Baz shuffled out into the kitchen, eyes squinted. He spotted Simon and smiled, walking to him and kissing the top of his head. Simon smiled back, wearily.
"So," said Baz, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sipping from it quietly. "My family has a ball every year around Christmas. If you wanted to go, I can call my dad..." he said awkwardly, still staring at his coffee. Simon looked at him, confused.
"Oh, um, do you want to?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I need to go either way, but it'll be less awful if you're there" chuckled Baz, smiling. Simon rolled his eyes.
"Well, I guess I should make an appearance" he said, mockingly adjusting his shirt. Now it was Baz's turn to roll his eyes.
"So I'm taking that as a yes?" Asked Baz, also raising his eyebrow. Simon chuckled.
"Yes, so long as I don't get murdered by egotistical vampires"
"No promises"
The next few days were uneventful, thank god. Agatha went to stay with Penny and Simon had to buy a tux. The night before, Simon and Baz left for Baz's parents' house (mansion, castle, tower, thing). They piled into the car, Baz sliding the key into the ignition. It hummed to life and they slid easily through the rain. Their car was black and sleek, with tinted windows and made very little noise.
"Well, this should be fun" said Simon awkwardly, fiddling with radio adjustments. Baz laughed and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"Describe your definition of 'fun', because it certainly doesn't match mine" he grinned, showing his now smaller but still noticeable fangs. Simon grabbed his hand and kissed it.
"Well, anywhere you are is fun for me" he said, looking up at Baz, who snorted.
"Really? So if I were being murdered and you were standing a foot away but couldn't do anything, that would be fun?"
"Well, okay, so not all places with you. But most"
Baz nodded and smiled with his mouth closed. Baz was like this almost every time he tried to be affectionate. He always posed a counter point and was always cool, cruel, and secluded. It was one of the reasons Simon loved him so much. He leaned over and kissed Baz's cheek, causing him to swerve.
"Christ Snow!" He cried, righting the car.
"I didn't expect you to react so badly" he said, laughing. "Did you ever know that you arch your back like a cat when you're scared?" He laughed more, patting Baz's back.
"Yeah yeah, I've been told before" drawled Baz, rolling his eyes.
"By who?" Accused Simon in a high tone.
"By all of my previous boyfriends" whispered Baz quickly. Simon smacked him on the arm and Baz laughed, keeping the car on course this time.
"How many other boyfriends?" Asked Simon, carrying on the joke.
"Hmm, well let's see, there was one, two, three, four, five... oh! And six!" He counted, looking sideways at Simon who faked shock. "Nope" he said, grabbing Simon's hand and kissing his curled fingers. "You're my one and only, Snow"
"Words I've wanted to hear since seventh year"
"Really?"
"Of course"
"Well, in that case we should make up for lost time" he said, kissing Simon's hand again, who blushed slightly.
Their hands stayed intertwined for the rest of the car ride. When they finally pulled into the castle mansion thing, though, they were forced to part. Baz walked up to the door and rapped on it three times, to which it was promptly opened by a maid.
"Welcome back, young Mr. Pitch. May I take your bags?" She asked with a slight bow. Baz waved her off, saying to let his father know they had arrived. She nodded and walked off, and Simon and Baz ascended the staircase to his old bedroom. It was perfectly clean and organized, everything lined up perfectly. Penelope would be proud.
The many carved gargoyles on his bed and a chest were moving their heads to follow them as they walked. Baz collapsed onto the huge bed, still taking up less than half.
"Ah, home sweet home" he said sarcastically. Simon plopped down next to him and stroked his head, pulling a happy grunt from Baz. Simon chuckled and leaned back slowly, staring at the ceiling. His eyes slowly shut.
"Hey" said Baz, prodding his side. Simon grunted and twitched, opening one eye slowly. Baz laughed again. He had been doing a lot of laughing lately. "Remember that one time we were kissing in here?"
