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.