You're My Life Now
Ok so here is the 5th and final chapter to my series. I know, I took for-friggin-ever to come out with it :( i could make up a lot of excuses like school, work, surgery, but the truth is there were plenty of times i could have just sat down and finished this damn thing. So i am truely sorry to everyone i kept waiting :( i wuold totally understand if you wanna lynch me.
Anyways this is it! there are some other stories i might do; i have a lot of ideas, its just finding the time and inspiration to actually do them. and i promised my boyfriend that i would write one for him, so ill try to get that one done soon, but who knows with me O_O.
One person i WOULD like to dedicate this to is my friend Ephemeral Dreams. He isnt really talking to me as of late, but i promised him this story a long time ago, and im keeping my word. this one is for him.
So enjoy everyone! as always, i luuuuuuuuv constructive comments more than anything else. there isnt any smexy stuff in here, so im sure i wont get many faves or anything, but meh. i wanted to finish the series anyways. does contain gayness, so quit your bitching; if you didnt like dick you wouldnt be on this site.
"NOO!!" Chris slammed a monitor with a clenched paw, flinging shards of glass into the air, as his best and only friend fell to his knees with a sword hilt-deep in his lower stomach. "GODDAMIT Nate!"
Chris couldn't believe it, but he was actually pissed. How could Nate, the prodigy assassin, the pride of the Art Institute, be done in by his own sword? He got too careless, Chris thought as he bared his fangs. Obsession equated to perfection. That's one of the first things we were taught. You should have read his fucking dossier!
The Byakko held himself against the wall of monitors and let his head hang between his arms.
I'm going to have to tell his parents, Chris thought blankly.
His body thoroughly drained of emotion, he pulled the second emp...E.M.P. he mentally corrected himself... from his pocket. Chris quietly placed it on the console in front of the monitors. After twisting the dial to 30 seconds, he pressed the button and walked away, careful to step over the numerous pools of red.
Everything was fading to gray. Not that everything had been particularly bright in the first place, but now the pain was cloaking everything. My sight was being focused into a narrow, fuzzy tunnel.
I could see Faire's receding yellow paws pad away as I lay on the floor.
The pain started to gradually numb, but my vision still became smaller and smaller. I could feel something warm and wet spreading under me, even coming up to soak the side of my face.
So much blood, I thought and tried to lift my head out of it, but the sword in my stomach convinced me otherwise. Too much...Of all the names dripping from my blades, it was a surprising little twist that Nathan Rain should be added among their ranks.
I felt with my left hand blindly around my stomach. I knew I had found the blade when another lance of agony scorched my core. Brandon again surfaced among the grey ocean that engulfed my mind. My eyes started to sting and water when I thought of how he would feel when I didn't show up tonight. He might come to my house, and even then I wouldn't be there for him. God, any god available, I would give anything just to be there for him. I still needed to tell Brandon I love him....
I gripped the handle of the wakizashi. Warmth began to seep out of my limbs. I groaned. I wanted it back.
Igniting the family talent in my blood, I brought forth the essence of fire lying in my genes. The heat stopped ebbing away, and gradually started to return. Ahhh everything was so nice and warm now. The heat was relaxing and relieving.
I tightened the grip on the sword.
The warmth was so nice...
Warmth........heat...
Heat!
Javier Faire was quite literally skipping as he rounded the corner of the single wall that divided his level into his office and his bedroom. The ornate design of the office flowed flawlessly into his private living area. Tree-like lights sprouted down from the ceiling, each branch tip emanating a soft, gold beam of its own. The walls were painted a very rustic red with gilded trim, giving the room a warm and positive feng shui.
The Hypno padded over the plush carpet to the king size bed that dominated the back of the suite. When he reached the edge of the gold and white comforter, he stumbled and caught himself of the corner post of the bed. He breathed shakily as his legs wobbled a bit beneath him. The hypnosis technique took quite a bit out of him, far more than he expected. Either Faire hadn't had enough practice using it for a while, or the assassin required a ridiculous amount of power to restrain. Both seemed plausible.
As Javier eased himself into the lavish bedding, he let out a sigh. Today had been quite the day. He rolled himself to the center of the bed, not even bothering to take off the suit, and rested his yellow furry head into the soft comfort of the biggest pillow on the bed. After placing his newly won prize, the white sword the assassin was carrying, on the lush bedding next to him, he closed his eyes. Now it was time to sleep.
