When she doesn't respond, I know/ she's used up all her words/ so I slowly whisper I love you/thirty-two and a third times. Jeffery McDaniel // The Quiet World

It was only 3am, but Henry decided to turn down the curtains of his apartment. He wasn't sure if he would have time later to do it. He had let Vicki come home with him, because she needed the company. After being on her own for a few days, he figured the company would help her with her grieving process.

He had left her in the living room, as he turned down the curtains, assuming that she would be okay by herself for a few seconds. As he heard soft sobs coming from the living room, he realized that maybe it was a bad idea to leave her to her own devices.

Henry walked back into the living room. He sat down next to her on the couch. "Vicki," He whispered softly. He wasn't sure if she heard him, and forced himself to wait before he said anything. She looked up at him sadly, and he knew she didn't need to say anything. Her sadness was written all over her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to his chest.

For once in her life, she decided not to be tough, and didn't fight him. She laid her head against his chest, and let herself accept his comfort.

"I love you," He found himself whispering as he kissed her hair. He had never actually said it to her before, and found himself wondering if it was the right thing to say. He did love her in his own little way. He had realized in the last few months that he couldn't live without Vicki, or Mike.
---
100 Years ago

For some reason instead of just ending his miserable existence, Conrad had taken to following Henry when ever he went out. The pathetic shell of a vampire obviously didn't realize that the world would probably be better off without him.

It was really starting to piss Henry off. Two weeks in, instead of going to visit the string of lovelies he fed from, he headed off in the direction of the woods. Henry climbed in a tree, knowing that Conrad was probably a few hundred feet behind him. He closed his eyes, and waited, as he listening to the sounds of the forest.

He was relieved that he only had to wait a few minutes. As he heard Conrad come into the woods, he sprang down from the tree, tackling Conrad to the ground.

Conrad squirmed and tried to get away. He started to whimper as Henry picked him up roughly, and threw him hard against a tree. Henry growled at Conrad. "You are starting to be a nuisance." Henry bared his fangs.

Conrad started to cry, the blood tears leaving trails down his face. "Please don't kill me," He whimpered. He was starting to fall in love with Henry, and he didn't want him to kill him. He wanted to spend his life with Henry.

Henry was sure if the weakling had been human, he would have already wet his pants by now. "Why should I spare your life?" He growled.

Conrad didn't say anything just whimpered. He reached into a pouch on his side, and threw a green glass bottle down. It exploded causing a wave of green smoke to form upwards. Conrad pushed Henry, and took off running into the forest. His heart sunk as he knew that he would never be allowed to come back to the village, for some reason his beloved was mad at him and didn't want him in his life.

Henry vowed next time he saw Conrad around the village he would kill him. He never saw Conrad in the village again.
---
Vicki let herself cry, feeling secure in Henry's arms. She moved her head a little, staring up into his beautiful face. She wasn't sure if now was the time to do what she was thinking, but she stretched her neck up a little, so she could kiss him softly on the lips.

He pulled away for a second. "Are you sure this is the right thing?" Although they had slept together before, he didn't want her to do anything that she was going to regret in the morning.

She didn't say anything, just kissed him softly on the lips. He kissed her back, deepening the kiss. He figured that the kiss was her answer, though he really hoped she hadn't decided to be impulsive.

She moved to a laying position, so that he was on top of her. Her blond hair spread on the back of the couch, and his fingers roaming through her hair as they continued to kiss. She wasn't sure why but she needed this more than she had ever needed sex before. Her fingers went to his shirt greedily, unbuttoning each button. She almost managed to rip all the buttons off his shirt in the process.

---

The next night, the stars were starting to appear brightly in the sky, as Henry and Vicki walked carefully through the cemetery. When they entered the gate, Vicki had taken Henry's hand, but as they got close to the two gleaming white headstones, Henry dropped her hand.

Mike Celluci sat between the ends of the two gravesites, in a strip of grass between plots.

Vicki sat on one side of Celluci, and Henry thought it best to remain neutral and sat on the other side of Celluci. Henry had decided he would let Vicki say whatever she needed to say to Mike without interrupting. He had mainly come to be her sight in the cemetery.

"Hey," Mike said softly to both of them, his eyes still reading the headstones that he had already memorized.

"Sorry, I didn't come to the ceremony the other day. I wanted to respect your wishes. I figured you still couldn't be mad at me after Conrad's death." Vicki hoped the words didn't sound stupid; her mind was flooding with a hundred things to say to him. She had missed him so much over the last few days. She tentatively touched his shoulder, hoping not to experience the legendary Celluci anger.

He gave her a soft hug. "I know you wanted to come."

She hugged him back, unsure what to say.

He found himself chuckling a little as he pulled away. "Molly was the one who requested it. She did that right after the affair, she figured she would have time to change it later, but obviously she never got a chance to. I'm sorry."

Vicki's mouth formed an O, the word not escaping from her lips. She took a deep breath. "I guess I should be glad you weren't mad at me."

"I was mad at you both, but I am not anymore." He stood up, his mind telling him to stop hanging around the cemetery any longer. "Why don't we get out of here?" He suggested, giving them both a half smile. It was the best he could muster with the mix of feelings still in his body.

Henry stood up as well. He touched Mike's shoulder. "We could go watch a movie."

"Sounds like a good idea." Mike helped Vicki stand, and they headed out of the cemetery.