Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The end of semester party at Scott’s place was in full swing. The house was filled with music that was loud, but wasn’t too loud to talk over, and multiple games laid out in different rooms. There was also a large kitchen island filled with chips, drinks, and other snacks for all of the crazy people who populated their friend group.

Listen, getting snacks for vampires, werewolves, two different flavors of cryptid, a few demon-born (one of which was still a ghost), and some humans but a little to the left, is a task and a half.

Setup and prep work had been planned weeks in advance. Legundo, Abolish, Cleo, and Pearl had all offered to help set everything up and bring along some games and food, so the four had piled into Legundo’s car to drive from the campus apartments to Scott’s home, and pulled into the driveway an hour before the party was scheduled to begin.

Rather than wait for someone to answer the front door, Cleo simply opened it and let themselves and the others in. Scott had given them an open invite into the house years ago, and Legs was sure they abused it whenever they could. Inside, everyone’s full hands were quickly dropped onto tables and counters, before Scott came into the room and greeted everyone.

Set up didn’t take too long, and luckily there was only one close call with disaster when someone bumped the ladder Abolish was using to string fairy lights across the room, but Pearl reacted quickly and steadied it before anyone tumbled.

Slowly, as the hour grew closer, the full group arrived at the house. The coven members who were currently home trickled downstairs. Shelby and Drift offered to help with the final preparations, and they were followed a little later by Pyro, then Avid and Elle. Owen and Louis arrived, soon followed by Martyn, Apo, Ren, Cherri, and M, who got there together, carpooling after practice.

Finals had kept everybody busy the past month, each of them studying or grading or rehearsing final presentations, anything and everything to finish their classes with passing grades. Everyone spent the first while catching up, a relaxed beginning to what would, knowing their friends, inevitably become completely unruly mess by the end of the night. Eventually, games began, the music was turned up, and the party fully started.

Screaming matches over games occurred, a game of ‘murder on a train’ was started around the house, everyone relishing in the chance to be a little evil, and a game of intense tag was played in the backyard. Snacks and drinks were shared and they were all having a fantastic time.

A few hours later, Legs found himself leaned against a wall in the living room, chatting calmly with Abolish. About anything from classes to the latest show that had interested them to work. Most of the group had gathered in the same room, sat on couches or the floor, talking and yelling and laughing filling the space.

The next song that came on caught several people’s attention. It was a good tempo to dance to, with a catchy chorus and beat. It had come out recently, Legs remembered, and all the radio stations were playing it regularly. His eyes snapped over to Louis as he spoke.

“Oh, I love this song!” Louis exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat. “Dance with me?” He asked, holding his hand out to Owen, who took it with a small grin, allowing himself to be pulled up and to the makeshift dance floor.

More of their friends joined in, grabbing a partner or anyone that was close, as they began to dance in the living room. The room was usually occupied by couches and a coffee table, but the furniture had been moved in their earlier prep to other rooms or pushed up to the walls to make space, freeing up the area for whatever they wanted. Which included dancing tonight; not super common during their parties, but not too rare either.

Even with several dancers swaying and jumping to the music, Legs found he couldn’t take his eyes away from one pair in particular. Owen and Louis were gliding across the room, eyes locked on each other. Occasionally, they would whisper something, before smiling or laughing, seeming completely in a world of their own. They looked so content, almost ethereal, in the soft glow of the fairy lights strung across the ceiling.

He finally tore his eyes away as he felt the itch of a cough grow. Turning his head, he cleared his throat lightly into his arm, which turned into two coughs, then three. It felt like there was something stuck in his throat. Not enough to block his breathing, but certainly enough to make his body demand it be removed.

Legs took a moment and stepped away, moving towards one of the bathrooms down the hall. The music grew faint as he closed the door and locked it. Leaning over the sink, hands griping on the counter, he felt a worse cough tear through him. He screwed his eyes shut, coughing a few more times, and after a very long few seconds, whatever had been lodged in his throat was finally spat out.

He sat with his forehead against the counter for a few moments, catching his breath and taking a moment for his throat to stop burning. Finally, he lifted his head, taking another deep breath before opening his eyes.

There was a petal in the sink. Covered in his own saliva, but a petal none the less.

Had he eaten flowers sometime during the party and forgot? Why were there petals in his mouth? Had there been a game of truth or dare he forgot he had joined in on?

Stepping back and leaning against the wall, his thoughts continued to run wild with concern and confusion. He tried to slow his breathing, to calm down and think logically. It took longer than he would have liked, but eventually his breathing evened out, allowing him a moment to think.

He pulled out his phone with shaky fingers, still taking the extra time to pull up the university’s database instead of using the search engine, before searching: “Coughing up flower petals?”

It took a moment to load, but after a minute, a few articles popped up.

The first ones were only about choking incidents or poison control information. He glanced through each, none seeming to be what he was looking for. But finally, scrolling down, he saw something that caught his eye.

The Flowering Lung Disease: Hanahaki. From Myth to Reality. By Flow Lanson, et. all. Published June 14^th, 19XX.

“Historians used to argue over the existence of Hanahaki. Some claiming it was real while others claimed it was a made up cautionary tale about not holding your feelings inside. Everything changed when the first documented case of the disease was recorded at Oakhurst University.

Proven fact, researchers began looking at causes, symptoms and more. It was discovered that Hanahaki is contracted by hiding strong feelings of affection towards someone else. This is manifest as flowers growing in the lungs, usually representing the person of their feelings, causing the affected one to cough up flower petals, and even full flowers if left long enough.

The cure was quickly discovered to be confessing one’s feelings, which causes all the flowers to bloom around them. Studies have proven Hanahaki is not deadly, and will still be cured upon confession even without returned feelings. A common tradition has formed because of this disease, where the flo...

~Please sign in to view article in full.”

Huh. That’s… wait. What?! Hanahaki? One of his professors had mentioned the disease in a lecture or two a few semesters back, but as an example of an easily identifiable, but really rare illness.

There was no way he had hanahaki. He had been looking at Owen and Louis as they danced, and they looked stunning, but surely that didn’t mean he liked them like that.

And as if to prove him wrong, a cough tore through this throat, another petal landing in his hand. Dropping the second petal next to the first, he stared at both resting in the sink. One was white, the other a deep red. He could try to lie to himself, say the petals could be for anyone else, but…

Damn it.

Wandering back into the party was harder than he was expecting. A few people were still dancing, a different song on now. His breath still hitched whenever he saw Louis or Owen, each time another petal threatening to appear, but he swallowed the urge to cough each time.

Legs could see Cleo giving him a look from across the room. The type that said, “I swear if you are sick and forcing yourself to be here, I will drag you home by the ear myself.” He tried to send back a reassuring smile, which only made her frown and head his way.

“What’s wrong?” Their tone left no room for arguing.

“Nothing, just feeling a little tired is all.”

“Uh huh. So why do you look like you saw a ghost?”

“I mean Avid is right over there.” He chuckled, fading off when Cleo’s unimpressed glare intensified. “I’m sorry. I promise I’m okay. There’s something I just found out about, and I’m not sure how to feel yet.”

“Is this a ‘share with your closest friend’ something or a ‘I need to stare at my ceiling late into the night’ something? I won’t pry, but I will listen if you need.” They laid a hand on his shoulder, glare disappearing into a small supportive smile.

Legs took a deep breath, genuinely taking a moment to think before answering his so proclaimed closest friend (she’s right, of course, but he didn’t need to tell her that, they both knew they had each other’s backs no matter what.)

“More the second right now, I think. I need a little time to process, but I will let you know if that changes.” He reached up to his shoulder and squeezed their hand, a genuine smile on his face this time. They nodded before heading back to continue their conversation with Shelby and M.

He continued to wander around, absentmindedly chatting as he did so. At one point, Martyn and Owen got into an argument over something Legs hadn’t caught. But seeing the fire in Owen’s eyes, his sharp grin underneath, made Legs lose his careful grasp on his control, another cough breaking out into his hand. He shoved the white petal into his pocket until he could throw it away without anyone noticing.

Everyone began to wind down around 3 am. Some beginning to clean up or put food away, others moving furniture back where it belonged, a few dead asleep. Legs saw that across the room from where he was helping put the coffee table back in place, Louis had drifted off, head resting on Owen’s shoulder, sleepily grumbling as Owen tried to wake him enough to get to their car.

A cough and another petal, this time deep red, immediately in his pocket.

Everything had been tidied up and put back in place, when Legs heard a call behind him.

“Bye Legundo. It was wonderful getting to see you tonight.” Louis half-whispered half-yelled from the doorway, eyelids heavy, but he looked determined to say goodbye before falling asleep again.

“Good night Louis,” Legs forced out, smiling, but another petal itching in his throat. He turned his head to Owen, who was still holding Louis, making sure the sleepy vampire wouldn’t fall or trip. “Message when you get home safe?”

“I will, you don’t have to be a mother hen Legs.” Owen chirped with an over-exaggerated roll of his eyes, his fake frown slipping into a smile. “Tonight was fun. See you soon, doc.”

With a small wave from both vampires, they stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind them.

Legundo rounded up the four friends he was driving home, he had offered during the party to drive Pyro and Apo back to their dorm. Apo had politely declined and gone home with Cherri, but Pyro had taken him up on the offer. Abolish claimed shotgun while Pyro, Cleo, and Pearl climbed in the back.

He was quiet on the drive back. He heard the others talking and laughing, occasionally chiming in himself, though it was short. He even heard them memime-ing at each other at some point during the drive, which did make him smile slightly.

Legs could feel Abolish glancing his way every few minutes, most likely noticing he was off. He can read everyone like a book, able to notice the tiny things no one else would have. But Abolish doesn’t bring it up, just looks at him one more time before looking like he has made a mental note, and tuning fully into the conversation with those in the back seat.

When they arrived back on campus around 4:30, no one else was out and about, the streets were as dead as some of them were. The five split ways with goodbye’s and see you later’s, everyone heading to their own apartments.

As soon as his door was locked behind him, Legs sunk to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest. More coughs and petals forced their way from his throat, spilling to the floor in a multicolored mess.

Why did it have to be them? They were so good for each other, they didn’t need him intruding and screwing everything up.

He couldn’t tell them, he decided then and there, on the cold tile of his apartment floor. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t bear to lose either of them. Even briefly imagining the disgust and anger that would be on their faces if he told them had his heart heavy, sinking into his stomach like it was made of lead

He could deal with this, he thought as he coughed up another two petals. One white, one red. He couldn’t lose them.

At least it isn’t fatal.

Chapter Text

A loud knock directly above his head woke him suddenly. Legundo hadn’t meant to fall asleep leaned against his front door, and his neck was not going to be happy today, he noted, as he quickly stood up and stretched. Multiple pops and cracks echoed as he did so.

The knock came again, followed by a confused, muffled “You alright in there, Doctor?”

Owen. Why was he here?

His mind launched into overdrive, stealing a glance out of the peephole to confirm the vampire was outside his door; he was, and looked like he was shuffling his feet slightly. Legs quickly moved to throw away all of the dried petals from around him and picking the few off of his clothes.

“Be there in a moment!” He called out, frantically trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes as he coughed again. No petals this time, good. A quick look at the microwave showed it was already 11:30 am, he usually didn’t sleep past 8, no wonder Owen seemed confused.

Legs unlocked the door and pulled it open, inviting the other man in with a small smile. Owen hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head replying, “I’ll stay out here, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, no need to come in if it will be a quick visit. What can I do for you Owen?”

“You can stay away from us.”

...What? Owen’s voice was harsh and cold, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.

“I- sorry, what do you mean?”

“You heard what I said. I don’t want you anywhere near me, and certainly nowhere near Louis.”

“Did something happen? I’m sorry if I did something last night, I thought we left on pleasant terms?” His heart was beating in his skull, hands beginning to shake, and he stilled them with some effort, trying to push down the fear clawing up from his stomach.

“We were okay, until we found these.” Owen spat, holding out a hand and shoving it towards Legundo’s face.

Petals, several white petals were held in his hand. Legundo’s heart dropped, stealing his breath with it. Where had he found those?

