After a few urgent knocks on the white door resulted in the echo of footsteps followed by the door being pulled back slowly. A pair of startled aquamarine eyes met his vision as Dominic stared up at the form of a middle-aged woman with mousy brown hair. Her eyes cascaded over the boy for a few moments, hints of confusion passing through them.

"Excuse me, young man. Can I help you?" the lady offered in a solemn voice.

"Lorelei Auriel," responded Dominic as he kept tossing agitated dances backward.

"Yes, that is my name. Who are you?"

"I need your help, Lorelei," the boy urged, not paying any attention to the woman’s query. Lorelei gazed at him intently as if trying to awaken some recollection of the youth that stood in her doorway. He could only imagine what she must think seeing a teenager at her house, shirt smattered in blood. But as Lorelei examined him one more time, her eyes began to widen and she put a hand on her chest.

"It’s you! You’re Aiden’s boy, Dominic! I don’t believe it! It’s really you! How?" she shouted as she moved forward to embrace him. Dominic skittered backward, shocked by the lady’s gesture.

He turned his head toward the street, eyes crossing over the parked car at the end. Remembering why he was here, he pushed back his anxiety and grabbed Lorelei’s wrist. "Lorelei, I need you now! My...f-friend, he’s hurt. He needs to be taken care of soon."

Lorelei tried to interrupt as he dragged her over to the black vehicle and yanked open the door to the back seat. The woman’s blue eyes trailed over the unconscious youth that Dominic was lifting up from the seat. She rushed over to the older boy’s side and looked at the battered teenager in his arms. "What happened to him?"

"He’s a Guardian like you and Aiden were. He was in a fight. Can you help him?"

Setting her hand against Lucian’s forehead, Lorelei looked up at Dominic in horror. "What are you talking about, Dominic? This boy needs to go to the hospital. I don’t have near what’s required to heal these injuries."

"I just need you to stop the bleeding and try to prevent any infections from spreading. He should be okay after that," Dominic stated, starting for Lorelei’s house.

"He needs medical treatment," argued the adult, glaring at her younger companion.

"No! Too many questions and forms. Lucian lives on his own. How do you think the receptionists and other personnel are going to take that?"

"Lucian?" repeated Lorelei, rolling the word over her tongue in a reverent fashion. Dominic was puzzled for a moment. How did Lorelei know Lucian? He had never mentioned her before. Besides if Lorelei knew Lucian, then that would mean that Aiden would probably have had to know him as well. Aiden would have said something to him a long time ago if he had ever encountered the redhead. So why was the woman so mesmerized by the younger boy’s name?

Eager to get his mind off this new dilemma, he directed his full attention to his prone companion. "Look, if I could take care of him myself I would. But I can’t do this by myself and he needs help right now! We don’t have time to mess with all that hospital crap! Are you going to help us or not?"

His older companion gave a long sigh and nodded her head in a reluctant manner. "Bring him inside. I’ll see what I can do. I think I still have some antibiotics lying around for emergencies."

Dominic stalked past her and carried Lucian into the house as Lorelei retrieved a cot from the storage room. She motioned to Dominic to lie him down on the faded green object while she began to gather any medical supplies that she could find. The dark-haired youth knelt down by the cot and situated the younger boy on it, pulling aside the lower part of his shirt so he could see the seeping stab wound. That was probably the most dangerous of Lucian’s injuries. It didn’t look like it hit anything vital, but if infection set in around the area, it could be risky. What made it even worse was the way that the skin around the cut was also torn and raw. Dominic guessed that Lionelle had chosen a weapon that would hurt Lucian in several ways at the same time.

As the thought of Lionelle reappeared, Dominic felt an inner pang. He had killed the man. Aiden would be upset. He had not wished to raise a killer. Aiden had merely wanted to teach him how to defend himself. The older man had never specifically taught him how to fight. He had taught that to himself during his years on his own. But Aiden had to understand. He had done it to help the other Guardian. Lucian was important. There was no way he could have let Lionelle kill him. It was extremely hypocritical to argue this point, being that he had been moments away from shooting the youth himself. Still, Lionelle had had to die. It was a simple truth. At the time, there had been no other way of dissuading the Chimera from killing Lucian. Lionelle was supposed to die. But why had he been forced to be the one to kill him?

Quick footsteps signaled Lorelei’s return and Dominic tore himself away from his inner turmoil to meet her eyes. Lorelei gave him a somber gaze and set her supplies on the ground. She had managed to locate a small pan of water, several bandages, antibiotic spray, a hypothermic needle, terry cloths, a smaller needle with some thin thread, a type of razor blade, and what appeared to be some sort of liquid drug. Kneeling next to the older youth, she handed him one of the cloths.

"Though I was fortunate enough to have a house call a few days ago, explaining why I still have some of this stuff at home with me, I don’t have any anesthetic here. I don’t think that your friend will need any but just in case, I want you to try to talk to him while I tend to these wounds. That should keep him somewhat calm if he turns semi-conscious on us. He also has a touch of fever right now. Possibly, that could be a sign of early infection. Just keep a cool cloth on his forehead for a while. I’ll check out these marks to see which could be the problem," Lorelei explained in a stunning display of professionalism. Dominic gaped at her change in mood while he nodded cautiously and soaked the cloth in the water. He rung it out, noticing dimly that his hands were a bit shaky and then laid it on Lucian’s head.

Lorelei jumped into the task of cleaning the knife injury on Lucian’s side. "He was lucky. The blade failed to touch any vital organs," she remarked as she filled the syringe and checked it for air bubbles.

"He wasn’t lucky. That cut was meant to hurt not kill. This is torture we’re talking about," replied Dominic in as casual a voice as he could pull off given his utter disgust.

"Poor thing," the lady soothed, giving the redhead a shot near the wound. "The newest enemies of the Shard keepers must be real sadists indeed."

"Yeah."

Undaunted by Dominic’s response, she set about stitching the wound and then began to tend to the lash marks on Lucian’s chest as she removed his bloodstained shirt. "I’ve missed you, Dominic. When I heard about dear Aiden, I knew...."

"Lorelei, let’s not do this right now, okay?" her companion warned in a gruff voice as his eyes darkened.

"I also heard you ran away. Nobody had any idea where you went. You just seemed to have disappeared. Why didn’t you come here? I would have helped you. Aiden was one of my best friends. After losing him, I was irreconcilable. And then, when I heard that you had vanished, I was beside myself with grief. I’d have given anything to help the protégé of my precious Aiden. But he never even told me that he had chosen you to take his place. I knew that him and me could no longer be Guardians, but the idea of a child as young as you was insane. Then again, I guess you’re hardly a child anymore. What are you now? Eighteen?"

"I really don’t want to discuss this! Take care of my companion so we can leave. I made a promise to someone that I would bring him back," snapped Dominic, trying to disguise his anguish at hearing the other person talk about Aiden. It was selfish. He knew that. Why couldn’t Lorelei talk about Aiden? After all, she had known the man for far longer than he had. They had both been the descendants of the Guardians. Though they had never fought themselves, their elders had told them both about the Guardians and Shards. They had worked together in order to prepare for what had been prophesied. At least, that was what he had pieced together from what Aiden had narrated in his letter.

But it wasn’t just the idea of fate that held them together. Whenever he had been around Lorelei in his younger days, Dominic had always sensed something strange about the older woman in the way she acted around his protector. Lorelei had probably been in love with Aiden as well. Aiden was just one of those people you couldn’t help but love. Aiden was special.

At his frantic words, Lorelei quit her mild interrogation and adjusted the unconscious boy’s position to work on his back. Dominic caught a few repulsed grimaces that fluttered across her face as she washed the marks and applied antibiotics around the area. Finished with the preventive measures, the lady proceeded to swathe most of the teenager’s torso in bandages. She flipped his arm over to check out the deep cut in the skin and the subsequent infection that had sunk into it. A frown graced her facial features as she ran her fingers over the wound.

