A/N: So here we have it; the final chapter. Massive thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review and I very much hope that you all enjoy the final installment.

Chapter Fifteen: Afterwards

Voices were hushed around him. Sometimes they were close enough that he could pick up the odd words but most of the time they were distant from him, this detachment making it seem as though Sho was in another world completely. He kept his eyes closed as his mind slowly began to wake to the sensations around him. His first realisation was that he was cold and he grunted his displeasure at this and pulled the duvet over him tighter still around his body. This movement made him aware of just how weak and disorientated he felt and Sho uttered a soft moan at the aching in his limbs and the dryness of his throat.

What in hell happened to me?

It felt as though there was a heavy cloud over his mind and Sho found it difficult to even process this basic thought until he became aware of the voices again. They were clearer this time and he was able to pick up the end of the conversation.

"… sleeping… I'm worried."

"His body must… in shock… will take time…"

There was a curse and then silence. Sho was suddenly gripped by an almost child like fear of being left alone again and he called out, only now having the mind to recognise the voices.

"Nii-chan?"

Again there was only silence, the silence of hesitation, and Sho called out again and again until, finally, he heard footsteps outside the door. He opened his eyes in time to see Shinji enter the room.

As soon as he saw him, Sho knew that something was wrong. His brother looked tired, as though he hadn't slept in weeks, but there was also tenseness and almost fear in his eyes as he held Sho's gaze.

Why is he afraid? What is there to be afraid of?

Hating the fact that he was lying down, Sho slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position and this took several minutes to accomplish alone as he was still feeling weak. All the while Shinji regarded him wordlessly. Sho didn't understand this quiet but the fear that he felt inside of him was starting to magnify with this quiet and he was loath to break it… too afraid to break it.

Finally Shinji spoke, but his voice was hushed: "How are you feeling?"

"Tired… thirsty" Sho coughed slightly as the dryness in his throat was really starting to bother him. Swallowing several times, he noted that Shinji had not moved from his position by the door and the look on his face was not one of a concerned brother but almost one of fear.

Breaking his gaze, Sho looked around his brother's bedroom, a glance at the clock on the wall telling him that it was 2.30pm. The drapes were still pulled but a small crack of sunlight had managed to invade the room and shone down on Shinji's desk. This bothered Sho and he squirmed uncomfortably, even more so when Shinji also noticed this and moved to block the sunlight completely.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked, his back to Sho as he took a long time to close the drapes fully. He took too long to close them, as he was reluctant to meet Sho's gaze.

Sho frowned, unsure. He could remember leaving his apartment and going to the warehouse. Taku had been there and he had attacked Sho, tried to use him to get to Kei.

Realising that Taku's grip on him had lessened slightly and that his attention was focused on Kei once more, Sho slowly moved his left hand down to his ankle, searching for the small dagger that he had hidden there. Relief flooded him when he found that it was still there, Taku obviously had been so confident in his power over Sho that he had not cared to check for hidden weapons.

Moving quickly, Sho lashed out at the vampire holding him. The dagger pierced Taku's abdomen, sliding in fully to the hilt. He gave a cry of pain at the unexpected pain and released his hold on Sho, stumbling backwards slightly, but tearing the blade from his body in the same moment. The look he gave Sho was one of pure hatred and he lunged forward the same time that Kei moved.

Taku got there first, moving with surprising ease despite his slowly closing wound. Sho felt a hand in his hair once more and his head was wrenched to the side and seconds later came an agonising pain in his neck as twin pointed canines cut deep into the throbbing vein beneath.

Sho uttered a strangled cry as Taku's mouth tore away from his throat, leaving the gash in his main artery to bleed freely, a pint of blood soaking his shirt in a matter of seconds. For a moment Sho remained on his knees, swaying slightly, before pitching forward as white flashed before his eyes.

"Sho!"

