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Alex could think of several words to describe his beloved: gentle, kind, adorable, soft, warm, the list could go on.
None of these words would ever be “selfish”, despite being the most common one to leave said beloved’s lips. He was starting to lose count of the amount of times he ever heard such a word from that quiet, accented voice, and he had moved from fingers and other appendages to tendrils the size of his hair.
He added one more to the count months back. A quiet winter night after dinner, all the commotion from eating finally subsiding. Their little one had crawled onto the couch, the blond laughing right after it.
“Always so full of energy after a good meal, no?”
He sat down next to the child, his hand coming up to pet their bright, blood-colored hair. Said hair shot up in tendrils, trapping him.
“Easy now, darling!” The blond cooed, pulling the little one to his lap with his other hand.
The redhead breathed slowly, trying to cool off. Once calm enough, the man nodded gently.
“Now then… Carrie, my dear, what did we learn today?”
Carrie paused to think, counting on their small hands.
“I… I learned how to multiply and divide numbers?”
Alex didn’t fight the small smile on his face as the other man clapped happily.
“Very good, dear! Hm… can you tell me what 7 times 12 is?”
The child perked up.
“84!”
The blond laughed, ruffling the redhead some more.
“I see you have not forgotten it yet! Hm… how about 6 divided by 2?”
The man chuckled in response, amused, as he approached the duo.
“They won’t learn if you keep asking them basic things. How about 422 divided by 6?”
The blond squeaked.
“We have not gone up to three digits yet—!”
“It’s… 70…”
Both men watched as Carrie squinted at their fingers.
“And… and…” They squinted. “A lot of threes…”
Alex laughed as Bunny, his beloved, quickly got up and left the room. Confused, the little one glanced at him.
“Did I make Papa mad, Daddy?”
The man softened, now taking the blond’s seat. Carrie wasn’t the same as him – two completely different sets of inhuman – yet they couldn’t be anymore similar. Being all of them wanted criminals, Bunny had taken it upon himself to homeschool the little Carrion, studying and gathering materials to teach them all the basics of humanity.
Bunny had soon returned with a calculator, eyes wide in wonder.
“My apologies for leaving you, dear.” He spoke softly. “But it appears we may have to speed up your learning.”
He showed the screen to the pair. There it was: 70.3333333. Carrie grinned proudly, sharp teeth on display as their form wobbled in excitement.
The blond then glanced at Alex, his bigger form occupying most of the old couch.
“Now, what is this, love? Hogging my seat?” He smiled, adjusting his glasses. “Trying to get the little one’s favor, no?”
The taller man crossed his arms, his legs dissolving for a moment, only to stretch and take up all of the couch. Carrie giggled, jumping onto his lap.
“Maybe.” He mumbled. “I think it’s working.”
Bunny pouted, nudging Alex’s head with a pale, scarred hand. For a moment, all of the virus man’s amusement flickered away, the ugly dark lines on otherwise delicate skin. It was proof of humanity’s evil, their dark, parasitic mark on the world.
One glance at Carrie mirrored the same feeling he had. He appreciated the Carrion’s semblance of compassion, to pretend to be as human as possible, the same as him.
The hand currently pushing at his cheek was enough reason to keep going.
“I thought you were in your thirties, Bunny, not your threes.” He teased, voice a low drawl.
“Oh, hush, you! Embora!”
“That means ‘come on’, Daddy.” Carrie added.
The man finally laughed softly, sitting up properly, blue eyes twinkling in amusement as Bunny finally sat down, stretching his legs before settling in.
“Hm. Seems no matter how much I try, Carrie prefers their Papa more.”
As if on cue, the little redhead immediately latched onto the blond, knocking his glasses askew. Bunny didn’t bother adjusting them back, simply rubbing his child’s back.
“Are you not tired from running around, dear?” He whispered. “Always so energetic…”
Alex hummed. Bunny wasn’t a complete idiot regarding their quirks. They had learned extremely early that Carrion did not sleep, merely stayed motionless in their nests to rest or replenished their biomass. And yet…
“I… I might go to bed soon, Papa.” Carrie smiled, burying his face on the man’s chest. “It’s warm there.”
