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The life of a butterfly wasn’t easy. To everyone else it might’ve been easy, but to Vista?
It felt so draining.
Their lives weren’t very long. Most of their lives were on average a few weeks.
Visa wasn’t sure if he was lucky or not to be one of the ones who got to live a few months. It was a whole lot of moving and traveling, and struggling to survive. But worst of all was the constant pesting of others about mating.
“Oh, I really hope my mate will be just as beautiful as me!” They showed off their perfectly symmetrical wings, gently fluttering them just to show off their beauty.
“I’m hoping my mate is actually strong enough to tackle me.” Another giggled, ranting about how romantic the mating ritual was.
“What about you? What kind of mate are you hoping for?” Vista internally groaned.
He hated giving his answer to these questions. Their reaction was always the same.
“I just want someone who likes me for me. Treats me kindly and loves me unconditionally.” He answered honestly anyway, preparing for the awkward silence that would soon be interrupted by-
“Oh come on Vista! You're beautiful! You've gotta have some kind of standards for yourself.”
“Yeah, you deserve someone just as beautiful.”
Vista has heard enough of this. It was so stupid and pointless.
He flew off by himself, still more or less staying on the path of their migration.
It was dumb really. Why Vista had any standards at all; What for?
He was going to end up alone. No one was going to court him in the way he wanted. No one was going to choose him to spend the rest of their days together. No one was going to love him in the way he wanted to loved.
For something more than a desperate attempt of passing on their genes to a new generation.
It was hopeless.
Vista landed on a small branch, pacing around on it.
Why couldn't he be normal? Why couldn't he have normal preferences like everyone else?
Why did he have to be so alone?
Vista's pacing was put on hold when he suddenly felt a sharp tug on his wing. He turned slightly to see who was pulling on it but-
There was no one there.
He attempted to walk forward again, but felt that same tug.
What the hell?
Vista looked closer, seeing small thin clear threads on the tip of his wing that shone in the light at just the right angle.
A spider web.
Which means-
Sure enough, a spider that was just as big as Vista began to crawl out from its hiding spot, feeling the vibrations of struggling prey caught in its web.
Vista froze.
It didn't matter anymore, it spotted him and began creeping closer to Vista.
Shit-
He panicked, reaching up to try and snap the web stuck on his wing.
The spider was so close to him now.
He was too late.
This was it.
Vista was going to die here.
Alone.
No one would come for him.
Vista took a shaky breath, preparing himself to fight until his last dying breath. He wouldn't go down without a fight.
But the jaws of death never came.
Rather, a loud hiss greeted his ears instead.
It was a hiss of pain.
Someone had dropped down from above and used the force from the height they were falling to slam down their shoe on the spider.
Who the hell was that?
They were fluttering around the spider, disorienting it and-
Holy shit they just landed on top of it.
Vista couldn't believe his eyes, staring at the stranger who kept flying up and dropping down to stomp on the spider.
A very strange individual indeed.
His wings- they were brown and had strange little eye looking patterns on it. And, were those fangs on him?
Vista could feel the small asymmetrical wings on the sides of his head flutter slightly.
The spider, after getting kicked around and disoriented, decided this meal just wasn't worth the trouble and began to retreat.
The moth- it was definitely a moth- turned to face Vista.
Neither of them said anything as he approached.
Neither of them said anything when he flashed his fangs.
Vista only spoke when he used said fangs to chip and snap the strings on Vista's wing.
“Thank you.”
“...you seemed just about ready to die back there.”
Wow.
Okay, not the response he was expecting.
“Uh- excuse me?” Vista peeled off the left over string from his wing, gently rubbing the soreness and inspecting it for any damage.
“I mean, I dunno, wouldn’t you fight back at least a little?” He asked, curiously tilting his head.
“Well, that’s not really any of your business, now is it?” How rude of this guy. Sure he saved his life but man was he a jerk. Besides, he so was going to fight that thing if he had to.
“Right…yeah well, thanks for the save, stranger, but I’ll be leaving now.” Vista flexed his wings, fluttering them softly. Once. Twice. Yeah, everything felt alright.
“I can teach you.”
“...what?”
“I’m pretty strong. I’ve learned a few tricks. I can teach you.”
Vista turned to fully face the moth.
He didn’t have a scratch on him.
He had saved his life.
He was willing to help him survive.
He was… sort of attractive?