Then there was a soft hum as the lights flickered and dimmed.
At once, Faire's eyes shot open and his heart skipped a beat. No, he thought, the assassin is dead. This can't be happening. Then he recalled the Flamedramon's words: he had been training a partner, hadn't he?
The Pokémon's eyes strained against the darkness that enveloped the room. He sat up in his bed, his sight squinted and waited for even the tiniest movement, his ears standing straight up and listening for any sound other than silence.
From the corner of his eye he saw movement. He whipped his head around to see a dull-red glowing wand dancing slowly in the air, the only light against the sea of darkness, though not bright enough to illuminate anything else. It stopped about twenty feet away. Javier swallowed.
There was a blur, and something slammed into the left side of Javier's chest, pinning him to the oak headboard of the bed.
He looked down to see the red nimbus protruding from his breast. He couldn't breath. The red glow sizzled and brightened, shedding light onto the Flamedramon crouched over him. Javier shuddered as he saw the Digimon's livid eyes staring back, one side of his face wet with a dark liquid, reflecting the red light the sword was giving off.
Faire gasped for breath as the sword seared and burned through him, getting hotter.
The Flamedramon coughed violently, spilling droplets of blood onto the pristine bed cover, then snarled, "You really shouldn't underestimate me." He wrenched the blade to the left, the blistering hot metal parting organs like butter with a wet 'sultch' sound.
Javier Faire was dead before his head fell back to the headboard.
Nathan remained crouched over the motionless figure for a moment, then another fit of coughing racked his frame. He looked down to his wound at his stomach.
The skin was charred and black at the point of penetration. Nathan grimaced at the sight and climbed slowly off of the bed, trying not to cause more pain. As he planted himself carefully on the ground, he took a few breaths, each one agonizing, but hey, at least they were breaths right?
He grabbed the hilt of his sword and, with a sharp jerk, yanked it out of the headboard and CEO. In the low light he had spotted his other blade lying on the bed next to Faire. Once he grabbed that he stumbled back to the first room.
Jeez, he thought, I suppose I should find a janitor's closet...
Brandon rested his chin on his white and clawed hand, while the TV speakers spat out the rattle of gunfire. No amount of self control could have contained the heavy sigh.
Suddenly, the noise from the TV quieted mid-explosion and brought the Windragon's attention away from the frosted window and snowy night. Brandon looked at the TV, which showed the Halo 3 lobby screen, then to his Riolu brother. Who was staring at him.
"Que pasa, Skylar?" Brandon asked. The deceivingly small Pokémon rolled his dark red eyes and motioned to the screen with a dark furred paw.
"You respawned, like, 63 seconds ago and you're still zoning out at the window. What's wrong?" His intelligent eyes drilled through the much bigger anthro. "And don't try to lie and say 'nothing'. Even without empathy, you can lie as well as you can swim."
Brandon smirked at the old memory of himself flailing in the water and complaining about wet feathers. Having a brother who's Pokémon ability to perceive auras had its pro's and con's. Trying to find a friend while playing hide and go seek: pro. Attempting to throw a surprise birthday party for him: con. Having a scrape or cut that needed some quick attention: pro. Struggling to hide an incredible amount of disappointment and worry from him: con.
Brandon decided to not beat around the bush. "Nathan said this morning that he would to sneak out to come see me tonight," he looked at the clock for the third time in the same minute, "but it's 3:30...I don't think he's coming. I just keep thinking he got into a fight with his parents or something like that," he looked back at his adoptive brother, "You know?..."
Brandon's sentence was cut short when he saw Skylar's face. The black eyebrows on his small face formed a V as he frowned. "What the hell is...." He murmered, then his face lightened. "Oh..." back to frown, "OH."
"Uhhhhhh....Skylar?" Brandon asked in bewilderment.
The Riolu uncurled from his crisscross position on the floor. "It would be helpful if you opened the window I think..." he said as grabbed some blankets from under his bed and threw them to the ground under the window. While Skylar went tail-deep under the bed scrounging for more blankets, Brandon stood up and unlatched the window, sliding it to the left.
He scanned the calm, white, suburban landscape......FLASH-BAM! Something big smacked into edge of the window and Brandon fell back with a loud yelp! He stumbled away from the window, his heart pounding furiously in his chest, and looked back up to see a figure in the window.