“Owen, I wasn’t going to do anything, I swear. I was going to keep it to myself.” He stammered, head feeling both like molasses and lightning at the same time. Too slow, too fast, he couldn’t think.

“Oh really? You just happened to get sick with this… love sickness? Now? With everything that has happened?” He growled, anger growing “You hate that Louis came back don’t you?”

“What?! No! I would never hav-”

“NO! You think that you can lie to me?” Owen poked an angry finger into his chest, “You want to take away the one thing I care about in this world!”

“Please, you have it wrong, I wasn’t going to tell either of you.” He gasped, coughs wracking him again, more petals falling into his hands. He couldn’t get them to stop shaking. Everything was growing dark and fuzzy, and he felt his legs give out below him, crashing to his knees on the hard tile. All he could see was Owen and his own trembling hands, filled with red and white flowers.

A third voice called from behind him, warping and combining with Owen’s. It echoed and twisted, the overlap of the two voices stabbing into his head.

“You really thought either of us could love you, soldier?” Legs spun his head to see Louis, a cruel, mocking smirk on his face. Stepping towards him, Louis’ hands moved to hold his shoulders in a crushing grasp, fingers digging into his collar. Legs opened his mouth, but before he could speak more petals filled his throat, a new coughing fit ripped from his chest.

“Aw, he truly did think we cared about him.”

The coughing wouldn’t stop. Blood and petals and bile pouring from his mouth.

“As if we could love a monster. A killer.”

Please.. stop…

“You really are pathetic.”

He knows that...

“Just stay away from us.”

It’s all dark, there’s so much blood…

“I hate you.”

Too much blood… too many flowers

please . . .

Legs bolted upright with a gasp, hands flying to his throat and face, breaths shaky and shallow. His eyes darted across his bedroom, searching for the two vampires, apologies on the tip of his tongue.

Instead of finding a vampire, he found another friend; concerned brown eyes below neatly combed black hair, the other's hands on his shoulders.

“Just breath Legs, okay? Try and match my breaths.” Abolish said, gently grabbing one of Legundo’s hands and placing it against his own chest before breathing, slow and exaggerated.

It took a few minutes, Abolish never rushing him, before he got his breathing under control, head lulled, chin against his chest. With a small tap on the shoulder, Legs lifted his eyes back to Abolish.

“You back?” He asked quietly.

“Yes, I believe I am.” He took another long breath. “Thank you, Abolish.”

“No problem, Legs. Sorry for letting myself in, I could hear you from outside and wasn’t going to leave you alone.”

“I appreciate it, apologies for disturbing your morning.”

“Didn’t disturb anything,” Abolish replied, a slight chuckle escaping him. “It’s only nine, also, I realized I left my phone in your car last night and wanted to see if I could get it back.”

“Oh! Of course.” Legs said, a small grin on his own face. “Mr. Super Spy lost his phone, how did that happen?” He teased, standing up and crossing to his closet. He hadn’t fallen asleep at his door, thank goodness, but he had fallen asleep before changing into nightwear, so all he needed were a pair of shoes.

“Yeah, yeah, first and last time it’s gonna happen, Doc. Just don’t tell the others, they would never let it go.” Abolish said, smiling and lightly shoving Legs as he sat down to put on his shoes.

They stood, Legs grabbing his keys, and both heading out the door towards the parking lot. There was quiet for a few moments before Abolish continued. “So, nightmare last night? Everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay. Nothing I’m not used to, Abolish. Thank you for the concern, though.” Please don’t ask, he internally sighed. He isn’t sure he could manage any questions, and he already felt drained by today.

“Still not going to take me up on the offer to room together?”

“I couldn’t intrude. Besides, I’m not a good roommate, don’t want you to get sick of me.” He laughed, and Abolish let out a small laugh too, shoulders relaxing slightly.

“You wouldn’t intrude, but if you say so.”

Reaching the car, Legs unlocked it allowing Abolish to pull open the passenger side door and locate his phone. After a moment, he stood back up, phone in hand.

“Got it. Hey, you want to get breakfast? I’ve been feeling like something from the brunch place down the road. It will be my treat?”

Legs thought for a brief second before agreeing. They both decided to walk in the lovely late spring weather. The dream had rattled him, but it was okay. That could wait until later; now, all he needed to do was get food with his friend.

Chapter Text

Breakfast with Abolish had been great. Over the time they were there, Legs felt most of his tension and panic from the morning fade. Abolish never pried or even brought up that morning once they arrived, which he was very thankful for.

They talked about their plans for the summer, they both had jobs in town or on campus starting later that day, and whatever random topics came up. They had been debating about who was the better archer between the two of them, when the time came that Legs needed to head home to make it to work on time.

“It would be a bad impression to be late on the first day.” He chuckled as they approached their dorm building.

“Oh definitely.” Abolish agreed. “I’ll see you later Legs!”

“Bye Abolish!”

Waving a final goodbye, he ran up to his apartment, changing into a pair of work scrubs for his summer internship and grabbing his bag, before heading back downstairs and hopping in his car. The office was about a 25 minute drive away from his place, but it was a genuine medical office position so the commute was worth it.

Legs parked in the back lot for employees, walking around to the front of the building since he hadn’t actually gotten his key yet. He would get it today, so he figured parking there would be more convenient after his shift.

The office was already bustling with activity when he opened the door The secretary recognized him, greeting him with a “Hello! Dr. Marnet is in her office right now, so you should be good to head back to get your tasks for today.”

Legs thanked the man and slipped around the counter. The office had a small plate next to it with the doctor’s name, so he knocked and waited a short moment until he heard “Its open, come on in!” called from the other side. Pulling the door open, he stepped in.

“Oh, good morning Legundo. Did you see the email I sent this morning?” Dr. Marnet asked, looking up from her work as he entered.

“Good morning Dr. Marnet. Sorry, I didn’t check it this morning, is something the matter?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” She sighed before continuing, “I got a call last night that due to budget cuts my intern program will have to be unpaid if I continue it. I apologize for it being so last minute, but I believe it would be better for you if you looked elsewhere for a job this summer.”

Legs thought for a moment. This was the only internship where he would be working in a medical office. Getting to work in Dr. Marnet’s office would be helpful for future jobs, and he wouldn’t be a glorified janitor or paperwork scanner here. He could actually help people.

“I’ll stay on unpaid then.” He stated. “You’re doing good work here, and it is worth it to me to stay.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, and when he nodded, she smiled and said “Welcome to the team. Let’s get you started.”

His first day had been amazing. Stressful, but amazing, and he felt tired in the best way. Upon getting back home, Legs realized he would need to do something finances wise for the summer and upcoming semester. He pulled out his laptop and started searching.

After checking multiple sites and listings, Legundo had found two jobs that were hiring. Both weren’t great, but he would take either at this point. He set up interviews with each later that week.

With that taken care of, he looked at his phone for the first time that day. He saw the email from Dr. Marnet, a few emails about some sale or another happening, and reminder from Oakhurst University to register for next semester if he hadn’t already. He marked them all as read.

Switching over to the group chat, he saw several messages from his friends about the party last night and when they could all get together again. He saw four notifications not from the group chat.

Two were from Cleo.

     Good night Legs.

     Let me know if you want to talk, yeah?

He smiled before responding:

     Thanks Cleo <3 You down to get lunch this weekend?

Moving to the remaining notifications, his breath hitched with another cough when he saw who they were from. It was the group chat with himself, Owen, and Louis.

     Owen 4:48 am

     Home safe. Hope the new job goes well tomorrow. Louis and I know you’ll be great :)

     Louis 1:13 pm

     Hope first half of your day has been good Legundo. Please let us know if you need anything!

He felt a smile on his face reading the messages. More coughs and a couple more petals later, he sent back:

     Legs 7:39 pm

     Thanks to both of you. First day was long, but in a good way. How was first day of the break for you?

Was texting them and continuing the conversation a recipe for more petals? Yes. Was it worth it to talk to either of them? Also yes.

He set about to make dinner, and had just gotten a sandwich put together when his phone dinged.

     Louis 7:44 pm

     Very glad to hear that. First day of break has been calm. Mostly relaxing and sleeping off the end of the semester and the chaos of last night.

     Owen has declared you are the worst for texting back when his hand were dirty making food. Quoting him: “How dare he! When I can’t even text back right now? The nerve!”

     Legs 7:47 pm

     Hahaha. My sincerest apologies, shame on me. However can I repay him?

Legundo laughed to himself, four more petals making themselves known after. Grabbing his food, he sat down on the couch and pulled out one of his textbooks. He wanted to go over a few topics he had felt iffy on during his finals, so figured reading while having dinner would be a good use of time.

About an hour passed, he had finished his dinner and read two chapters, before he got a reply to his last message.

     Owen 9:03 pm

     You can repay him by opening your door.

Legs barely had time to raise an eyebrow in confusion, before a BANG-BANG-BANG echoed from his door. He pushed his book to the coffee table, before moving and opening the front door.

“Hello Legs. You gonna let us in or what?” Owen said stuffing his phone back in his pocket, Louis next to him, his arms full with a tray.

He froze for a moment, head running a million miles a minute. No actual thoughts clear enough to understand, but the general consensus seemed to be “Happy to see them” and “Terrified to see them.”

“Uh, yes, of course. Welcome in.” He said after a pause, opening the door fully to let the two vampires in.

Owen immediately bee-lined for his couch, draping himself across the whole thing, while Louis set down the tray onto the counter.

“Owen made you a dessert for your first day on the new job.” Louis chimed. “Hope you like it.”

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you both to bring it.” He said, holding his breath to stop another petal.

“It was Louis’ idea, I just helped!” Owen blushed, turning his head away from both of them.

“Sure it was.” Louis grinned conspiratorially to Legs (don’t blush, don’t cough). “He totally didn’t run out this morning because we didn’t have the right type of chocolate for you.”

“HEY!” Owen jumped up, sitting upright on the couch with a glare, looking more adorable than mad (dang it, hold down the petals, don’t slip up). “It wasn’t like that, I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t bad.”

“Well, either way I appreciate it. Would you two like to stay for a bit and share it?” Legs asked, both excited and scared when they agreed.

They all ended up sat around his living room, Legs and Louis sat on the couch and Owen sat cross-legged on the floor at the other side of the coffee table, each holding their own plate of apple crisp with a dark chocolate drizzle and chocolate pieces mixed in.

An hour passed with the three of them talking and finishing their dessert. Legundo was able to keep most of his coughing down, and got away with blaming allergies on the rest. Keeping a few petals tucked in the sides of his mouth was uncomfortable, but far better than revealing anything to the two of them.

Louis questioned his textbook at one point, and when he replied he was brushing up on some areas from his finals, called him impressive and dedicated. Followed by Owen’s comment of “over-achiever”, which sparked an argument between the two of them over who was the worse over-achiever. At one point during the bickering, Legs could have sworn he glanced Louis’ way for a moment, and saw the softest smile directed at himself and the other vampire, but if it was there, it quickly disappeared into a laugh as Legs brought up the beanbag incident in Professor Kel’s class last year.

Eventually, he did thank Louis and Owen for stopping by, but admitted he was getting tired and needed to rest.

“Oh yes, we should head home, don’t want to overstay our welcome.” Louis chuckled. “Thank you for letting us stay and chat for so long.”

“Thank you for visiting. It is always good to see you.” Legs smiled, keeping one last cough at bay. “Thank you again Owen for the dessert, it was amazing.”

“Glad you liked it.” Owen said, opening the door for himself and Louis. “Hope the new job keeps going well. See you around, Legs.”

“See you both later.” He replied, waving as the vampires headed down the hall, before closing his door.

A full blown coughing fit tore out of his lungs as soon as the door latched. Grabbing a bowl, several groups of petals forced their ways out. All in all, it was probably close to 20 petals in the bowl by the time the coughs subsided.

Ow. That was not pleasant.

Taking a glance at the red and white petals, a wave of emotion struck unexpectedly.

Gods, he cared about them so much. Legs felt his chest ache, not just from holding in a hacking fit all evening, but from the knowledge his feelings had to stay where they were. He already knew he couldn’t tell them. He would ruin everything, they were happy without him throwing a wrench in it. But gods, it still hurt, even if it was better for everyone.