"That was a lot of times, Baz" replied Simon, closing his eye.
"No, I mean, when we were over there because we were too uncomfortable to kiss on the bed, and a maid walked in?" He asked, an amused expression on his face. Simon thought for a moment then nodded.
"That was the same maid" he said, gesturing to the door. Simon laughed.
"No way! She looks totally different!"
"Well, I think the wraith ate her soul"
Simons eyebrows shot up.
"I'm just kidding. The wraith knows to only eat parts of a soul, not the whole thing" explained Baz. Simon snorted and lied back.
"Yes because that is so much better" he said tiredly. Baz curled his body around him, placing his head on Simons stomach. And the two fell asleep right there.
Baz was looking at Simon. He always woke up before him, and so, naturally, he spent a lot of time watching him sleep. It's not weird. A tear threatened to spill from his eye but he blinked it back.
'I'm going to lose you' he thought. He tore his attention off of Simon and around the room. 'I'm going to lose all of this, but I'm mostly going to lose you' the tear made a small, craggy line down his face, falling onto Simon's hand. Another tear fell onto the sheets. There was no way to stop this. He would die. Reversing necromancy was even more dangerous than casting it, and required such huge amounts of magic. Only Simon has that much. Had. He had that much.
"Baz?" Asked Simon groggily, sitting up. Baz jumped back, just avoiding falling off of the bed.
"Jesus Christ Snow some warning first!" He cried. Simon wasn't paying attention. He was focused completely on Baz's watery, bloodshot eyes.
"Baz" he said, cupping his face between his hands. Baz's lips were forced to pucker out from the force Simon was using. "You've been crying"
"Oh, no, it's just an allergic reaction to all of the dust" he said, gesturing around them. Simon looked at him, eyebrows furrowed.
"Vampires don't have allergies, and this room has been kept strangely clean" he pointed out. Baz winced.
I'm going to lose you. Baz shook his head away from Simon, sitting up and looking away from him.
I'm going to lose you. Simon leaned up also.
I'm going to lose you. Simon pulled him down into a kiss.
I'm going to lose you. They split and Baz saw Simon's eyes shining with tears. And he realized something.
You're going to lose me. Baz choked out a sob and dived down, holding Simon around the waist. Simon held his head, kissing the messy black hair and giving a calming "shh" every once and a while, even though he himself also wanted to break down and cry. But he couldn't. He couldn't do that to Baz. So instead he held Baz, letting tears stream quietly down his face. Simon wished that he had never been this chosen one. If he hadn't, none of this would have happened. They wouldn't be being hunted.
"Shh, it's okay" he whispered, putting more force into his words. Baz went quiet and sat up stalk still. He looked at Simon, his face contorted with shock. Simo sat up also.
"What!? What's wrong?" He asked, heart pounding. Baz shook his head, sucking on his fangs.
"N-no, Simon, did you just use magic?" He asked, voice low but almost scared.
"W-What!? No! Baz, it's all gone. All of it" he said shaking his head.
"Well, you certainly didn't draw it from me" he said, wanting to pat himself.
"N-No! Wouldn't I have felt it if I still had any?"
"Yes, but... I don't know! Maybe it's coming back slowly, here, try again"
Simon did, muttering lines under his breath, but nothing happened.
"I guess it was just a fluke or something" said Simon, eyes falling. Baz still looked at him and slapped his own forehead.
"Of course!" He cried, taking Simon's hands. "Simon, what happens if you leave a bucket out in the rain?"
"It fills up"
"Slowly, but yes, it fills up. And what if you were to, say, put a lid on that bucket."
"It wouldn't fill up"
"Exactly!" Exclaimed Baz, eyes wide. Simon watched him, still confused. "Okay" he started to explain. "You are a bucket, and the magical atmosphere is the rain. You've had a lid on something and you finally took it off, allowing the rain to fill you up! What did you finally let go?" Asked Baz, watching him excitedly.