The blond nodded, noting the now sluggish movement of tendrils coming out of the child’s bright red sweater.
“Would you like me to read you a story, dear?” Bunny suggested, slowing his movements.
“Mm… no…” The little one suddenly perked up. “Can we learn something else tomorrow, Papa?”
Bunny nodded gently, kissing the redhead’s forehead.
“I was already counting on it. I don’t think we will be touching numbers for a while now… unless you wish, of course.”
As he was about to carry his child to bed, a black and red tendril gently poked at his face, setting his glasses back in place. It retreated to a relaxed Alex.
“Wouldn’t want them to fall.” He muttered with a smirk, widening slightly as the blond snorted.
“Yes, thank you, darling.”
-
Bunny soon returned empty-handed, sitting back on the couch, hands clasped together as he relaxed. Now with their little one “soundly” asleep, Alex could do one of his favorite activities: to take a good look at his beloved, his reason to still believe in kindness.
The long, flowing blond hair tied nicely in a braid. The warm, milk chocolate brown eyes that crinkled ever so slightly when he smiled, their impaired function corrected by thick-framed glasses. Soft lips hiding his mouth and throat, protecting the vocal cords that emit his soothing voice.
Pale skin with dark, ugly scars, hidden under layers and layers of fabric. Fear. Anxiety.
Pain that he knows the cause of.
“You are doing it again.”
Alex snapped out of his thoughts, staring right into the shorter man’s illuminated lenses, his brow furrowed in concern.
“Doing what?” He tried, feigning ignorance. Once again, Bunny wasn’t a complete idiot, giving him a particular look that tugs at his non-existent heartstrings in an uncomfortable way.
The blond didn’t continue the conversation, choosing to scoot closer to the brunet and gently touch his cheek, his fingers blooming warmth on his skin as if the sun after the rain.
“I truly do not deserve you, dear.” He said instead, warm as always, prompting a small smile from the other man.
“Who does, then?” He replied, mirroring the gesture, the feeling of human skin warming his palm. “I should be the one saying that.”
Bunny hummed gently, shyly moving closer. Alex responded by pulling him into a gentle kiss, his other arm holding the blond against him. For a moment, they were alone in the world – floating in space without a care.
The brunet was slowly brought back down as the other pulled away, hand still lightly tracing his cheek.
“Everyone should deserve you.” He continued. “In a kinder world, perhaps.”
Alex’s eyes darkened slightly. Kinder or crueler, he would still pick the blond over anyone else. No one else would dare to approach him so boldly, carelessly hurling a wrench into the bits and pieces of his brooding and take his hand. No one else would find a being like him – a monster, a killer, a weapon – and offer his heart.
“Maybe.” He growled. “Doesn’t mean I want it. Same for Carrie.”
Bunny paused, laying his head on Alex’s chest, letting the virus man run his fingers through messy gold.
“I forget how fast they learn.” He glanced down at the floor as he spoke. “It was quite foolish of me to give them basic questions.”
The brunet sighed. He began to count internally, breaking his own very being in his mind, counting Blacklight strand by Blacklight strand.
1… 2… 3… 4…
“I’m sure they don’t mind if you take it slow.” Alex piped up mid-counting. “They always let you know if you’re going too slow, right?”
33… 34… 35… 36…
“…that is true, yes.” Bunny relented. “I am thinking of teaching them History tomorrow.”
99… 100… 101… 102…
“Ah, History. Now they get to learn about the world’s dark foundations.” Alex chuckled darkly. “I think I still remember my US Presidents and some other tidbits if I pull hard enough.”
179… 180… 181… 182.
“Hm… well… while I am aware I have left my home for a good while now…”
…
“There is… a bit of a selfish urge, I suppose…”
…183. Alex remained quiet as he added that final number to the count.
“I suppose it is the selfish desire to be seen. I understand it will serve no purpose should they ever be able to live among humans, but…”
“It’s not selfish to be seen.” The brunet finally interrupted. “You want to teach them about your culture. It’s natural for you to want to pass it on.”
Bunny sighed softly, glasses tilted as his cheek squished up as a smile spread on his lips.