Even so, he felt the constant pull in his chest as he cleaned up, got ready for bed, and set his alarm for the next morning.

Why couldn’t his heart and his mind get on the same page. He swore it would hurt less that way.

Chapter Text

Saturday came much faster than Legundo anticipated. He’d officially been hired for his second job and started it; now his sleep schedule was worse than ever, but he had it all handled.

Work at Dr. Marnet’s office was 11am to 7pm, after that he would head home and sleep, before waking up at 12:30am to get to his other shift from 1am to 10am. He was used to a strange schedule due his several nocturnal friends, so the adjustment hadn’t been too bad. Five hours was surely enough sleep in one night. And he had weekends off for both jobs, so he could always catch up then.

The first week had been rough, but at least there hadn’t been anymore close calls with anyone figuring out what he was hiding. Cleo would be stopping by today to hang out, and Leg’s was certain they would ask about what had happened Sunday. He wanted to tell them, he trusted them with his life after all, but he couldn’t figure out how to say it.

He spent the morning reading some more, still debating how to go about telling her, when there was a knock at the door and it opened up. Legs stood and turned to see the friend of the hour, shoving their keys back into their bag with one hand, and holding a lidded container that was probably filled with blood and a takeout bag in the other.

“Hi Cleo. How has your morning been?” He asked, stepping over to grab the bag from them, before sitting at the dining room table.

“I am good, thanks for asking Legs. Sorry I am late, picking up your food got delayed.”

“Oh, it’s okay, was there an issue with the online order I made?” At the shake of their head, he continued, “Well that’s good. Thank you again for picking it up for me.”

“Yeah, anytime Doc. How are you doing?” She asked, sitting across from him. She dropped her bag on one of the empty chairs and took a sip of her drink.

“I have been well. Work has been a lot, but nothing out of hand. Your summer classes start on Monday, right?”

“Yep. Got one class I’m actually taking, and two others that I’m TA-ing for. It’s going to be a busy summer, but at least I got two night classes this time.” They laughed. “I still remember when I got that burn from the open window that I didn’t notice in my noon class.”

“Yes, I bandaged that up since your vampire healing wasn’t working on sun damage. Did you get a scar from that?” He asked, chuckling from the memory.

“I did, faint one, but it stuck around.” She lifted and twisted her arm to show the scar resting on the outside of her arm near her elbow. “Doesn’t hurt at all anymore, so that’s all I care about.”

“Hey, I’m not one to judge people for their scars.” He said, gesturing towards his face. “If I did, I’d be one big hypocrite.” They laughed again.

“Yeah. I think we both agree, scars are proof you’ve survived everything the world has thrown at you.”

“Especially with all the menaces we call friends. I swear I still feel the spot where Owen hit me in the shoulder when we all went paint-balling.”

At the mention of Owen, he felt an itch in his throat again. Turning to cough into his elbow, he felt a new petal in his mouth, which he pushed under his tongue to hide it until he could throw it away.

“You getting sick, Doc?” Cleo asked, a bit of concern slipping into their voice.

“Not exactly…” He trailed off. How could he explain this? His chest felt like it was going to explode, both the guilt and the flowers choking him constantly. What kind of person falls for two people already in a happy relationship? They didn’t need a monster like him, no one did.

She shouldn’t have to deal with his problems. Would it be better to not tell her?

No. Cleo was the one person who understood what being a monster felt like. They would stick around even if no one else would. They had each other’s backs, come hell or high water.

“Does it have to do with earlier? At the party?”

He nodded, voice not cooperating.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Another nod, before leaning his elbows onto the table and burying his face in his hands. A broken laugh leaving him.

“I don’t know how to explain.” He half whispered. “I feel horrible, but can’t do anything about it.” He paused. The petal. Its floral scent was filling his nose, the taste still in his mouth. He could show them.

He sat up, one hand dropping to his lap, the other staying by his mouth. He looked back at his friend. In one swift moment, if he hesitated he wouldn’t do it, he plucked the white petal from beneath his tongue and held it pinched between two fingers out for Cleo to see.

For a moment there was confusion on her face.

“Was there a flower in your food? What the…” They stopped as he shook his head. “Not from the food. Huh.”

“It started happening that night. I thought I had gotten past this, but I guess not.” He sighed, and he saw the moment it clicked.

“The flowers are from you. You have that hana- whatever it’s called, right?” She said, looking between the petal and him.

“Hanahaki. And yes.”

“It happens because of hiding your feelings. I remember one time when Shelby was taking about it from a story she was reading.” They snapped their fingers. “You said you didn’t know what to do, you only have to tell whoever it’s for.”

“It’s not that simple. They’re already in love.” He whispered the last bit, it was the first time he had said it out loud.

“Oh." A pause. "You could still tell them, yeah?” She asked.

“I can’t ruin what they have. If I tell them…” He exhaled, “I’d rather stay quiet and keep them, than say something and lose them.” He confessed.

They both sat in silence for a moment, mulling over what had just been said. Legs felt like he could see Cleo’s processing behind their eyes. Their gaze was slightly unfocused, eyes moving around, and they were mouthing inaudible words as they thought about it. A minute passed before they spoke.

“I know who it’s for. And I get not telling them, I understand why you don’t want to.” Her eyes snapped to his. “I won’t tell anyone without your say, but friend to friend, I still think you should tell them.”

“I can’t. I couldn’t even tell you.” He said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

“Well, you still trusted me and showed me, so that counts for something.” They said. “Does it hurt?”

“Not really? It’s almost like there is a pressure in my chest, and coughing a bunch has made my throat sore, but nothing beyond that. It isn’t deadly either, so there’s that.”

“That’s good.” She paused for a moment. “Anything else you want to get off your chest? Except the flowers I guess.” That got a genuine laugh out of him.

“No, nothing I can think of. I appreciate you Cleo, you’re a great friend.”

“Aw. Thanks. You’re an amazing friend too.” There was a quiet moment, both simply processing everything, before Cleo stood up, planting their hands on the table. “I don’t know about you, but that’s plenty of emotions for today I think. Wanna watch something and just be some emotional potatoes for a few hours?”

“That sounds amazing.”

Chapter Text

The disease had progressed over the past three weeks. It had started with a petal or two, then some leaves and other plant matter joined multiple petals, and now, full flower blooms were forcing their way up from his lungs. His house always had a slightly floral scent hanging in the air now, a faint honeyed smell along with a gentle tang.

Both petals seemed to come from roses, or at least a type of flower that looked similar to roses. Legs chuckled to himself, he certainly was no botanist; that’s why he chose a medical field. (The nightmare from last night begged to differ with that reasoning.) The white ones were a little different, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they were another flower.

He had read something about the flowers having meanings when someone had Hanahaki, so maybe he should try to figure that out. When he had more time of course. His life had gotten so busy.

Legundo had kept up with his current obligations, of course. Excellent performance reviews from both jobs for his first month, he had continued studying for next semester, and no one else had learned about the flowers. Sure, he couldn’t remember the last time when his eyes hadn’t felt heavy, and he averaged closer to one meal a day instead of three, and his nightmares had been worsening, but he was fine. Totally fine. He had everything handled.

It had been a busy Friday, but his shift at the medical office had been going smoothly. He helped run pre-tests for patients, he sent several prescription requests, and even helped to calm down a scared kid who came in with a broken arm. He had just exited the bathroom after taking care of another flower, when he jolted at his name being called.

“Legundo? My office, now. Please.” Dr. Marnet had called, beckoning him over with a concerned glance on their face.

He stepped into the office, puzzled as he asked what was wrong. Had he messed something up? He hadn’t forgot any of his chart information, and had completed all his current tasks. Was there a complaint? Yeah, he was a little tired, but he didn’t remember slipping up with any patients.

“You’re bleeding. There’s blood around your mouth.” Dr. Marnet said “Are you alright?” They questioned, pulling out a cloth and bandages as they gestured at Legs to sit down.

“Oh.” Legs stammered, racing thoughts freezing in place. He sat, taking the offered cloth before beginning to wipe his face. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t noticed. I don’t think I’m hurt.”

“Would you let me take a look?” They asked.

“Yes.” He replied. “If I got blood on anything I’ll clean it up.”

“That is the least of my concerns right now. You’re literally bleeding, I don’t care about the floors.” The doctor let out a small huff as they began inspecting his face. “I don’t see any external cuts or wounds, would you open your mouth?”

He did so as they grabbed a light.

“It looks like there are some lacerations and bruising at the back of your throat. No signs of an allergic reaction. No continued bleeding from any of the cuts, but the area surrounding them looks irritated. Do you have any idea what might have caused these?”

“Maybe?” He replied hesitantly. When Dr. Marnet only stared at him, he continued. “Okay, yes. I do know why. It’s not something that can spread.”

“That’s good,” They chimed, “I trust you to not show up sick or something else that stupid. You said you know what caused it?”

“Yes. I- Well…” He stopped and took a breath before he continued. “I have Hanahaki. It’s not contagious and it’s a non-fatal disease; I have been handling the side effects, but I didn’t realize it had started drawing blood. I’ll be more cautious in the future.”

“Hanahaki, huh?” Dr. Marnet hummed, moving back and sitting down in their office chair. They looked thoughtful for a moment. “Sorry you have to be dealing with that. You know how the cure works, right?”

“I do, but it isn’t an option for me.”

“Hmm. Alright. Well, one thing I can tell you is this.” They opened a drawer, grabbed a pen and notepad, and began to write on it as they explained, “There is a clinic that specializes in Hanahaki, located just past downtown. They have lots of information about it and some other helpful stuff, so if you need anything, I’d recommend stopping by.”

“Oh, thank you.” Legs said, grabbing the paper.

“I won’t pretend I know your situation, but one thing they offer is suppressants for the side effects. If you really can’t cure it, you might look into that.”

“Wait, there’s a way to fix the flowers?” He felt his heart lurch. Something to fix the problem, a way where he didn’t have to lose either of them. It felt surreal that there could be a solution. He snapped back to focus as Dr. Marnet responded.

“Not fix, just suppress. I don’t know many specifics, but that is one thing they have made very clear to me. I have sent the few patients I’ve seen who also had Hanahaki to them.” They stood up, beginning to move to open the door.

“Well, I’ll be sure to stop by. Thank you again for the help, and sorry about the blood.” He said, standing as well and moving towards the doorway.

“Of course. Happy to help. Feel free to take a quick break if you need it, next patient isn’t for another 15 minutes anyways.”

Hanahaki Suppression Medical Tablets (HSMT)

Information and Warnings

Take one tablet by mouth every 24 hours.

Contact your doctor right away if you have difficulty breathing; allergic reactions have been known to occur.

HSMT will suppress the flowers caused by Hanahaki, but different side effects will occur; effects differ per person. Side effects will cease upon stopping HSMT.

Side effects include, but are not limited to:

Blindness

Color changes to eyes and hair

Astral projections

Loss of voice or hearing

Polka-dots

Inability to Lie

And more

For a full list of recorded side effects, check with your provider.

Legundo rolled the bottle in his hand, having reread the warnings again. So the flowers would stop, but be replaced with something else. There was a distant clang from outside as the bell tower at the center of campus chimed on the hour.

*Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding*

Six am, Sunday morning. He was sat at his dinner table, a glass of water nearby, and a folder filled with resources and information on his own case of Hanahaki. The two different flowers had been identified and there was a list with the different meanings in there somewhere. He was contemplating everything that had happened in the past few days. Dr. Marnet knew he was sick, and hadn’t fired him which was great. He had visited the clinic on Saturday, and picked up the suppressants the same day.

The side effects were worrying, but the specialist had confirmed nothing would be permanent if he stopped, so theoretically, worst case scenario, he would have a bad or weird 24 hours then be okay. The medication also started working quickly which would be good.

He had work off from his second job for the next two days, (they had been repainting the walls and some delays happened so it wouldn’t be finished until late Tuesday) so he should be able to get a handle on the effect before work at Dr. Marnet’s office.

