The Fools That Fall in Love

I had spent the whole day, lying awake, next to Michael, which was unusual as my sleeping hours had matched his, and I normally slept through the day. I was afraid that, if I had slept, I would wake up to find him dead. I could not take that chance. Through the day, he would moan or suddenly wake from some jolt of pain due to his abnormally fast healing process (thought it was a slow process for him, in particular.) I was always there to comfort him in any way I could. But the saddest and most heart breaking thing was not the sudden pain he got, or the loud moans, or even his random shivers. It was the whimper. At times, he would turn away from me and curl up into a ball and let out the slightest whimper, still mostly asleep. The look on his face was that of a child, sad, hurt, and afraid.
Just around sunset, Michael stirred and, carefully, sat up with a slight groan.
"Hey you." I smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"I'll be fine." He said, his voice raspy. I almost felt guilty for giggling. I had always found the "just woken up" raspy voice really attractive.
"I know. But that doesn't tell me how you feel right now, silly." I said, lightly, trying to keep him from being in a bad mood. I could see he was starting to get frustrated.
"I'm fine." He said, kind of annoyed.
"Okay." I said, quietly. I looked away from him, feeling a bit hurt from his harshness. I knew that he didn't mean any harm, but I was there for him. I didn't want to be treated that way.
"I'm sorry." He said, sounding tired, after a long pause. "I'm just getting frustrated with all of this. I'm not used to dealing with pain. I can't sleep through the night, I'm in constant fucking agony, and I really just want it to go away.." He sounded as if he were about to cry, though no tears ever came. I felt awful for him, it was my fault. And he wasn't used to this kind of thing like humans are. He was used to healing right away and not having to worry about it.
"I didn't realize that this was getting to you like that, emotionally, I mean. I know it must be unbearable, I couldn't even imagine that kind of pain, let alone the healing process. I'm sorry, Michael." I gently hugged him, feeling sad.
"It's okay, don't you ever be sorry for that. That was a choice I made, I could have avoided it and let you die. I just didn't think I was actually going to live through it." He backed out of my embrace and held my hands. His bruises and burns were starting to look better.
"Do you wish you hadn't?" I asked, carefully. "I mean, you've been alive for a long time. You're going to want to die some day." I didn't exactly want to look at him while he answered that question, but holding his gaze was too easy and comforting to break. I loved his eyes, and they gave me a warm feeling that his cold body alone wasn't able to do.
"To be honest, I get depressed sometime before and while I sleep. I wake up and feel like I wish I had died. I don' have a lot here on earth. I only have you and my coven. But you're a good enough reason to keep living. You don't have to worry about me." He half smiled, yet that seemingly everlasting look of exhaustion still remained.
"Okay." I said, purposely ending that subject to open a new, and more positive one. "How about breakfast?" I smiled, offering my wrist.
"Breakfast in in bed, huh?' He smiled, and laughed a little.
"I suppose so!" I laughed. His eyes looked less sunken in, yet still dull.
"You know I don't like feeding from the wrist." He flirted a bit. I could see that he was starting to be himself again, when he wasn't thinking about the pain.
"Okay." I smiled. "But nothing more than that. You can't exert yourself." I warned.
"I can handle it." I knew that look on his face. His mind was not focused on his pain at all in that moment. Lusty vampire.
I moved my hair, granting permission. How could I say no? He just saved my life and is going through the most pain he's ever gone through for me. I he wanted to have a little fun, I was going to let him. Not that I didn't want to, because I did. A lot.
After we finished and things cooled down, we went to the living room to watch a movie. I cuddled up to him on the couch and turned the TV to some crappy horror movie we'd never even heard of. I looked up at Michael, almost admiring him. His eyes seemed to be almost back to normal and the burns were less intense. I was surprised to see the dramatic change. He even carried himself a bit differently, looking stronger and more confident. I was proud of him, and proud to call him mine. What more could a girl ask for?