"Dominic, this one isn’t healing right. I’m going to have to reopen it in order to insure that it heals properly," she informed the boy in a tense tone.

"It’s going to hurt?"

"He might wake up. Like I said before, just talk to him. Reassure him. It will help."

"I’m not good at helping people," muttered Dominic with a drop of his eyes.

"You’ll be fine. You’re his friend, right?" Lorelei affirmed.

"I don’t know."

The woman hid her look of perplexity at the youth’s reply and picked up the razor by her side. Holding her breath, she held it to the younger boy’s arm and sliced through the raw scab running along the length of his lower arm. Lucian shifted to the right as blood welled up under the steel. He gave a choked whimper as Dominic’s eyes shivered.

He combed his fingers through a few knotty strands of Lucian’s hair. "Calm down, Lucian. She’s just trying to help you. She won’t hurt you. Nobody will."

Lucian’s moans grew fainter as he tilted his head back to Dominic’s caress. He made a tiny cringing motion as Lorelei injected the needle into the flesh around the slash. Hoping to keep the other youth from crying out again while the woman sewed up the gash, Dominic continued to speak to Lucian in a trembling voice. For once, he didn’t care if he sounded frightened. He just wanted to stop that disheartening whine escaping from his companion’s lips. His fingers slid across Lucian’s bruised and bleeding cheek with a slow arcing motion as he did his best to keep the redhead relaxed despite the obvious pain in his arm.

"You’ll be fine. You’re strong. I’ll make sure you get back to Tashira. She’ll take care of everything. I promise you I won’t let anybody else hurt you. Not even me. Never again," he consoled, watching Lucian’s eyes flutter partway open for a restless moment. Dominic was elated until the heavy lids covered the garnet irises once more and Lucian’s head fell to the side against the dark-haired boy’s hand.

"Red eyes," noted his female companion, covering the lower arm in bandages as blood sank through the first layer she wrapped. She completed the second layer and glanced over at Dominic. The boy was glowering at her in displeasure.

"So what if they’re red?" he growled. "That’s genetics."

"I was just saying that it’s unusual for anybody to have eyes of that color. As a matter of fact, I’ve only known one person with such a rare commodity. Lucian Ambrose, twin brother of Tashira, the first children to inherit the task of the Guardians."

"You do know him."

"I know him through his name. I never met him in person," answered the lady without meeting his eyes. She applied a piece of bandaging to Lucian’s sliced cheek and covered his chafed wrists, then checked his body for any other injuries.

"How do you know of his name? Who told you about him? And what do you mean that he is the first Guardian? I thought I was the first Guardian. I am the eldest," Dominic pointed out, baffled by what he had just heard. How could it be possible that Lucian was the first person to learn about the Guardians? The only people who knew about their ability were Aiden and Lorelei. Lorelei said that she did not know Lucian personally so that must have meant that another person who knew of the Guardians had told her of his presence. That left Aiden. Had Lucian known his old friend?

"Does your friend have any other wounds that need to be dealt with?"

Dominic could tell that she was trying to find a means of avoiding his question. It bothered him, but he understood that it was more important to handle as much of Lucian’s injuries as possible before getting back to Tashira. He was aware of the sacrifice required in order for the twins to use their healing abilities. If Lucian’s wounds were too severe, it would mean that Tashira would have to put her life in danger to help him. He wanted to avoid such a scenario if at all possible. If it meant that he would have to wait to delve deeper into the connection between Lucian and the original descendants of the Guardians, then he would just have to accept it. For now at least.

"His left leg. I think it may be broken."

Making an interested hum to herself, Lorelei cut open the lower part of the redhead’s pants leg and felt along the area as Dominic leaned over to see if he could make out any sort of reaction on her face. After a few minutes, she stopped her examination and shook her head. "Doesn’t look like anything’s broken too badly as far as I can tell. A x-ray would be more reliable though. I can see this particularly ugly wound that looks like it might have come from a bullet. I could try and remove it. Aside from that, it looks like a compound fracture, but the bone isn't set, which could cause some serious pain if it starts to heal like that. He seems out of it enough for me to realign the bones without much hassle."

Giving a quick sigh of relief, Dominic nodded. "Try to make it fast."

She acknowledged his request and made short work of the task. Dominic felt his breath catch as he heard the sickening pop of bone. Fortunately, Lucian had slipped off into another one of his comatose states and was unable to sense the action. For the first time that day, Dominic was glad that the younger teenager was unresponsive. How strange it seemed that measures that would have hardly made him flinch if they were done to his own form suddenly made him feel somewhat squeamish as he watched his companion undergo them. He didn’t like seeing Lucian in such suffering. It was wrong that the redhead had to go through so much pain just because he had made an error in judgment.

Having seen to the alignment of the limb, Lorelei left the two boys for a moment as she searched for an instrument to retreive the bullet. She returned with what looked to Dominic like an odd set of tweezers, perhaps the surgical types that he had seen on television once before. Working carefully, Lorelei managed to pull out the intrusive piece of lead without much trouble and then set to sterilizing and bandaging the injury.

The sight of the blood-stained bullet forced Dominic to keep his eyes away from the other boy for a couple minutes. He hadn't even known that Lionelle had actually shot Lucian. There had been the sound of gunfire, but he had possessed no way of knowing if any bullets had managed to connect. His evidence was sitting on a piece of gauze next to the woman. It made him cringe as he thought about how much that must have hurt Lucian since it had been coupled with the agony of a broken leg. He should never have left him.

"He still should get a brace on that leg," commented Lorelei, disrupting his mental battle.

"I’ll see that it gets taken care of as soon as he’s well enough to leave. Do you have a spare room he could rest in for a while? This cot is probably not the best thing for his back," Dominic said in a troubled tone.

"I do have a small guest room. I guess he can sleep in there," the woman suggested as she observed the older boy trying to gather the other youth against his chest. "While we’re changing his sleeping accommodations, maybe we should also try to find him some new clothes. He could really use a clean shirt."

"You’re going to give him one of yours?"

"That’s what I was planning on. Why? Do you think he will mind?"

"Who knows? Lucian has a warped sense of style. Besides, I doubt he’ll really throw a big fuss since he doesn’t have much choice in the matter anyway," the boy replied with an awkward shrug.

Lorelei showed him the way to the bedroom as she rushed off to look for sensible attire. Dismissing her disappearance, Dominic gingerly set Lucian down upon the covers. Within moments, the lady appeared in the room, bearing a long-sleeved gray blouse. It looked professional and lacked any pointless frills or cheesy button designs. Even the lapels looked plain. Seeing that the clothing didn’t seem too fancy but still managed to carry some sense of grace with it, Dominic wagered that Lucian wouldn’t object to it once he woke up. He allowed Lorelei to dress his companion in the blouse as he sat on the end of the bed and scrutinized her actions with precision.

"Dominic?" the adult spoke up as she leaned back from Lucian.

"Huh?"

"I need to go down to my office and see if I can find any more antibiotics or some stronger painkillers. I was wondering if you would...."

"I can stay with him. What do I have to do while you’re gone?"

"Good. I’ll bring you some mild painkillers before I go. All you have to do is redress that bandage when the boy wakes up and try to keep him calm. Guessing from his injuries, I imagine that he’s been through some very disturbing experiences. He may not be coherent when he wakes up, especially since he’s never been here before and may not know what’s going on. Just don’t let him go into shock or anything like that and he should be fine. Those wounds were nasty but I can check on the chest and back ones later on. Otherwise, I think young Lucian will be okay. He’s a fighter. But then given you boys’ lot in life, that’s to be expected I guess," his older companion told him as she stepped out of the room and shut the door.

