Seth had left. He had slammed their connection shut and left, leaving Anri so empty inside he felt hollow and brittle. He had never felt so empty and alone.

Anri sat on the floor in the foyer for a while, in shock.

Seth was mad. Seth hated him. Of course he would. Being involved with him had almost gotten him killed twice in less than a month. And, then, on top of that, all the supernatural shit, too. Demons, witches, summoning and, of course, vampires. Seth had taken it all seemingly in stride, but maybe it was too much.

He couldn’t blame him, not really. Seth would be better off without him in his life, complicating it with his crazy supernatural drama. Even his own life hadn’t ever been quite as supernatural as it was since he met Seth.

He sat in the dark, staring at the closed door, the pressure building up in his chest as he felt his heart breaking. “Too late. Too late for me to realize I am in love with him. Too late. I’m an idiot,” he bemoaned aloud. A tear slid down his cheek and he swiped it away angrily as his heart was torn in two.

Seth had been hurt. Anri felt his hurt and anger surge before Seth had severed their connection. He had been surprised when he woken up next to a cuddly Seth. He had overreacted when he realized the demon spider-cat thing was missing, falling out of bed. But…he hadn’t meant to hurt Seth. He didn’t understand why Seth’s reaction had been so strong. Was it something he had done? Or…it was probably everything. This, all of this, it was to much to ask of him. And…well, Seth would be better off without him. There were plenty of better vampires out there than him. Ones that wouldn’t almost bleed him dry twice in less than two months.

Eventually he wandered back to his room, turning off the lights behind him. There was no sign of Simone or Raum, and he assumed they were asleep. It was only three AM. He went to lay back down in his bed but stopped when he realized he smelled horrible. Instead, he took a shower.

The shower still smelled like Seth. His heart hurt. Time went by but he couldn’t tell how much. He was numb. The sheets smelled bad, and under that, like Seth, so he ripped them off. He couldn’t be bothered to put on new ones, so laid down in his bed on top of a blanket, tossing and turning until the sun came up. Seth was gone and he nothing else mattered.

Anri got up when he heard the others get up. He started a pot of coffee and watched the pot as it slowly brewed.

“Hey, Anni. How ya feeling?” Simone asked from behind him. He hadn’t heard her come up behind him, but of course he never did. She was graceful in a way he had never mastered.

He didn’t say anything. He looked at Simone, giving her a single shoulder shrug, then went back to watching twelve cups of coffee brew drop by drop into the clear glass pot.

“Anni…you look like shit. Maybe you should go back to sleep? Do you…do you want something to eat? Are you feeling OK? Did she do something to you?”

“I’m fine,” he growled, focusing on the coffee dripping to keep him grounded.

Simone placed her hand on his shoulder and gently turned him around to face her again. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “Anni, where’s Seth? I…he’s not here, is he?” She studied Anri’s face and then her face fell as she made the connection. “Oh, Anni, what happened?”

“I…I think he’s done. He left. I think that he doesn’t…I don’t want to talk about it.” Anri could feel his emotions battling to overwhelm him. He didn’t want to cry anymore, and he wouldn’t cry in front of his sister.

Raum walked into the kitchen and sat down in Anri’s normal seat. He glanced at Simone, then Anri. “The Wren is gone.” He said it as a statement, a fact.

Anri turned back to the coffee pot, intent on watching the last few drips before pouring his cup. Simone’s hand dropped from his shoulder. “Anni…what happened?”

He poured himself a cup of coffee and replaced the glass pot on the heating element. He stared into the steam, willing it to cool off enough for him to drink.

“I don’t know.” Anri was quiet for a minute. He refused to look away from his coffee, lest his emotions overwhelm him. He watched the steam curl into the air before it disappeared into nothing. Like his connection to Seth. The steam tickled a memory of a dream, sitting in a coffee shop with Seth.

The absence of Seth’s connection to him ballooned at the memory, and the hollowness inside him threatened to overwhelm him. The space he had never noticed before Seth was still there, but now it was a chasm, empty and hollow. Just like the vapors curling into oblivion.