"Kami-sama…" Sho whispered, his entire body starting to tremble at the recollection of his blood flowing down his neck and drenching his shirt. "No… Kei…"

Forcing his eyes open, Sho met his best friend's agonised expression but his voice had long since failed him. The only sounds that escaped his lips were wet gasps, one giving way to a low moan when Kei reached down to touch his neck.

"Baka" Kei whispered fondly, his voice soft and wavering as he struggled to hold back tears, "I told you not to come here. I wanted to keep you safe. I'm sorry, Sho… I'm so sorry."

Sho weakly managed to shake his head. He wanted to tell Kei that he didn't blame him, that it was his own choice to come here. With regret, Sho realised, in his final moments, that there was a lot that he hadn't told the vampire and now he would never get the chance.

Kei… I'm sorry… I'm leaving you alone after all…

He felt Kei's arms around him, one hand slipping into his own and tightening its grip as he gave a violent shudder against the blonde man. His vision was clouding over all too quickly and soon all he could make out was the outline of Kei above him, trembling. The pain was fading, too. His wound, until a few moments ago, had been open to the cold near-dawn air but now it felt warm and less painful. Sho felt a slight tingling sensation and none of the agony that he had done before. He relaxed his grip on Kei's hand as the realisation pierced through to him but by then it was too late.

"No" he whispered again, his body increasing its trembling as the realisation as to just why Shinji had the drapes closed and just why he was staring at Sho as though he was a monster dawned upon him.

Many times Sho had contemplated what it would be like if Kei turned him, had ignored the harsh reality of the situation with the comfort of the knowledge that he would be able to stay with Kei forever but now… now that he was faced with this stark reality, Sho knew that he didn't want it. He would rather have died. Damn Kei, why couldn't he have let Sho die?

"Nii-chan" he whispered, suddenly feeling vulnerable and childlike again with his fear and he looked desperately at his brother, seeking some comfort.

Shinji, however, did not move from his place by the window. Releasing his hold on the drapes, he turned around but refused to meet Sho's gaze.

"We found you in the car" Shinji said quietly in way of an explanation, "It was pretty obvious what he had done. We brought you back here and cleaned you up but you've been sleeping since then… that was a week ago."

"Nii-chan-"

"Son's here, too, and Toshi but he's still recovering. They were worried. They thought…" Shinji shook his head and started towards the door, "I'll let them know that you're okay."

"Nii-chan" with a monumental effort, Sho got out of bed, ignoring the feeling of light-headedness and fatigue that came with this and he placed himself between his brother and the door. Shinji actually stepped back a pace or two and Sho's heart clenched at the uncertain look in his eyes.

"Where's Kei?" Sho asked, his voice sounding frightened and desperate to his own ears.

Shinji did now summon the courage to look directly at Sho, his voice quiet but Sho could hear the two words he uttered well enough.

"Kei's dead."

"What?" he heard them but he didn't believe them, "Kei can't die, Nii-chan."

"After we found you and I saw… I saw just what that monster had done to you, we went into the warehouse but we were too late. That backroom would have been a death trap to a vampire. We were too late, Sho. By the time we got the door open they were dead. Both of them were gone. Burned to death. There were signs of a struggle and ash scattered everywhere. Even at the end they were tearing each other to pieces."

Kei…

Sho would have collapsed then and there had Shinji not anticipated this and raced forwards to wrap an arm around his shoulders; steadying him and then guiding him back to sit down on the bed.

"Don't" Sho snarled and wrenched himself away from the contact. His grief was literally crushing and the agony of his situation made it all the more unbearable. He didn't know whether to cry for Kei or whether to hate him, to be angry with him for leaving him alone.

"Sho-"

"I'm a monster, Nii-chan" he spoke bitterly, but his words were tinged with tears, "I'm just like Kei now."

Shinji shook his head unable to answer and left, sensing Sho's need to alone.