“I suppose you are right… it would be quite lovely…”
He finally looked up, warm chocolate against icy blue.
“I would also like to offer you the opportunity as well. It… it would make me very happy.”
Alex replied with another gentle kiss. For his beloved’s happiness, he would do anything.
-
“…and so, he battled his own mother to ensure the county’s independence in what we call…”
“The Batalha de São Mamede!”
“Yes, very good, Carrie!”
Alex snorted as Bunny flipped the book’s pages, the title Novo HGP – 5º ano in bright, bold, red letters, reciting paragraphs and pointing to images. The language, while foreign to his ears – even while pulling some knowledge of Spanish from high school or some other mind he consumed – , sounded far more natural, rolling much more smoothly from the blond’s tongue.
The brunet had to hold back a much stronger laugh as the little redhead began to reach for the book.
“I wanna read more, Papa! What happened after Dom Afonso Henriques declared himself Prince?”
Bunny laughed, gently placing the book on the Carrion’s lap.
“Easy, darling, easy! You are free to read. Let me know if you wish for my help.”
Carrie quickly immersed themselves into the old textbook, tendrils moving over names, portraits and maps, their brain quickly absorbing all information with ease. If Alex had to envy his own child in some way, it was how quickly they seemed to take in human information without most external help. Such as others’ minds.
Not like they deserved such info anyway.
The blond stepped back, face bright with fondness.
“They took to it so well.”
Alex couldn’t help but smile back.
“With a teacher like you, even quantum physics sound like a piece of cake.”
Bunny puffed, shaking his head.
“You forget I must study the subjects as well to explain them! Carrie may be a fast learner, but so must I be!”
The brunet smirked, a tendril twirling around the blond’s hair.
“Pick up the pace, then.”
“Oh, you can truly be insufferable at times, dear!”
Their bickering was interrupted by Carrie, giggling at their parents’ antics.
“You’re good at teaching me, Papa! Maybe you can teach Daddy too!”
Bunny laughed, nodding along.
“Yes, I suppose it would do him good. What do you suggest, dear?”
Carrie paused, going through the textbook. They suddenly stopped at a page, tilting their head.
“Papa?”
The man perked up, making a small, confused noise as the child pointed at a word.
“I don’t know how to say this.”
Curious, Bunny returned to his child’s side, scanning over the pages. Alex didn’t miss the sudden widening of his eyes, if only for a mere instant.
“Ah, that is a name, dear. See the uppercase first letter?”
“Yeah… what’s that hat thing over the E, though?”
He adjusted his glasses, smiling softly.
“That is a circumflex accent. We did not reach that far in our speaking and writing lessons, but I suppose we can skip ahead. It is over an E, so you pronounce it a bit like… ‘hey’.”
Carrie squinted at the book.
“So… In-neys?”
“Close! That is pronounced Inês.”
“In-nês…”
“Say it with me, darling. I-nês.”
The two went back and forth for a little while. Alex silently registered the pronunciation as well. Inês. Spelling can come later.
“Can you pronounce those other two words, dear?” Bunny asked gently, finger over the paper.
The redhead squinted, bright green scrutinizing the ink, only to widen in awe.
“De Castro… that’s your name, Papa!”
Now that caught the brunet’s attention.
“That’s new.” He chuckled. “I thought your name was Leandro.”
God. Attempting to say it felt like sandpaper in his mouth. It always sounded flawless whenever the blond did it. In response, Carrie pouted, judging what he assumed was incompetence.
“You said it wrong, Daddy.” They complained. “And it’s Papa’s other name, not the first one!”
Alex smirked, crossing his arms.
“I thought that one was Oliveira.”
He cringed for a moment. Not as bad as “Leandro”, but never as smooth as his beloved’s voice. Bunny laughed in response, shaking his head in exasperation as he adjusted his glasses.
“Unlike here in the US, it is common in my home to have several surnames. One from the mother, one from the father.” The blond explained softly, head swaying slightly. “My full birth name is Leandro de Castro Oliveira.”
Alex smiled, a tendril emerging from his jacket, coiling and uncoiling in amusement.