Everything should be fine, yet he couldn’t help but worry. Something in his gut had woken him up early and told him this was a bad idea, but everything was accounted for and planned out.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

He shook out one tablet, filled his mouth with water, popped the tablet in and swallowed it.

Nothing changed for a few minutes, until something snapped into place. The ache in his lungs was gone, and there was no urge to cough anymore.

. . .

He wasn’t happy about it. Huh, that’s strange. He thought he would be excited to solve this problem, to have the flowers gone and the sickness stop. Oh well, at least it was dealt with.

He felt his phone buzz with a notification. It was from the friend group chat.

Drift 6:13 am

*Drift has attached a photo set

Photo 1 - Owen is ominously stood on top of the coven’s roof, staring into the distance, the full moon is providing enough light to take a picture with

Photo 2 - Pearl’s head can be seen poking up onto the roof behind Owen

Photo 3 - Pearl is stood directly behind Owen, he is unaware

Photo 4 - A blurry shot of Owen mid fall, his face shocked and taken off guard, Pearl is cackling from the roof, arms still out from shoving him

Photo 5 - An angry bat is held in Drift’s hand, cheek smushed against her fingers, the bat is glaring at Pearl as she stands proudly on the roof*

Pearl has claimed the roof is hers now, no brooding vampires allowed XD

Avid 6:14 am

HA!

~five people are typing

Hmm. Thinking about Owen and no petals. Good… that should feel good, right? Even without the flowers he usually would have found that funny, or been happy to see his friends having fun together. Why couldn’t he feel anything?

Why couldn’t he feel anything?

Oh. That was the side effect, wasn’t it? No emotions.

That should be concerning, but even the realization garnered no feelings. He should be panicking, he reasoned, feeling nothing is not good. Feeling nothing is like before, when everything was bad.

Why wasn’t that scaring him?

When the nightmares happened, the ones from when he felt nothing, his mind still screamed and thrashed to feel something, anything; feeling like a passenger in his own body. But here he sat, phone in hand, and he was empty.

There was no panic, no fear, no joy. There wasn’t anything. He usually hated not feeling anything. But...

He was numb.

Time passed in a diluted haze.

He moved from room to room occasionally, glancing at his phone when notifications came through or switching chairs.

He watched the light rays from the window move along the floor, slowly growing and shrinking as the hours passed.

Might as well get some sleep, he supposed at some point.

He moved to his room and laid down on top of the blankets, staring at the ceiling for a time.

His eyes felt dry by the time he closed them and he fell into a silent and cold sleep.

. . .

The bottle was in the trashcan the next morning.

They hadn’t meant to see Legundo leaving the building, they were just walking by at the same time. They saw him place a prescription bottle and a folder with the building’s logo on it into his bag, before walking to the parking lot, getting in his car, and driving away. He never saw them.

They stole a glance to the sign on the building, “Hanahaki Treatment and Research Clinic”, and tilted their head. Hanahaki. That sounded familiar. They couldn’t remember what exactly it meant, but hopefully the doc wasn’t too sick with whatever it was.

They continued walking to meet up with their friends, thoughts continuing to swirl in the back of their mind.

Chapter Text

The season was shifting. Cool breezes brought promises of dropping temperatures, leaves faded from greens to vibrant warm tones, and the slow shift to warmer and heartier meals was already beginning. The looming presence of fall classes starting up again soon was also there, but that was a less pleasant one to think about.

Legundo found himself double and triple checking his bag. It was a medium sized duffel bag, originally from his military days, but over the years his friends had gifted him so many patches and pins, that he hardly remembered the bag’s origin.

He recalled Martyn had stolen the bag for a week, when it was still hole filled and in disrepair, and he’d returned it completely spruced up. Multicolored threads used to fix the holes and the first two new additions. One was an embroidery along one side which said “I’m working on it!” from Martyn, and a patch that had a moon with the shadow of a wolf howling on it from Ren.

Very soon after, Shelby had given him a “Cryptids’ BFF” pin. Pyro gave a patch that had vampire teeth around text that said “I <3 Vampires”, because they claimed it was unacceptable that the werewolves had a patch on his bag and the coven didn’t. Dozens more had found their places on the bag, and the most recent one was pin of a little radioactive snail with three eyes.

After a fourth check of his bag, he zipped it up and placed it by the door. The whole friend group was going on a vacation together to a forest a few hours away, so he had packed up enough for the few days he would be away. Instead of the usual tents, he had been told there were a few cabins for everyone to share, on a quaint little campground that everyone would love.

Anyone that had a summer job asked for the long weekend off weeks ago, and all the requests had been approved, so the plan was to leave Thursday evening once everyone was ready, spend all of Friday through Sunday up there, and everyone would leave by Monday afternoon to return home.

Legs had gotten Thursday off as well from Dr. Marnet as a thanks for staying on over the summer, so after his getting off work from his second job, he went home and slept for a few hours. He would be driving himself, Cleo, Pearl, and Abolish up to the campground, and was thankful for the extra nap.

The flowers had somewhat stabilized during the last month and a half. They still clawed their way up anytime he thought about Louis or Owen, but it had stopped at a one flower at a time. Petals still came up in batches, but nothing more intense than that. Coughing fits were still common, but they tended to be shorter these days. Legs totally wasn’t worried that it was because he hadn’t seen much of the two vampires over the summer, being too busy with his work and all.

Pulling his mind back to the present, he checked the clock, it was time to head out. He grabbed his bag, making sure to lock his door as he left, and taking the stairs down. They had arranged to meet up a little after the Pearl’s shift ended at 5:30, enough time for her to get home and finish up anything she needed to.

Everyone met in the parking lot and loaded up, stuffing bag and suitcases into the trunk, getting settled in for the long drive. The trip was mostly spent chatting, pointing out funny or interesting things along the way, and listening to music.

It was late into the evening when they finally arrived, parking next to the other cars, the very last rays of the sun painting the horizon with a stripe of orange, while the rest of the sky had faded to a deep, nighttime blue. A few stars already peeked out, and being so far from the nearest city, Legs was certain the sky would be full of them soon.

Exiting the car, he took a glance around. There was one large building a little ways off, and several smaller buildings scattered between the cars and there. He assumed the smaller ones were the cabins, but was unsure what the larger one was. He could see movement around the camp, some inside, some outside, but everyone seemed to be in a good mood, all excited to spend time together.

“Hi guys!” Avid called, heading over with a wave. “I’ll give you a tour of the place, then you can get your stuff and unpack and everything.” With everyone’s agreement or nods he began to lead them around the campgrounds.

The smaller buildings were indeed the cabins, each a single room, plus some small closets, with dividers inside to split it up if needed, and since everyone had already decided who would be bunking with who, Avid simply pointed out where each of them would be.

The bigger building was a hub of sorts, it had the kitchen on one side, a large multi-use room in the middle, and the showers and bathrooms on the other side. The far side of the building had a grassy clearing, with more of the woods continuing just beyond that. Shelby had greeted them in the ‘Town Hall’ as it had been nicknamed.

“We’re planning on using this half for the tables and chairs, sorta a dinning room, and then the rest can be a hang out spot or something.” They explained, gesturing around as they spoke.

“And we’re already getting stuff set up for games and hikes.” Avid chimed in.

“Yeah! I think I heard Sausage and Apo talking about some capture the flag game out there.” Shelby said, grinning, everyone beginning to comment on that idea and others for the weekend.

The group talked for a little before the four headed back to grab their stuff. Abolish was rooming with Pyro and Scott, so grabbed his bag and headed off to his cabin. Cleo, Pearl, and Legs were sharing another, so they loaded up and took everything to their home for the weekend.

Legs and Cleo were in charge of unpacking, getting everything else placed and set up as needed. The one small table in the room had been moved and placed near some outlets in the wall for a space to charge any devices they brought. Cleo had gotten the flashlights sorted and ready to go by the door for whenever one was needed, and Legs had gotten the snack bag they had brought squared away into one of the closets, on one of the lower shelves so if anything spilled it wouldn’t be all over someone’s clothes.

Pearl had gotten them both to agree to shove all four beds in the cabin together to make one big sleeping spot. Her main two points she brought up when convincing them were that it would be comfy, and that the three of them had ended up asleep in post-study-session piles on their apartment floors, so a large bed would be no different, and nicer. She immediately set on her task, moving all the beds and draping the huge blanket she had brought across all of it. She added several pillows and throw blankets in additions to the ones already in the cabin, making a rather cozy looking space.

The three wrapped up at similar times, lending a hand when needed. They each grabbed a flashlight, night having fully fallen over the campsite, because everyone had agreed to meet up at the Town Hall. After getting settled in, the plan was to have a first night hang out, a celebration for being together for the first time in months.

As they left the cabin, Legundo caught a glimpse of Owen and Louis entering the Town Hall, relaxed smiles on both their faces. The itch immediately grew in his throat, a cough bubbling up already.

It was going to be a long weekend.

Chapter Text

Chatter had filled the Town Hall for a while, when several members of the vampire coven declared it was the perfect time for a bonfire. They grabbed wood and old paper, and began making a stack in the middle of the clearing, lighting it once everything was set up.

Almost all the lights in the building were turned off, leaving the space glowing with the crackling flames of the fire. It’s orange light making their shadows dance against the grass and trees.

Legundo found himself coughing frequently, shoving petals into his pockets or cheeks until they could be dealt with. He got asked if he was okay, and he waved off any concern, claiming it was just allergies and the higher altitude messing with him.

Avid approached at some point, nervousness filling the younger man’s face.

“Hey, can we talk for a second?” He asked, gesturing to a spot a little ways away from the fire, enough to be private but not too far.

“Sure. Is there something I can help with?” Legs replied, walking with the ghostly demon.

“No. I just… I need to tell you something.” Avid paused, flickering between tangible and intangible as he tried to figure out what he would say. “I know you have Hanahaki.” He blurted out.

“What?” Legundo’s heart stopped.

“I was walking by when you left the clinic thingy a month or two back, and I might have accidentally told Drift and Shelby before I realized what it was.” He said in a rush, “I had read it wasn’t deadly and stopped, so thought it wasn’t too bad, and so I mentioned it when we were getting ready for this weekend and technically Cleo was there too but she already knew so that wasn’t as bad but she told me what itwasfullyandIjustneededtoapolog-”

“Avid, slow down, please.” Legs interrupted, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. “You’re starting to panic.”

“Oh.” Avid replied, taking a long breath. “Sorry, head got loud for a minute.”

He took a few moments to calm down, and continued. “I just wanted to apologize, I didn’t know what it involved, and I shouldn’t have told the others. Sorry Legs.”

“So four of you know? But you didn’t say anything to-” He cut himself off, not able to vocalize their names.

“I didn’t tell anyone else I swear. And Shelby and Drift promised not to tell anyone else either.”

“That’s good.” He replied, feeling slightly dizzy as he processed everything. So three more people knew, but neither Louis or Owen knew. He could deal with that. “Thanks for telling me Avid.”

“No problem, doc. I really am sorry.”

“It’s okay. Drift probably could have sleuthed it out anyways.” He joked. Attempting to lighten the mood. At Avid’s chuckle, he was sure it worked.

“Oh totally!” He said, “She so crafty sometimes, she could solve anything.”

The two began walking back to the fire, splitting ways as Avid went to go talk to Cleo, and Legs joined in a conversation with Pearl, Apo, and Ren.

A few minutes passed before Legs noticed Louis, stood near the Town Hall, a camera in hand. Louis loved taking pictures, especially when everyone was together, and would always make an album after a trip of the best moments he had captured. Legundo stood and made his way over to the other.

“Need a hand with anything?” He asked when he was closer, holding back another few petals when Louis turned to him, a bright smile on his face.

“Nope! Just stand there and look pretty doctor. Not that you’re pretty. I mean you are pretty but- Agh! I mean, I feel neutral about your appearance!” Louis stammered, quickly turning back, shoulders tensing as he continued taking photos of everyone around the bonfire.

Legs felt his face grow warm, and was about to question the vampire, when he noticed the rigidness in his stance, an uncomfortable look about him. He didn’t want to push the other. The comment didn’t mean anything deeper; didn’t mean anything that Legs’ heart wished it did.

