A/N: Inspire by the song Happy Birthday, the Birthday Massacre (link: .com/watch?v=8NPgVESNjPg ) This fic is a little random, I have no idea even if I like it... maybe I do, it's Ayel and Nero...

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Happy Birthday

Falling. What do you think about when you are... falling? It's his Birthday, Ayel realises as he feels the cold air of the Narada envelope him. Why was that familiar? He can feel the hot stream of his own blood oozing from the wound and cauterising around the phaser burn. James .T Kirk had been his downfall when Nero had so trustingly left him to finish off the Starfleet Captain. Nero. Nero... that was what he was thinking. Rura Penthe. He couldn't think in sentences. Only words. Images. His Birthday... his first taste of blood. Ayel closed his eyes as he felt the Narada reach out for him and break his fall, remembering how it all fell together. Random chance. His Birthday, although Nero was the only one who knew. That day was a massacre...

Escape. Ayel knew that had been on Nero's mind for the past week, month... year. Time was unclear to him now, but Nero always knew when it was; what time it was. His Birthday. Was it? If Nero knew, then it was. The Klingons were restless, this was the only thing Ayel knew and he could smell danger like the sweat and oil on Nero's muscular body. The corridors were dark, slick from grime and cold from death. Ayel felt a blur in his mind that had slowly thickened over his time here, however long that had been. He could even see it in the eyes of his reflection. They were the same eyes as Nero; rage wrapped in a blanket of insanity. He would always walk the same path as his Captain, either through loyalty or love, he did not know anymore. But it was dark and dangerous. Just like Nero and just as alluring.

"I hear footsteps," Nero whispers inside his mind, his voice like soft wisps of smoke.

It was the voice of a man Ayel would do anything for. Although his breath would always hitch in his throat whenever Nero spoke to him, he would act in accordance to his wishes. Although the warmth that flooded his every nerve whenever Nero was near him paralysed him, he would still move. They walked side by side into the prisoners' common area, catching the glances of two other Romulans, both of them quickly leaving. Ayel knew the drugs were affecting him in some way, other than allowing him to communicate with his Captain through telepathy. It deepened and darkened things in a way that was uncontrollable to him. But not to Nero. How long had Nero been in control of him? It didn't matter and Ayel knew this. He wanted it.

"Those two guards," Nero was whispering again. "They're sisters."

It was hard to tell under the masks and uniforms if the two Klingons were women, but Nero knew most things. Ayel would never question him. He felt the cold blade up his sleeve that he kept hidden from the guards. Another one of Nero's requests. He felt a swirling blackness envelope him; the drugs or Nero? He couldn't tell which but either way, he felt suddenly calm in an ice-cold way. He felt Nero's breath on the back of his neck, but he only faltered a little.

"Stick it in the back of her head..."

Was that Nero's voice or his own? Did that matter now? The darkness squeezed at Ayel until he was running, leaping over tables and feeling the lust for blood reaching deep into his heart and taking control. That was Nero. It was him. The Klingons fired, but nothing could touch Ayel now as he tore at the guard's flesh, blood splashing across the walls from the swift strokes he made with the blade. Somewhere, Nero was laughing... or was it him? How long was it before rage became insanity? Before pain turned to pleasure? Ayel looked up for a moment, briefly clear of the haze and his eyes transfixed on Nero ahead of him, walking towards him with a haunting smile on his lips. Lips that knew his body all too well.

"Don't forget to smile..." Nero whispers, his eyes closed in enjoyment.

Ayel is wrapped in haze again, his surroundings blurring into a mixture of red and sound. He attacks the other guard, listening to the thick crack as the blade penetrates the back of her skull and Nero's laughter. The other prisoners have scattered by now, those who didn't leave quickly enough had only been cut down by Nero and left screaming in agony clutching at broken bones. Ayel exhales, getting to his feet and letting the Klingon's body fall to the floor. He slipped in blood but Nero caught him by the wrist, their faces almost touching. Nero's lips close to his and the smile still there as he tightens his grip until Ayel drops the blade. Dark eyes stare deep into the other, a reflection of red from the blood drenched floor. The prisoners hadn't left, they were dead on the floor; Ayel doesn't remember killing them all. But he did.

"Murder..." but Ayel was cut off by a hard slap across his cheek.

Nero was still smiling. "Birthday boy..." his whisper was almost seductive.

Insanity was indeed quite blissful. Ayel ran from the communal area to his cell and Nero chased him, his laughter echoing down the empty corridors of nothingness. The metal gate slammed shut and Nero was on him in an instant, his scent a mixture of oil, sweat and blood. Or was the blood his own scent, Ayel thought as he watched his blood soaked clothes ripped from his shaking torso like leaves off trees in a high wind. Clear air punctuated the blur of his mind as Nero's lips found his, but it was only for a moment. He had always loved Nero. Always wanted him, though not quite like this. The smell of blood, slick bodies and lust brought on by the sight of a massacre. No, he never thought he and Nero would be like this. But it was just...

Perfect. It just about escaped from Ayel's lips as he lay at the bottom of the Narada, feeling his body go cold as his blood drained away. It was so very cold. For the first time in a very long time, Ayel felt almost afraid. He was almost his old self again and the person he became was just a dream.

"I'm sorry..."

The familiar whisper of Nero in the back of his mind. Ayel's eyes widened for a moment, not expecting to hear his voice but surprised that his Captain found the time to search for him. He could never usually sense emotions this way but for the first time, he sensed Nero felt sad. Maybe after all these years of pretending, it really was...

"Don't forget to smile," Nero whispered.

Did he know about his last memory? Ayel closed his eyes... Was it really love?

... And he smiled.