The dark-haired boy moved forward and reached for Lucian’s hand, hesitantly entwining their fingers.

He recalled the gesture from long ago when he had shown up at Aiden’s door one night, tears refusing to spill even as he sported a dark bruise over his right eye and a bloody lip. Aiden hadn’t tried to ask any questions then. He had just pulled him inside and sat him down on the couch next to him. Neither of them had spoken as the older man had hugged the ten-year-old child and tried to whisper gentle phrases as he had enlaced his fingers within the younger figure’s. Dominic could still remember the words that had been uttered than in a spontaneous tongue amongst the misery of the moment.

"Do you like me, Aiden?"

It had seemed so odd to respond to such an important phrase with an average one. Yet, he had been unable to say anything else at the time. Hearing Aiden say those words, which he had only ever heard spoken by two other people, one being dead and the other being a child, was the happiest moment of his life. Even Aiden had seemed to understand his state of mind as he had squeezed his hand softly and drawn him closer.

That action had provided a sense of peace to not only him but to Aiden as well. Dominic was eager to see their treasured gesture work its wonders on him and Lucian. Lucian needed comfort while Dominic needed tranquillity. This was a way of achieving both. Surely Aiden wouldn’t mind that he was borrowing the secret to help another. It was for Lucian. Aiden would understand. Aiden always understood.

Things were starting to come back to him as he struggled to sort out his whirling thoughts. He remembered Lionelle, then a haze of pain, then rest, then more pain, and then darkness. This had been followed by yet more suffering but also confusion. Dominic. He was sure that he had seen Dominic. Dominic had been angry with him. Then, Dominic had suddenly become very concerned and almost compassionate. He had wanted to help him.

At the time, it had seemed so bizarre. Why would Dominic want to help him when he couldn’t do anything? On top of that, Dominic had been trying to kill him. He had shoved that freezing barrel against his skull again and again. That had hurt a lot. Not as much as getting slapped around for the twentieth time in the past two days. Dominic had hurt him as he had time and time again. There was no big change there. But for some reason, he had felt his natural urge to fight back falling away from him. He had no longer wanted to play. There had been too much agony to think straight and he had just wanted it all to go away. He had hoped that making Dominic even angrier with him by screaming at him and acting psychotic would spur him to act quicker. To his chagrin, these actions had only encouraged the dark-haired boy to grow unsure and prolong his misery.

He had felt as if he was on the verge of insanity back then. Nothing was as it had seemed and it had appeared that he had been abandoned by all he cared about either by his own actions or by fate’s ultimate design. All he had wanted was rest and an end to the hurting, both internal and external. But his savior had refused to heed his call. Instead he had taken upon a different role. Dominic had indeed proven to be his savior, but not by being the one who delivered him into the arms of death. He had simply been the one who had forced him back into the light. As much as it had blinded and seared him, Lucian had wanted to return to it just so he could see his old partner again.

It had not been easy to drag him back into the notion of hope. He had resisted it with all of his being, believing that Dominic had just been poking fun at him. The idea that Dominic had actually wanted to save him was asinine. He had once again tried to force him away with sharp words and bitter jests. But the older boy had not left. Dominic had been determined to win him back from the darkness that had begun to cloud him. His violet-eyed companion had ignored all the desperate pleas for abandonment and all the spiteful curses and continued to beg him to succumb to reason. He had only consented to the demand when he had lost the strength to fight against it.

Then, he had forgotten why he was turning from Dominic in the first place. Dominic had reclaimed his soul as always. He had wanted to obey. Dominic had wanted to take him back to Tashira. He had wanted to save him. Why should he fight? So he had stopped resisting and given in to the boy’s generosity. Dominic’s assurance that he was still needed and his avowal that he was not crazy had won him over. He had hoped that things would be okay after that. But after catching sight of Fang, he knew he had been wrong.

Pushing down Dominic had been an instinctive action. He had to protect those important to him. So he hadn’t even thought about what would happen when he left his own body exposed to the Chimera’s attack. The searing pain had flashed through him like liquid fire, stealing his breath and frying his chest. It had thrown him into the chasm of unconsciousness before he could react. Yet he had heard something before everything disappeared. It had been faint in his ears and fuzzy-sounding. Still, he could have sworn that it was his name. Someone had shouted out his actual name. Strangely, Dominic had been the only one there. Had it been him?

Tavores had berated him for sacrificing himself just before his presence faded as well. He had told Lucian that he was going to die after everything that they had done just because he wanted to protect his ungrateful boyfriend. In his contempt, Tavores had demanded to know if Lucian had been happy with his decision. Without even thinking twice, his reincarnation had given him his proud answer. Yes. Yes, he had been happy. As long as he had found Dominic again, he was happy.

Lucian had thought that it was over then. But to his surprise, a horrible ripping sensation in his arm had threatened to yank him away from his precious sleep. Someone had been cutting him. Unable to fight anymore, he had appeased himself with fragile whimpers. Tender words and tantalizing touches had in turn answered them. Cool fingers had played across his skin even as the kind phrases had been whispered close to his ear. The voice had seemed a bit familiar, but it was crazy to even think that it had been the voice’s usual owner. He would have had to be bewitched to utter such condolences.

Intrigued by the mysterious voice, he had struggled to open his eyes only to pass out again from the strain of the action. After that, the pain had dulled once more and he had been free to wander inside this encompassing blackness. It was beginning to dissipate now as streaks of light broke through the bleak surroundings. He fought again to restore his consciousness. It was crucial that he find out who had been with him and had grazed his flesh with such silky movements and spoken in such a fond undertone. He had to wake up.

Crimson eyes escaped the confines of cumbersome lids as he tried to guess at his current circumstances. Bright light from an overhead lamp caused him to squint and turn his head. Underneath his body, he could feel a soft texture that was unlike the chilled floor or the bumpy ground. Despite the knowledge that he was comfortable and warm, Lucian was unsure of where he was. That put him on the edge.

Snatching at his sacred trinket with his good hand, he pushed himself back into the cherry headrest of the bed. He fought to gain better perception of his surroundings as he raised his voice in a stuttering exclamation. "Wha--what’s going on? Where am I?"

He heard the bed move as something on his left side shifted its position with a garbled groan. Cloudy sparks of violet appeared before him as an invisible force tugged him forward. As he pulled back, he heard an excited voice yelp in his ears.

"You’re awake!"

That tone and the spinning spheres of amethyst that accompanied it. He was positive that he knew whom they belonged to. But why would he be here? Utterly dumbfounded by the whole mess, Lucian responded to the shout with his customary reaction to the stimuli. "N--Nicky?"

"Yeah."

Objects around him began to lose their haze and everything started to regain its lucidity. He could make out the semi-clear form of Dominic sitting next to him on the mattress, gazing at him with sheer contentment. Dominic’s shirt was still decorated with his own russet blood, but the older boy didn’t seem to mind much as he looked upon his companion.

"Nicky, where are we?"

"At a friend’s. Lorelei. She helped me with your bandages," answered Dominic, looking away from the red-haired youth.

"Bandages?" Lucian questioned in an alarmed voice.

"You were kind of messed up."

"Oh. So how long have I been out of it?"

Dominic peered up at a clock on the wall and frowned. "Twenty hours or so, I think."

"Twenty hours? Have you..." he tried to lift his hand but found some resistance. Lowering his eyes, he realized that Dominic was still holding his hand. His pause caused Dominic to notice what he was looking at. Immediately, the older boy tore his hand away as his face flushed. Lucian pretended not to care about the change, but he couldn’t hide the partial grin that lit up his expression. "Have you been here this whole time?"

"I guess."

Lucian tried to sit up, the pain forcing him to double over. "Ah!"