“Well, I’ll be excited to see all of the pictures after the trip.” He chimed, relieved as Louis’ shoulders dropped.

“I am excited too, I’ve already taken several good ones.” The vampire replied, letting out a soft sigh before he spoke again. “Time moves so fast sometimes. It’s nice to have a little reminder of good times in the past, held protected in a photograph.”

“A single moment captured forever; it means so much more than a piece of paper ought to.” He said, thinking back to the multiple pictures scattered in his apartment on his fridge or in frames on counters. Each filled with his friends and himself in mostly candid moments, taken during outings or events they had attended. A little window into a memory.

“Well, much can be said for looking back, but sometimes,” Louis said, grabbing Legundo’s wrist and pulling the two of them back towards the group, “It is best to live in the present.”

Legs found himself thinking as they returned to the group. Living in the present, just focusing on right now. Not worrying about the past or future.

You know what? He thought. Screw the flowers, screw the future. Tonight is for spending time with the people I care about, I’m not letting anything get in the way of that.

Stories were shared around the fire, some anecdotes about past events, some scary stories in an attempt to spook their friends. Apo told a particularly frightening one about a girl who fell into a frozen lake, drowned, and haunted the friends who abandoned her. It left him with a chill as she finished the tale.

Small groups would sometimes split off, heading back inside or to the cabins for a moment, or having a private chat on the far side of the clearing. A few minor pranks were played, and the forest was filled with conversation and joy and relaxation.

Legs found himself sat on a bench next to Owen while Pyro, Ren, and M were recounting a funny story from that year, and they both ended up laughing so hard the bench tipped, sending them sprawling on their backs in the grass.

S’mores, hot dogs, and other camp snacks were made while everyone spent time around the clearing. Playing small games and sharing jokes between each other.

As the night wound down, several blankets and tarps were laid out on the grass, people beginning to stargaze as the fire died. The sky was absolutely filled with lights, constellations and clusters of stars shining from above. A few shooting stars were spotted, and hushed whispers of making wishes were passed around.

Legs wished, as he looked around at his friends, content, happy, and all together, that there would be more times like this. Small, happy moments, that made everything feel okay again. The weight of jobs or classes or life in general falling away in the small bubble of the people he cared about.

The whole time, no flowers tried to make themselves known.

As the faintest bit of light began to color the horizon, Legs said his good nights to everyone and headed to the cabin. Pearl joined him, throwing an arm around his shoulders and calling back her farewells to the others. He lifted an arm to place on her shoulder too, as the two began walking and attempting not to trip on the way back.

No sprained ankles were created along the way, and the two entered the cabin, flicking one of the lamps on to light up the room. Legs stepped around the divider to change quickly into sleepwear, sweatpants and an old t-shirt that were perfect for the chillier nights Autumn was bringing.

“Want me to braid your hair Pearl?” He questioned, sitting down on the large ‘nest’ she had made.

“If you don’t mind. Thanks Doc. Cleo’ll be out for a little longer and I’m getting sleepy.” She replied. She finished brushing her hair and moved to sit in front of him.

He learned how to braid over the past few years. With so many in their friend group having long enough hair to braid or put up in one way or another, he had figured it out. He couldn’t do anything overly fancy yet, but a comfortable braid for sleep was in his skill set.

Pearl and he talked idly as he twisted her hair into place, a quiet atmosphere filling the room.

“So…” Pearl drew out the ‘O’ a sly grin, “That talk with Louis earlier… You seemed happier after it. Got anything you wanna share?” She wiggled her eyebrows over dramatically.

“No.”

“That was far too quick! Come on doc. Spill.” She pointed a finger at him, smile growing.

He batted her hand away, going to speak when a cough tore its way out of his throat. He pulled a hand to cover his face as more and more ripped themselves from his chest. He couldn’t get enough air, the small gasps between coughs not filling his lungs. There was something shoved into his hands, and flowers began pouring out of his mouth. His vision was fading at the edges.

It felt like an eternity passed before the coughs finally subsided. His vision cleared and he saw almost a dozen full blooms resting in the bin Pearl had given him. They were covered in blood and spit, painting most of them a vivid red, only a few spots of white peeking through. Pearl was rubbing circles into his back, a concerned grimace on her face.

“Well, that makes five I guess.” Legs huffed, voice small and ragged. “I meant to give you a heads up before anything happened, but... guess it’s a little late for that now.”

“You’re love sick, that sickness that makes flowers in your lungs, right?”

She questioned and he nodded.

“Can we not discuss this tonight? This is too much right now.” Legs said, grabbing a tissue and getting rid of the specks of blood that had made their way onto his face.

“Hmmmm.” Pearl hummed, a sharp look coming to her eyes. “Fine, but don’t think I’m gonna let you worm out of this. We’re talking tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll talk. Thank you.” He added after a moment, moving to place the bin back down where it belonged, throwing the tissues on the top.

A little bit later, the door opened and closed as Cleo entered the cabin. They kicked off their shoes, noting the tired looks on both their faces, before turning the lamp off and laying down. Pearl quickly shifted, her wolf fur the same earthy color as her hair, planting her head on her partners’ stomach, a happy rumble filling the air.

Legs laid down fully from where he had been sat, one arm stretched out to where his hand rested against Cleo’s, a silent reminder of ‘I’m here’ for both of them.

The three drifted one by one into a content slumber. Tomorrow would hold more troubles and laughter and shenanigans, but for now, there was warmth and sleep.

Chapter Text

He was there again.

Hand clenched around the vile thing, as It clawed at his mind.

You know what you need to do. It crooned.

His arm reached out over the first barrel, blood dripping from his palm, staining the water below with red and black ichor. He dropped It, letting it sink to the bottom, a flurry of petals following it down, and he watched it dissolve for a moment before it vanished; no trace left behind.

A sickened gurgle began from nearby, hidden in the darkness, the air weighed heavy around him.

Again.

Another dropped from his hand, petals and blood still falling. Coughing and wheezes joined the gurgle, the void filling with noise.

More.

Another. Hacking and rattles of breath as blood stained the void, illuminated from some unknown light, the red marks burning his eyes.

Faces appeared, some he’d seen in the reports, others he didn’t recognize. Faces screwed up in pained grimaces, words gritted out from clenched teeth.

Why?

It hurts.

You… you did this to us?

More figures joined, wearing the faces of those he cared about. Blood pouring from mouths and noses.

You did this. The voices cried. Friends, family, strangers, all merged together in a cacophony that made his head feel like it would break apart.

I didn’t want to.

Excuses. You know you had a choice.

His throat constricted, the flowers choking and tearing, threatening to end him, like It had ended them.

The pressure in his head grew, vines pushing and bending, cracks ripping though void and skull alike.

One more fell from his hand.

Good job. It called as his eyes flew open.

Breathing shallow and sporadic, he sat up, eyes scanning the room. Free of the empty nothing of his dream, he noted anything he could see, allowing it to tether him back to reality.

Light was streaming through the cracks in the shutters over the windows, late morning or early afternoon if he had to guess, and the shadows of trees moving in the wind danced through those lights. He looked at the neat pile of his and the others’ belongings, the table and bed, and the soft, consistent breathing from the werewolf and vampire nearby.

Cleo still hadn’t stopped unconsciously breathing, although her undead form didn’t actually need it. He recalled her mentioning once that thralls still needed to breathe, since they were mostly human, and it was just habit at this point.

They’re breathing continued uninterrupted, and he was glad he hadn’t woken either of them. Legs slipped silently out of bed, changing and grabbing his jacket and phone before stepping outside.

Looking at the time, he saw his guess was correct, 11:27am. Not too bad, decent amount of sleep considering he was up all night. He saw a couple others awake, sat in a little circle of camp chairs, who were talking quietly, and headed their way.

“Good morning. How is everyone?” He received greetings from everyone in return, and ‘good’ or ‘tired’ replies to his question.

“Pull up a chair, Doc.” Drift invited, scooting over to make more space in the vague circle the group made.

“We’ve been talking about that capture the flag game the militia has been planning.” Shelby chimed. “We’re thinking we’ll do it today if everyone is up for it!”

“Maybe around sunset so everyone can still see to start, but the vampires won’t need to worry about the sun” Drift added.

“Anyone who can see in the dark should ‘turn it off’ for the game to be fair to everyone.” Martyn said, tipping his chair to where the front two legs were in the air.

“Sounds like you all have it planned out.” Legs said, “Who’s going to be team captains?”

“It havn’t been a chosen yet, dear Doctor. Perhaps any ‘ho volunteer ‘emselves upon the eleventh ‘our ‘fore the battle; and if there be too many, a challenge ‘o sorts to decide who shall lead us in-ta the fray.”

“Perhaps something like rock, paper, scissors, would work, Ren?” Pyro asked.

The group continued thinking up more ideas for the game. The rest of the morning passed in a similar manner. Planning and joking and voices filling the space.

He had his chat with Pearl after she woke up, the werewolf squinting her eyes at him as he explained, but she did promise not to tell anyone. She pulled him into a hug for a moment.

“I’m sure everyone else has said this, but you should tell them.” She said, disappointed but unsurprised, when he shook his head. She released him and they both went to rejoin the group.

By lunch time (said lunch ending up closer to 3pm), everyone had made their way out of bed, some clutching coffee mugs to their chests as they woke up fully. They all agreed to a slow ‘morning’, taking a relaxed pace to greet the new day.

He was wandering around the clearing, enjoying walking in the slight breeze and sun, when he noticed someone sat against the Town Hall, whittling away at a piece of oak. Owen was concentrating, face focused but relaxed. He was biting his lip as he pulled his knife back and forth, seeming to have something specific in mind as he carved.

“He’s cute when he’s focused, isn’t he?”

Legs jumped at the voice next to him, taking a moment to process who had spoken.

“Louis, you surprised me.” He replied, heart still returning to normal from the scare, as he turned to look at the vampire. There was an umbrella resting in his arm, protecting against the harsher afternoon light.

“Apologies, that wasn’t my intent.” He said, laughing slightly, “I was speaking with Cherri and Apo over there at the treeline when I noticed you wandering and wanted to say hello. How has your morning been, Doctor?”

“It’s been nice; talked about the event tonight, mostly a slow day. Nothing unusual or crazy so far. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. This trip was needed by a lot of us I think. It’s nice to see everyone decompressing and letting loose.” Louis said. He turned to look at Legundo, “It’s nice to see you relaxed. You’re always so busy helping others, whether they be friend or stranger; it’s good to focus on yourself sometimes.”

Legs turned his head away, in part because he couldn’t keep eye contact with the vampire as he spoke, and in part to cough into his elbow. The gardenias and roses always showing up at the worst moments. He hid the petals under his tongue before he spoke again.

“Pardon me, caught something in my throat.” He replied, taking a moment to shove down another cough as he looked back at the vampire. “It feels… wrong? Selfish, I suppose, focusing on myself. My time is better spent helping those who need it.”

Louis hummed, a pensive look appearing on his face.

“If I could be honest with you, Legundo? You deserve to be a bit more selfish.” He said quietly. He glanced at Owen then back towards Legs, a small smile on his face, before turning to walk back to the duo at the treeline.

Legs stood silently for a moment, his mind running over the other’s words. What did that mean?

He had been selfish his whole life. Following orders without question to save his own skin; killing and harming just because someone else told him to. He was already making people deal with everything he was too weak to carry alone; he didn’t need to add anymore to the pile.

Maybe Louis thought he was sick because of the coughing and had been pushing himself too far?

But…

Why had Louis’ smile seemed so fragile... something else trying to stay hidden in his eyes?

He was pulled from his thoughts as M called for him, waving for him with an excited grin aimed his way.

“Doctor! Greetings this fine afternoon. I’m having trouble figuring out what will be in-bounds for the game.” The author swooned dramatically, leaning against Legundo, eyes shinning as he looked up at the doctor. “Would you be so kind and assist me?”

“Of course, M.” He chuckled at the man’s theatrics. “How can I help?”

