Happiness

There was something reminiscent about being in a cold, concrete basement. It was a scenery the milkman was used to, having cleaned up many of his kills there, even storing extra milk. It was a place that had seen horrors and love.
But for this basement, it had only seen terror.
Matias sat in a wooden chair, his legs and arms bound by strong rope. If he looked at the armrests he'd see claw marks, even bits of broken nails. Testaments to the past victims. And if that wasn't enough to tell him that he was in danger, then the jars lining the walls would. Shelf after shelf filled with jars of all sizes, each one filled with a green liquid and one body part. Some held eyes, some held fingers, hearts, lungs, bones, anything. Just what kind of freak collected trophies like these?
"Nice collection, right?"
That's right. That freak.
Standing in front of the bound man was the kidnapper, the reason behind it all- an officer by the name of Cameron West. He smiled brightly, seeming to not be fazed by the horror scene he was standing in. He wasn't dressed in his uniform right now, instead having simple street clothes with an apron on.
"I've spent decades collecting all these," Cameron hummed as he looked for a suitable weapon to start the torture with. "It's always fun seeing the fear in someone's eyes when they realize they're about to die. But then you have immortals. Smug guys, huh? Think because they can regenerate that they don't have to worry about death. It's annoying. And then it hit me!" He picked up a handgun and spun around to face Matias, who leaned back in his chair instinctively. "What if I used acid? If I did that then it would eat away at whatever they regenerated! They'd technically be frozen." He turned to the nearest jar and playfully knocked against it. "Sure as hell can't live the life they wanted at the least, that's for sure. But man. Seeing the look in their eyes? When they realize, "Oh shit, I can actually be killed." That fresh fear, something they haven't felt in years." He stopped, shuddering at the delicious memories as a dirty blush covered his gleeful face.
"I was so excited to see that look on your boyfriend-or-whatever's face, but he managed to escape me. I thought I wouldn't get to see him ever again, and then you two just popped up! Fate, right?"
"I'll kill you!" Matias snarled, making the cop blink. He struggled against his restraints, trying to free himself as red eyes glared at his captor. "I'll rip you apart for what you did-"
Cameron leaned down until their faces were inches apart. "You think you stand a chance, huh?" he said with a grin far too wide for his face. "Why don't I give you a little hint about what you're up against, buddy." Smiling brightly, he held the gun up to his own head and pressed the trigger. With a loud BANG!!! his head exploded into bits of red and residue, spraying the walls and coating the floors. Matias, also stained by the splatter, pressed his back against his chair in shock, mouth a gape. What the fuck?! The guy just up and killed himself?! Right there?!
There was a chill that didn't leave him, like a truth he didn't want to acknowledge.
The headless body didn't fall. It stayed standing. The hand holding the gun slowly lowered but kept its grip, and gradually did Cameron's face begin reconstructing itself. The eye that swung from its socket carelessly was pulled back up, the pupil focused on Matias as he leaned in closer.
"You couldn't even hope to beat me."

Richard stepped into the house, tossing the car keys onto the sofa as he set down a bag of groceries. He had just finished dropping Oliver off at his friend's house for a sleepover, and had decided to buy some more paper bags for himself. He had to deal with that stupid store manager asking him question after question about Matias, but at least he was able to escape before the thirty minute mark.
He looked around, finally noticing how empty the house was. He looked at the kitchen clock. Shouldn't Matias be home about now? Maybe he was late because of that priest? Shrugging it off, Richard turned to his bag of groceries and had begun pulling its contents out when he saw it- an empty milk bottle and a note besides it. He stared at it for a moment, a small smile escaping his lips. Did Matias pull that out to remember the proposal? That had to be one of his favorite memories. Well, anything with that involved that grumpy milkman was his favorite memory.
That small smile, however, quickly dropped into a confused frown as he stared at the note. This wasn't... This wasn't his note. He didn't write anymore after the proposal. Chills ran down his spine, he broke into a cold sweat. He dropped everything and ran to the door, yanking the car keys back up in his rush.