“I’m sorry, what’s your name again?” Vista asked, a bit skeptical of this whole ordeal.
“Eye. And you?” Eye asked, once again slightly tilting his head in curiosity.
“Vista.”
“This’ll be fun, trust me.” Eye was smiling, he could tell from the way his pupil dilated and shaped itself.
“I better not regret this, Eye.” Vista couldn’t help but smile as well. Eye just looked so…excited to be there with him.
Vista had good feelings about this.
By the end of almost an entire month together, Vista and Eye had become inseparable. They hung out together daily during the first week. They began sleeping next to each other by the end of the second week. And by the third week, the word “Goodbye.” had been almost completely deleted from their vocabulary.
They got plenty of stares from others, especially other butterflies, but neither of them seemed to care.
Why would they? They were happy together. That’s all that should matter.
Sure, Eye had a few…odd qualities and habits, but Vista believed they were rather charming.
Besides, Eye had helped Vista fend for himself an incredible amount. He never once spoke about how delicate Vista was or how his looks could get in the way of his capability.
And at the same time, he still complemented and appreciated Vista’s beauty.
Sure, others would tell him how pretty he was, but from Eye?
It made his heart swell each and every time. It made his face go red, and his wings flutter. It made him want to release pheromones and cuddle up closer to him- excuse me, what?
That- that didn’t even make sense?
Gross. Vista wasn’t even attracted to Eye. Not in the slightest. Sure he was maybe somewhat good looking and adorable at times, but at the end of the day, he and Vista were entirely different species.
They couldn’t be together.
Their lives were too short. There wasn’t anything either of them could do about that either.
“Vista? Hellooo? Earth to pretty princess?” Vista blinked all six of his eyes, slapping the hand that was waving in front of his face.
“What.” The word came out a lot more annoyed than intended.
“Jeez, what’s got you so upset today?” Eye paused for a moment, before asking. “Did I do something?”
Vista sighed, already feeling bad for taking out his anger on Eye.
“No, no, I’ve just got something on my mind. What’s up?”
“Well, I was hoping I could show you something? But we sort of have to wait a while.” Eye beamed, the little feathery antennas on his head wiggling in excitement.
“Eh, sure, why not.” Vista shrugged nonchalantly.
It’d be a good way to get his mind off things.
Besides, Eye was adorable like this, he didn’t want to see him pout all day.
Vista didn’t like seeing Eye upset. It made his chest twist in discomfort the few times it happened.
So, the two of them took flight, Eye occasionally circling Vista and making small talk on the way.
“Your wings really are beautiful, Vista.” Eye’s voice came from above.
Vista could feel his face warming up again.
“I could say the same about yours.”
Eye stayed suspiciously silent, so he cranked his head up to-
Eye had almost completely stopped flapping, mainly now gliding down to be incredibly close to Vista.
“Do you really mean that?” Eye’s soft voice nearly made him stop flapping as well.
“Yeah- yeah, of course I do. You’re incredible.” He whispered just as softly.
Eye said nothing, instead suddenly zooming forward, making erratic movements. Left to right, up and down- what was he doing?
“Eye?” Vista called out, struggling to keep up with the moth.
“SORRY, SORRY, SORRY!” Eye called back, landing on a rock. “You just caught me off guard…” he used his wings to cover his face.
Vista landed next to him, struggling to hold back a laugh. “You? Caught off guard? Yeesh, I think you need to lock in and- whoa.” Vista didn’t get to finish his sentence.
It was an incredibly small pond, sure, but there was so much life surrounding them, and the sunset’s orange glow added so many vibrant colors to it all.
“It’s beautiful.” Vista whispered breathlessly.
“Yeah. It is.” Eye spoke with the same amount of breathlessness.
Vista turned to look at Eye and see where in particular he was looking but-
He wasn’t looking at the pond at all.
Eye was staring directly at Vista.
Vista tried not to think about how fast his heart was beating. He tried not to think about how warm his face was getting. He tried not to think about how badly Vista wanted Eye to hurry up and court him already so Eye could tackle him and hold him until the end of time.
Eye had probably just been looking at something else and looked over at Vista at the last second.
Yeah.
That was it.
Vista cleared his throat. “So, uh, how long are we waiting here exactly?’
“Until the moon comes up.”
Wow, he wasn’t kidding about waiting a while.
“Well, we should get comfortable.” Vista sat down, patting the spot next to him for Eye to sit.