“Oh, thank you, doctor! You are incredible.” M began going through his ideas for the area of the game. The two joined up with Cherri, Apo, and Louis, and after some discussion they agreed that the stream a mile into the woods would make the mid-point, with each team’s base on one side. There was a steep incline about a mile beyond the stream, which became the boundary on the North side, the edge of the clearing making the South boundary. For East to West it was decided that there wouldn’t be a specific line to indicate in-bounds (it was far too wide an area to cover and mark with no easy landmarks to use), so they would make a rule to stay within a reasonable distance to each side.

“Vaguely square shaped.” Louis had said, half to himself, but Cherri caught it.

“That is a great way to describe it.” Cherri replied. “Let’s use that.”

They all began to walk back to the town hall, meeting up with almost everyone. It was reaching the evening and dinner was being prepped. The last few stragglers made it in as food was passed out.

The group sat and talked long after they had all finished eating, until one voice raised above the others.

“Well. It seems the sun is on its way down.” Scott caught everyone’s attention as he spoke. “Let’s have some fun shall we?” At the group’s excited cheers, he gestured to the game planners.

Apo and M stood and began explaining the rules. There were several additions on top of the usual rules of capture the flag, due to the mishmash of supernatural creatures, but at the end a wicked smile grew on Apo’s face.

“Good luck.”

Chapter Text

Legundo did not envy his teammates who had to be stealthy tonight. Every sound seemed to carry, each crack of a branch or leaf beneath his feet echoed into the dense trees surrounding him. His job was acting as a distraction and getting info once he inevitably got tagged and sent to the red team’s prison.

Tactical, Shelby had called it. As the elected leader of blue team, she had delegated tasks and strategies to everyone, but there was a specific glint in her eye as she said his role, that made him sure she was lying. Not maliciously of course, more like there was a different reason she had given him this task than just an advantage in the game.

Not that he would complain about it. There was still enough sun to see by, with long shadows cast across the forests. He basically had jogged or walked for the past forty-five minutes; a pleasant hike if he didn’t think about the fact his friends were hunting each other and himself down.

He crossed the stream in the middle of the playing field twenty or so minutes ago, taking an arched path to the West to avoid the middle as much as possible, and had been wandering vaguely northwards since. He wasn’t expecting to make it to red team’s base, but the closer he could get the better. More information for his team would be great.

He ran over the rules and plan one more time in his head.

No shifting of any kind; no bats, no wolves, no intangibility. Any abilities to see in the dark are not allowed, see Elle or Louis for magic solutions if switching vision is not an innate ability you have. Everyone has been given a wooden sword. There are two ways to tag an opponent once they are in the opposite territory. If the sword is used, it is to the disarm or critical hit. If the sword is not used, it is two-hand-tap rules. Unarmed ‘combat’ takes president, both sides of a fight must use weapons or neither can. Red vs Blue, no colluding with the other team, no matter who is on the other side.

The majority of blue team would be heading up dead center, a charge of sorts, while Avid and Elle snuck around the East side, gathering information before looping back to meet with the large group. Ren and Cleo were tasked with guarding the flag, each strong but quick if they needed to chase someone down. He was headed West, and was supposed to act like he was trying to sneak around solo as the large group attacked. This was a fake out, his job was to get caught, and learn as much about red team’s plans as he could, and once they jail-broke him he would relay that information.

Okay. Everything going to plan so far. He had his sword, still sheathed at his hip, and a small bag at his side that held a flashlight, a whistle, a plastic bag (for any pesky petals), a water bottle, and a few small snacks.

“It’s quite dangerous to be alone in the woods, Doctor.”

“Why? Are wolves migrating this time of year?” He replied, turning his eyes upwards to spot the dramatic vampire, perched up in the tree branches.

“Could be.” Owen huffed. “But I think the beast stalking this area is far more worrisome.”

“You’re not a monster, Owen.” Legundo said, about to start arguing when Owen interrupted.

“I’m not talking about me; I’m talking about Abolish. He’s terrifying.”

“Oh.” Legundo began laughing. “He is deceptively frightening. It’s why we have an extra team member.”

“Don’t think it’s going to help if I’m honest.”

“We’ll see about that. Are you alone as well?”

“Might be. Might not.” He replied, jumping down to the forest floor. He stood from his crouch, brushing off his clothes, and met Legundo’s gaze with a small smirk. (Oooh, hold down the flowers) “Not using the sword I see. Bit foolish, don’t you think?”

“Not really my style.” He replied, hands loose at his sides.

“Hmm.” Owen started moving forwards. “You don’t seem to be afraid of getting caught.”

“And you don’t seem like you’re trying to catch me.”

“Are you sure about that?” Owen was only a step away now, and Legs felt breathless for a whole different reason. He leaned forwards slightly, a challenge.

“Prove me wrong then.”

The air hummed, each not daring, not wanting, to look away or back down. The spark in Owen’s eyes lit something in his chest, bubbling up into words.

“I-”

*SNAP*

A large crack echoed through the forest behind Legundo. Both of them turned towards the noise, looking into the darkening woods. Owen sighed, dropping his head for a moment before fondly rolling his eyes. He walked past Legs and disappeared into the shadowy trees for a moment.

Oh Gods, what had he almost done? A few coughs forced their way up and he quickly stuffed the petals into his bag before anyone could see. Get it together! he snapped at himself. He couldn’t do this to them. Seeing movement returning in the trees he looked back up.

“We had a plan!” Owen complained, pushing a wide-eyed Louis out of the trees and draping himself over the vampire’s shoulders once they stopped. “You were supposed to tag him while I distracted him!”

“Wait, what?” Legs laughed, both at their plan going sideways, and Owen’s petulant frown.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- I just-” Louis stammered towards Owen, “I-I think I should go.”

“Why?” Owen asked, confused by his partner’s behavior.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll just head this way.” Louis attempted to turn around and leave, but the other vampire caught his wrist.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine, love.” Louis said, trying to pull his arm from the other’s grasp.

“Are you feeling okay, Louis?” Legundo asked, his own concern beginning to grow.

“As I said, perfectly fine. I just need to go.” He replied, voice becoming more panicked as the younger vampire still held his wrist. “Owen, please let go.”

“No, something’s clearly wrong.” He said, “Let me help.”

“I said let go!” Louis snapped, trying again to wrench his arm back one more time.

“Louis!” Owen cried, fear seeping into his voice, almost stumbling as Louis pulled back. “Please.”

Louis’ frantic gaze flicked between Owen and Legs several times before locking onto the doctor. He squeezed his eyes shut.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” He whispered, rapidly transforming into a bat, launching himself into the air and vanishing into the tree tops.

Owen stood, petrified, mouth still open in a plea. Legundo couldn’t move either, eyes locked on the direction where Louis had disappeared to.

There was silence for a long minute; even the wind going quiet at the turmoil.

“What did you do?” Owen whispered.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said, what did you do?” Owen yelled, spinning around to face him. “He looked terrified of you!”

“I don’t know. I swear I didn’t do anything.”

“It must have been something!” The vampire jabbed a finger into his chest.

“Last time we talked was this afternoon, and he was okay. Maybe he was a little off, but nothing extreme. I promise.”

“Gahhh! I’m going to find him.”

“He flew south before I lost sight of him, maybe he went back to camp.” Legs offered. Owen paused for a moment, anger slipping away slightly.

“Thanks, doc.” He muttered, transforming and flying the direction indicated.

Legundo stood, frozen for several minutes after Owen left. His mind was running a million miles per second, yet no clear answer came together. Something was wrong and that terrified him.

Had he done something and not realized it? He tried to recall every piece of the last few conversations he’d had with Louis, and nothing stuck out.

His thoughts circled and circled, night fully falling as they did. At some point he had stumbled, legs feeling shaky beneath him, and he leaned against a large trunk and sat down.

What had he done wrong? He pleaded with is own mind, but nothing and no one answered.

Eventually he heard a chain of whistles going off in the distance. He couldn’t parse which direction they had started in, but he knew the game was over. A team had won.

He just needed a few more minutes before getting back up. Surely some people would be headed back from the far side of the arena, he wouldn’t be the last if he waited a bit.

He curled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. A couple more minutes.

Another set of whistles blew, this time distinctly from the direction of the clearing.

He glanced at the time, 1am. Huh, that was late. It was okay, he’d be up in a second and back towards the camp soon.

Just a little more time…

His eyes closed.

He’d leave once he could open his eyes again.

Unconsciousness claimed him before he even noticed.

Chapter Text

-=-=-=-=- A few days prior -=-=-=-=-

Even though sleep wasn’t required very often for a vampire, Louis still found the occasional nap pleasant. Especially when in his bat form, able to curl up somewhere warm and comfortable, wrapped in his own wings. He liked bundling into Owen’s scarfs or hoodie pockets as well, his love always content to carry him around for a few hours.

One nap spot Louis had become fond of was in the coven’s manor. He had a few spots around the house that he enjoyed, several in Owen’s room, (even though he shared an apartment with Louis the coven had left it, saying that he was still welcomed any time.) But in the living room, there was a brick fireplace with a small nook on the outside that was the perfect place to rest. It was always warm, shaded from the lights, and allowed the hustle and bustle of the house to lull him to sleep when Owen was busy. He found comfort when he could hear the others moving around and talking; something to confirm he wasn’t alone.

It was there Louis found himself drifting, not asleep, but not fully awake either, when he heard a slight commotion from the kitchen. He wasn’t aware enough to catch what was being said, but could hear four voices, conversation turning confused and tense based on their cadences.

The first two he picked out were Shelby and Drift, seeming to be on the more confused and surprised side of the exchange. Their questions were followed by an almost snarl from the third voice, Cleo? Yes, that was certainly their teacher voice slipping through. There was a confused yelp from the fourth, as two sets of footsteps began moving towards the living room.

“What were you thinking Avid?” Cleo snapped, dragging the man into the room. Their voice was lowered, not quite a whisper, but quiet enough to not be overheard from the other room.

“Ow! And I’m sorry-” Avid responded, matching the vampire’s hushed tone “What’s so wrong with making sure Legs is okay before the trip?” There was a rustling, probably Avid going intangible again to get out of Cleo’s hold.

At the mention of the doctor, Louis’ ear twitched, becoming more aware.

“It’s wrong because it wasn’t your secret to tell Avid! If he wanted everyone to know he would tell them. This isn’t a cold you can just go telling people about.”

“I didn’t think it was a problem. It’s not deadly, just something to do with flowers.” Avid said.

“It does matter, it’s personal. Do you even know what it is?” They asked.

“Not really. I read, ‘Hanahaki, a non-fatal magical disease’ and since it wasn’t going to kill him, I moved on.”

Cleo let out an annoyed a huff, the soft sounds of typing on her phone was heard. After a moment she passed her phone to the other. There was a long pause, Avid reading whatever she had pulled up.

“Just… don’t bring it up again, okay?” They asked, voice softening a bit, taking their phone back.

“I won’t. I didn’t realize… all that for one person, huh?” He said, guilt in his voice. “I’m really sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to say that to.” She replied, “Don’t be too hard on yourself, you didn’t know. Sorry for getting snappy.”

“I would have done the same in your shoes.” He chuckled weakly. “But thanks.”

Footsteps moved back into the kitchen, and Louis could hear Avid’s voice asking the other’s something. The conversation was stilted for a bit, before the chatter picked back up on a new topic.

Louis climbed out of his nook and quickly flew up to Owen’s room, shifting back as he reached it. He silently closed the door behind him, hand still gripping the doorknob as his mind began to race.

Legundo was sick, that thought alone made his unbeating heart seize in his chest. But it wasn’t fatal. That’s good at least. Avid had brought it up in front of Drift and Shelby, not realizing it had a personal component to it, thinking it was more similar to a cold or the flu. It involved flowers and someone else, somehow.

Cleo already knew, but that wasn’t surprising, she and Legundo were very close, of course he would have told them. Probably forced himself to tell them since it was personal, if Louis could hazard a guess. Even though he had said he was trying to reach out more, the man had a nasty habit of self-reliance to the point of harming himself.

He finally let go of the door and moved further into the room, pulling out his phone and searching Hanahaki. That was the name Avid had mentioned. He sat on the foot of the bed, curling up to sit cross legged.