“And you kept this away from me because…?” He asked, the tendril nudging his shoulder, prompting a laugh from the shorter man as he swatted it away.
“Well, it never came up in conversation! It is not as if you required my legal documents!”
Another tendril nudged at his other shoulder, making the blond squeak. Alex’s smile turned into a smirk as yet another tendril pushed his glasses up his face.
“Scared I would be astonished at your name?”
Bunny huffed, pecking the brunet’s cheek.
“Oh, hush, dear. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lesson to teach to our little one.”
Alex barked out a deep laugh as his beloved sat down next to their child, breathing softly. The brunet’s cheek was still warm from the teasing little touch, his biomass eagerly absorbing the sensation.
“Now, back to our History session… Inês de Castro, yes…”
Carrie perked up, aware that they were back to being the center of attention, watching the blond sit down and pick up the textbook. They immediately scooted next to their beloved Papa, looking up at his face… only to frown at the concern in his eyes.
“Are you sure you wish to hear this story, my dear?” Bunny asked, gently tracing the book’s words with his fingertips. “It is quite the tragedy.”
“History is basically just tragedies.” Alex intervened. “One more won’t hurt.”
The man sighed, glancing at the redhead’s eyes. He took them in for a moment, bright forest green and black sclera contrasted with absurdly pale skin and red hair, all alight in curiosity, excitement and awe.
His face finally warmed, relenting.
“Very well. Let me tell you the story of Dom Pedro and Inês de Castro.”
-
What was a typical fun lesson for little Carrie had devolved into a dark, tense atmosphere. The blond’s posture had turned from inviting to reclusive as he recited and expanded on the tale of the two royalty members.
Alex committed every single detail to memory, from the words, to the shakiness of his voice, to the images painted in his mind. He felt that seed of hatred beginning to poke its roots once more, Blacklight tendrils set ablaze.
Two lovers, separated by kingdoms, families or whatever obnoxious reason humans make up. Sticking together after overcoming all odds, set to live together despite the conflict.
The woman decapitated by men hired by her lover’s father, dooming the pair.
“Dom Pedro did not take kindly to such an act.” Bunny whispered. “He hunted those men himself, made an example of them for what they had done to Lady Inês.”
“Is that why he’s called O Justiceiro, Papa?” Carrie piped up, tilting their head.
“That is correct, dear. But he is also known as The Cruel.”
The Cruel?
“…that’s an odd duo of names for the same guy.” Alex mumbled.
“Justice can be considered cruelty to some.”
The duo’s eyes met, a strange feeling rippling through the brunet’s form. Was the comment pointed at him…?
Something squeezed at his non-existent trachea as he asked another question.
“Huh… did he find the men?”
Bunny flipped the book’s page, breathing slightly ragged, as if steeling himself. This story clearly meant a lot to him, even if it was merely another tiny chapter in the world’s existence.
“That… that he did.” He continued. “He found them and dealt with them personally.”
Carrie slithered closer, their little face soft in concern, yet their eyes wide in awe. The duality of Carrion, Alex mused to himself.
“…how, Papa? Did he hurt them like they did with Inês?”
Bunny laughed weakly, caressing the little one’s hair.
“He did kill them, yes… but not by beheading.”
A pale, scarred hand rested on the blond’s chest, a bit to his left.
“He ripped with his bare hands the one thing the men had shattered.”
Alex didn’t miss the shake of his hand as he clenched it over his clothes, crumpling the fabric. With the other hand, the shorter man adjusted his glasses.
“An eye for an eye, my darling. Well… a heart of the heartless for a shard of a broken, loving heart.”
A heavy silence followed as Carrie quietly picked up the book, completing the sanitized information with the provided tale. Meanwhile, the brunet had finished memorizing the story, his mind replaying one particular sight.
The heavy, dark look Bunny had given him. It had no hatred nor malice, yet it filled him with a strange dread. It was true the story had brought forth his hatred of humanity once more, senseless violence and pain due to a couple people in a position of power. He could very well see something like this happen in their current day and age, maybe at a more catastrophic rate.
Eventually, a soft, childish whine broke the tension.
“Papa, are you related to them?”
The blond snapped out of his thoughts.