As soon as he was gone, Sho let himself fall back onto the bed as his tears began to fall. He grasped the pillow at his cheek tightly and sobbed into it as he mourned both for Kei and himself and at the knowledge that Kei had left him alone… that Kei had left him alone trapped in this nightmare…

Muffled voices again reached his ears and Sho sunk down further into the bath, the warm water calming him somewhat, until he was submerged up to his chin. He would stay in his own tranquillity for hours, until the cold water started to chill through to his bones or until Shinji knocked impatiently on the door, expressing his concern.

His brother had been like a stranger to Sho. Although he had gone through the motions of an anxious sibling, Sho could sense the conflicting emotions battling inside of him; the disgust, the loathing and the pity. Shinji, it was obvious, didn't know which way to turn, whether to be there for his younger brother or whether to mourn his 'death'. But Sho hadn't died, Sho was still here and a part of Shinji couldn't see that. He had failed to see beyond the monster, as he had done with Kei.

Kei… Sho couldn't think of the older vampire without tears welling up in his eyes. Tears of loss, of anguish and fury all directed at the man who had given him this curse and then left him.

Unwillingly, Sho raised an arm out of the water, pressing his wrist to his mouth, he fought the urge to recoil in disgust as his new fangs unsheathed themselves and cut into the pliant flesh. For days Sho had been tormented by pangs of hunger, although this solution managed to take the edge off of it, he knew that it wouldn't last. He had seen Kei do the same, although the blonde had thought that he had hid such actions well. But Sho didn't feel ready… when would he ever be ready to tear into the throat of another human being and drink the warm blood that was pumping through their veins?

A noise, somewhere between a groan and a sob, escaped his slightly parted lips at this thought and Sho sucked harder at the gash in his wrist, urging more blood into his mouth. Intoxicated by the taste, Sho barely noticed a voice calling him until the door handle rattled.

His head snapped up and he automatically lowered his wrist from his lips, his tongue licking up the excess blood before he responded to his name being called.

"Are you alright in there?" Toshi's voice was only filled with concern. Having accepted Kei from the beginning, it didn't matter to him that Sho was… different now - he couldn't bring himself to use the term 'vampire' just yet although that was what he was now. He was the same as Kei… and Kei was dead.

"I'm fine" he forced his voice to sound a little disgruntled, "I'll be out in a minute."

There was silence, as though Toshi was thinking this through before he shuffled away from the bathroom door. Once he had gone, Sho got out of the bath, drying himself quickly and pulling his clothes back on. It was evening and already he felt much more animated than he did during the daylight hours. The changes that his body had been undertaking were now fully complete and he could see almost perfectly in the gloom as he made the slow journey down the corridor and to his bedroom.

Shinji was in there. Alone. Standing by the window and looking out at the full moon in the sky. The tension between them was undeniable and the last thing Sho wanted right now was a confrontation, especially when the creature inside of him could only smell the blood flowing through Shinji's veins. A low growl escaped his despite of himself and Sho struggled to regain a hold on himself long enough to ask that Shinji leave.

"Sho" his brother shook his head, his expression as tense as Sho's own, but he was unable to find the right words. He had been struggling with them for days now and Sho felt another wave of uncontrollable anger welling up inside of him. Shinji had never been there for him, not like a brother should be. He was either too high on drugs or too bitter and resentful towards Kei to lend Sho any of the support that he needed. Couldn't he see that Sho was falling apart? That he needed someone now?

Staring at him with a combination of sadness and pain, Shinji started to make his way to the door when Sho moved. Uttering a low growl, he grabbed hold of his brother's arm and pulled him around before slamming him hard into the wall and snarling in his face, "Why can't you come out and just say it? You hate me. You think I'm a monster."

"I-" Shinji struggled with his words, fear going wild in his eyes when Sho bared his teeth and rather foolishly allowed his fangs to drop fully before continuing:

"This is what I am, Nii-chan. This is what I have become. Would you rather I had died? Would you rather be planning my funeral?"

He nodded, very slowly and Sho's grip on him tightened as his heart clenched in pain at this.