Louis paused, vision blurring as he looked at his knee instead of the screen. Should he read about this? It was obviously private, enough that Cleo had scolded Avid for bringing it up. But the pit in his stomach felt like it would swallow him whole. Legundo was sick, and Louis’ heart screamed that another sickness was hurting someone he cared for.

He could least learn the symptoms and find out ways to help, right? He already knew that he was sick, so Louis could figure out how to support him. He could be subtle, still act like he didn’t know, but do little things to aid the doctor.

He tapped the first result and started reading.

. . .

Oh.

All that for one person, huh?

Avid’s statement echoed in his mind.

Hanahaki was a disease from repressing feelings towards someone.

All that for one person, huh?

Legundo loved Owen.

A part of him was glad that the doctor returned Owen’s feelings.

The louder part felt his heart break.

Tears gathered in his eyes and his phone dropped as both hands came up to cover his face. He didn’t make a sound, but the tears continued pouring.

Rivulets of tears, part water, part blood, burned as they traveled down his face. The heat against his cold skin felt like it was carving lines into his cheeks, leaving imaginary scars behind. He almost felt those same wounds on his heart as a flood of pain swept over him.

Emotions raged in his chest, some wanting to claw their way out of his body, others curling inwards, attempting to shrivel and warp inside his heart.

After a few long minutes, the tears finally stopped, leaving bloody streaks behind. His hands and face felt sticky as the blood began to dry.

He slowly pulled himself together, calming the flood of emotions in his chest; soothing the raging ones and unfurling the twisted ones.

Legundo didn’t love him the same way, but that was (or at least would someday be) okay. He didn’t owe Louis any of his affection, and Louis would not ask for it.

He would be happy, knowing that Owen had someone else who cared for him; someone who would cherish him and support him.

His heart still hurt, but he would be alright. He could hold this secret to his chest until the doctor was ready to confess, and he would support it, support both of them.

Legundo would still be his friend, that was more than enough.

It would be.

It had to…

-=-=-=-=- Near the Present -=-=-=-=-

He felt a small smile on his face. He hadn’t expected Legundo to be the one they ran into, although, recalling Drift’s grin as they had agreed to head West did seem rather suspicious in hindsight.

His heart still hurt, but mostly, he was happy for Owen. The grin on his beloved’s face when the vampire had seen it was Legundo that was approaching left his chest warm, Owen’s excitement echoing through their bond.

Louis had to hold in a laugh as the other began to climb a tree; his beloved’s need to perch on top of tall things was endearing, however laughing would give them away.

He moved to the side, skirting a large circle to try and get to the other side of the doctor. Owen planned to distract whoever they came across, while Louis would sneak around and tag them.

He had made it unseen to the opposite side, and slowly began moving forward. As he approached, he could see Owen stepping close to Legundo, the light of a challenge in his eyes. He also felt a zap of love through their bond. He stopped; he couldn’t intrude, he needed to get out of Owen’s line of sight, not distract the other.

As he stepped back, his heart sank into his stomach.

*SNAP*

He watched as two sets of eyes were turned his way, and he pleaded to the universe they did not see him.

The universe hated him; Owen immediately headed his way.

Damn it. No. Why wouldn’t his feet move? He needed to go.

Owen reached him, pushing him by his back towards Legundo and out of the shadows. He felt his love drape across his shoulders, but everything felt fuzzy. Grey crept into the edges of his vision.

He thought he felt himself say something, attempting to turn around when a hand grabbed his wrist.

He couldn’t think, he couldn’t hear.

Everything felt too far away.

He snapped back to focus as a wave of fear reached him from their bond.

He swore to himself he wouldn’t get in the way. His vision shook, landing on Legundo and everything became too much.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” His voice was a whisper, grey filling his vision. He willed himself to change, form shifting into a bat. The bat was never grey, the bat was out.

He flew, not caring where, when the campsite came into view. He dove towards his and Owen’s cabin, tumbling in through one of the open windows. A few minutes later, the door opened. Louis shifted back as the other vampire entered the room.

Owen stared at him for a moment, relief and that same fear flowing from the other. He was frozen again, but his beloved snapped into action. He closed the shutters around the windows, turning on one of the lamps in the cabin, before gently grabbing Louis’s hands.

He pulled him towards their bed, before pushing pillows and blankets into different places. He sat down with his back against the wall and opened his arms.

Louis held himself back for one second, before he crashed into Owen, arms wrapping around him, tucking himself into the other’s embrace.

He’d failed.

He’d failed them.

Time passed, his face pressed into Owen’s side, his love holding him close. He had asked a few times what was wrong, but Louis found there was nothing he could say. Nothing to explain the ache and panic in his chest without betraying Legundo. He’d already ruined tonight, least he could do now was keep the doctor’s secret.

Owen ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it away from his face, the gentleness his beloved used made his heart cry even more. He adored Owen, loved him with every drop of blood in his veins. But he’d gotten between him and Legundo; he swore he wouldn’t but he had. Once he could explain, he would apologize, but for now, silence filled the cabin.

“I’m here, my light.” Owen whispered. “I’ll be here as long as you need.” His love pulled him closer, beginning to hum a quiet tune.

Louis felt his eyes growing heavy, the emotions from today weighing on him.

He fell asleep to the quiet rumble of singing, letting it pull his eyes closed and turn his mind off.

He could fix things tomorrow.

Hopefully…

Chapter Text

A distant shout pulled him to consciousness. Everything slammed into place as he woke; fear, anger, and failure returning to circle in his mind.

It was still dark, no hint of light other than stars in the sky. With no moon to be seen, it was dim in the forest, and the darkness pressed down like a physical weight.

“Legs? Where are you?” Another shout, slightly closer, but still a ways off.

He scolded himself, he had caused a problem when he hadn’t come back from the game, now they were looking for him. A lie slipped into place, something to not involve the two vampires. His heart twisted in his chest, a few petals falling from his lips; the mere thought of them sending his mind spiraling.

A third shout bounced through the forest. Snapping back to focus, he quickly grabbed a pebble, slipping it into his shoe. He pulled out the whistle from his bag and sent a shrill shriek echoing through the trees.

Within moments he could see a light headed his way. Two forms approached, silhouetted figures focusing into Pearl and Abolish. Pearl was in her wolf form, eyes more suited to the dark this way than her human one, and Abolish was holding the flashlight.

“Where have you been doc?” Abolish asked, voice his usual calm cadence, but Legs could see the way his shoulders relaxed as he got closer. Pearl shifted back as she reached him.

“Seriously, we’ve been lookin’ all over for you.” She grabbed his shoulder, looking for any injuries or wounds. Time to put on the act.

When Pearl moved him, he exaggerated a wince as the rock poked his foot.

“Ow. Sorry, I’m alright.” He said, attempting to wave off their concern.

“Are you okay?” Pearl asked, letting go of him.

“Totally fine. Right as rain.” He put on a completely unconvincing smile, internally cheering as Abolish took the bait.

“Somethings up, what happened?”

He let his face drop as if he had been caught, embarrassment projecting from him.

“I fell.” He mumbled, not looking either in the eye.

“What was that?” Abolish asked.

“I fell, okay?” He huffed, crossing his arms. “I fell during the game and hurt my ankle. I tried to walk it off, but it just hurt more, so I sat down to let it rest.”

“Why didn’t you blow the whistle or come back when the game was over then?” Pearl questioned.

“The forest was so calm... I kind of fell asleep?” He replied, nervous grin on his face as he rubbed his head. “We’ve been up at weird times all weekend and I think I was more tired that I thought.”

“It feeling any better, doc?”

“Yes, I checked it a bit before I heard you. Any swelling has gone down, and it’s not broken, probably just an annoying twist, not even a sprain.”

“Well that’s good.” Abolish said. “Let’s get back to camp.” He pulled out his whistle and let out a pattern. There was an identical pattern from the south, the clearing, followed by multiple echoes from different directions. “Everyone should be headed back now.”

“Need a hand?” Pearl offered her arm.

“I think I’ll be okay, but if it starts getting worse I might ask.”

“Just let me know.”

As the three walked, the rock continued poking him, allowing him to pull off a slight, but very convincing limp. They were the last back to camp, not surprising given his ‘injury’.

They were all relieved that everyone was accounted for, and Legs retold his lie several times as friends asked if he was okay; no one seemed suspicious, which settled his nerves. His team had also won, the extra two players swaying the game into their favor. It was a close call, he was told, but blue team had claimed the victory.

A yawn loop had started in the Town Hall when Legs excused himself to head to bed. He saw a light on from Owen and Louis’ cabin as he passed it, another cough escaping before he could rush by. He clenched the petals in his hand, wishing they would disappear.

They had not disappeared by the time he got back to his cabin, but that was, unfortunately, not unexpected. He tossed the petals into the trash, dropping a random empty snack bag on top to hide them from his eye-line.

Guilt and shame roiled in his stomach, he still hadn’t figured out what he’d done wrong, but Louis’ face before flew away was burned into his eyelids. It appeared anytime he closed his eyes.

He face-planted onto the bed, face smushed into his pillow. He laid there for several seconds, not breathing, letting the even pressure calm him. When his lungs started stinging, he rolled over to his back, staring at the ceiling. There wasn’t anything interesting, just semi-smooth plaster and an indented light fixture across the top of the room; but interesting or not, his eyes still traced the small patterns in the roof.

He’d lost track of time when he heard the door open. He let his gaze fall to the vampire and werewolf as they entered the room, rays of early morning light filtering in behind them.

“Good morning.” He said, feinting a casualness in his tone.

“Morning, doc. We’re about to get breakfast started, you want to tag along?” Cleo asked as she moved to their closet to grab a few non-refrigerated food related items they had brought. “Drift offered to make orange-campfire-muffins this morning, which sounds interesting.”

“Sure, I’ll join you.”

“Feeling better?” Pearl asked.

“Yes I am. Thank you, Pearl. Wrapped it and it’s already hurting much less.”

“That’s good.”

“Alright, time to go.” Cleo called with a scheming laugh. They grabbed Pearl’s wrist, spinning her and leading her out the door. Pearl chuckled in response and grabbed Legundo’s arm to drag him along as well.

By the time they reached the Town Hall there was a chain of people snaking along the path. Several of the group had joined in and were now also following Cleo.

Ingredients were brought out, tasks were divvied out, and within thirty minutes the whole group was gathered in the dinning space.

Legs avoided looking at Owen and Louis as they entered the room, and continued keeping his gaze away the whole breakfast. He didn’t eat much, due to his throat being filled with flowers and petals, and he didn’t talk much. Each time he opened his mouth he felt like flowers would begin flooding out.

He forced down his thoughts, willing himself to feel less. The shame still burned in his chest, but he shoved it down, burying it as deep as it would go. He tuned back into the conversation, forcing himself to listen.

The next thing planned for the day was a hike that afternoon over to some castle ruins in the middle of the woods. It was about an hour or two away, according to Elle who planned the route; and she told them it would be easier on the return trip since it was mostly downhill on the way back towards the campgrounds.

They all split off as the meal ended. Some headed to get ready for the hike, others to get cleaned up or take a nap, and a few started setting up a game of hide and seek tag around the camp.

Legs returned to his cabin. He didn’t end up falling asleep, but it did give him time to rest; and think.

The castle came into view as they crested the hill. The sun was behind the clouds, but the day was still bright, casting shadows from the trees and ruins. It was worn down and all the roofs had collapsed, but there were luscious vines, trees, and plants growing across and around the rubble. Nature had overtaken the abandoned structure, leaving the stone to peak through the green, the sturdiest rocks and bricks remaining uncracked.

The group wandered. Shelby, Pyro, M, and Scott inspected the layout, wanting to figure out what it might have looked like before it fell. Ren, Drift, Martyn, and Elle were looking at the flora and trying to identify the interesting ones they found. Cherri, Apo, Avid, and Abolish had picked up sticks and started fighting around the castle. Cleo and Pearl were sat against one of the taller walls, enjoying the cloudy day. And…

And Owen and Louis were a little ways away. Louis had his camera in hand, and was taking a picture of the scenery, trying to get the castle and the mountain behind it in view; and Owen was sat at his feet, cross-legged and counting something. If Legs had to guess it would be the number of stones and bricks he could see, tallying them up on his fingers as he did so.