He did so, and after a moment, began to lean on Vista.
Eye has done this before. Many times. They’ve sat down, and Eye would begin leaning his head on Vista’s shoulder and make Vista’s heart flutter, or their wings would brush up against each other and send a shiver down Vista’s spine, or Eye would forcibly shove Vista into his lap and insists he rest and make Vista’s face beat red at just how strong Eye actually was.
And time after time, these moments always took up a majority of Vista’s mind, head replaying these brief moments every time Vista’s gaze lingered on Eye for a second too long.
“The moonlight is always really pretty.” Eye commented as the world began to darken, the only light from the moon just barely peaking out.
“Yeah, I guess so. I hardly ever see it. Matter of fact, I guess I only ever see it when we stay up.” Vista laughed a little, remembering how the two of them had gone stargazing and jokingly tried to dance together.
Vista had never before wished so badly for a longer life, just so they could do that every night.
Eye hummed, before suddenly standing up.
“Eye?” he asked, confused as to what the moth was doing.
Eye didn’t respond, flexing out his wings and stretching his arms.
Finally, he faced Vista.
“I hope you’ll accept.” was all he said.
And he took flight.
Vista was about to follow him but stopped when he realized Eye only flew a few feet away from him.
And he began to fly around in some sort of pattern.
Left to right, up and down, hands and legs following along the strange pattern, wings stretched out and flapping slowly so the patterns could be seen almost the entire time.
The oddest part of all, however, was the fact any chance he could, Eye stared directly at Vista, watching every little movement he made.
What Vista couldn’t understand was why. Why was Eye doing this weird little jig? Why was Eye so intently watching Vista’s reactions? Why did he keep looking at Vista with such a hopeful look on his face-
Oh.
Oh.
Vista’s face began to burn, his wings fluttering just as much as his heart.
This wasn’t some random little jig Eye was doing out of nowhere.
Eye was courting him.
The moment Eye noticed the flustered look washing upon Vista’s face, his movements became far more passionate, now showing off even more.
Vista couldn’t help but smile.
He watched Eye with a newfound appreciation for his little dance, however clumsy it might look to him, and didn’t bother to suppress hiw emotions any longer.
Vista loved him.
He really did.
He wanted to spend the rest of his short life with Eye.
And as Eye seemed to finish, Vista frantically nodded as Eye swooped back down to land in front of Vista again.
Vista practically threw himself onto Eye.
“Do this mean that-”
“Yes-, of course it does, yes.”
Vista gently grabbed the bottom of Eye’s cheek, thumb caressing it softly.
“I don’t know why it took me so long to admit just how much I love you, Eye. I guess I’m just worried you’d only be here with me for my looks or get bored of me when you realize there isn’t much else to me…” Vista trailed off, watching Eye’s little feathery antennas form a heart.
He was fucking adorable.
“What? Vista- you’re beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but you’re extremely capable as well. You’re someone I can count on to have my back if I ever need it. You’re someone I can let my guard down around. You’re someone I can trust with every fiber of my being- that means so much more to me than just a pretty face.” Eye responded with full sincerity.
Vista couldn’t help himself anymore.
He leaned forward, slowly closing all six of his eyes, and placed a kiss on Eye’s mouth, fangs brushing up against his lips.
Eye returned the kiss, slightly opening his mouth to allow his fangs to be a little more out of the way for his newfound lover.
They deepened the kiss, the two of them wanting more of the sweet nectary taste the other had on their tongues, until they finally broke away from each other for some much needed oxygen.
“It’s late,” Vista gasped slightly for air, “we should sleep.”
Eye nodded.
Falling asleep in each other's arms has never felt so wonderful.
“Soo, it’s getting close to our expiration date Vista. Have you picked a mate yet?”
“Yeah actually- oh, here he comes now.” Vista turned to face Eye, waving.
Eye landed by the group of butterflies, waving and greeting them.
They stared in shock.
“Uh- Vista? Could we speak to you for a moment?…Alone?” One of the three spoke, the other two nodding.
Vista rose a brow but nodded.
Eye watched them leave, flexing his wings. Open, and shut, open, and shut.
The second one pulled Vista by the arm, hiding behind the huge tree, and began to whisper-shout.
“What the fuck- who the hell is that?”
Vista blinked all six of his eyes.
“Who, Eye? He’s my mate. My partner for life.” he explained.