"I was just thinking about how I wished I had never been the chosen one"
"Yes! Yes yes yes!" Baz cried, using all his willpower to not tackle Simon.
"But wait, that doesn't explain why I had magic a minute ago and not now"
Baz rolled his eyes.
"Let's say your bucket had a tablespoon of water in it, just enough for you to cast that spell, and you took the bucket and poured the water out. You'd have to wait for a while to get more water, but it will happen!" Baz almost cheered. Simon's body was naturally rejecting this. What if Baz was wrong? What if his magic wouldn't return?
"Baz I don't know. My magic left, it's gone. And what if it does come back and I start ripping apart the magical atmosphere again? What if the Humdrum comes back?" Asked Simon quickly, getting more and more nervous. Baz looked at him sadly, grabbing his shoulders.
"First of all, you can't take back all of your magic. Rather than having the explosive power of a damned super nova, you'll have normal levels of magic. Your body was built to hold magic, so the magical atmosphere will naturally want to fill you, but not to the point where you're a god, just to the point where you can use normal spells and such. And the Humdrum won't come back. It's like stepping on a glass cup. We pulled out the glass and now the wound is healing. Just because the wound is healed doesn't mean that the glass will come back" he explained sitting poised forward.
"How do you know all of this? It's like you've done this before" asked Simon, looking at his hands. Baz laughed lightly.
"It's basic logic, Simon. Really, did you ever pay attention in magic atmosphere class?"
"That was a class? I don't think I took it" He said. Baz rolled his eyes.
"I remember, we took it together. Now that I think about it, you and lil' miss blonde over there were passing notes the entire time"
Simon blushed as the door creaked open. Baz snapped his neck around. Baz's step-sister poked her head in.
"You look awful" she said, hiding behind the door. Simon snorted, trying and failing to cover it with a cough.
"Gee, thanks" said Baz, rolling his eyes. The little girl pushed her way in and crawled onto the bed.
"Are you sick?" She asked, touching his yellow-ish skin.
"In a way. More like poisoned" said Baz. His sister looked scared.
"Please don't die" she said, wrapping her arms around his slim waist. Baz hugged her back with a small grin that looked more like a grimace.
"I'll try" he said. She let go and climbed awkwardly off of the bed.
"Daddy wants you to come to dinner soon" she said, closing the door behind her.
"I didn't realize you two were so close" said Simon, grinning. Baz shrugged and boosted himself off the bed, walking to his closet. He picked out a white button up shirt and quickly threw it on. He put on a pair of slacks and threw one to Simon, who did the same. As they walked out the door, Baz grabbed Simon's hand.
"This will be fun. Try to not explode" he said, giving him a quick kiss before the two of them walked down the staircase and into the glowing dining room.
Simon stood in the mirror, trying to straighten his bowtie. Baz knocked on the door, walking in and tying his bowtie for him.
"Thanks" said Simon lightly, touching Baz's elbow. Baz grinned tightly and nodded. "Hey, we don't need to do this. I know things about you and your family are...tight. I can just stay up here and sleep or something"
"No, it's fine. I think my dad is finally accepting that I'm gay. Though, maybe we should just not kiss in front of him" Baz explained. Simon nodded.
"What about up here?" He asked, leaning forward. Baz nodded.
Simon and Baz descended the stairs, each dressed in a black suit. The ballroom, yes, ballroom, had lights strung up everywhere and fake snow scattered around. The entire room was filled with people. Woman were twirling about in extravagant, brightly colored dresses and the men were in a variety of colors of suits. Baz and Simon were two of the few wearing black.
They strolled in, Baz looking confident and practically shining in the white light. Simon followed a bit more reluctantly, trying not to slouch. A few people looked their way, but not many. A man slowly approached and Baz stopped. The man had greasy black hair and wire glasses. He bowed formally and Baz nodded.
"Good evening, young Mr. Pitch" he purred in a deep voice.