At first Brandon couldn't tell who it was. The majority of him was clothed in black that stood out oddly against the white snow behind him. His face was half red, half blue and white. After a few seconds Brandon could finally discern the familiar features of his favorite Flamedramon from the outline.
"N....Nathan?" The form pushed his lower half through the window, then the rest kinda fell in after him, landing with a dull thump even on the mound of blankets. Brandon giggled. "Well aren't you just Mr. Ninja, all dressed in black?" He got up and walked over to Nathan.
Then his foot froze, almost in mid-step, when Brandon saw the red stains that the Flamedramon left on the blankets when he rolled over to lay face-up. One side of his face was bathed red, some of it crusted on, some looking fresh. The black clothes he wore were completely soaked and clinging to his body in a big spot around his stomach, not to mention numerous scrapes covering all other parts of him. He held two really short swords in one hand, one black and one bright silver. The black one was dripping.
Brandon just stared. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. Even his heart was painfully still in his chest. Nathan lifted his head, wincing as he did so, and looked at the Legendz through worried, red eyes. Brandon shivered again as he remembered his dream from the last night.
Skylar bumped his shoulder as he went to Nathan's side, the family medicine kit in his paws. He hadn't even noticed he had left the room. But his bump was enough to jumpstart life back into Brandon's limbs.
"Nathan...Oh my god, Nathan what happened?" His voice broke and seized in his throat. He fell to his knees by the Flamedramon, his eyes scanning all over the blood-soaked body. Brandon saw what looked like black ashy stuff near his stomach...did he burn his shirt? He wanted to look closer... But the blood....
Nathan's eyes lidded a bit and looked away from him, wandered around the room, and his head bobbed slightly. "Welllll... If you checked out the news channel, we might be in time to...check the breaking newssss." His words were slurred and hesitant, almost as if he were drunk.
Brandon's body still rejected any commands, so Skylar grabbed the remote and flicked it over to the news, his ears perking. Brandon looked at his little brother. How can he be so freaken calm?! He shook his head and looked back to Nathan.
"How hurt are you? Do we need to get you to a hospital? Is all this your blood?" Brandon quieted at the lift of Nathan's hand.
Nathan closed his eyes for a panic-filled second, then shook his head. "No hospital," he muttered, then pointed to the TV. "I think you're brother can help me."
"What? What do you mean? If you're hurt bad, we need to get-" but he stopped again as Nathan pointed once more to the TV.
I tore my gaze away from him and looked at the television in annoyance. What could be so important...
There was a light green dragoness, wrapped up in a snowsuit, standing outside of a building, the night still frosting the landscape with snow. But behind her was the crisscrossing of crime scene tape and behind the tape fence what looked like tens of police agents working in the area around the building, some going in and out of the door.
"-has now been confirmed that this was an extremely professional hit job." The reporter, even with what might have been years of keeping emotions in check, and acting for her job, looked wide-eyed and almost horrified. "There is almost no doubt that this has been tied in with the other murders at the SkyTech building in Seattle not two nights ago, though the expected death toll at these headquarters here in Bellingham are almost double Seattle's." She paused to take a breath. "There...really isn't any place to start. Almost the whole police task force and forensics are here at the scene. Sheriff Morgan is busy, but we have arranged to get a statement from Captain Ericson, the head of the Pierce County Police force. Captain?"
The camera panned out slightly to include a Griffon, dressed in full uniform. His training was evidently better than the reporter's, as his face serious, but absolutely professional and kept under control.
He spoke gruffly, "Thank you Vivian. I have just received the primary reports from our task force. We have accounts of two assailants entering the premise from the east fence. SkyTech's security team has stated that guards were dispatched as soon as the perimeter alarm sounded, but the culprits somehow managed to kill or render all 23 unconscious."
The dragoness reporter interrupted, "Excuse me, did you say that some were only knocked out? That doesn't fit the MO for the other cases does it?"
The Captain shook his head. "No, it does not," Ericson said, "perhaps one of the two were incompetent; we don't know for certain at this time. We do know that both of the culprits used blades, nothing else. No bullet casings can be found that match anything other than what the guards were using."
"Will this make the murderers more difficult to find?" the reporter asked.