The emotions were overwhelming and Sho lent further forward, vaguely aware that he had tangled one hand in his brother's hair and had pulled his head roughly to the side, exposing his throat. The scent of fear and the blood flowing in Shinji's veins was so close and like nothing that Sho had ever felt before. It became all he could think of, all he could concentrate on and he leaned further forward until his mouth was hovering just above his main artery. Beneath him, Shinji trembled; his legs giving out on him and Sho wrapped his free arm around the human's waist, holding him as he moved forward a little more.

"Sho!"

He snarled again as the door burst open and suddenly two other humans were on him. Releasing Shinji, Sho turned to the new arrivals, throwing the first across the room with a single swing of a fist. Son collapsed as soon as he connected with the wall and Toshi backed away, his eyes wide with fear as Sho loomed over him.

Then he came back to his senses in a rush of emotion. Sho's gaze darted from Toshi's terrified face to where Son lay dazed on the floor and then to Shinji. His brother's expression was dark, difficult to read and Sho turned, roughly pushing Toshi aside in his desire to flee the apartment as quickly as possible.

He ran out into the street, ignoring Toshi's shouts for him to come back. Sho easily lost his friend in the dark and continued running long after his cries ceased. The tears that had been building up in his eyes then began to fall and Sho found himself shaking uncontrollably. He had nearly killed Shinji. He would have… he would have killed them all. Gods, how had Kei lived with this? Sho couldn't, he suddenly knew. He wasn't that strong. He couldn't watch his friends and family grow old and die whilst he remained young. He couldn't drain the lives of others in order to sustain himself. Kei had been right. He was a monster. Sho didn't deserve to live. Uttering another choked up sob, he roughly pushed passed a man as he entered an alley. Behind him, the man yelled angrily but Sho ignored him. Coming to a stop finally, he curled his arms around himself, shivering as the ground started to swirl beneath his feet.

Then, just as he felt that he was going to pass out from hunger and pain, Sho heard a rustle behind him. Freezing, he looked around and saw the man that he had bumped into earlier standing at the end of the alley. Sho could smell the gunpowder before he even raised his weapon.

"Japanese filth" he spoke in Chinese, "Shoving us around, thinking you own the city but you're just a punk kid, aren't you? Well, I'm gonna teach you some respect."

Sho nearly choked on the low growl that rumbled deep in his throat as the man took a step towards him, thinking that he had the upper hand. Instead, he forced it down and started to back away as he felt his grip on his vampire nature slipping. His gaze darted around him but there was nowhere for him to go; the thug had blocked his only escape route.

The man came closer still and Sho found his back hitting the wall at the end of the alleyway. The man was now so close that he could smell the blood as it pumped through his veins, he could almost taste it and his fangs dropped and another growl burst from his throat.

The thug then hesitated, perhaps sensing that there was something different about Sho and, as the newly made vampire lunged forwards, he raised his gun. The shots echoed loudly around them, but struck nothing but air for Sho moved faster than the man could anticipate.

As Sho landed on him, his arms flew out wildly, the gun spinning away across the pavement and out of reach. Sho knelt on the man's thighs, pinning them painfully down whilst his hands captured the man's arms and pulled them roughly above his head.

"You're strong for a punk kid" even in his last moments, he didn't realise just how much danger he was in. Arching his body off the ground, he attempted to throw Sho off, his eyes widening when the younger man bared his fangs and lunged downwards towards his throat.

The man screamed, his head automatically jerking to one side as he struggled to escape. Sho growled in triumph as his teeth sunk into the soft skin of the man's throat. Instantly warm blood filled his mouth and Sho released a moan of pleasure as he eagerly gulped the blood down, the man thrashing beneath him only serving to heighten his feeding frenzy more. He tore at the man's neck, making the wound larger, his mouth locked around the gash, drinking deeply.

