glitter

“You, sir, are the prettiest sparkling vampire I have ever met.”

“Poppet, stop this. I am a proper vampire, not a-”

“Shhhh. I know, honey, I know.”

They lay that afternoon tangled in a desperate lovers’ embrace after the nearly-disastrous infiltration of the castle that had occurred earlier. She couldn’t help but trace the marks of sheer magical talent that patterned his arms and torso with her finger. They shimmered like glitter and glowed like concentrated sunlight and to touch them made her feel like she was outside lounging on a summer day. The warmth eased the pain in her chest from the wound that the multi-armed monstrosity had reopened.

It put her at peace.

Since leaving the tower she had been made to feel nothing short of welcome by the people here, but especially by him, who treated her perhaps the most like a person and not a divine being to be idolized. That wasn’t to say that everybody else hadn’t been trying, and it had gotten better since the big showdown a while ago. But the level of humanity he treated her with – patient, like a person who needed help and a steady hand – was nothing short of refreshing.

Maybe that’s why she fell so fast and so hard for him. And lying here, skin against skin, made her think to herself that she was extremely grateful that he had reciprocated. Tracing the markings along his skin, admiring their shine.

“So beautiful...”

He shifted under her delicate touch. “Please, poppet...”

“Sorry, do you prefer ‘handsome’?”

“No, no. Simply pointing out that there’s somebody more lovely in the room than I could ever be.”

“That’s a damn lie and you know it. You? You aren’t even just beautiful. You’re absolutely radiant. Somebody took a warm summer day and condensed it down into a man. I’m lucky to get to be so close to that.”

“Pish posh. I’m the lucky one, to share a bed with somebody so simply sublime.”

“That’s a hell of a ten dollar word.”

“But, it is, of course, a ten dollar word that suits you.”

“Nah. Just look at this. Look at you. Magnificent.” She continued to trace the markings along his body, watching them shift and shimmer in the light, and put a finger to his lips when he tried to protest. “Shhh… no more arguing. Maybe instead let’s enjoy each other’s company for a while. Maybe get a nap. That sounds nice...”

“I concur...”

She settled into him, letting him curl up around her and all the while admiring the swirling, twisting, sparkling marks.

Simply radiant.