"Sadly, yes. Bullets can be tracked. Blades, while certain patterns can be identified, are almost impossible to track. Even the use of a family power, such as use of ice, or whatnot, would have helped. But unfortunately, all deaths are results of fatal stab wounds or blood loss."
The reporter struggled to keep a proper composure and asked with a shaky voice, "Is there any evidence at all that can be used to track down these killers?"
Captain Ericson cracked a careful and controlled smirk. "Actually, there might be the breakthrough this case needs. Up in the private office of SkyTech CEO Javier Faire, who was one of the intended targets and mournfully murdered, there what seems to be a rather large spot of what used to be blood. Now, this isn't near any of the bodies of the victims, and with Javier Faire being a Hypno of species, or forensics team is speculating that Javier was able hypnotize and wound his attacker."
The reporter's actually sighed in relief, but Brandon.....Brandon looked sideways at Nathan. The blood on his body....the swords in his hands...
"That's amazing...but didn't you say that Javier was killed?"
"Yes. We assume that that the second killer came in after the first, finished the job, and proceeded to clean up the mess the first left, including removing his body and cleaning up the blood. The area is drenched with bleach, but this still looks to be our best chance to find a stray piece of DNA and catch these killers." The Griffon grinned confidently. "This will be the opportunity to track them down. There is no way they eliminated all DNA evidence. I vow to the people that my task force will track these killers down and make the streets of this state safe again, and mete justice to those who are in need of it."
"Thank you Captain Ericson. It is an enormous relief to know that these murder's will be brought in. In the meantime, much mourning and grief will go out to the victims' families. With this nightmare hopefully over, the body count has almost reached seventy. The reconstruction of Parkfield Way has no doubt been halted completely. There is speculation that the Royal and Federal Investigative Services will be joining the task force, and their wide resources would almost absolutely bring this case to a close. News on the Bellingham murders will be updated every 10 minutes. The police have not issued a curfew, as this is expected to only target SkyTech, but we still strongly recommend that everyone stay inside if possible until this case is rectified. This is Vivian Alexandri reporting from Kira 3 News."
The camera switched back to the news anchors, who were sharing some shocked words about the crime, but for the past few minutes Brandon had been looking at Nathan. He wasn't able to look back at his love. The Digimon was watching Skylar with rapt attention as the Riolu collected a pool of aura in his paws and swept them over the charred area of Nathan's abdomen.
"That........That was you?" Brandon whispered, almost too low to hear.
Nathan looked up and Brandon, then at meeting his gaze looked back down.
"Yeah...Me and Chris." Brandon paused then shook his head. This can't be real. My boyfriend is not...
"So you....kill....people?"
Nathan winced. It was true, but why did it hurt so much? "Uh huh. It's kind of a family business."
Brandon took a step back, away from Nathan's side. Nathan saw and it set a pain in his stomach so deep, it almost bested the tangible hole there.
For what seemed like minutes on end, no one said a word. Skylar worked on Nathan, seemingly unaffected by all that was going on around him. He had set numerous medical supplies in orderly rows next to his right knee, but he was still focusing on pouring his aura into Nathan's main wound.
Brandon was finally able to find the courage to ask. "On the news, it said that some of them were just being knocked out. Was that you?"
Nathan looked almost hopeful for a second. "Yeah it was. I couldn't kill any of those guards..." but then he realized the next question he had just set up.
"But you have before, haven't you?" Brandon asked, his voice raising a bit from the whisper it had been. "How many?
Nathan closed his eyes. "3...maybe 4-"
Brandon breathed a small sigh of relief and closed his eyes. "Ok, that's better than what I thought..." but when he opened his eyes, Nathan's face was even more pained than before and he was looking down at his feet.
"Dozen."
".......Oh."
More silence ruled the air.
"I'm so sorry Brandon." Nathans voice cracked and when Brandon looked at him again his eyes were squeezed shut. "I wanted to tell you....but I didn't want to....I knew you would leave." He took several heavy breaths, trying to keep his voice under control. "I didn't want you to go..."
But Brandon wasn't going to listen to any more. He stood up quietly and walked to the window. Both Nathan and Skylar watched him as he hopped up onto the sill and eased himself out of the other side. The rest was blocked from Nathan's view, but he heard a few quick steps then the unmistakable flapping of Brandon taking off into flight.