Matias coughed up blood, feeling the side of his face swelling from the smack of the hammer. Cameron hit him all over with the hammer- the ribs, the legs, the face. It felt like years had passed, but he knew full well it had to have been about twenty, maybe thirty minutes.
A rough hand shot out to grab his chin forcing him to look up. "Man, look at those eyes. You haven't lost a single bit of fire. That's impressive," Cameron praised, tossing the head back. Twirling the hammer in his hand, the other on his hip, he laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you. Not yet. I want Smiley to get here first, then I'll kill you! He's bound to watch you die someday anyway, right? I'll save you both the trouble!"
"You sick fuck," spat Matias.
"Oh yeah? That coming from another killer?" Cameron snorted. "You're not as clever as you think. I think there's always milk in the crime scenes involving you. Kind of stupid, if you ask me. But hey, you've got some interesting killing methods." He set the hammer down and started removing the milkman's gloves. "I don't get why you wear these if you're just going to have milk be the weapon. I don't know who WOULDN'T suspect y- Oh? Oh-ho?? What do we have here?" The glove on the ground, Cameron gazed curiously at the ring resting on Matias's finger. "Marriage? To Smiley? W-hell! Fuck me, I didn't think you two were such romantics! Shit, I never got either of you a wedding present... Oh, I know!" From his tray of instruments, he pulled out a pair of safety scissors, snipping them excitedly at the tense milkman.
"I'll get you a ring~!"

Matias's eyes widened. He tried to struggle, to move his hand around so that Cameron wouldn't be able to aim properly. It worked. With a frustrated grunt, he grabbed a scalpel and stabbed it through the man's hand, forcefully keeping his hand in place. Matias screamed out, his hand shaking as thin rivers of blood leaked down both his hand and the armrest. The hand stuck in place, Cameron grabbed the ring finger and held the open scissors up to it. A maniacal grin spread across his lips as he opened them wider then-
BAM!!
Cameron slammed against the wall and hit the ground hard, not moving. Matias looked at him then forward. Richard stood at the doorway, breathing heavily while holding a sledgehammer, but no paper bag on his face. With the mask gone, the milkman could see his expressions. Concern, worry, panic. Fear.
Seeing that the cop wasn't moving, Richard looked at his husband, relief washing over most of the expressions. "Matias," he whispered. Dropping the hammer, he rushed over to him, grimacing at the sight of the scalpel. Whispering for the man to forgive him, he grabbed the scalpel and yanked it out with one strong tug. Matias cried out, and as his mind became briefly numbed with pain, Richard cut off the ropes that restrained him. He helped him up, ushering him to leave as horrified eyes gazed around at the toxic jars each containing victims of the madman.
They ran out of the room, but before Richard could make it through the doorway, something sharp buried into his leg. He yelled out, looking over to see the scalpel in there, with Cameron still on the ground, holding it while smiling through the blood.
"There you are!" he practically sang, dragging the blade down until it was out of Richard's leg.
The brunette grunted, pain on his face as he grabbed his leg, summoning the strength to kick the cop away and run off. The house was small, but it was a struggle to get distance with Richard's wounded leg, even with the healing. When they made it outside he stopped and looked back inside. They wouldn't get far before Cameron caught up, they were both too wounded. Even if they were both at full strength he wasn't sure they could handle someone as vicious as Cameron. He'd just drag them back and torture them.
"Richard, what are you doing? We have to get out of here!" Matias frantically urged while shaking his husband.
Richard silently looked at the house then down at the man he loved. "You need to go ahead of me," he finally said.
"What?!"
"He's going to catch the both of us if we run, even if my leg heals fast enough!"
"D-Don't say stupid things now, you idiot! W-We can take him! We can-"
"Matias!"
The milkman hesitated at the strong voice, looking up helplessly at Richard's serious expression. "H-He'll kill you," he whispered shakily.
"You have another life depending on you."
"But I depend on YOU!" Matias practically screamed, trembling.
Richard's gaze softened. He gently grabbed the ungloved hand and held it between them, his thumb stroking the ring. "My life didn't have much meaning until I met you," he said quietly. He lifted his other hand to caress his husband's cheek, wiping away the tears. "I want to protect your smile. Yours and Oliver's, even if it takes my own life." He leaned in and gave him a loving kiss, his own tears falling onto their lips. In this urgent moment, time slowed down, allowing them one last moment together.
"Don't forget how to smile, okay?" he whispered.
Time resumed, and Richard pushed Matias forward, propelling him to the direction of the trees, where he could take shelter. The milkman hesitated, looking at the man one last time through tear-filled eyes, then turned around and ran off, never looking back.
Richard listened to the rustle of the leaves as Matias's footsteps got farther and farther, and the clacks of steps on a wooden floor got louder. He slowly pulled out a paper bag from inside of his flannel, gazing at the smiley face that Oliver drew for him. He smiled to himself, a few tears staining the bag. No, he didn't want Cameron to see these raw emotions. Even with his dying breath, let him keep one thing to himself.
And so he put the bag on and gazed at the darkness inside the house.

Matias ran and ran, pushing through the branches that grabbed at him, aching for him to go back; ignoring the cries in his mind to help Richard. He had to keep going, for his sake.
So he did. He ran through it all.

He ran even when several gunshots rang through the air.