Thump thump thump thump

There was a repetitive sound emanating from Lewis' chest. The sound resembled something like a muffled heartbeat, though the waves to it appeared to be blocked. It reminded Vivi of the times she'd attend concerts and when she would leave for the restroom. She recalled hearing the loud, constant beat of the music even from yards away then. In this case, the thumping showed a lot of similarity as it seemed to be in another room but was only below her boyfriend's ribcage.

She slowly stirs from her sleep, awoken by the repeating beats of Lewis' heart. She sits up in bed and clutches the side of her pillow to try and keep herself balanced. Her slow movements cause Lewis to wake up from his own slumber, blinking a few times in his sockets until his sight was focused. His girlfriend was currently clutching at her head and staring at something from afar. He raised his skull and noticed the dim, purple lights pouring into the room.

"It happened again?" He asked. Vivi looked over at him and nodded.

"Yeah. It woke me up."

Lewis looked down at his apparel. For a moment, he had been wearing his purple-and-white vest that was once worn on his figure many years ago. Before his death had happened and he was still in the Mystery Skulls' crew. Now that he was awake, his black suit had returned to normal as well as the rest of his deathly appearance. He felt the embers of his hair spark and slowly turn into his usual pompadour.

This tended to happen from time to time. Ever since his blue, broken heart had been restored by reuniting with his girlfriend, his heart had turned into a bright, golden locket. It beat with a regular pace now, though he was still not alive. It always glowed no matter where he was, and only diminished in color when he was feeling sad or upset.

Sometimes, the beating became a nuisance. Especially when they were in quiet areas, like the library, the movies, or even in bed like now. Vivi minimally complained about it, but he knew that the bother his heart caused was still there. If Arthur made any mention of it, he'd have his neck snapped like a twig. Mystery never seemed affected by it, so it was only him and Vivi that really had to deal with it.

"Maybe you can do something about it?" Vivi softly asked, scooting across the bed until she was in front of him.

She picks up the locket in her hand, only to feel it beat even faster and cause more noise than it had before. Lewis took it from her grasp and tries squeezing it as hard as he can. Its form doesn't change, and it only resumes the beating and glowing. The purple color around them happened if the thing got a bit too excited at times or had irregular spasms.

"Do you have work tomorrow?" He asked. She looks at him and hesitatingly nods. Lewis sighed and suddenly stood up from the bed, making his way over to the door.

"I can sleep on the couch tonight, then. I want you to have your sleep-"

"Lew!" His girlfriend exclaimed, sitting up in bed to protest. "Come back. Please? I can't sleep without your company."

The skeleton pauses, a large hand trailing over the doorknob. He withdrew it and begrudgingly made his way back to her bed. He sat down on the edge of it and stared at the heart locket in his hand. It wasn't ceasing from any of its interruptions, and he was starting to think that it wouldn't anytime soon.

Vivi made her way into his lap and nuzzled his chest. Lewis placed a hand over her shoulder and hugged her momentarily. She squeezed his arm back before turning and admiring the heart locket in his hands. She reached over to grab her pink glasses from the nightstand and put them on so she could see it better.

"Sometimes I forget about this thing," She admitted, trailing a finger over its surface. "It's just been so long, you know?"

"It has," Lewis agreed. "I thought it'd have stopped this by now."

Vivi lets out a curious hum. She takes the locket out from his large hands and opens it. The image of her and Lewis years ago, while he was still alive, was placed in its regular spot. Remnants of a blue petal were scattered on its insides, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. She shut it with an audible clank and stared at it inquiringly.

"This started when we met again?" She asked. He nodded his skull beside her shoulder.

"I don't know why. The only time it stopped was when you got really upset at me over that...uh, incident. But it's been gold as ever."

She frowned at the bad memory he brought up. Vivi quickly shakes it off as she turns the heart locket around in her hands. She could feel its gravitational pull to Lewis. It could only go so far before it'd return to the side of his rib cage and to where his heart once was. There was no getting rid of it, though the thought hadn't even crossed either of their minds.

