Love is a Three Letter Word [You]

XI

Vincent tilted his head and stared. "Why are you asking me?" Diedrich sensed that same ominous feeling he had before. Something was wrong. He couldn't place what but he usually was able to trust his instincts. Vincent never lied, he knew that much, so maybe if he asked enough questions Vincent wouldn't be able to avoid the main one. 

"Vincent, what happened to him?" he asked again. A small shadow flickered over Vincent's eyes just like the many times before when Diedrich thought he might get angry. He didn't. Instead, he grabbed Diedrich's hand and brought him inside, closing the door behind him. 

"It's not like I was very close to him. Do you really think he would tell me what he was up to?" Vincent shrugged it off and shook his head. "Where is this coming from?" 

"I saw the watch." 

"The watch?" 

"It was on the windowsill and Alois took it. But I know Aleister's watch and that was his watch. I thought maybe you just happened to buy one similar but then you mentioned your money situation and it's been bothering me. Vincent, why did you have a watch that only a rich man could afford?" Was Diedrich always this observant? 

"I happened to walk by your car before getting here. I wasn't planning on it but I saw a bunch of crows hanging out and wanted to snap a picture. When I got closer the scent hit me." Diedrich paused, piecing together all of the information his brain had been delightfully avoiding. "Claude is dead, isn't he? And what about Aleister? Is he also..." 

Vincent's everlasting smile faded and he stared soullessly into Diedrich's eyes. Imaginary chains wrapped around Diedrich's body, forcing him to stay in place. Fight or flight wasn't an option. Just a deer in headlights. It's true then...Vincent is a murderer? Fuck. Even his good boyfriend for once was actually something far worse. 

"Vincent?" his voice cracked. "Answer me." 

"Do you really want to know the answer?" Vincent replied. The longer Diedrich stared into his eyes the more he felt like he was just staring into the depths of an abyss. Hell was Vincent Phantomhive. Secrets to the fires of the unknown lurked inside him. 

Diedrich nodded. 

"Yes, Dee, I killed Aleister Chamber." The words barely reached Diedrich's ears and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He couldn't handle it. He passed out. 

...

When Diedrich opened his eyes he found himself in a strange clear cell. Walls thick and the air cold. Where was he? Why was it awkwardly bright here? He sat up, only to see Vincent at the door to this cell, holding his head in his hands and sobbing. "You shouldn't have found out. It would've been so much better if you just didn't know. Why did you have to find out? Now things can never go back to the way they were..." 

"V-Vincent?" Diedrich crawled over to the locked door and placed his hands on it. He panicked completely. "Vincent you have to let me out. I can't stay in here. Please, Vincent?" 

Vincent shook his head. "I would never hurt you...but you don't believe that. I can't let you leave, Dee, I can't, you're going to turn me in. You don't love me anymore and I can't hurt someone I love." His hands dropped and Vincent stared at Diedrich. His soulless eyes filled with glimmers of true emotion. He just wanted to love and be loved, even if he had a strange way of showing it. "I'll bring you food every day and there is a typewriter in the corner. Maybe one day you'll start loving me again or maybe one day I'll stop loving you," Vincent's eyes returned to the soulless nature. He stared directly through Diedrich, not at him. 

"You'll stop loving me?" Diedrich only realized the meaning of those words after he repeated them. Vincent couldn't hurt someone he loved so Diedrich was safe for now...but if he ever stopped loving Diedrich his fate was sealed. Either he found a way to escape or he would have to somehow convince himself that Vincent wasn't the crazy maniac murder he found him out to be. He shook his head. No. There is no way he could love Vincent anymore. So he had to escape or die. Those were his options.