Finally the man stopped struggling and lay still beneath him, finally the flow of blood slowed until Sho was sucking harder, trying to force more from the man's veins although, as the minutes passed, it became clear that there was no more left to take.

Only then, when Sho eased back, pushing himself off of the thug and staring numbly at the body did his senses return to him.

The man's throat had been torn to ribbons. Cleaned of blood by Sho's eager tongue, the extent of the damage and the horrific way that the man had died was obvious. Sho felt revulsion at what he had done building up inside of him and, had he been able to, he would have vomited his disgust.

Staggering, Sho leaned up against the wall, silently despairing at what he had done. It only just truly hit him then, with his hunger gone and the vampire inside of him silent. His humanity returned and Sho sorely wished it hadn't because then he wouldn't have felt the intense wave of agony and hate for himself, then he wouldn't have collapsed to the ground as sob after sob overtook him. He wrapped his arms around himself, wanting desperately for some comfort, for someone to take away the pain that he was feeling, the disgust that he was feeling. He was a monster but, worse than that, he was alone.

"Kei…" he brokenly whispered the dead vampire's name and more tears fell. He wanted his friend so badly then that it almost physically hurt. His pain deepened further and his sobs became louder so he barely heard the quiet statement from above him:

"The first time is always the most difficult."

His head snapped up, his improved vision scanning the buildings and finally making out a figure sitting on the edge of a balcony, his legs dangling precariously although they both knew that he couldn't die should he fall.

Furiously, Sho stood, wiping the tears from his eyes and backing up further as Kei slid off the rail and landed neatly on his feet in front of Sho, his gaze flickering to the body and then to the younger man's tearstained face and bloodied mouth.

He lunged forwards again; a burst of anger that overshadowed his happiness that Kei was alive as well as his sorrow at what he had become. Sho's fist lashed out and he caught Kei in the lower jaw, the force of the blow knocking him off balance. Kei sprawled back onto the pavement, accepting this blow and the furious words that followed:

"You're alive! You bastard! How could you do that to me? How could you leave me alone?"

Sho… I lied… I made you a part of my nightmare and now I am leaving you to suffer the consequences alone…

Kei fell back further, tears of agony streaming down his cheeks as the sun's rays continued to burn him. Taku still tore furiously at the exit, trying desperately to escape but Kei knew better than to dare to hope that it would give way. After all, he had carefully planned this from the beginning and had not left anything to chance. Of course he had not planned to be trapped in here with him. It would be better for him to close his eyes, to accept that his long life was over but Kei couldn't bring himself to do that. He couldn't bring himself to die when Sho still needed him. He had been there for Sho ever since Sho was a boy and Kei wasn't going to let him down now.

Turning away from Taku, Kei desperately scanned the room, searching wildly for a way out or even some shelter from the sunlight that cut through his skin.

It was then Kei saw it. Overshadowed by a couple of crates there was the faintest outline of a trapdoor in the flooring. Kei had an excellent memory and knew that the crates had been moved so that they weren't covering it.

Sho…

Sho had anticipated Kei also becoming trapped and had found a way out for him. Keeping one eye on Taku, Kei moved slowly towards the doorway, fighting his instincts urge to run as his burns became deeper and he could literally feel the skin peeling off of his body. He was less than a metre from the exit when Taku saw what he was doing. In a flash, the older vampire was upon him, growling low in his throat as he tackled Kei and slammed him into the floor. Gasping, Kei rolled away, struggling to right himself before tearing after the older vampire. He reached Taku just before he reached the trapdoor. Closing a hand around his wrist, Kei pulled him away, allowing a growl to escape him also. Taku, not expecting Kei to recover the ground in such a short space of time, went down heavily and Kei didn't waste this. He leapt on top of the older vampire, pinning him down, even as they both burned. If Taku lived, then Kei knew that he would never let this go. They would never be safe if he lived.