His companion shook his head and tried to push the younger teenager’s back against the pillow. "Don’t move so much. Just stay still. You’ll just upset your injuries if you try to do too much."

Whoa! Apparently, whatever had happened to Dominic back with the Chimera had been a permanent change. Not only Dominic was willing to help him; he was worried about him and seemed to be showing true affection. Dominic couldn’t possibly hate him as much as he had expressed in his notebook.

Although some doubts were vanishing from his mind, the memory that he had been tortured arose once more in response to Dominic’s words. He felt his insides twist at his new helplessness before his ex-partner. Hoping to hide the reaction from Dominic, he stared down at the wrappings on his right arm and gave a phony smile. "That bad, huh?"

The older boy nodded and ran a finger down Lucian’s bandaged arm. "Lorelei went to get some more stuff for the pain a while ago. She probably didn't come in here because you were sleeping. She also said that she would need more antibiotics later on since those marks...weren’t...good."

"But it’s cool now?"

"Lorelei said you should be fine and don’t forget that Tashira can heal whatever Lorelei had trouble with," Dominic reminded him in an attempt at reassurance. Lucian wanted to laugh at the sight of Dominic trying to maintain his frigid attitude while still trying to show his concern. The crumpled features on the dark-haired boy’s face made him feel slightly guilty at the notion that it was him forcing Dominic to be so torn between his emotions and his facade.

"Sorry," he sighed.

"What?"

"I’m sorry that you have to do all of this. I know you don’t want to be here. You don’t want to be around me. I’m sorry."

Eyes darkening, Dominic jerked away from the other youth and slammed his hand down on the bed. "Damn it! Didn’t I already tell you I don’t want to hear that? I don’t want to hear your apologies!" he snarled as Lucian recoiled.

What had he done now? As usual, Dominic was springing from warm to cold at the blink of an eye. The vicious shift upset him more than usual though since his head was still foggy and his entire psyche was going through a massive recovery. Dominic’s harsh temper was not welcome company at the moment. He wanted to remedy whatever mistake he had made to cause the boy’s mood swing.

"I did...didn’t mean...." he began as another malevolent scowl from his companion cut him off.

"Just shut up! I told you that none of this was your fault...." Dominic barked, trailing off near the end of his statement. He clenched his eyes shut and made a fist with one hand, pressing his nails against his palm. The boy’s shoulders shook ever so slightly as he brought his eyes back to Lucian. Then his voice dropped into a brittle whisper. "It wasn’t your fault at all. It was mine."

Overwhelmed by the other’s confession, Lucian forced himself to venture closer to the neurotic youth. "Nicky, what are you saying?"

"I left. I abandoned the Guardians. I abandoned you."

"You couldn’t have kno...."

"I wasn’t finished!" roared the dark-haired boy as Lucian managed to keep himself from backing up this time. He could see that Dominic wasn’t really angry. His companion was just uncomfortable with the situation and trying to find the best way to deal with it. Dominic wasn’t too skilled at heart-felt apologies. Interrupting him was just getting under his skin since it forced him to restart again and again. His next words only confirmed his assumption.

"Don’t interrupt me again. This is hard." Lucian nodded sharply to show Dominic that he was ready to listen and Dominic reached out and grabbed his hand. "It’s hard to know that you got hurt because of me. Because I ran away like a frightened child. I always run away even though it has yet to change a thing. That is how I have dealt with my problems for a long time. But I know that it was still wrong. It was stupid and you had to suffer for it. I swear I never meant to hurt you, Lucian. I’m sorry."

Lucian’s eyes brightened and he leaned closer to Dominic. "What did you just say?"

"I’m sorry?"

"No, before that. You called me Lucian. You did that before too. When Fang jumped us. Before I blacked out, I heard you."

"Well, I can’t act formal with you forever, now can I?" the older youth responded in his best effort to make the change sound unimportant.

The other boy refused to buy the cop-out. He clasped Dominic’s left shoulder and pulled himself up so that his mouth was level with Dominic’s ear. "I like when you say my name. It just sounds different. Beautiful," he purred in a sensual voice.

"You’re delirious," Dominic scoffed, whipping his hand away from the boy’s fingers and giving him a rough shove.

"Why is it that whenever I try to be nice, you think I’m out of it?" Lucian chuckled, catching Dominic’s wrist before he toppled over.

"Because you usually are. You’re hardly ever serious about anything, Lucian."

"Being serious is dull. By the way, now that you’re all cool with calling me by my real name, does that mean that I have to stop calling you Nicky?"

"Are you?"

"Not a chance in hell," the redhead retorted, laughing boisterously.

Dominic shrugged and turned his head to the side. "It was worth a shot," he complained in a spurious grumble.

"Taking a page from my book, I see."

"Perhaps."

Hearing the word delighted Lucian. This was just like old times when he and Dominic would constantly trade one crack for another. He had missed these pointless squabbles. It was in them that Dominic’s engaging and vibrant personality always shown through. Dominic could pretend to be unmoved the rest of the time, but Dominic would never turn down a fight and he went for the win with just as much passion as his opponent. Lucian loved to see Dominic battling each remark with his wits. It was their form of play and it had been a blast each and every time.

He laughed even harder as he rolled on his back. The loud peals of laughter made his sore side throb and he cupped the wound. "Ow!"

"I told you to be careful," snapped the other teenager, leaning over to check the bandaging for any signs of bleeding. There was nothing for him to fuss over. It was only pain nagging Lucian and nothing more. Dominic sat back up and rested on his knees. "You’re lucky you didn’t reopen a wound."

"Sorry. Getting my ass kicked takes a little getting used to. I’m too accustomed to winning my fights," Lucian lamented, folding his arms under his head. This was not fair. Laughing hurt him now? As if it wasn’t enough to have waves of pain lancing through his body at unknown intervals, he couldn’t even have a soul-rejuvenating giggle. And now Dominic was sure to snarl at him for apologizing again. Would it be so much to ask to have a teeny bit of a break?

There was a soft snort from Dominic’s side but nothing else. Perhaps, Dominic wasn’t going to reproach him another time. Lucian felt some of his old pluck flowing back into him. He looked up at Dominic and smirked roguishly.

"What? Aren’t you going to scold me for apologizing?"

"It won’t do any good. You never listen to me. Let me see your arm. Lorelei said I should change the bandages when you woke up. We need to make sure it’s healing right."

"Jeez. I must look like shit," the redhead whined as he averted his eyes.

"Never," contested Dominic in a thick voice.

"Huh?"

The older youth grazed the underside of his chin with one finger, coaxing him to direct his attention back to him. "Nothing could ever make you look ugly, Lucian. It’s impossible."

"Careful Nicky. You keep making with the sweet-talk and I might just go into shock," warned Lucian, moving the other’s hand away from him.

"Sure. That would make it what? The third time?" his companion muttered sarcastically as he picked up one of the bandages that Lorelei must have brought him earlier. "Try to prop yourself against the back of the bed so it will be easier to work with this arm.

"Killjoy," mumbled the younger youth, annoyed that Dominic had bested him again. He groaned and obeyed the command, bracing himself against the headrest and holding out his arm.

"Alright, that’s enough banter for now. Keep quiet and hold still so I can do this," Dominic ordered, tugging his arm over to him. Lucian shot him a set of puppy-dog eyes and he shook his head. "You’re making things difficult as always."

"What? And you thought I would change just because you left?"

"Of course not. But you never fail to surprise me."

"And I suppose you think that you’re Mr. Predictable?" asked the red-haired boy with a roll of his eyes as he stretched his back.

"Strange. I could have sworn I told you to be quiet and stay STILL!" the older boy bellowed as Lucian froze under his roar.