Neither Raum nor Simone said anything. Silence hung in the kitchen for a moment. “He…he was upset when he woke up. Hurt and angry. I think he’s had enough. He…I can’t blame him. Not really,” he said, his voice on the verge of breaking.

Raum walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee, somehow as familiar with the kitchen as if it was his own. Anri stepped away from him, over to the other side of the kitchen. He didn’t want to be near anyone.

A stab of anger went through him. This was Raum’s fault, and Angelina’s fault.

The stab of guilt in his stomach curdled his instant anger. As much as he wanted to blame this all on the demon, he knew it wasn’t really Raum’s fault. It pained him to admit it. It was just easier to blame it on someone else than admit it was probably his own fault. Seth had probably left because he couldn’t stand to be around Anri. He didn’t even want to be around himself right now.

No, it was his fault. His fault for making bad decisions, for being with Angelina, for not leaving when she first started to get weird. For running, and for getting caught by her. If she had killed him the first time, Seth wouldn’t ever have been involved in any of this. He wouldn’t have ever met Anri. Maybe he could still have a normal life, as long as Anri wasn’t in it.

He could do that. He was good at running. Well, obviously not that good, since Angelina had found him, but Seth, he wanted out. Seth wouldn’t look for him again, not with the anger he had felt, the betrayal that surged through their connection just before he closed it off. Maybe this emptiness inside of him would reduce down into numbness eventually, with time and distance. Maybe.

“You know,” Simone said quietly. She was pouring herself a cup of coffee. Raum had already settled back into Anri’s spot as if it were his own. “None of this is, none of what happened with Angelina over the last two days, none of that was your fault.”

“Huh?” he said, startled. Simone was doing her mind reading thing again.

Raum looked right at home in his spot. Anger boiled to the surface. That was his spot. First he lost his Wren, and now he was even losing his place here. He was tired of losing.

Raum watched him carefully as he stared the demon down with as much anger as he could muster. The demon was unfairly handsome, with high cheekbones and bronzy, mahogany toned skin. He had a fucking chiseled jaw, because of course he fucking did. Fuck him. Raum met his glare head on, giving no ground.

“I can tell you are blaming yourself,” Simone continued, oblivious to his and Raum’s wordless standoff. Anri glowered at Raum before returning his attention to Simone.

“I’m not-” he snapped.

Simone cut him off with a quick motion of her hand. “Of course you are. You think I don’t know you by now? You are blaming yourself, for what you are, for Angelina’s craziness, for Seth’s almost dying the yesterday. You are blaming yourself, it’s what you do. But Anri, none of that was your fault. Yes, Angelina was a crazy bitch, but you didn’t make her do the things she did. You are a victim. Seth is a victim. And Seth chose to save you. He knew what he was doing. You are what you are, and you are who you are. You can’t change that.”

Anri wanted to interject, to deny what Simone was saying, but it was all true. He tried to find some way to find himself at fault but couldn’t think of anything good. Simone always seemed to be able to read his mind, and she had always been good at winning arguments.

“You’re thinking I’m reading your mind, now, aren’t you?” She smiled sadly, shaking her head. “I just know you that well. That, and you’re pretty easy to read, at least to me. You can’t lie to family.” She smiled again, this one less slightly less sad. He tried, but could not return her smile. Shame and embarrassment burned inside and he looked down.

“Seth, he loves you. Like, true love style,” she continued, sipping at her steaming coffee.  She jumped up onto the counter, perching like it was the most comfortable spot in the whole kitchen. “I can tell. It’s how he looks at you, how he talks to you, and about you. And yours and his weirdo connection thing? That’s like straight up vamp fairytale shit, you know? True love and eternal bloodbonds or something. I dunno. You should go to him. Talk shit over. Work all this out.”