"Hello, Sodge. How is your son?" Asked Baz, practically sneering.
"Very well, sir. Thank you for asking. How have you been?"
"Fine. Have you met my boyfriend, Simon Snow?" He asked, gesturing to Simon. Sodge looked him up and down, sneering as well.
"Heard of 'im. I didn't realize you were queer." He said, raising an eyebrow. Baz glared, allowing a few sparks to pop from his fingertips. Sodge seemed to remember who he was talking to and snapped back, apologizing profusely. Baz blinked and tilted his head, and Sodge practically scampered away.
The two continued their way down the room without talking. They were approached by a few more people who all looked very posh and formal. They finally made their way to a small door at the back and Baz pressed his wand tip to its handle, muttering a few words. The lock clicked and Simon and Baz slipped through. The room inside was especially dark compared to the bright light from the ball. It took Simon a moment to recognize the room as a bar. It was dark with golden lights. Baz strode to the counter and put his arms on it.
"Two whiskeys" he said in a flat tone. He grabbed the drinks after they had been filled and led Simon to a dark corner. The bartender disappeared through a pair of double doors into the kitchen. Baz swirled his drink and took a long sip. Simon took a small taste and choked it down.
He wasn't a huge fan of the heavier alcohol, or alcohol in general. He could stomach champagne and even enjoyed wine, but he never had a taste for vodka or whiskey. Though it did help in certain situations such as going to your vampire boyfriend's family's ball where everybody hates you from the moment they meet you. But Baz on the other hand could stomach any alcohol, but he didn't drink often. He hated the feeling of being drunk.
"Trust me, Snow, when you have as many enemies as I do, you'll understand why you shouldn't be drunk" he had said once when Simon had asked. Baz finished his drink, grimacing and setting his glass down. Simon took one last sip and the two stood, walking through the doors.
"Basilton!" Called a voice. The pair looked up and saw Baz's father walking towards them. Now it was Baz's turn to be the formal one.
"Father" he said, craning his neck. His father shook Simons hand and clapped Baz on the back.
"Basilton I heard you beat that rat Nicodemus. I'm glad to see that you're finally standing up for yourself. And hello Simon, how are you?"
"Fine sir, thank you" he said, nodding his head respectively.
"Good, that's good. So how's..." he started, stopping and watching as Baz was pulled into a group of women, all chatting about how much he had grown. Baz looked back as their groups moved farther away from each other. Simon gave him a panicked look and Baz offered a sympathetic smile before being completely sucked away.
"Anyways, how is your friend? Penelope, I believe it was?"
"Oh, she's fine. We actually haven't seen each other in quite a while" said Simon, trying hard not to look away.
"Oh, I hope nothing has happened to you two?
"No, we just haven't had any time lately" laughed Simon, shaking his head.
"Good, it's good to have strong relationships. Speaking of which, how's your and Baz's, ehrm, relationship?"
"Good, sir. We're very happy"
"Ah yes, I'm glad to hear that. Do you think you two might wed?" He asked cautiously. Simon stiffened.
"Wed? Like, like marriage?"
Baz's father laughed heartily.
"Yes, I mean marriage. Do you two think you might have marriage in your future?"
Simon turned bright pink.
"I'm honestly not sure, sir. We really haven't talked about it" stuttered Simon.
"Well, here comes Baz. I must say, if my son must marry a man, I'm glad it's you" and with that he strolled away.
"Oh god what were you talking about" asked Baz, placing his hand over his eyes.
"Nothing much, really, just... marriage" Simon said slowly. Baz stiffened.
"Oh. Well, is that something you're interested in?" He asked, looking at Simon.
"Yes. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I just think now isn't the best time"
"I agree. How about we pick this up at a later date?"
"Yes."
"I love you, Simon"
"I love you too, Baz"
A/N: Special long chapter for a 500 view special. This chapter was more or less a mood lifter, but some important shat went down! Don't worry, we get back to the story soon. Thanks guys!