The others gasped and shushed each other.
“Are you being held hostage? We can distract him and you can fly off to find another-”
Vista frowned, tearing the hand off that was still grabbing him from his arm.
“I’m fine, thank you. I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I like him. I chose him.”
“B-but Vista! He’s absolutely horrid looking!” they began to circle Vista.
“You deserve someone just as beautiful as you.” A few nodded in agreement.
“He’s so creepy too…” Another added, a few whispers of similar comments reached Vista’s ears.
“I’ve had enough.” Vista flapped his wings angrily. “Eye is the most loving and caring person I’ve ever known, and he loves me for me. And I love him just as much.” Vista pointed at the main butterfly who had dragged him behind the tree, approaching them with heavy footsteps.
“If you, or anyone else has a problem with that, then fuck off, and never speak to me again.” He yelled, shoving his pointer finger into their chest with every word.
They fell flat onto their bottom, fear clear in their eyes.
It was only natural.
Most butterflies were extremely nonconfrontational. They were gentle creatures. None of them ever had the mindset of fighting back against their predators.
Just another reason Vista felt like an outsider amongst his people.
The rest of the group all whispered amongst themselves as they began to fly away, taking Vista’s threat very seriously.
“You didn’t answer their question.” Vista blood ran cold at the voice coming from behind them. “Am I?”
“Wh-what? Eye? What are you-” Eye interrupted Vista.
“Am I horrid looking? Creepy?”
If there was ever a time Vista was sure heartbreak was real, it was now.
“No. No, no, absolutely not. Eye, you’re absolutely stunning in my eyes. And I have six of them, you know.” Vista attempted to joke, hoping it’d make Eye feel better.
Eye smiled softly.
“I mean it though, Eye. You’re beautiful. And more than that, you’re incredibly capable, and you’ve shown me so much. I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Vista took Eye by the hands, simply holding them.
“I don’t care about what anyone else thinks of our relationship. I just want you.”
Eye beamed, leaning forward for a small peck on the cheek.
“Good. I feel the same.”
Vista chuckled. “Glad we’re on the same page, lovebug.”
“Lovebug?” Eye grew flustered at the nickname, but began to laugh. “That’s a new one- where’d you get lovebug from.”
Vista’s cheeks began to burn in embarrassment. “I- I don’t know- don’t judge me based on my nicknames!” Vista began to shove away Eye.
Eye only laughed harder, trying to place another kiss on Vista’s cheek.
Vista laughed as well, deciding to allow the affection to just happen.
He really was going to miss Eye.
“Eye…can I tell you something.”
Vista sat on the flower field, Eye placing small poppies and alliums in Vista’s hair. It was a small little date idea Vista had. A large open field, the perfect place for them to nap in the sun and sleep if they stayed after dark.
The perfect place to break the news to Eye.
Vista only had a month left to live.
He could feel it.
His wings just weren’t supporting him like how they used to. His urge to feast was growing weaker. His strength was disappearing every day.
Surviving was getting harder.
His body was failing him.
And worst of all, Eye seemed oblivious to it all. He simply slowed down for Vista as they flew, even offering even slower paces. He foraged extra food and kept it handy in a bag,pulling it out whenever Vista needed it. He supported Vista in whatever strength he lacked, each and every time.
Vista was becoming a burden to Eye.
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?” Eye continued to place alliums in Vista’s hair.
“I’m dying.” Eye’s hand froze mid placement.
“I have roughly a month, maybe less. I’m sorry, I should’ve told you-”Vista began to tear up.
“Vista…can I tell you something?”
“Huh? Y-yeah?” Vista wiped away his tears, turning to face Eye.
He was also crying.
“I’m also dying. I have about a week left. Maybe less.”
Vista could have sworn his heart stopped at that moment.
“Wh-what? You- but I thought-” a million thoughts began swirling in Vista’s mind, each other colliding with one another, not being able to follow a single coherent thought.
“I’ve also been getting weaker, but I’ve done an okay job at covering it up.I’ve known the whole time you were gonna die soon too… and the fact that I would likely die before you. I’m sorry, princess.” Eye’s voice cracked with the last sentence, fat tears falling from his eye.
Vista lunged forward, hugging Eye tightly.
Neither of them said a word, both understanding.
They had so little time together.
They’d spend it wisely.
It wasn’t super uncommon to find Eye sleeping in, especially after staying up late from another stargazing and dancing date.