Simone blew on her coffee and took a light sip. Her face scrunched up. “Still too hot. Anyway, he left his cellphone here. You could use returning it as an excuse to see him.” She pointed to Seth’s phone, sitting on top of the counter by the fridge. “I found it in my car this morning.”

Raum watched the interaction with interest but didn’t say anything. Anri hated the look on his face. No, Anri just hated his perfectly handsome face. He knew deep down that the demon wasn’t to blame, but he still couldn’t stop himself from despising his arrival.

Raum sipped his coffee and let out a contented sigh. “No coffee in the Daeva realm. I believe I might love coffee. Mmmm…” he moaned as he took another sip. “I cannot wait to try beer.”

Anri snorted. Raum was one hundred times better than Angelina. He just had to remind himself that the trade had been worth it.

Simone jumped down quickly, and in an instant was standing in front of him. Her hands held his cheeks and she turned his head, forcing him to look at her. “You need to talk to him, Anni. Work it out. You can’t leave it like this.”

“I…I have to work. I’m going to work.” Anri pulled away, walking over to pick up the cell phone. He stared at it for a moment, running his fingers over it reverently. He hated the hope that blossomed from this small, cold device. He felt Raum watching him closely. He refused to look at him, instead turning to walk back to his room.

“You don’t have to work for, like, four more hours!” Simone called after him. “You should eat something!”

Anri turned around in the hall and walked back to the fridge. “You know, what are you going to tell Red? They called the police, I’m sure. What if they think you’ve been kidnapped?” Simone called after him. “You should call in first. I wonder if you were fired? Maybe they think you’re dead? How are you going to explain it all?”

He opened the fridge and took out an entire package of deli sliced roast beef. “I’m sure I’ll figure something out,” he monotoned. He pivoted away from the fridge, then walked back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

He ate the roast beef without tasting it. He kept sneaking peeks at Seth’s phone. He plugged it into his charger. His own phone was still at Kintsugi, where he had dropped it when Angelina kidnapped him. Or maybe it was in an evidence locker somewhere at a police station. He didn’t really care, couldn’t bring himself to care about something so…miniscule.

He dressed in his work clothes on autopilot. He pulled his hair back into a tight ponytail, eying Seth’s phone as if it were a snake. He walked past it, determined to leave there. It couldn’t hurt him, it was just a phone. But the implications were there. It was Seth’s phone. An excuse to meet up with him again. To see him again. Dangerous.

Anri was halfway out the door, then he turned around and grabbed it quickly, yanking the cord from the device. He hesitated once more, then slipped it into his pants pocket, squeezing it before he let it go.

Raum and Simone were still sitting at the table when he walked past. They were eating eggs and toast. They both silently looked up at him as he walked through the kitchen. Anri avoided their gazes, walking by briskly without a word.

“Anri, a moment?” Raum asked to his back as he passed through the room. He stopped walking but didn’t turn around. Raum took it as permission to proceed. “I understand your preoccupation, but you should know something. You do not have to say anything, and discussion is not required, but heed me momentarily. Your blood binds us all. Seth, myself, the englier, we are all bound here, and to you, through your blood.”

“So?” Anri asked testily, turning around to face Raum. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything, Anri Rousseau, but for now, the englier. The creature is bound to this realm. Summoned by your blood, and bound to your Wren. The Wren who is bound to you, by blood. The englier is bound to your Wren. That cannot be altered now. Accept that fact. You are nearly completely bloodbound with your Wren. He needs you to finish what the two of you started. Accept what has happened to him, too. He may not have chosen the rest of it, but he chose you.”

“What do you know, Raum?” Anri snapped. “If he chose me, why did he leave? He didn’t choose me.” He bowed his head at the sudden clenching in his chest.

Raum hesitated before he spoke again. “He would, if you gave him a chance. I know what is between you. I could feel it in your blood when I was summoned. I can almost feel it now. Anyone with eyes can would see it, it is that obvious.”

Anri didn’t turn around, he had nothing to say. He paused for a moment and then walked to the foyer and put on his coat and shoes. He pulled his scarf from the coat rack as he left the apartment. As he was leaving he heard Raum’s parting words.