Dominic unrolled the original bandaging and began to wrap a fresh bandage around the slash on the younger youth’s right arm, trying to avoid the boy’s startled eyes as he completed each wrapping. Lucian was overjoyed at the tenderness that his ex-partner was showing him. But the warm feeling stagnated as he remembered the words in Dominic’s journal. He was showing him such compassion now but why? What if it was just because he felt sorry for him? He was hurt and Dominic might be feeling some sort of pity for his condition. Was that it? Lucian didn’t know if he could take that knowledge. If Dominic were just caring for him out of pity, then once he had recovered a bit; he would leave again. After all, why would one stay with one that he claimed to hate? He had to know the truth. Whether it brought misery or triumphant revelation, he had to know how Dominic truly felt.

He shifted slightly to the left, pulling his arm and Dominic closer to him. "Um Nicky..." he whispered hesitantly as the older boy immediately looked up from his ministrations and stared hard at him.

"Hmm," the other youth snapped curtly, still working with the end of the bandage which was currently resting a few inches from Lucian’s wrist.

"I...uh...wanted to ask you something."

His comrade’s eyes shone with a casual curiosity as he further turned his face toward the other boy. Aside from the change in his appearance, Dominic didn’t seem to make any other indication that he had even heard Lucian. The younger boy swallowed deep in his throat and tried to raise his eyes so that they were dead even with the violet orbs of his companion. "Do you hate me?"

The dark-haired youth was completely thrown by the question and glanced back in utter bewilderment. The way Lucian had asked, his voice obviously trembling with both worry and embarrassment, like a child asking its mother why she wouldn’t indulge its wishes. Such a tone sounded strangely foreign to the boy’s ears. It was unlike Lucian to act this skittish. The actual words of the question weren’t exactly his usual type of conversation either. Unsure of how to react, Dominic pulled back, a faint "What?" ensuing from his lips.

"It’s just that while you were gone, I found your notebook. I know I wasn’t supposed to read it and I never really meant to, it was just that I was so upset at your abrupt departure and all and I was feeling bad...and I..."

"You read my notebook!" Dominic interrupted with a fierce snarl; almost jerking back Lucian’s injured arm in shock. "What gives you the right to look at my personal things? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I’m...sorry. I know it was stupid and wrong of me. I just couldn’t help it. At the time, it was the only thing I had. It was yours. I don’t know why, but I had to read it. I guess I had to read it because it was yours. And when I did...Nick all those things...the ones you wrote in there about...me. Did you mean them? I need to know if it’s true. Do you hate me?"

Lucian’s voice was harsh sounding, as if he was struggling to speak each word. As Dominic looked back at the young man, he was sure he saw faint traces of desperation within the anxious garnet eyes. He could even feel a tiny tremor going down his partner’s arm as he held it in his hand. Lucian was scared. What was he scared of? His answer?

As the older boy tried to solve this quandary, his mind wandered back to the free-association writing he had so often scribbled inside the notebook. Sometimes it had been words he wanted to share with Aiden, sometimes it had been just random thoughts that he wanted to figure out for himself, and sometimes it had just been the after-effects of some blind moment of rage. Yet, no matter how irritated he had been with Lucian, he had never mentioned anything about hating him. He had frequently expressed his dislike of the boy in general, but that was no reason for Lucian to believe that he hated him. It was all just his usual ranting and soul-searching, all of it except....

God, I just need to get away from here. Get away from him. He refuses to understand that I don’t want friends. I like being alone. It’s safer that way. But the way he makes me feel. I hate it. I hate him for doing this to me. I know that he probably doesn’t know this, but he has made my life hell.

Dominic also thought of the passages that had followed up that misleading rant. It had mainly been an explanation more to himself than to anyone else. An explanation that was meant to put his mind at ease. An explanation that never seemed to satisfy his need for absolution, even when it led him to run from the only people who ever cared for him.

Had Lucian read it all? Dominic shuddered at the thought and then tried to push away vague whispers of what also would have been in the notebook had it been with him when he left. A soft sob brought him out of his reverie and placed him back by the bed where an emotionally crushed youth was looking up at him, hoping that he was wrong. Dominic sighed roughly and slowly turned his head to the side to avoid the affecting look in the eyes of his partner.

"Lucian, you are a constant annoyance. You drive me crazy and infuriate me like no one else ever has. You make me feel like I don’t know what I’m doing and that seriously pisses me off," he replied lowly unable to completely block out the vision of Lucian’s agonized visage. The younger teenager’s eyes trembled as he began to turn his head away from the boy who obviously didn’t want anything to do with him. Dominic saw his action and brought one hand to the boy’s cheek, briskly turning it so that he was facing him once again.

He shook his head and continued speaking, his tone falling slightly. "Despite this, no Lucian, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. You make it impossible to hate you. What I wrote...it’s just words. That’s all. It doesn’t mean anything. I only do it to ease my nerves. It’s nothing to get upset about."

Eyes widening, Lucian gazed back at him, red irises glistening with a renewed sense of optimism. He breathed out a quick rush of air and timidly raised his good hand and placed it over Dominic’s, which was still resting on his arm, the vise-like grip lessening. "So you don’t hate me?" he inquired one more time as if making sure that his hearing wasn’t playing tricks on him.

"No," Dominic said gently as he returned to his previous nursing of the boy’s injury. Lucian’s face lit up with delight but then fell as something else crossed his mind.

"Why?" he spoke up suddenly, eyebrows scrunching in thought.

"What? Why don’t I hate you?"

"No. Why didn’t you kill me when I said I was a traitor?"

The question took Dominic by surprise and his amethyst eyes widened slightly as he took in the new complications of his situation. He shook his head as if he was deeply confused and then he slowly ran his hand through his thick black locks nervously. His eyes seemed to take on the look of shattered glass as they broke into a million cloudy violet shards inside their black prisons.

"I don’t know. I thought I wanted to kill you. No, some demented part of me did want to kill you. Like I said, you confused me. Always happy, always smiling, always living in a fantasy world where you can hide from the bad things in life. I couldn’t stand that about you. You claimed to understand how I felt, but how could you even comprehend? You didn’t have to. You could hide. I could never hide. No matter how I tried. Bad things always find me.

"I guess that’s why I wrote what I did. I felt that you had no right to tell me how to live my life when you couldn’t even understand it. I wanted you to disappear from my life. I guess I thought that if I killed you, everything would go back to how it was. I wouldn’t have to deal with this new feeling of regret. Regret that I was alone. That I had no one. I never cared about it before, yet since meeting you, I have barely thought of anything else. I hated feeling like that. I hated feeling like I had no control.

"You always tell me that everyone needs someone else in their life at least once, even if it is only to share their feelings for a small measure of time. That was the thing about you that unnerved me the most. The others didn’t care. They didn’t believe I understood emotions or feelings, let alone had them. But not you, no you knew all too well. You saw through me. You understood that I simply refused to show things. Yes, I admit there have been times when I wished for someone who could really understand my pain. But I was afraid. I have lost too much already. So I detached myself from everything.

"I was terrified at the thought of caring again, so I wanted to get rid of the one thing that made me want to care. You, Lucian. So yes, I let myself believe that you were a traitor to give me justification to kill you. I should have known that you were just saying those things because you were under so much torment. You probably couldn’t think straight with all those injuries. I know I acted malicious. I’m not stupid. But I’m so messed up, I thought I could force myself to overlook what had happened to you for the sake of my promise to protect the Keys. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. All I know is that the old logic no longer made sense once I actually saw you. You were...you are...different than the others. You’re special. I didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t want to lose that vibrant thirst for life. I didn’t want to have to be alone anymore. I wanted to have faith in someone again. And for some odd reason, the person I want to believe in is you."

Somewhat startled by this answer, Lucian glanced awkwardly at Dominic and traced the tiny bones on his hand. "You want to believe in me?"