“Pardon, darling?”
Carrie blinked, thinking of a way to explain it better.
“Because you have the same name?”
Alex felt his form relax as Bunny’s shoulders loosened.
“Perhaps, perhaps not.” He replied. “Inês de Castro had brothers and descendants. I would have to go up my family tree in the hopes of a connection.”
The redhead giggled as his Papa gently squished their cheeks.
“If it is true, then you would be related too, dear!” Bunny continued, laughing along. “With our just protector by our side.”
The Blacklight man simply chuckled, joining his family. Cruel and tiring as the world may be, he still held a reason to believe in it.
…
But that was months ago.
Now, he sits on a throne of Blacklight, the walls pulsing with living, mutated tissue. Hunters and Walkers roamed about, eager for their next order from their Runner.
With a wave of his clawed hands, he sends his loyal army away, issuing them a need for solitude. His footsteps are heavy, determined; the gait of someone that has nothing to fear.
The infected walls of his Hive part slightly to reveal a dark, rusted door, glinting ominously among the fleshy red, the handle covered in smudged, bloody fingerprints. A small, prideful smile crosses his face: the reminder of the fate of those who foolishly cross him always brightens his dark, putrid days.
Alex opens the door without much fanfare. The room is dark besides a few blinking panels and machinery (a Gentek control room, one of his many lives cries), most of it unimportant to the brunet.
No, what matters is the huge containment chamber in the very middle, bathing the darkness in a bloody crimson. Red and black pulse inside its liquid, shielding its precious cargo from anyone who dares remove it.
The entity places his hand on the glass, sighing softly. Whenever the chaos gets to him, he always returns here, to admire the one thing that gave him strength.
He admires the long, golden locks, wavy from years of being stuck in braids and buns. Eyelids protecting warm chocolate eyes from the liquid. Pale skin with dark, ugly scars from the torso down. Thighs crossed over, concealing anatomy only he had appreciated.
Fear. Anxiety. Panic. In his new world, with humanity’s mark gone from the planet, his beloved will no longer feel such things. They shall pay for the joy they had robbed from him.
Millions of useless, sinful hearts for the purest of them all.
Alex pauses for a moment, soulless blue eyes closed as he counts back. He pushes the many minds he consumed aside, reaching for the ones he locks deep in his soul, from his time in that cabin.
When he still had a reason to give humanity a chance.
“Is that why he’s called O Justiceiro, Papa?”
“That is correct, dear. But he is also known as The Cruel.”
“…that’s an odd duo of names for the same guy.”
“Justice can be considered cruelty to some.”
…
“An eye for an eye, my darling. Well… a heart of the heartless for a shard of a broken, loving heart.”
The brunet feels his fingers twitch against the glass as a chuckle leaves his mouth. He can’t describe what emotion it carries: madness, guilt, glee. The look his beloved had given him that flashes through his mind as words seem to fall from his mouth.
“I’m sorry I broke my promise. But it’ll be for a good cause.”
He looks up at the figure, forcing his hand to calm down.
“They tried to take you from me. Just as stupid as they were before.”
The room rumbles, a mass of fleshy red approaching from behind. It growls, its many amber eyes and sharp-toothed mouths fixated on him and the chamber. It tries to approach, only for Alex to raise a hand.
“Now, now. You’ll spook your Papa once he wakes up.”
The being pauses, gurgling deeply. It begins to contort, tendrils of flesh and biomass fusing into facsimiles of bone, muscle and skin. Its mouths and eyes receded back into its body as it stood on two legs, only two remaining on its face.
Biomass gives way to a bright red sweater, pants and shoes. Some of it becomes brighter and brighter, going from vermilion to pink to a pale, ashy white. What remains on the very top remains red, fluffing up to a bun ponytail.
Carrie de Castro Mercer opened their amber eyes, approaching Alex’s side.
“We’ll make the world kinder, like you always wanted.” They completed their father’s thoughts. “Just wait for us a bit longer.”
As the Blacklight Virus leaves the room, the normal eerie silence settles in for a moment, faint beeping fading in it. In the containment chamber, a delicate, scarred hand twitches, eyes beginning to stir open.