“Fix it, Anri Rousseau. Fix it, then finish it.” Anri sighed as he shut the door behind him without looking back.

It was cold out. The hypocritical sun was shining too brightly for it to be this cold. He squinted in the brightness of the day. He pulled his hood up over his head and shoved his hands into his coat, avoiding direct sunlight on his skin. The January air was cold and sharp in his lungs and he pulled his scarf over his face, hunching down into his hood, quickly tucking his hands back into his coat.

The englier hadn’t been there when he and Seth woke up. It was partially what had caused him to panic. If Raum was right, which Anri begrudgingly admitted he probably was, then the englier was here to stay. Bonded to Seth. His Seth. Anri frowned.

Seth…Anri probed the void where their connection was in his chest. Emptiness filled him. He tested it, trying to focus on the connection to see if he could feel anything. Nothing, a barren hole, a phantom presence where Seth used to be. Just a few days ago this feeling hadn’t existed at all, and now he didn’t understand how he had lived with this lack until now.

But the englier. A shiver went down his spine at the thought of the spider-cat’s too many legs, too many eyes, and disturbing cheshire grin. He was going to have to deal with it if he wanted to be with Seth. It had allegedly saved Seth’s life. Probably. More than probably.

Well, he didn’t have to like it, but he couldn’t be without Seth. Raum was right, and that fact burned him as much as the knowledge that he was going to have to be around that creepy freakshow creature. The englier creeped him out, and Raum pissed him off. So far, he wasn’t too fond of any demons in his life, and they didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

A cold wind pushed against him as he walked, stray snowflakes dancing around his escaping heat. The wind seemed to cut right through his clothing. It was too bright outside, and he wished he had grabbed his sunglasses, but he refused to go back home to grab them. Instead, he hunched down deeper in his coat and scarf, miserably trudging his way on to work.

He was just going to have to get over his animosity of the demon realm creatures. They didn’t choose to be here. Everything was wrong, and they were so easy to blame. Anri sighed heavily. He couldn’t keep blaming them, but he really wanted to. The englier was so creepy, odd and unsettling in its normal yet alien appearance, and Raum was too fucking handsome.

Anri shivered, and not just from the cold.

He walked, meandering through the neighborhood, block after block, trying not to think about Seth and failing. Trying not to think at all, especially when all thoughts eventually lead back to Seth. Trying not to think, then finding himself thinking about Seth, over and over again until he couldn’t be around himself any longer.

He turned the last corner and Kintsugi came into sight. The one place he felt comfortable. At least, until he had met Seth. With Seth, he felt a sense of belonging deeper than he had ever experienced. But now, that was all gone. At least he still had Kintsugi to fall back on…

He usually cut through the alley, not the parking lot, on his way to the side door, his domain. He had worked here for almost a whole year now, and he still had never eaten at the restaurant proper. He didn’t even use the main door regularly. He had tried out new dishes occasionally, but generally the bar and the restaurant were run as separate, yet connected, entities.

As he walked across the parking lot, he noticed one car parked in the back. A beat up red car. A beat up red car that looked just like Seth’s car. Anri walked closer, his stomach twisting with worry. It was a beat up red car with automatic seat belts. A beat up red car with a cardboard cut-out reading 12:00 where the car radio should have been.

Why was Seth’s car still here? Had he called a taxi? Seth’s phone was a solid weight in his pocket and he knew that Seth couldn’t have called for a taxi. He had left in the middle of the night. Hours ago. Panic was a sharp needle through his stomach. Had something happen? Was that why he couldn’t feel him? Was Seth hurt? Or worse?

His heart climbed into his throat and refused to budge. A million questions flew through his head, a million scenarios, all bad. He couldn’t breath. He could feel his connection with Seth, even though it was empty. It was still there. If he was dead he wouldn’t be able to feel it, right? How did this work? Would Raum know? Raum. He should go back to talk to Raum. No, he wouldn’t. He didn’t want his help. But for Seth…he should go back. Raum could help.

