"Okay?" Charlie blinked. "Just like that?"
"Just like that." Simon caught Charlie's hand, threading their fingers together. "We'll need a base, resources, and some way to advertise that doesn't attract too many bad players."
"Viktor might know people. And that librarian."
"Noah? You wanthishelp?"
"Maybe." Charlie squeezed Simon's hand. "We'll figure it out."
They walked back toward the cemetery gates, hands linked, the flowers settled against his mother's grave behind them. The bike waited in the parking lot.
Simon paused before putting on his helmet. "You know this is going to be complicated. New vampires are unpredictable. We won't find many who are like you."
"We don't know that."
"Yes, we do," Simon insisted with a smile. He pressed a kiss to Charlie's lips. "No one's like you."
Charlie huffed and Simon laughed.
They mounted the bike. Charlie's arms wrapped around Simon's waist like he was never letting go.
Simon kicked the engine to life, and they pulled out onto the street, leaving the cemetery behind. The night spread out before them, full of problems and possibilities, hopes and tomorrows and entirely theirs.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Charlie smoothed down his shirt for the third time as they climbed the stairs to Viktor's new apartment.
"Stop fidgeting," Simon said, taking Charlie's hand in his.
"I'm not fidgeting."
"You're basically vibrating."
"I'm excited!" After all, they hadn't seen Viktor in weeks, and never at his new address.
The door opened before they could knock.
"You're late." Viktor stood in the doorway, wearing an apron that said 'The Last Time I Cooked, Hardly Anyone Got Sick.' Charlie had bought it for him as a joke three months ago. The fact that Viktor was actually wearing it made him smile.
"Five minutes isn't late," Simon said.
"It is when dinner's ready." Viktor stepped aside. "Come on."
Charlie walked into the new space and froze.
Three vampires sat around Viktor's living room, and Charlie's brain short-circuited trying to process what he was seeing.
"Surprise!" Maya launched herself from the couch, arms wide.
Charlie had exactly one second to register her paint-splattered jacket and delighted grin before she crashed into him with all the force of a supernatural tackle-hug.
The shift happened instantly. One moment Charlie stood there getting the air squeezed out of him, the next he was a rabbit on Viktor's hardwood floor, heart hammering against his tiny ribs.
Silence.
Then Connor, from his spot by the window: "Did he just…?"