So Vista thought it’d be fun to surprise his lover.
He snuck out from his arms, and went to find something extra for their shared breakfast.
A few sweetberries and some break would do fine.
Vista set a small table, placing a torchflower in a pot at the center in place of an actual candle. It wasn't exactly as romantic as he’d have hoped, but he was sure Eye would appreciate it anyway.
Eye always adored the small mundane moments in their life.
It was good to be strong, of course, but it was also important to have a sort of balance.
Eye always mentioned how Vista seemed to just… ground him.
It was nice.
The sun was nearly fully up, roughly 11am by the time Vista finished. He had taken longer than he had wanted, but didn’t see Eye anywhere.
Was Eye seriously not up yet?
“Eye?” Vista approached the unconscious body, still laying in the exact same position when he had left.
“Eye, come on, get up. I made breakfast. I think you’ll really like it.” He giggled slightly. But it wasn’t out of nervousness.
Why was he so nervous?
Either way, no response.
Vista’s heart sank.
“Eye? C-come on, get up… this isn’t funny anymore.” It was never funny.
Eye would never prank Vista like this.
Vista began to place his hands on Eye’s sleeping face and- he was ice cold.
“Eye? Wake up. Please wake up.” Vista’s voice cracked.
“There’s still so much I wanna do with you…so much I wanna see with you…please wake up so we can go see them.” Vista felt warm tears begin to fall down his face.
“You said you were gonna show me the second option as to where you were gonna court me today. In case the pond didn’t work out like you planned. I-it was a big lake, wasn’t it? A lake, where if you stood on the little tree in the center, it looked like both the sky and water were nothing but void? Where the fireflies dance around with you and make it feel like the stars are moving, right? Right? Don’t you wanna show me?” Vista gently began to cradle Eye’s body as he sobbed.
“Please wake up, Eye. Don’t leave me here alone.”
Vista wandered around with only a mild sense as to where he was going. Eye had mentioned the last spot he wanted Vista to see was further south.
But it was a whole lot harder to travel when you not only didn’t know where you were going, but your wings could no longer support your own body weight.
Every muscle in Vista’s body yelled at him to rest, to just lay down and wait for death to capture him.
But he couldn't.
He wanted to see it.
Imagine Eye’s graceful movements along the sky as he began to court Vista again. Imagine the look on his face when Vista joined his movements, showing him that he was courting him as well. Imagine him stuttering and getting all red in the face, messing up his movements.
Imagining the look on his face when they began to dance together in the void.
The sun was starting to set.
Vista would have to rest now but…
It’s hard trying to fall asleep when you know you might not wake up the next morning. WHen you know that falling asleep could mean his lover's final wish was incomplete.
He had to be strong.
For Eye.
He’d find it soon, he was sure, he just had to-
A firefly whizzed past him.
And then another.
Vista looked around. Dozens of fireflies danced around, all coming from somewhere in front of him.
This had to be it.
Vista forced his legs to run forward.
Vista nearly fell into the water, his shoe getting caught and causing him to stumble enough to pause and take in the scene.
Sure enough, it was an enormous lake, the night sky above reflecting the stars onto the lake, fireflies illuminating it slightly.
It was beautiful.
Vista could hear Eye’s voice in the back of his mind, echoing back “Yeah. It is.”.
Vista imagined Eye flying him to the center, where the beautiful willow tree was.
He imagined Eye’s small pea of “I hope you’ll accept.” before flying off.
He imagined Eye fluttering along the void, dancing and carefully watching Vista for his reactions.
Vista’s wings flapped for the first time in an entire week.
One last flight.
He imagined Eye’s shocked faced as he took flight, wings desperately fighting to their lives to stay in the air.
He imagined how red Eye would get when he realized that he was dancing along, albeit rather clumsily, and courting him back.
He imagined how Eye’s hands would feel as he took hold of them, whispering a soft, “Guide me?”
He imagined Eye dancing there beside him in the void, laughing as his wings finally gave out and he began to plummet into the freezing water below.
This is a nice spot to die.
He’d meet Eye in another life, Vista was sure.
As the water began to fill Vista’s lungs, pulling him further below the surface, he only had one thing on his mind.
How badly he wished he and Eye would love each other again, but this time, with far more time to spend together.
In this lifetime, and every other one, Vista wished to spend all of them with Eye.