Anri couldn’t breath. His hands were over his chest now, and he thought he could feel something in there bond. It calmed him a tiny bit as he felt a small piece of the something that connected him to Seth beneath his hands. He closed his eyes and thought hard about it, about Seth. He pictured the silky silvery cord tied deep within the center of his chest that tied him to Seth, trying to visualize it in his mind’s eye. Anri focused on it and pulled.

For just a second he thought he could feel Seth, but then there was the nothingness again. But…for a second. He visualized it again, pulled again, harder this time. What if Seth was hurt? So much had happened to Seth because of him. He had to find Seth and make sure he was okay. He couldn’t let something bad happen to him again. He owed Seth that much.

Anri knew right then that he would do anything for Seth. Anything. He had to be okay. Just, please, let Seth be okay.

The connection opened up, just a tiny shred, but he felt Seth’s presence leak into the emptiness inside him. Anri staggered, his eyes rolling back in relief. Some tension rolled out of his shoulders. Seth was fine. He could feel Seth, a little annoyed and something else. Relief? Or was that his own feelings? It didn’t matter, his Seth was fine.

Anri let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was shivering now. He turned and started jogging towards the side door, the wind pushing against his back now, but still cutting underneath his clothing.

Anri could have sworn he had heard Seth call his name in the last gust of wind. He had to be hearing things, though. He could feel through their connection that Seth wasn’t close. Was it just his relief that their connection was back, even if it was just a shred of it, and that Seth was okay?

Weird. Anri realized with sudden alacrity that he could feel where Seth was. Well, kind of. He had a general idea, like a direction and a vague distance. He knew Seth wasn’t around. So, when he heard his name again, he knew he was just imagining it, the wind and wishful thinking.

Anri unlocked the side door to Kintsugi, the one that opened up to the bar. His domain. Even though he had only worked here for less a year…it felt right to him. He slipped into the darkened bar and locked the door behind him.

An immediate feeling of wrongness consumed him. The feeling of warmth and comfort that he usually felt when he came to work was gone. The bar looked the same but everything was distorted.

Panic was a bonfire fueled by hours of anxiety, depression and exhaustion. He looked around the dark bar frantically, his throat constricting as irrational terror overwhelmed him. Every shadow was an enemy. He tensed, ready to run, ready for something. He couldn’t breath, his lungs were too tight. Spots danced in his vision, his head frantically darting left and right. Gasping for breath, he felt the strength in his legs give out. He was vaguely aware of the coldness of the glass door on his back as he slid down it to the floor. He was helpless to stop his fangs from dropping and his vision from going red.

“Anri!” Seth said, close. Anri’s head swiveled towards the sound. “Anri, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Seth?” he panted out in confusion. It hurt to breath. He should just stop breathing. He was hearing things, now too. His Seth. He deserved whatever was here to get him, he knew it, yet he was still terrified. He shut his eyes tight as if it would stop whatever was here from harming him.

“Anri, calm down. It’s okay, everything is okay,” Seth’s voice said again, thick with worry.

It couldn’t be Seth, though, because Seth was mad at him. Done with him. Seth left, and he deserved it. Anri pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding behind them, his eyes still shut tightly.

“You aren’t here. I fucked everything up. You aren’t here, you’re gone,” Anri moaned, pressing his face against his kneecaps.

There was a change in pressure, and then something touched him. Anri tried to back up but the door was against his back. Instead he slid down it, his back catching painfully on the bar across the door. He gasped in pain, and his lungs burned as he took his first breath in a while.

“Anri, calm down,” Seth begged, too close to be real. “It’s me, it’s okay, it’s just me. It’s okay,” Seth said soothingly, though Anri could feel his worry and fear through their connection. “Open your you eyes, Anri. It’s me. It’s just me.”

