrambling to find a tourniquet of some kind from his bag for the long cut across the arsenic gray skin on his arm. His muscles screamed in protest to the strength of Casimiro's fighting, but he steeled himself long enough to find a strip of gauze. He could sense the lightening sky above him, and his heart was growing heavier with every inch of sun that came up beyond the skyline.
He was in the middle of pulling it out and unraveling it when he heard her laugh.
That sultry, smug and all-knowing chuckle that would make any man weak in the knees sent chills down his spine, and he didn't need to look up to know that she was taking in this pathetic little scene before she'd rid herself of these nuisances forever.
He didn't even have to look up to see the kick that was aimed at his jaw, but he was too late to dodge it. The impact sent him flying a good few feet, landing square on his back against a piece of broken wood. Pain shot through him, and even though his mind screamed at him to get up, get up and fight back, he rolled over and lay there, the brick wall blurred before him.
And that's when he heard the growling, accompanied by the ominous sound like glass scraping on a chalkboard.
Finas stumbled to his feet just in time to watch Adelaide go flying backwards into the street, right into the newborn sunlight. "Casimiro!" He yelled as he ran to stop the increasingly inhuman vampire from following. He knew it was useless to try and reason with him now, as the ashen skin he was used to had flaked away into bone-white flesh, but he could still salvage his friend's diminishing humanity.
He skid to a stop in front of Casimiro and grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to push him back in the alley. "Cas-"
All he felt next was a dull tugging at his throat, preceded by a furious roar. Then, his neck was warm and wet, and he fell against the next wall, stunned as Casimiro ran right out into the sunlight and tackled Adelaide back to ground from her attempt to stand up and get back into the safety of the shade. Their collective shrieks echoed through his head like screeching static, and it took him everything he had to put a hand to his throat and stand up. Lights danced in front of his eyes, his thoughts swimming and distorting as he stumbled back into the shadows. He managed to find his bag, and an umbrella that he kept for emergency situations, and put all of his strength into opening it and, with it shielding him from the sun, rushing out to tackle Casimiro.
He winced as the sun managed to get through and touch at his ear, but he didn't stop until the increasingly blurred white figure was beneath him and, then, hidden in the darkness of shadows.
"Fin?"
He groaned, one eye cracking open to see the concerned face of Casimiro staring down at him, white teeth gnawing on a lip anxiously. "You okay?"
His hand reached up to touch at his throat, feeling a jagged scar. "Wha..."
"You, uh... I'm sorry. I..." Casimiro drew a long, slender finger across his own neck. "I didn't mean to..."
Finas chuckled hoarsely, slowly sitting up on his elbows. "I know." He craned his head to look over, and his eyes widened at the bloody, smoldering mess left in the middle of the street. "You... she..."
Casimiro nodded, a relieved smile coming onto his lips. "Adelaide's dead and gone." Standing up, the Italian vampire reached out a hand to help his companion up. Finas gratefully took the hand and slowly let himself be pulled to his feet, taking a moment to look over his companion.
Fortunately, Casimiro had been properly clothed, and only the back of his hands were visibly burned. But his left eye was tightly closed, twitching with what he knew were little spasms of pain. "Your eye. Is it alright?"
Casimiro shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It just hurts a little. Nothing too bad. You still got that umbrella? We should get home."
Finas knelt down, eyes searching for the only thing that could protect them, and led the way, not looking at what remained of the woman they'd spent so long searching for.
He wasn't sure how long he slept after they'd reached their little flat in the slums of downtown. He remembered collapsing on their king-sized bed and closing his eyes, only to open them again to pitch darkness. It took them only a few seconds to realize that something wasn't quite right.
Casimiro was gone.
He sat up, grateful for the vampires' naturally fast recovery time. "Cas?" There was no response. He threw off the thick comforters, only then becoming aware that he hadn't undressed before falling asleep, and looked around for any sign of the other vampire.
But light was seeping through under the door. So he made his way over, the light sound of almost mournful humming contrasting with the sharp whistle of a tea kettle from the kitchen downstairs.
As he descended, he found Casimiro standing at the stove, pouring heated blood from the kettle into a mug. "Morning, caro," he sang, not looking up as he took a drink. "There's some left over, you look like you need it." He practically danced away to lean against the counter, watching Finas with a grin.
"Why are you so cheerful?" Finas asked warily, making his way to the stove.
"You haven't noticed?"
He paused, taking in the absolutely delighted tone in the Italian's voice before turning around. His eyes searched for anything out of the ordinary for a good minute before he noticed.
His unbeating heart figuratively skipped in his chest. "Your eye..."
Casimiro's grin grew.
It was completely normal. Where it had once been white and blinded, it was now a twin to the other, red and seeing and normal. "By God."
"I know, right? I guess that witch doctor was right, killing the source of the curse nullified it. I can see out of it and everything!" The excited nature of the other vampire was almost childish as he set down his mug on the counter beside him. "I mean, that just means that I have to see your ugly mug with two eyes again, but -"
He was cut off by Finas wrapping his arms around his neck in a hug.
The ticking of the clock was the only sound for a good few seconds before Casimiro laughed and returned the hug. "I know."
Finas rested his chin on the taller man's shoulder, staring off at the blackout curtained bay window opposite of them. "That's it."
"Yep. Guess we can go back to sight-seeing. I was thinking of maybe going back to Milan for a day or two, or..."
The brunette just wrapped his arms tighter as the Italian babbled happily, a small smile coming over his own lips.