Nathan squeezed his eyes shut again and let his head fall back against the blankets, a whole new pain tearing him in half from the inside. I knew this would happen...GOD I'm such an idiot. I should never have dated him and dragged him into all this. Who would love a killer? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I AM. Just a friggin killer. And someone like me isn't supposed to be happy or be able to love. No one would love a monster. So why does this hurt so bad-
"Would you shuddup with that?"
Nathan's eyes popped open and he looked at the small Riolu tending to his wound. Skylar peeked through one eye at him.
"Stop thinking like that."
"You can hear me?" Nathan had read about Riolus and Lucarios in his biology research. They could sense aura and use it, but they shouldn't be able to read minds.
"Well it's not really telepathy, but I can tell what's on your mind. And you're thinking so strongly I can practically make out the words, and its giving me a bellyache, so if you don't mind."
Nathan closed his eyes. "Sorry." He shifted a bit, then was surprised that the pain in his stomach had dulled to a small storm instead of the raging thunder it had been. He peeked down and was shocked to see some of the charred area around the stab wound was beginning to fade. "How are you doing that?" he asked in awe, temporarily forgetting about his anguish with Brandon.
"It's a trick I leaned by myself," Skylar said, not bothering much to hide the pride in his voice. "I can use my aura and sync it with yours. It'll show me a lot about your body, including injuries. From there I can mix my aura with yours and use it to speed up your body's natural cell regeneration. Smart move cauterizing the stab wound by the way. The blade missed a lot of organs, but you still clipped a vessel, and you would have bled out quick if you hadn't burned it shut. What are all these scrapes though?"
"I fell down a lot on the way here." Nathan could only regard the Pokémon in admiration. "You know Flamedramon anatomy? Brandon wasn't joking; you really are a medical prodigy." But at the mention of Brandon, all his heartache came rushing back. "Brandon....He's going to leave me isn't he?"
Nathan wasn't really expecting an answer, but Skylar replied, "I wouldn't be so sure. When he left, his feelings were confused, but not angry. He just needs to think."
"Yeah, but still..." Nathan looked at the Riolu. "Why are you helping me by the way? I'm a killer. You could turn me in." He would have gone on, but Skylar just snorted.
"I'm not going to turn you in. And I don't really mind about the killing. Some people should die, others are meant to die. Destiny is a hard thing to escape. And I'm helping you because...you've made Brandon happy."
Nathan smiled for a brief second. "I have?"
"Oh, believe me, I would know. Even my mom and aunt have noticed that he's been happier lately. He had dated a guy once back in Pierce before we moved, but it was nothing compared to how he is now.
"So that's reason enough to keep you alive."
"You aren't going to tell anyone?"
"There's nothing really to be gained from it."
Brandon shivered and soared closer to the highway, hoping for some afternoon thermals to still be coming off of the blacktop. Flying through the night air, hundreds of feet from the ground, dancing with the falling snowflakes that fell towards the earth below him.
Any other night, he would have felt the amazing sensation of peace and pure life coursing through his veins. That feeling almost never failed to accompany the experience of flying. But tonight it did nothing to calm his thoughts, nothing to quell the turmoil that raged in his stomach and mind.
_ Does he really want me? He came over because he couldn't go to the hospital and he knew that Skylar had medical skills. Or did he? What if he doesn't want me? What if he does? Do I want him? He's killed. LOTS. It's not something that can really be overlooked.
But hasn't he me made me happy?
Just this morning, I was loving this man of my dreams. But what was I loving? A killing monster? Can someone who kills and feels no remorse really feel love? Maybe that's why he hasn't been able to say it back. Maybe he is just incapable of it. Was he just using me for sex?_
But that thought was faaaar too painful, and Brandon instantly pushed it out of his thoughts. No, it can't be. His thoughts drifted back to the memories he had with Nathan, memories that he had treasured so much lately.
Sitting with him at the movies after months of crushing on him. Being invited back to his house to play video games. Sitting on his bed as Brandon finally admitted his love for the Flamedramon, and the pure, undiluted joy of hearing that he had always had a crush on him.
Their first night together. Him saving Brandon from bullies. Showering together. Chopping veggies with Nathan hugging him from behind, his hands guiding the knives.
Was that all an act? Obviously his family had put on an act, even Chris. No wonder they were so comfortable with each other. They were partners in crime. But I can't believe Nathan was acting all that.