Legs coughed, several petals falling into his hands, that he shoved into his bag. He took a deep breath, gathering any shred of courage he could, and walked over towards the two vampires.

“Hello, Legundo.” Louis said as he approached. There was a small half-smile on his face, and he seemed tired, but relaxed. “How are you doing?”

“I’m alright. But, I actually wanted to speak to both of you if I could.” He looked at them, holding his hands behind his back to stop them from shaking.

“Of course.” Louis replied. Owen held up a hand for a moment, finishing his set of counting, before rising to his feet.

“What do you need, doc?” He asked, attempting to look calm, but the tension in his stance told otherwise. His hands moved to mess with his scarf.

“I’m sorry for last night.” He started, pushing on before either could interrupt. “I made you both upset, and even though it wasn’t my intention, I realize I hurt you, and I apologize for any pain or discomfort caused. If there is anything I can do, whether now or in the future, I would be grateful if I could make it up to you. Your forgiveness is not expected, I simply wish to do better by you both.”

“Oh. Um, t-thanks, I guess.” Louis stuttered, a contemplative, uncomfortable look on his face. Owen didn’t speak, just looked at him, eyes searching.

He nodded once, looking at them for one more moment before turning around and moving towards his cabin-mates. He sat down next to Cleo, arms resting on his knees, and eyes looking at the trees.

“Did you say anything?” She asked, looking to him with a raised brow.

He shook his head as another cough broke through.

“No.”

The hike back was easier, the downhills making it less tiring and easier to navigate.

Martyn did trip into an empty ditch, but Apo helped him to his feet. After a quick confirmation that nothing was broken or bleeding, they continued the walk back.

The two people who had unknowingly claimed his heart and his lungs had slowed down, trailing behind the group, a strained energy surrounding them. They seemed to be in disagreement, words exchanged in a tense manner, and Legudno’s heart sank when Owen pointed his way, an accusatory look on his face.

He’d messed up. He was losing them and couldn’t even figure out what he’d done wrong. He knew he’d hurt them last night, but still hadn’t figured out what exactly had caused it. His thoughts sunk lower and lower, falling into the void in his chest.

Monster.

Your fault.

You don’t deserve them.

His head continued hurling insults and cruel words, until a small light broke through the void, an idea, a plan. Something to stop the ache in his lungs and heart.

It still felt wrong... but he’d already pushed them away, nothing could go worse than it already had.

Another self-centered act.

At least he wouldn’t hurt them anymore.

Chapter Text

A selfish act.

A final goodbye.

The petals will be gone, and he’ll have driven them away.

They’ll hate him, but they will be safe from him.

He won’t hurt and scare Louis anymore, he won’t anger Owen. They won’t have to deal with his mess.

It’s for the best. He tried to reason, mind made up but heart still in pain.

He didn’t want to lose them... he loved them so much.

And that’s why he had to stop. He wants them to be happy, and they will be when he’s gone; when he’s not around to upset them anymore.

He takes one last steadying breath.

Time to let the flowers free.

Everyone was winding down as the night fell. Games were ending and idle chatter flowed through the Town Hall.

Legs stood, stretching his arms above his head, moving towards the door as everyone headed to their cabins. He reached Owen and Louis, catching them before they could go inside.

“Hello.” He said, forcing a cough down when they turned to look at him. “Would you be willing to join me tomorrow morning? I found a nice spot to watch the sunrise, and wanted to invite you both.”

They looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them, before they looked back to him.

“That sounds lovely, Legundo.” Louis replied. “When should we meet you?”

“It’s not too far, so maybe a half hour early?”

“Works for us.” Owen said. “See you soon, Doc.”

“See you soon.”

As soon as he was several paces away from their cabin he let out a shuddering breath. His nerves were shot, the stress of everything leaving him empty and tired.

By the morning, everything would be over.

He entered his cabin, aware enough to set his alarm, before dropping onto the bed. He moved to where he was back to back with Cleo, and fell asleep within moments.

Nightmares of war and poison woke him up early. The blights that so often plagued his mind making themselves known. He stood, making his way outside and sitting against the cabin wall.

He watched the stars, letting their flickering lights hold his attention as he waited. It was cold, but not enough to hurt, and he didn’t want to risk waking Pearl or Cleo to get a jacket. He would be fine.

The remaining hours passed until the planned meeting time arrived. He saw Owen and Louis step out of their cabin, and he stood to greet them.

“Morning.” He whispered as he reached them.

“Good Morning.” Louis replied, in the same whispered tone. Owen didn’t reply verbally, but hummed his greeting, a sleepy grin slipping onto his face.

Legs gestured in the direction they needed to go, and began leading them to their destination. He flicked on a flashlight for himself once they were away from camp.

His heart was already racing; mind running through everything he needed to say, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. He was frantically trying to build up walls around his heart, but he knew it was pointless. Nothing could make what was about to happen not hurt; nothing to stop his heart from being torn to pieces.

He stepped into the clearing. It was at the top of a steep drop, allowing the trees below to be seen from above, the tops stretching for miles and miles along the mountains. The opening was directly East, a picturesque place to watch the rising sun. The faintest flickers of light were beginning to brighten the horizon.

“Here we are.” He forced out, holding down more flowers when he saw the excitement on Louis’ face and the soft smile on Owen’s. They all walked into the break in the trees. Legs stopped before the other two, feet rooting into place a few paces behind them.

“You alright, doc?” Owen asked, turning his way. “You look pale.”

“Am I? I didn’t notice. I’m fine.” He replied.

“Uh huh. And that was believable.” The vampire parroted, eyebrow raised at his lie.

“I… I had another reason for asking you two to join me this morning.” He admitted.

“What’s wrong?” Louis asked, his brow pinched in concern. He took a step closer, but stopped when Legundo stepped back, the human’s breathing growing faster.

Legs wanted to run, to leave and never tell them. Keep the tentative friendship he still had with them. He felt the flowers begin to move again, rising and tearing at the walls of his throat. He took a deep breath, willing his voice to cooperate.

“I need to tell you something, and if I don’t say it now I never will.” He paused.

“Okay. We’re listening.” Louis said. The younger vampire nodded his agreement.

Gods he loved them. He couldn’t hold back the coughs this time, doubling over as his lungs seized. He still stumbled back when they tried to reach him, keeping himself away. When his throat finally cleared, he was holding two full flowers, one red, one white. He held them to his chest for a moment, before holding both hands out, palm up, a flower resting in each.

“Do you know what hanahaki is?” He asked. Louis’ eyes went wide and he nodded slightly. Owen thought for a moment before shaking his head. Legs continued.

“I’ve had it for the past few months, had these two flowers growing in my lungs. I never wanted to tell anyone about it, I planned to keep it a secret and get used to them. But, I can’t do it anymore.”

He locked his eyes on the vampires in front of him, memorizing every detail he could. His heart was beating out of his chest, screaming at him to stop or reconsider, but he’d made his choice.

“Owen. Louis.” He swallowed, hands falling to his side, the two flowers falling to the grass below.

“I love you.” Legs said.

Magic pulsed through the clearing, golden tendrils of light pouring from his chest and weaving through the grass. Flowers bloomed, full of life, red and white coloring the whole forest floor around them. They were all mesmerized by the sight, the flowers almost glowing, lighting up their faces as they appeared.

The light faded after a moment, gold disappearing into the air, and hundreds of flowers left behind.

Legundo looked up, and tears pooled in his eyes, but none fell. He watched as Louis’ face fell, something unknown filling his eyes. Owen looked shocked, mouth slightly open, eyebrows knit together and eyes looking directly at him.

It still hurt. He knew this would happen, but it didn’t stop the burning in his chest.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I’ll won’t bother either of you again.”

He turned to leave, eyes blurred and hands shaking.

He’d taken one step, when there was a flurry of movement from behind him. He only had time to squeeze his eyes shut before something struck him, the impact sending him to his knees in the flowers.

There was a face pressed between his shoulder blades, and two arms wrapped around him, one across his ribs and the other curled up with the hand pressed against his collarbone and shoulder. He jumped as another hand cupped his cheek.

He forced his eyes open and saw Owen knelt in front of him, a disbelieving smile across his lips.

“You meant it? You love me; love both of us?” Owen asked, hope shining in his eyes.

“Yes.” He couldn’t say more as Owen pressed his forehead against his own, elation filling the vampire’s face.

“I love you too.”

Legundo felt his mind slam to a stop. What? That couldn’t be true, how could he...? Another voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“I love you.” Louis whispered into his back, arms wrapping around him tighter. “We both have for some time now.”

He couldn’t breathe, what was happening? This wasn’t how this was meant to go. He was suppose to lose them; to tell them, to weather their hate, and leave so he wouldn’t be a problem for them.

“I-I don’t-” He said, voice wavering. “You’re not angry?”

“Of course not, Legs.” Owen said, pulling back to look into his eyes. “I’m ecstatic, honestly.”

“But I upset you both.”

“That was my fault.” Louis stated, voice wobbly with tears as he sat up to place his chin on Legs’ shoulder. “I believed you only had feelings for Owen.”

“What?” Owen asked, surprise lacing his tone as his hands fell to his lap. “Why did you think he only liked me?”

“I accidentally overheard a conversation between Avid and Cleo about the flower sickness, and they said it was only for one person.”

“You knew?” Legs asked, heart rate rising, tension gripping his limbs.

“Only for a few days, but yes. I was genuinely happy that you loved Owen, I would have never intentionally tried to keep you two apart. As long as you are both happy, I would be too; that’s what matters to me.”

“You were scared,” Owen said, “because you thought you were getting in the way?”

“Yes.” Louis replied. “But now I see I was very wrong in my assumptions.” He turned and placed a kiss to Legundo’s cheek.

His brain short-circuited again. He felt Owen grab his hands, holding them steady. He finally took a deep breath, willing his thoughts to collect into something useful.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this, with me.” Legs looked down, guilt spiraling in his mind. “I’ll just end up hurting you.”

“We already hurt you, dear. You felt like you had to make yourself unhappy, just so we wouldn’t leave.” He felt Louis shift, moving to sit next to him, arms still around him. “Do you care about us less because of that?”

“Of course not, that’s completely different.” He tried to argue.

“It’s really not.” Owen replied, moving to hug him as well. “Were you ‘dealing with me’ when I was angry and pushing you away because we were becoming friends?”

“No. You just needed time, and I wanted to help you.”

“Exactly. I was scared, but you stuck around; even after I hurt you. You showed me that you actually cared, that you didn’t think less of me when I lashed out.”

“Even if you feel like you don’t deserve this,” Louis said, pulling him closer. “We want this. Want you. And we’ll repeat it as much as you need to believe it.”

“Okay.” He whispered, too overwhelmed to say anymore. His body finally relaxed, slumping against them like they were the only things keeping him upright.

Silence fell across the space, only the rustle of wind could be heard. They sat there for a while, leaning into each other, the vampires murmuring small reassurances.

Legs lifted his arms, finally returning their embrace, holding tight to them both.

“I don’t understand.” He admitted, voice still unsteady. “But, I trust you.” He was terrified, but he felt some of that fear let go as the two people who’d claimed his heart held him close.

He loved them, and they knew it. They were still here; treating him with far more gentleness than he deserved, but he would believe them.

The early rays of the morning danced through the clearing, the light soft against the grass and flowers, bringing a gentle warmth to the air.

“I made us miss the sunrise.” He said, intending to apologize when Owen cut him off, moving to cup his face again.

“Legs, I would give up every sunrise for the rest of eternity if it meant I got to hold you like this.”

A blush rose across his nose and cheeks, and he leaned forward to hide his face in Owen’s shoulder, the vampire’s arms wrapping around his neck. Louis began rubbing his back, letting out a lighthearted laugh at Legundo’s reaction.

He felt breathless. He was with the two people who held his heart in their hands; the two people that flowers had bloomed for.

He inhaled deeply, and his lungs were clear for the first time in months.