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It starts with the small remarks Simon makes. A slight shake of his head when Raphael would compliment him, or a "no, I'm not," when Raphael would tell him he was beautiful. From there, it progressed. Simon would crack jokes about him being ugly, or mention that he was worth nothing. This, though, this was the last straw.
"I love you." They were laying on Raphael's bed, facing each other. "And you're a beautiful person, Simon. Inside and out." The younger boy shook his head and smiled sadly.
"I'm not Rapha. I'm not beautiful or cute or handsome or even a good person. I'm just waiting for the day you realize that. Until you realize you deserve better." Raphael shook his head.
"Shh, mi amor. You may not see it, but I do. You are wonderful, and I often find myself wondering how I got so fucking lucky. If you can't see how amazing you, then that's not okay. I love you." Simon did that stupid thing where his eyes would crinkle and he gave a painfully forced smile- Raphael didn't like when he did it.
"Simon. shush before I do something stupid like- like kiss you or hold your hand." He makes sure his gaze is intense when he looks at the fledgling.
"I know you can't help thinking negative things about yourself, but I want to help you see how beautiful you are. Eres el sol la luna y las estrellas. Te amo." It's then that Raphael decides is a good time to kiss Simon, so he does. He puts every emotion that he can't say into that kiss. It's soft and slow, too.
When he pulls back, Simon's cheeks are wet.
"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He hears the younger vampire laugh.
"No, it's just- you're so amazing. I love you so much." Raphael does nothing in reply except kiss his lover's bloody tears away, an "I love you' all in itself.