Anri scrambled to his hands and knees. He forced his eyes open, sure that this was somehow a trap. Seth was here. His Seth. He was really here. Anri could feel him, so close. It was almost worse than if there had been some horrible creature. Or Angelina. Seth, his Seth, who now hated him. Here now, seeing him like this, weak and pathetic.

“I…Seth? Why? How?” His eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dimness inside the bar yet. Confusion. There was light in the corner of his eye and he tried to focus on it. Hysteria continued to constrict his lungs, causing every breath to burn. Shame made him look away from Seth, made him slink further away from him down the wall.

“Anri, calm down.” Seth’s arms were around him now. He was so warm, so real. He couldn’t be here, though, that was crazy. Anri had locked the door. Seth had been far away. He had felt the distance.

Despite the absolute impossibility of Seth’s actually being here with him, he couldn’t deny the feel Seth’s body against his. Of Seth’s hands against his face. His hands were so warm. He instinctively leaned into them, even as he longed to run from him. He couldn’t face him, he just couldn’t.

“Yo-you’re…” Anri said numbly. “You’re so…warm.”

Seth arms were around him now, and he pulled him close. He tried to push Seth away but Seth didn’t budge. Despite the urgency to escape, Anri’s traitor heart began to calm and the pressure in his lungs began to recede.

“I’m not that warm. You’re freezing!” Seth said directly into his ear. The intimacy of it sent a shiver of another sort down Anri’s spine. It was followed by a slug of self hatred.

Anri’s head swirled with confusion at the tumultuous emotions relentlessly cascading through him. Seth’s hands cupped his cheeks, his fingers spokes of radiation on his chilled face.

Despite himself, he found himself relaxing in Seth’s arms. Seth held him so tightly that he could feel the beat of his heart through his skin. Its steady beating was a tranquilizer. After a while, Anri’s heart matched Seth’s pace and his lungs stopped protesting painfully. Now they just felt raw.

“Anri,” Seth said, pulling him even closer. Anri stopped trying to escape, relaxing into Seth’s grasp. “What happened? What made you so upset?”

“Seth…I was worried about you. Your car is here but you weren’t. I couldn’t feel you, thought something else had happened to you. How are you here? It felt like you weren’t here,” he babbled. He opened his eyes, realizing he had them squeezed shut again. He looked around for…he wasn’t sure. Something that would explain what was going on.

Behind Seth the air shimmered, catching his attention. It looked similar to steam or smoke, a thick band of slightly golden shimmering. Seth turned to look as well.

“Ah…you, um, aren’t gonna,” Seth stuttered as explanation when he saw what Anri was looking at. “The, um, spider-cat demon can ah…bend space? I dunno exactly how it works.” Seth squirmed, shifting uncomfortably.

Seth was here, holding him, calming him like a balm. Seth had come to him. He didn’t care how. Anri shifted in his arms. Startled, Seth started to pull back, his feelings slipping through their connection. Understanding poured over him like a bucket of ice water. Seth had taken Anri’s fear and rejection of the englier as if it were aimed at him, and now he thought Anri was rejecting him again. He gasped as Seth slammed the connection shut again and pulled away.

Anri’s heart dropped to his feet. Seth was going to leave. He couldn’t let him leave like this, not again. He had to explain. He had to stop Seth from leaving. If he left this time…

His hands went up to Seth’s face as he was sliding away. Seth was ready to escape, to jump through the golden shimmering band behind him like a spooked deer.

Anri couldn’t let him go, not again. He knew it would break something permanent. Things between them would never be the same if he didn’t move now, didn’t fix this. Raum’s words echoed inside his head, and as much as they annoyed him, he accepted them as truth.

Woodenly he lurched forward, his body stiff with cold, his muscles strained from his terror. His hand stretched out before him to catch his Wren before he disappeared again, but he miscalculated and pushed forward too hard. He fell onto Seth, knocking him down, toppling to the floor together. He landed heavily on Seth, then quickly wriggled back and pulled Seth up into a sitting position. Seth kept their connection closed solidly, his face was just as closed, a mask devoid of emotion.