"Why not? It seems the perfect choice. After all, you were my partner," the other boy responded in a matter-of-fact tone as he finished his wrappings.

He saw Lucian twitch as though struck by a sharp twinge of pain as he listened to his words. Lowering his eyes, Lucian spoke with a mocking bitterness. "Yes, just your partner...never your friend, remember?"

Dominic recoiled at the statement, suddenly feeling incredibly lousy and shameful. He did remember uttering this phrase in his many quarrels with the younger boy. Hoping to dispel the steadily increasing heat in his chest, he casually lifted his hand and ruffled the back hairs of his neck.

"Look Lucian, it’s been a long time since anyone’s tried to get close to me. I’m not used to it and I don’t know how to react. It’s long been my experience that those I get close to end up getting hurt. As you can see now, it’s not a false belief. I hate when people get hurt because of me. I didn’t want it to happen to anyone else so I decided to push away everyone who tries to get too close. I didn’t want you to hurt you, though it appears I ended up hurting you even worse by running from you.

"Anyway, when I said those things, I was just angry and confused. I didn’t think I wanted anyone else around me. I was just trying to make you realize that I was a lost cause and that you should just forget about me. I wanted to make you hate me. But I was wrong to say those things and I’m sorry if it hurt you."

His red-haired companion gave him a vivid smile and removed his hand from on top of Dominic’s. "It’s okay Nicky, I forgive you. I know I can be a pain sometimes."

The other boy snorted loudly and shot him a searing look. "Make that most of the time," he corrected him sternly, trying to convert the amusement in his voice into chastisement.

"Hey!" shouted Lucian shoving Dominic roughly from the bed. Dominic glared at him ominously and leaned against the edge as the redhead chuckled playfully. Then the younger boy looked up at the dark-haired youth, a tiny grin still playing across his face. "So that means we are friends, right Nicky?"

"I guess," Dominic muttered, evidently trying hard not to smile himself as he watched the exalted expression grow on Lucian’s face. But as the other boy continued to beam cheerfully at him, Dominic couldn’t help but smirk just a bit. He liked knowing that he had made Lucian happy. Leaning over, he ruffled his friend’s hair good-naturedly, feeling the matted waves tickle his skin. "Yeah Lucian, we’re friends."

"Well, friends are supposed to forgive each other so don’t worry about what happened from now on, it’s okay."

"You should get some more sleep," Dominic suggested, preparing to leave the bed.

"I don’t want to sleep. I can find no rest there. I rarely have," the younger teenager argued in an unobtrusive tone as his eyes became shadowed and dark.

"You’ll be fine. I’ll just go...."

"No...stay..." Lucian strained, no doubt distressed by feeling the need to show such supplicant behavior around another.

"What?"

Lucian sought out his lower arm and yanked Dominic toward him. Then he fell against the older boy and buried his face into his shoulder. "Even if I don’t deserve you, I want you to stay. I don’t deserve to be saved; yet you still helped me. I know I have no right to demand anything else of you, but I can’t help it."

He wasn’t crying but his breathing had changed to a more labored type. Something was wrong. Lucian didn’t talk like this.

"How can you say that you didn’t deserve to be saved?" gasped the dark-haired boy in complete terror. He resisted the urge to wrap an arm around the other and contented himself to stroking his hair in a trance-like fashion. "Why would you say something like that? Why?"

Dominic swallowed in his throat to prevent any more sounds from leaving his mouth. They were beginning to sound dangerously similar to those made when one cried. That wasn’t possible! He didn’t cry. He hadn’t shed a tear since losing Aiden. .

"As you’ve always told me Nicky, I make a lousy Guardian," answered Lucian’s muffled voice. This again? Hadn’t they already covered this back when they had run into Fang? Did Lucian still think he didn’t mean anything? He had to correct this misconception as soon as possible.

"About that, I...."

"Don’t try to take it back now!" the redhead growled, clawing at Dominic’s shirt. "It’s true. It’s not just mean words anymore. It has substance. I mean, I can’t fight, my charge lies to me, I drive other Guardians away, and I even lost my damn amulet! I’m just a screw-up! I should have never been chosen for such a crucial task."

Dominic brought his hand away from Lucian’s hair; hard fingers trickling like rain down the boy’s face. He left them upon Lucian’s cheek and peered at him with unrelenting violet eyes. "I’m out of the loop on most of that, but I do have some insight on two particular facts. You did not drive me away. I left because I was confused. I told you that. I couldn’t figure things out and I don’t know how to deal with stuff like that. So I ran. I can’t help it. It’s what I’ve always done. And as for the amulet...." Swinging his other hand behind his neck, he opened the clasp and let the amulets tumble onto the mattress. He cupped the ruby one in his fist and held it to the side of his companion’s skull. "Would this be it?"

Awkwardly, Lucian pulled back a little from the older boy and blinked his eyes at the jewel of enchanting red sandwiched between his fingers. His mouth fell open and he worked the relic out of Dominic’s hand. Dazed, he held it before his face before closing his pale digits around it as he rolled his eyes back to Dominic. "Wow! Where did you get it?"

"Don’t go praising me just yet. Tashira was the one who found it, I just brought it in case you might need it," cautioned Dominic as his friend worked his way backward, still drinking in the miracle of his amulet.

"Thanks. I don’t care if it wasn’t you who found it. You still wore it all the way here. That’s worth some gratitude," Lucian commended with a facetious wink.

"Whatever."

"If you want me to shut up, just say so."

"Stop that!" the older boy shouted, grabbing his fallen amulet and re-attaching it. He leapt off the bed and stood on the floor, gawking at the other youth.

"Stop what, Nicky?"

Unable to fathom why Lucian was still acting so depressed; Dominic turned from him and faced the wall. It was easier than having to look into his friend’s eyes and see the misty shadows that swept through them. He wasn’t good with the comforting procedures at all. Even with Nadia, he had never had to ease her troubles. It was usually the other way around. People comforted him and he sulked. That was the way it had always been. The thought of him being the one now responsible for soothing another’s misery unnerved him. It was easier not to deal with it at all. Besides, Lucian’s constant plays for sympathy were beginning to get under his skin. Lucian knew that this was not his strong point.

"Stop doing that! Stop acting all passive and melancholy. It’s not like you."

"What? Now I’m not allowed to feel anything?" hissed Lucian, jerking his eyes up from his ruby to glare at Dominic.

Wonderful. Now Lucian was pissed off. Another strike to add to his current average. Why was he so damn bad at stuff like this? In his rush to settle his own uneasiness, he was just making Lucian feel worse. Like that was really something the redhead needed at the moment.

"No! I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that...that you’re always so carefree and vivacious. You have this sort of spirit that effuses everything around you. Seeing you like this, so dejected and lost, it makes me...feel..." the black-haired boy started as he continued to guide his eyes over the wall, taking in each chipped flake of paint and minuscule blemish. He had to keep his back turned. He couldn’t look back. That would make this impossible. The fierce battle that his conscience was waging against his pride was not yet won and it was his pride that insisted that he not cater to his companion’s feelings.

"Feel what? How does it make you feel? I was under the impression that you were accustomed to hiding from such petty emotions."

Fatal blow.

His pride shattered under the mocking assault. Lucian was speaking the truth. He was accustomed to hiding. But what did hiding get him? It didn’t change anything. The same feelings still remained no matter how much he tried to escape them. He could bottle them inside him as much as he desired and the truth would still hold true. Erasing this darkness from Lucian’s psyche was a priority. It was a priority that towered far over his pride. He would just have to accept it.

Dominic drew close enough to the wall to push against it with one hand. He let his head fall to his chest, midnight black hair splaying out across the white expanse of layered paint. "I don’t know. Sad, I guess. It’s weird to see you like this. I know I always yell at you for acting like a reckless fool, but that’s what makes you who you are. It’s what makes you you. What makes you seem so different from everyone else. What makes me want to be around you. I guess I just miss that. I want you to be happy again," he breathed.