Brandon hadn't even noticed, but when he looked down again, he found himself flying over the large park that stretched down the river side. There were so many romantic spots, Brandon had planned to take Nathan there someday and go on a walk through the trees, holding hands, keeping each other warm in the winter cold.
Brandon flew over it for a while, but soon the thoughts of his plans for what he had wanted to do with Nathan started to sicken him.
He was just about to turn around and fly somewhere else, anywhere else, when he heard the faint melodies of a song far below. He looked down and saw a shirtless snow leopard lying under the shelter of a tree, staring up at the night sky with his hands behind his head. There was a small portable stereo next to his head. Brandon's sharp eyes could see that the snow leopard was watching him and smiling.
Brandon dipped down a bit lower and the wind caught the tune just right, bringing the song to Brandon's ears...
Nathan was staring at the ceiling of Brandon's room. He noted that his room was a lot smaller than Nathan's, but somehow it was warmer. There was no explaining it. There was only a bed in one corner and a small desk with a TV and Xbox on it in the room. Not to mention that it had Brandon's scent everywhere.
Nathan was still lying on the blankets beside the bed. The Riolu had amazingly healed the entire stab wound. It had taken almost an hour, and it was still sore when he moved it, but Skylar had assured him that there was no internal bleeding. The Pokémon was now focused on healing the minor scrapes that covered Nathan. He had protested at first, but the little brother was as stubborn as he was skilled in medicine.
Skylar was in the middle of healing a particularly big scrape on his knee, when he paused and looked up from his work.
Nathan took instant notice. "Is he back?" he asked eagerly. Skylar nodded just as Brandon's snow-covered head poked through the window. Nathan perked up, hope blossoming in his heart, but then fell back onto his elbows when he noticed that the Windragon still wasn't meeting Nathan's gaze. He was just leaning on the window will, looking straight ahead with tired eyes.
"Are you up for a walk?" Brandon asked simply.
Nathan glanced at Skylar, who nodded and quickly splashed some rubbing alcohol on the big scrape. Nathan yelped in surprise and glared at him. Skylar took no notice and said, "You're fine to walk, but don't get that re-infected. I just cleaned it."
Nathan nodded. "Thanks...for everything. I'll make it up to you someday." He got to his feet and untangled his tail from the blankets. Skylar stood up with him.
"Oh, I know you will," he replied with a wry smirk.
Brandon backed away from the window and started walking away, snow crunching under his paws. Nathan hurried and climbed stiffly through the window, then jogged a bit to catch up with Brandon. He didn't quite step up to his side. He decided to stay a bit behind Brandon.
The winter's cold bit into his flesh, the blood soaked garments clinging to his body. He almost wished he hadn't given his tac jacket to Chris. But after a low, constant application of family energy, the cold became nothing more than a thrilling chill on his face, arms and tail.
The two of them crunched through the snow for a few minutes, neither one of them ever speaking a word. Snow continued to plummet from the nightly heavens, and the streets of the suburbs, which were lit only by the periodical street lamp. Everything was gratefully quiet, even the cars from the main street couldn't be heard.
Nathan's muscles protested slightly as he dredged through the snow, which was maybe 3 inches now, but that was far from the forefront of his mind. His eyes were fixed on Brandon's back the entire time.
After maybe 5 minutes of walking, they came to the neighborhood's small park. It wasn't very large; just a slide, some monkey bars, a climbing toy and a red plastic sailboat just big enough for kids to climb in and enter the lives of pirates on a pillaging voyage through the vast ocean of beauty bark. Brandon walked over to the benches around the outskirts of the park area, where moms usually watch their kids from. He swept the snow off of it sat down on one end, clearly leaving enough room for Nathan. But he hesitated. Then sat. It would have been awkward not to.
They both sat in the quiet night, looking at the empty play toys. There was about a foot between the two, but none of them made a move to close the distance and comfort the other. Nathan peeked over and saw Brandon's hand resting on his leg, but he quickly suppressed the urge to take Brandon's hand in his own. _He wouldn't want to hold hands with a monste_r.
"So," Brandon was the one to shatter the silence of the snowy night. "I've been thinking." He gave a short laugh that had absolutely no humor in it, and looked up to the sky. "I don't know what to think. About the killings. But I figured it isn't your fault you were born into that life. Did you even have a choice in the matter of becoming....what you are?"
Nathan shook his head solemnly. "No. I didn't. I began training when I was 10 years old."