Was it too late? Was he too late? Did he fuck this up, just like he fucked up everything else? Frustrated, he placed his hands on Seth’s cheeks. Seth’s skin was so warm it felt like his fingertips were burning, but he didn’t let go.

Instead, he held Seth, his touch light on Seth’s face as if he were made of delicate crystal. As if one wrong move might damage something beyond repair. Seth sucked in a deep breath, his body rigid. His body was wooden, his face neutral, passive, emotionless.

Anri closed his eyes and leaned forward, gently brushing his lips over Seth’s.

They were warm, so warm. Seth’s lip ring brushed pleasantly over his lower lip. He leaned in more and rested his forehead on Seth’s. They stayed like that for a few breaths. Well, Anri’s breaths. Seth was holding his, his body stiff and tense, still posed to escape. Anri could hear his frantic heartbeat. Seth trembled, noisily sucking in a deep breath.

“Seth. Please, don’t leave again. I-I’m so sorry. I’m an ass. I’m sorry. Please, don’t leave. Don’t leave me. I need you,” he begged breathily.

Another deep breath. Time stopped as he waited for Seth to respond. “Anri, I-” Seth began after a moment.

“Please, Seth. Please. I’m so sorry.” Then his mouth was over Seth’s. Anri couldn’t bear to hear the rejection he was sure was coming, that he knew he deserved. He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted to stall. He wanted to steal this moment.

Anri kissed him hard before he could say anything, swallowing any potential rejection from Seth with his own mouth, even if it was just temporary. He would take this, a parting gift, then he would leave Seth’s life. He just wasn’t ready to hear the words yet. Not yet. He needed a second more, a kiss, Seth’s warmth. Just for another second.

Seth’s lips were carved of stone under his, unforgiving. Anri felt a tear slide down his cheek. It was too late. Too late to realize how much he loved Seth, how much he wanted and needed him. He knew now, he needed Seth, and now he could never have him. He needed him and wanted him and nothing seemed more important than this last kiss. The last time. He longed to taste Seth’s blood again, too, but he didn’t dare.

Another tear. Anri lingered, his lips pressed against Seth’s. He couldn’t pull himself away. Not yet. So selfish, but he needed it. The moment passed and reluctantly he pulled back, sliding his hands down Seth’s face. Despair surged and he tried to shove it deep inside. He wiped at his tears, pulling back, climbing off of Seth.

Seth’s hands snaked out, wrapping themselves around his neck, pulling him back down against his body. His strong hands held Anri’s face close to his even as he tried to pull away. Seth pulled him forward, and then his mouth was over Anri’s.

A dam broke and Seth surged in, kissing him hard. Anri melted, swept up into Seth’s torrent. Their connection slammed fully open, stunning Anri with the intensity of it. Seth’s kiss was deep and full and intensified by the reestablishment of their connection. His tongue pushed deep into Anri’s mouth and he welcomed it. A moan escaped him when Seth gently bit down on his lower lip. He leaned into Seth and suddenly Seth’s mouth was all over him. Seth kissed him as if he had been drowning and Anri was his air.

Seth’s hands tangled in his hair, pulling out the tight ponytail. His hair fell around his face and Seth’s hands moved through it. Anri’s hands went behind Seth’s neck and they slid to the floor together, kissing with ferocity.

The intensity diminished into something more relaxed, but just at possesive. Seth pulled back first, gasping for air. He smiled at Anri and he beamed back at him, panting. His lips felt puffy and a little bit sore but he longed to continue kissing Seth. He would kiss Seth forever, if he could, he decided. If Seth wanted him.

Seth wriggled out from under Anri and stood up. He caught hold of Anri’s hand and pulled him up, too. “It’s weird, here, you know?” Seth said, nodding towards the darkened bar.

Anri nodded, unable to form words yet. He was more than a little emotionally stunned. He shyly followed as Seth pulled him towards the shimmering glowing band. Anri tensed, hesitating as they approached the glimmering band. It seemed to peel back as Seth approached.