"Kei" Taku gasped beneath him, unable to break Kei's grip, "My offer still stands. We can escape together-"

Kei broke him off by reaching down and grabbing a fistful of Taku's hair, roughly pulling his head to the side. His emotional pain as he glared down at the vampire who had caused so much hurt outweighed even his physical agony and Kei only hesitated for a matter of seconds. Snarling, he leaned down and sunk his fangs into Taku's throat, tearing a gash in his main artery just as he had done to Sho. But Kei didn't drink, instead he pulled himself away, staring down as Taku writhed and cried out, his body fighting too much against the sun's onslaught to heal this new wound.

Slowly, Kei started to move away, even as Taku stopped struggling and stared at Kei silently until his body finally gave up the fight for life, if you could even call their way of life living. As Taku turned to ash, Kei finally became aware of his own pain again. He barely got to the trapdoor, wrenching it open with shaking and bleeding hands. His body cried out in relief as it was suddenly plunged into the cool darkness.

Trembling, Kei fell heavily to the ground, his burned flesh screaming out in protest when he tried to move. Above him he could hear voices but they seemed far away and were getting fainter all the time. He felt movement above him but he could no longer find the will to speak. Perhaps he was dying after all? Perhaps he was going to leave Sho alone in the end? Kei didn't know. All he did know was that his body's need to rest was fast overpowering his will to stay awake and, in the end, Kei didn't fight it. He couldn't find it. Uttering a soft groan of pain his eyes slowly slid closed and he gave in to the black tide that was sweeping over him….

Kei wasn't sure just how much time had passed when he next opened his eyes. He knew instinctively that it had to be more than a day, perhaps two or three had passed. He just didn't know. His eyelids felt heavy and he forced them open, his eyes quickly adjusting to the blackness that surrounded him. Gingerly, he sat up feeling only a mild discomfort, but it wasn't the expected pain for, when he looked down at himself, he saw that his wounds had healed. Standing was a bigger effort and Kei's legs almost gave way beneath him after he managed to climb back up into the room where Taku had met his end. There was still ash scattered about and this made him uneasy, especially when he thought of how that could have been him, too. Shivering, Kei wrapped his arms around himself, wanting to draw in as much heat as he could to his weakened form. He was still shaking even when he left the warehouse. There were tire marks burned into the concrete, indicating that someone had driven out of the vicinity doing a pretty high speed.

Putting his back to the warehouse, Kei quickly walked down the road and towards the lights of the city, suddenly craving the civilisation that he had shunned for so many years.

Walking through the streets, he attracted many curious stares owing to the dried blood on his clothes and skin. Although no one had the courage to confront him, Kei moved swiftly, just wanting to get back to the apartment to check on Sho.

Sho… it ashamed him to realise that he had just this once thought of the younger man since he had woke. This was not through lack of care or compassion but through his own fatigue. Already Kei could feel his body weakening. He would be like this for a while. He would need his rest more than he would need blood at first. His body had endured so much in the passed few days. Kei needed to go home and rest up. He could not take on a human in his current state and his body knew this. He could heal, rid himself of the aching in his limbs and then he would find someone.

A sense of relief flooded him when Kei finally reached their apartment. He entered it slowly, the ground spinning slightly as he pushed the door open and staggered into the front room. It was deserted and, from the looks of it, no one had been here since he and Sho left. Kei slipped off his shoes and jacket, feeling comforted by the familiar scent of the apartment. He hadn't really expected Sho to be here, not alone anyway. Kei had hoped he might so that they could talk. There were so many things he wanted to say to Sho but at the same time he felt glad that he was not here. Kei didn't think he had the strength to deal with the confrontation at the moment. He sank down onto the leather sofa bed, his eyes already falling closed again as he once more gave into sleep.

"You're alive! You bastard! How could you do that to me? How could you leave me alone?"

Kei got up slowly, wincing at the shot of pain that travelled through his jaw as he opened his mouth to speak but Sho snarled out before he could get a word in:

"Don't! Just don't! Don't say anything. How could you, Kei? How could you leave me alone like this?"