"Nicky," the other teenager mouthed as his eyes filled with a deluge of various emotions ranging from confusion to mild delight.

Lucian’s state of mind was clearly given another indiscernible jolt when Dominic gradually turned his head and met his eyes with a grievous sigh. "I know that was dumb to say. Who would want to happy after what you’ve been through? Not only were you hurt by the enemy, you were slighted by your own comrade. By me. And here I am, feeling selfish because I want you to act like your usual self just so I can feel right. I guess I figured that a person like you shouldn’t react to things like everyone else. Not that I don’t think that you can feel things and be hurt. I just see you as above all that. You know, better than it. You are Lucian Ambrose, the boy who embraces danger and waltzes along its edge. I see you as someone who in a way is kind of like what I wish I could be...untouchable. You get the prize without having to face the trials because you can just evade them all." The subdued expression on Lucian’s face made Dominic falter in his explanation. "Look, I’m not used to this sort of situation. I’m sorry. I know that I’m probably sounding as heartless as usual," the older boy mumbled in a flustered tone.

He waited for Lucian to get angry or tear his eyes away from his line of vision, but Lucian did nothing of the sort. The redhead just settled himself so that he was lying on his stomach and rested his eyes on the face of his friend. He gave a quiet laugh as he placed his chin upon his folded arms. Then he shook his head.

"It’s okay. Don’t let it get to you so much. I think I understand what you’re saying. I really do," Lucian replied with a voice that projected timbre that was a bit more familiar.

"I guess I just need you to go back to your old self so I can. I need to know that nothing’s changed. Then everything will fall back into place for me and I can decide what to do now."

"But things have changed."

"Huh?"

The redhead cocked his head to the side and poked at the mattress with his amulet. "Both me and you. We’ve both changed, Nicky. And it’s not just because of what happened a few days ago. It’s everything else too. Everything seems...different."

"I don’t want things to be different," fought Dominic.

"You don’t have to be scared, Nicky."

Eager to defend his pride at this accusation, Dominic whirled around to fully face Lucian. Scared? What the hell was Lucian talking about? He wasn’t scared of something as trivial as change. Perhaps he was a little bothered with the subject since change had rarely led to anything good in his life. Change had always been more of a painful thing like most other things in his existence. But that didn’t mean he was afraid of it.

"I’m not scared!"

"I know," Lucian appeased with a casual drop of his eyes. He raised them again after a minute and continued to clarify his previous statements. "Changes don’t always have to be bad, you know. It can bring good things too. I mean, we’re friends now and that’s different. But I don’t think that makes it bad, do you?"

"I guess," his companion admitted, rubbing at his arm to lessen his heightening anxiety. He didn’t want to consent to these truths. It was too hard. Accepting them now meant that his earlier action of hiding from everything had been pointless. All of this time had been wasted trying to reach an escape that could never be his. Aiden had always preached that the only thing that running away from your problems did was bring you right back to them in the end. No one could be immune forever.

"But I don’t want you to change because of me. Because of something I did. Because I betrayed your trust," argued Dominic in an expression of guilt.

"Too late for that, Nicky. I have changed because of you. But it’s not because you betrayed me. I’ve changed just from knowing you. And you know what? I think that you’ve changed from knowing me," the redhead informed with a sly smile.

"How?"

"Well, you’ve learned that you don’t always have to hide. You don’t have to pretend that you don’t care about anything. You see, Nicky, your problem isn’t that you don’t care. You just care too much...about everything and that overwhelms you. It frightens you so you try to hide it deep inside. But that just makes the feeling worse so you try to push people away so you don’t have to go through it that often."

"You’re good at this, Lucian. Maybe you should consider a career in psychology," joked the other youth as he stopped rubbing his shoulder.

Lucian laughed loudly this time. "See you can have fun like everyone else. You should show this side to people more often."

"It won’t work."

"Oh?" questioned Lucian, raising one eyebrow stealthily.

"I only desire to show it when I’m around you. You seem to have a talent for making others act different when they’re around you," the dark-haired youth declared. Lucian did have a talent for making people act special around him. They always seemed to act more relaxed and free. Lucian could charm just about anyone he associated with. It was just his natural charisma and positive energy. Quite an unusual trait for a boy who had been orphaned his entire life.

"Guess that makes me pretty special."

"Yeah. It does."

At the response, a light blush crept up Lucian’s visage and he tried to hide it by pretending to wipe something by his eye. Dominic wasn’t quite sure why the redhead had reacted like that. The words hadn’t seemed that compelling to him. Well, Lucian was kind of out of sorts today anyway.

After a brief pause, Lucian seemed to have recovered his voice and sought to show his gratitude. "Thanks. For some reason, I just needed that right now."

Thankful that the heat was leaving his face, Lucian sat back on one leg and considered his companion’s nonchalant reply. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from going a bit red as Dominic had admitted that he thought that he was special. Maybe Nadia had been right back at the store. Dominic had given him something that was very special to him. It could be a sign that Dominic saw him as something special just the same. He had no intention to let the thought become the center of his whole being right now, but it was fun to dream about. Lucian had often had his affairs but none of them had ever felt like this. It wasn’t even about conquest anymore. The game be damned; he just wanted Dominic.

But he knew Dominic would never stay. Something was permanently wedged between Dominic and companionship. Nadia had given him his first clues. She had said that his father had been abusive to the youth and Lucian guessed that the notion of the man being physically abusive wasn’t such a long shot. But abuse itself didn’t turn people from each other. There had to be something else. Dominic was actually terrified of any sort of bond with another. Violence alone couldn’t explain such a mental scenario.

"How is your leg feeling?" pressed Dominic, keen on freeing him from his pondering.

Giving it a hearty pat, Lucian replied, "A little better, but I think it’s still swollen."

"Sitting on the other one sure isn’t going to help," spat the other, eyes focused on the way Lucian was resting his body weight on the uninjured limb.

"Looks like you’re back to your old self again. I guess that’s a good thing. All that sap you were showing was sure to give me a heart attack in my delicate condition," the redhead said, feigning a joking tone even though he was a bit bitter at Dominic’s censure.

"Delicate condition my ass! You’re so full of it."

"Nicky!" hissed the younger boy, red eyes narrowing at the insult.

"Lucian!" Dominic retorted in the same manner, skillfully mocking Lucian’s vexation.

"You are an insensitive ass!" groaned Lucian with a snort. He turned his head from the dark-haired boy in a haughty jerk. After a moment, he allowed his eyes to wander back to Dominic. "So how long did Laurie or whatever say I should go easy on my leg?"

"Her name is Lorelei."

"Alright, alright. Lorelei. How long?"

Dominic walked to the front of the bed and curled his fingers around the wooden base. "How would I know? I’m just an insensitive ass," he sneered though Lucian could tell he was just goading him to get back at him for mocking Lorelei.

"Ass or not, you were awake when she was in here. I wasn’t. So spill," urged the younger youth.

"She didn’t say. All she said was that you needed a brace."

"A brace!"

"And you call me a spaz," Dominic jeered. "You’re forgetting that Tashira can probably have you on your feet pretty soon. I haven’t told Lorelei about your healing gift yet."

"That’s right!" exclaimed the other teenager, jerking upright far too quickly. He managed to swallow the squeal of pain, but the look in Dominic’s eyes told him that he knew what had happened.