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started to click. She looked up from the locket and analyzed the purple color around the room. It reminded her of that mansion she found Lewis back in awhile ago. Its beat and music that played there was quite similar to the locket's. Whatever enabled him to create that place and the lively beats hadn't left Lewis at all.

Vivi gently set the locket back in his hands, looking up at her boyfriend smugly. She said, "I think I have a theory."

"I'd be glad to hear it," He replied.

"When we were back together, after all those unsolved years of a broken heart..." Her hand grasped his. "It must've been revived from the cracks. And the bouncing is only because your heart is happy."

Lewis sounded unsure. "Happy?" He repeated.

"You know, it's not sad anymore. You aren't sad anymore." She suddenly closed her eyes. "So long as you're happy, it'll keep beating and making all this energy. If you're sad, it'll stop. It just depends on your emotions."

"Oh," The skeleton commented. He took a moment to briefly debate the theory in his head. He nodded again and gently ruffled the top of her blue hair.

"-It's so like you to overthink things until you're right, you know." He chuckled. "Makes me miss the times we had before I passed away."

"I'm still the same person!" Vivi defended, lightly pushing his hand away. "But it's true, isn't it? The only time I've seen it blue was when I saw you for the first time back at that mansion. Ever since then, it's been so exuberant..."

The two of them looked back to the golden locket held in Lewis' hand. Vivi reached out for it and held one side of it with her own hand. Since it was held in both of their touches at the same time, the glow only became stronger and illuminated their faces with a golden color. They squeezed it to test this theory, and found it almost flash in front of their eyes. Vivi quickly withdrew her hand and found that the glow went dim.

"I think it likes you," Lewis teased. Vivi giggled and nudged him.

"-I'd say the owner of it does, at least."

The skeleton exhaled and leaned down to meet her head level. She sat up straight to lay a few kisses on the end of his skull. She rubbed the side of it with her thumb and pulled back with a smile. Her eyes met with his pink orbs for a full minute as they stared at each other longingly.

They missed their company, even when they were together. Being separated by your significant other for so long really took a toll on the heart. Vivi could definitely confirm that now, judging by the impact it left on her poor Lew Lew's heart. She turned back to it and leaned down to lay a kiss on its surface. The heart, in return, jumped from his hands and landed back in his palm.

"As I thought," She rubbed her chin with a finger. "It responds to love."

"I think all hearts do, Vivi." Lewis replied tiredly. She turned back to him and gave him another kiss to shush him.

The two of them sat on the side of her bed, legs hanging off from the mattress. They both held the heart in their hands, gently feeling it slowly rise with its beats within their touch. The slight vibration of it proved to be soothing, as Vivi's muscles had relaxed and Lewis' hair was starting to extinguish. Its noise was assuring more than anything else at that moment.

Eventually, the skeleton laid back in her bed and ushered his girlfriend to lay on top of him. Vivi rested her arms on his shoulders and rested her head right next to his skull. She laid a kiss just on top of his nose before going back to his chest and gently closing her eyes. Lewis grabbed her glasses and set them on the nightstand. He also pulled the blankets over them and made sure she was comfortable.

While the two of them dozed off, Lewis started to rub her back. She heard him say, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asks, yawning.

"As long as I'm with you, I'll still be happy," He explained. "And as long as I'm happy, this heart will keep on being...well, noisy."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Vivi cuddles him. "I want my Lew Lew to be happy more than anything else in the world. If dealing with that thing bumping around all night is the price I have to pay, then so be it."

Lewis chuckled. "Stubborn, aren't you?"

Vivi opened her eyes to wink at him, then went back to squeezing his large frame. She relaxed her muscles and eventually began to start to sleep. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady. Lewis rubbed the back of her hair before closing his own sockets and rested his head in the pillows.

He murmured right before he fell asleep. "I love you, Vivi..."

She smiled and squeezed him weakly. "I love you, too, Lewis..."