Kei heeded him and remained silent. It was cutting him up inside to see just how much Sho had suffered during his absence. He had wanted to go to him sooner but his body had taken its time to heal and… and Kei had been afraid. He had been afraid that Sho would hate him for what he did and it now looked as though this was the case. The blonde vampire's gaze strayed to the body slumped a little way away from them and then to his best friend. Sho's clothes were covered in blood, it caked his hands and round his mouth, some had even got into his hair. His blue eyes were wide and wild with anger and he shook uncontrollably as though he would collapse at any moment. Sho was hanging on by a thread and Kei would do anything to take away the pain, but the added knowledge that he was the cause of this, that he did this to Sho, overwhelmed him and prevented him from uttering a word.

"I thought you were dead," Sho continued, turning his back on the older vampire, "For two weeks, Kei! For two weeks I've been alone, I thought I was alone with this… this curse! Why, Kei? Why did you do this to me?"

Now, with Sho's accusing eyes upon him once more, Kei forced himself to find his voice and answer softly: "Because you were going to die."

"Baka! I gave my life for you. I wanted to give up my life to help you. How could you be so selfish, Kei?"

Selfish…

"Sho, I saved you."

"Yes but you saved me for yourself. You didn't do it for me. If you had been thinking of me then you would have realised that I didn't want this."

I'm sorry Sho… I just can't do this… I can't say goodbye again…

Kei swallowed hard and took a step away from him. Sho was right. He had acted purely for selfish reasons. He hadn't wanted to lose Sho because he couldn't stand lose him, because he hadn't wanted to be alone. Kei had known that Sho would be angry, that he would hurt but nothing had prepared him for this. Staring at the younger man now, Kei could see just how shattered he had become. He had destroyed all that he loved. That one bite had taken away more than just Sho's humanity, it had broken something inside of him, but he would do it again, Kei knew. If he were faced with the same choice again he would have done nothing differently. He needed Sho; it was the selfish truth. He loved Sho and the thought of being without him was almost crushing.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Sho echoed bitterly and Kei only then realised that he had spoken those two little words out loud.

Even as Sho spoke, he was falling to his knees, his head bowed as tears fell from his eyes as the emotion of the situation was fast becoming too much for him. He snarled a little in protest when Kei went to him, and even tried to pull away when Kei reached for him, drawing the younger man to him.

Sho remained rigid against him for several minutes, refusing to give into the comfort that Kei offered him. Kei ignored this and ran his hands up and down Sho's back, soothing him as he had done when Sho was a child. Then he felt Sho move against him, he felt Sho's arms curl around his back as he cautiously returned this embrace.

"I am sorry" Kei repeated, whispered this close to his ear as his own tears threatened to fall, "If you don't want this… If you truly don't want this then we can end it at dawn. You're right, I am selfish, Sho. I am selfish for wanting you to be with me."

Still holding him, Kei stood, drawing Sho up with him. He held onto Sho's shoulders, trying somehow to convey some reassurance and comfort in this gentle grasp. Sho slowly raised his head to look at Kei, a hand stubbornly reaching up to wipe his tears from his eyes. They stared at each other for a full minute before Sho turned away, pulling himself from Kei's contact. As he moved, a rumble of thunder echoed overhead, then the heavens opened and rain began to fall. Shivering, Sho wrapped his arms tightly around his trembling form and choked out softly:

"Let's go home."

What he had broken could be repaired, Kei knew. Sho, with time, would heal. The pain that he was feeling now could be forgotten. It wouldn't be easy, Kei knew. He was not naïve enough to think that a shattered soul could easily be mended but time was the greatest healer, if Sho was strong enough to try and Kei knew that he was. They could be strong for each other. They both needed the time to heal.

"Kei?" Sho paused, turning back to look at the older vampire questioningly.

The blonde gave him a half smile and hurried through the rain to join him.

It wouldn't be easy but, for now at least, neither of them was alone.

End.