If Dominic weren't such a damned good observer, he’d never have to worry about being caught. Unfortunately, Dominic seemed to have chosen him for his object of constant surveillance today. Every move he made was probably being catalogued and studied inside the enigmatic mind of his companion. Well, he supposed it was enormously better than having Dominic ignore him completely. He should have expected this behavior from the older boy. Dominic was ruled by extremes. If he were uninterested, then he wouldn’t acknowledge one’s presence in the least and if he were interested, then he would trace every breath with his eyes. Lucian tried to coerce himself into looking on the bright side. At least, he was the only thing on Dominic’s mind right now. Why look down on such a rare treat?

"Don’t overdo it. Lorelei is probably pretty tired after working with you for so long and I doubt that she wants to have to rewrap all those bandages. Neither do I."

"Yes, Nicky," Lucian sighed as his previous reverie cracked inside his mind. This was not what he wanted. A tender Dominic was nice but a fatherly one was just plain annoying. Though he loved being cared for, he had never looked highly on being taken care of. He saw it as a challenge to his personal authority.

"I sort of wish there was something I could do to make you feel better since it is partially my fault that you got hurt," the older youth whispered, his mild voice shocking Lucian.

In his bewilderment, an irresistible idea took hold of his normal sanity. "Well, I always heard a kiss makes everything all better," chuckled Lucian, batting his eyes at Dominic in an artificial expression of seduction. Dominic glared at him in pure fury as Lucian cringed and backed up as fast as he could, slamming his back against the headrest. "Kidding, kidding! Can’t you take a joke, Nicky?"

"I don’t know. Let’s see," Dominic replied cryptically as he strode to the side of the bed and reached over to the other boy, cupping Lucian’s chin in his hand. He pulled himself closer to the younger boy and stared at him with feral violet eyes.

"Nicky, what are...Ah!"

Dominic closed his mouth over the younger youth’s with a surprising ferocity, pushing Lucian’s head backward so hard that it hurt. Lucian’s eyes fluttered with shock, but he didn’t push the older boy away as Dominic clutched the back of his hair, tangling his fingers deep into the crimson mass. Dominic continued to remain in that position for almost a minute, and then pulled away with a devilish look in his wild eyes. It was then that Lucian realized that he had been too stunned to respond to the action. Damn!

"What the hell!" Lucian yelped, too flabbergasted to think of a phrase that could better cover his feeling. Was the other youth actually showing some genuine interest in him? No way! And he had gone and blown his opportunity with his ignorance. But what had possessed Dominic to do that just now? His mind swirled with delicious possibilities.

Seconds later, all those enticing thoughts came crashing down as Dominic gave him a sinister smile and stood up, trailing his hand through the back of Lucian’s hair. "Now look who can’t take a joke?"

The redhead’s eyes widened and he violently shoved Dominic away, a rush of heat making him feel extremely uncomfortable. "You stupid bastard!" The cruel words trickled from his mouth in a harsh laugh, masking the true emotion that lay behind them. So Dominic was just playing with him. Why was he shocked? He had always messed with the older boy’s head. Yet somehow it had seemed to hurt a lot more when Dominic did it to him just now.

Still, one couldn’t fake a kiss like that. Such fervor and hunger had to be real. Maybe Dominic was just looking for a way out. He was still scared. Lucian decided he could live with that...for the moment.

"Perfect! You leaned all over me with that dirty shirt. I don’t want all that blood on me. I’ve had enough of that for one day," Lucian bewailed in attempt to shift the current mood in the room. He couldn’t delve deeper into what had just happened just now. Dominic would just get riled and storm off. For now, he would just have to react to it as he reacted to any of Dominic’s retorts. That meant the use of snippy comebacks.

"I get another shirt later."

"Seriously. You look like you’re a serial killer."

His friend’s eyes flew to the sides and he lifted his head in direction of the door. "I...I want to take a...walk,’ the dark-haired youth stammered in a voice that was clearly wounded.

Huh? What was wrong with Dominic? Couldn’t he tell that he was joking? Why was he taking this so seriously? He looked winded and refused to bring his eyes to the other boy anymore.

"Nicky, if I said anything, I..." the words sped from Lucian’s mouth in a frantic attempt to keep Dominic from leaving.

"I’m not feeling good and you need rest. I should leave."

Dread rose in Lucian as he watched Dominic grip the door handle. Dominic was leaving him again. No! He couldn’t let him, not ever again. "Wait Nicky!" he screamed, remembering how futile the words had been not too long ago. Dominic stopped and hung his head as if interested in hearing what he had to say. Lucian forced his voice back into a normal tone, pushing away the fear and sickness that yearned to tighten it. "You are coming back this time, right?"

"Of course, I have to get you back to Tashira. She’s probably having a coronary by now," answered Dominic in a low tone.

"Yeah, she probably thinks you killed me. But after we go home, will you stay?"

"I don’t know yet. Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. I’m not up to this conversation right now."

"Nicky, I don’t want to lose you again. I need...."

"You don’t need to worry about this now. Go back to sleep. We can talk later," the older boy advised, turning the knob back and forth but not opening it just yet.

"Promise? Last time I went to sleep under your orders, you were gone when I woke up," recalled Lucian, eyes misting at the horrid memory.

"I promise that we’ll talk later. Okay? Now do as I say. Go back to sleep. I’ll see if I can find something else to wear before I leave the house."

The image of Dominic wearing one of this Lorelei’s shirts was just to funny to ignore. "Good idea. I’m sure you’ll look splendid in frills," he gibed, set on turning Dominic away from his unexpected sadness.

"Remind me again why I saved you."

Was he good or what? He knew Dominic would never turn his back on such a jest. Happy with the way, the new conversation was going; he prepared his jaunty response. "Cause I’m oh-so special, remember?"

"Yeah? Well, your special self had better be asleep within the next five minutes. I’ll return here when we’re ready to go back to your sister," the other warned, throwing the door open roughly.

"Hey Nick."

"What is it now?" growled Dominic, tapping his foot in indignation against the floor.

"How are we going to get home?" questioned the younger teenager, realizing that the query had never shown up into his mind until just a few seconds ago. Was this Lorelei going to take them? He looked forward to meeting her before they left. Anyone who knew Dominic was welcome company with him. Perhaps, he could talk her into telling him something else about his jaded friend.

"You’ll see."

"Why Nicky, are we trying to be coy?"

Dominic muttered a stream of profanity under his breath as he charged out the door and slammed it behind him. "Go! To! Sleep!"

"You didn’t say goodbye," Lucian informed him from behind the door.

"Fine! See you later, Lucian."

"Thanks Nicky," the redhead called out to the departing footsteps of his companion.

He lay back against his pillow and ran his hands through his dirty hair, remembering how it had felt when Dominic had clawed at the red strands with his hungry fingers. How ironic it was that after all his years of wooing others with flattery and kind gestures that Dominic was able to make him swoon by acting like a savage beast. Lucian Ambrose, the sensual romantic, content to bow to the whims of one who ran from the slightest thought of intimacy. It was too funny for words.

As his fingers worked their way down the length of his mane, they tangled in the silver chain around his neck. He pulled them free and withdrew the ring from his new shirt. For a moment, his fingers itched to wrap around it and hold it close to him, as he had grown used to doing by now. Then, he reminded himself that there was still the chance that Dominic might stay with him. He didn’t need an inanimate object for comfort when he could just seek out the actual owner. Content for now, he folded his hands behind his head and began to shut his eyes. Before closing them all the way, he let them roam around the walls.

Within seconds, he found that it had begun to become hard for him to hold them open. He was still very tired. It must have been all those painkillers that he had probably been given. His injuries had called for such treatment. A yawn captured his throat as his eyes dimmed upon the painting that Dominic had been studying before he left. It was of a black wolf that resembled Dominic greatly except that where there were usually a pair of cold violet eyes, there were lively forest green ones. He had seen those eyes before long ago. They had belonged to the one who had had the pleasure of calling him son.

"Aiden?" he breathed as he let sleep take him once more.

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