Brandon let out a bit of a breath. So he's not a killer by choice. He isn't one of those psychos who get off at ending someone's life. "Ok. Well...I can't deny my feelings for you. You've made me happier than I could have imagined. Happier than I've been in a very long time. So I need to know exactly how you feel about me. Was any of...that...just acting? I know you've lied a few times concerning your family and what you do at night, but did you ever lie about any other stuff?"
Nathan held his breath. The fact that Brandon had just said that he still had feelings for him threw Nathan into shock.
"Brandon," Nathan spoke softly, "what I'm about to say couldn't be more truthful. Earlier tonight I was hypnotized to stab myself straight through my stomach."
Brandon's breath caught, but he didn't interrupt.
Nathan continued, "I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I knew I was going to die, but my family is trained to be prepared for this. People die. It happens. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later, but it's only the electricity running from your brain to your heart stopping. We are trained to not care, even if we are the ones dying. I shouldn't have cared." He took a breath. "But I did. I couldn't stop thinking of you, and how you would feel when you found out who I was and that I had died.
"So for the first time in my life, I wanted to stay alive. I fought against the gray that wanted to take over everything." Nathan steeled his nerves and put his hand and Brandon's. He flinched slightly, but made no move to pull away
"Brandon, do you know what that means?...It means you're what I want to live for. Life is worth living because of you. You are my life now.
Nathan took a breath. "I love you."
Brandon grinned shakily and turned towards Nathan, biting back tears collecting in his eyes.
"I love you too."
Nathan's heart swelled inside him. All the walls he had thrown up around his emotional defenses fell. All the restraints placed because he thought he would have to leave Brandon in two months crumbled. All the bonds holding him back because he believed Brandon would shun him if he ever found out about what he was, broke.
Brandon understood and accepted him completely.
Nathan's own eyes started to well up. They both leaned in and as their lips met, love flowed from both of them, completely unrestricted, without a trace of reserve. Every doubt, every fear, every possible worry flowed into nothingness as Brandon pulled Nathan close and they embraced each other as they shared a true lover's kiss. Even the mixture of salty tears was the taste of undiluted love.
After several minutes chuckled and had to pull back slightly. "What was it exactly that made you not care about what I am?" He knew it was a dangerous thing to ask, but he had absolutely no worries that Brandon would ever be separated from him again as long as they lived.
Brandon wiped away the salty trails of tears streaming down his face, and laughed a bit himself. "Well, actually when I was flying and thinking, I heard a song down below, and it made me realize... that none of it matters."
Nathan stared. "And what miracle song was this?"
"Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol." Nathan grinned and pulled out his iPod from his pocket. He tapped his way to the song and turned the volume up. Brandon grinned and nodded.
They fell back into the kiss as the piano and guitar played through the snowy night.
_We'll do it all
Everything
On our own_
_We don't need
Anything
Or anyone_
_If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world?_
_I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel_
_Those three words
Are said too much
But not enough_
_If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world?_
_Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden
That's bursting into life_
_Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads_
_I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own_
_If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world?_
_Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden
That's bursting into life_
_All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes
They're all I can see_
_I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things
Will never change for us at all_
_If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world?_
Epilogue
Brandon and Nathan stayed on that bench long into the night. They clarified that Nathan would have to stop his night life of course, which the Flamedramon had no problem with. The next day they went to Nathan's house and found it completely empty. Nathan had figured as much. They probably thought Nathan was dead. And even if he wasn't, leaving so much evidence behind had compromised the family, so they had no choice but to relocate.
After a long discussion with Brandon's mom, Nathan and Brandon were able to convince her to let him live with them, under certain conditions. They never told her that Nathan was the killer that the Royal and Federal Investigative Services were looking for, but Nathan was allowed to live with them as long as he got a job and paid for his food (which turned out to be a lot harder than Nathan originally thought, considering how much he eats.)
Nathan swore that he would give up his life as an assassin. Brandon wanted to make sure, so Nathan said he would ship away the only real things he had left that connected him and his old life: his twin wakizashis. Brandon even watched Nathan put the box in the mail office.
Two months later the investigative task force gave up on the murder cases, much to the public's dismay. Though without any more killings in the area, things had settled down.
Nathan and Brandon went back to school and finished out their sophomore year. They are currently enjoying the best summer of their lives.