Vox stared at the scene before him. It didn't happen in slow motion. It happened much too fast, and before he could truly process what just happened, Vox was on his knees next to Valentino. He had saved him, but at what cost?
Val choked, struggling to breathe. Vox reached towards the blade, lodged in the moth demon's chest, with shaky hands. He touched it for a moment, and Valentino flinched. He pulled his hands back, scared.
He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His hands were shaking. Everything was shaking. His body, and Val's body, and the very ground he was sitting on. The whole world was shaking.
"V-Vox?" Valentino said softly, his wings limp next to him, splayed out for the world to see.
The world stopped shaking. Everything was still.
"I'm here. I'm r-right here." Vox gasped out, trying not to cry. He felt his voice glitch as he spoke. "It's o-okay-y. It's g-gonna be okay."
"Vox." Valentino said again. His eyes were becoming distant, as if he was gazing at a cloud in the sky only he could see. "Vox, I'm sorry." It was barely a whisper, but their surroundings were dead silent and Vox had no trouble hearing.
He wanted to berate the moth demon for fighting. Sure, Val was insanely fast but that didn't mean he should've joined the battle directly. Especially when it mean that now he could-
No. Vox wouldn't dwell on that. Not yet. Not until he had to.
"No, don't-don't say that. It's not your fault, nothing is your fault, it's my fault, it's all because of me." Vox was starting to hyperventilate. Val gave his hand a squeeze, but it did little to calm him. "It's my fucking fault. All of it. You should've- goddamn it, Val, you should've let her kill me." He turned around wildly. "What the fuck are you looking at? Go get a doctor or some shit!" Everyone stepped back at his outburst and even Lucifer flinched.
Val just shook his head, a soft smile on his face. "Let you die? What, and deprive the city of your daily news programs? The ones where you dress like a cu-"
"A cuck, I know." Vox grinned, almost laughed, but he felt like someone shoved a knife down his throat. He knew it was too late, but just a few more minutes... a few more minutes and he would be so grateful.
Valentino beamed up at him for a moment before a tear streaked down his face. He shuddered as he cried, his breaths becoming shallow. The sounds of his breathing cut through the surrounding silence as the others stared, seemingly unable to move. Vox didn't have to look to know his contracted demons were frozen; they couldn't move while his leash was still on them.
"It's okay, Val." he whispered desperately. "It'll be okay, the-the plan still worked! They all came! It worked perfectly!"
The moth demon's expression turned wistful. It was an odd look on him. "I-I never cared...about the plan, Vox." Val said slowly, struggling to speak. "I just wanted to make y-you happy."
Happy.
His gaze sharpened. "But Vox..." Vox never realized how much he loved the sound of Val saying his name. "Don't give up because of me. Raise hell on these fuckers."
And then he's gone. Valentino let out a soft breath, his eyes blank, and his body stopped moving. The steady movement of his lungs inflating had vanished. Vox felt something warm on his knees and looked down. The blood. It had seeped out of Val's body and formed a puddle, which soaked his pants. The crisp denim was heavy, dragging on the ruined marble.
Vox refused to let go of Val's hand. He pressed it to his lips, clutching it like it was a lifeboat. Something to save him from drowning even as chaos erupted around him, Val's contracted demons having broken free and running away. His own leashes loosened, but he couldn't care less.