“Is that…your room?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Yeah. Please, Anri. Come with me,” Seth begged. He looked back at Anri, hope and despair battling in his face.

Anri looked into the band, trying to peer around the gap into Seth’s room. He would do anything to be with Seth right now. “Okay.”

Seth went to say something, then closed his mouth, shocked. “Oh, okay,” he said, obviously surprised by Anri’s easy acquiescence. A stupid grin went across his face and Seth let out his breath, relieved. “Sorry in advance. This is gonna feel a little weird. The first time is the worst, I promise it gets better once you know what to expect. I can’t explain it. You just have to do it, then you’ll know.”

Seth pulled him forward, reaching out with his other hand. He grabbed the shimmering band as if it was a solid thing. It misted out like smoke, wrapping like tentacles around his wrist, moving up his forearm. Seth turned back to Anri and smiled like a child. He pulled his arm back and the glittering smoky band stretched forward with it.

“Take a deep breath and hold it. I think it helps. Don’t let it out until we are out.” Without any other warning Seth pulled Anri hard against his side, one arm wrapping around his shoulder. The glittery band wrapped around Anri and pulled him, stretching him in both directions. His body stretched out impossibly long, like a rubber band. A shift in pressure, and then the stretching reversed. He was stretched almost too far and then released, hurtling across space too quickly. And then, he was in Seth’s room, in Seth’s arms.

His feet were on Seth’s floor, but they felt farther away. He looked around half in wonder and half in disbelief. Woozy and lightheaded, he swayed against Seth. The feeling passed and then he just felt cold. He shivered a little despite the warmth of Seth’s room.

“That was…weird?” he said quizzically.

“Sorry. It’s just super convenient. Are you okay?” Seth asked shyly. They both shifted uncomfortably, unsure.

Anri looked at Seth in amazement. “You came for me. You…”

“What?” Seth asked, confusion written on his face.

“You came for me, Seth. I thought…I thought you hated me. For all of this. For everything,” he spread his hands wide. “For all the supernatural stuff. For putting you in danger. For being vampire. For being me. I dunno. I was sure I fucked it up. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I nearly fucked everything up. I can’t help who I am, Seth. I’ll leave if you want me to. I’ll do whatever you want. But…I love you. I, it’s hard for me, I-I’m not good at emotions. I don’t know if you can forgive me. But I’m sorry,” he babbled.

Seth stepped back from Anri. The loss of his weight sent him reeling. “Anri. Take your coat off. Stay awhile,” Seth said gently.

He moved woodenly and followed Seth’s commands. His hand shook as he pulled off his scarf, then his coat. He held them out to Seth, unsure, feeling helpless and uncertain.

Seth reached for his coat and scarf, taking them gently from him. He threw them on the couch, then reached out again, catching both of Anri’s hands in his. His breath catch in his throat as Seth pulled him around the shoji and over to his bed.

“Anri, can we continue where we left off at the bar?” Seth asked, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Anri took a step forward, then another, allowing Seth to pull him. “You don’t hate me?” he asked in disbelief.

Seth shook his head, mischief on his face. He pulled Anri’s hands, leading him closer to the rumpled king size bed. His heart surged and he stumbled forward, trying to use one foot to take the shoe off of the other one. He fell, knocking Seth on the bed. Seth grabbed him, pulling him into his lap as they fell together. Anri pushed the shoes off with his opposite feet, wrapping his arms around Seth’s neck.

“Anri, I could never hate you,” Seth declared sincerely.

He could feel the authenticity of Seth’s feelings through the cord that connected them. He opened his mouth to respond but Seth pulled him down, kissing him hard. Whatever he had thought to say drifted away on the wind as he returned Seth’s kisses. Seth pulled him further back onto the bed somehow without breaking contact and without missing a beat. He lost himself to Seth’s onslaught, and he didn’t mind. Nothing else mattered but Seth.

Chapter 20: Old Habits Die Hard

Chapter 22: Bloodbound and Soulbound