Genma sighed and rolled over, staring into the upside down fire. The flames danced hypnotically, casting strange lights over everything in the otherwise darkened room. The flickering shadows un nerved him slightly and he dragged a blanket off the sofa, rolling onto his front and pulling it over himself. He knew it was irrational and just plain stupid for an ex ninja to be afraid of shadows, but he pulled the thick blanket over his head anyway, curling in on himself so his entire body was under it. It smelled of Raidou. He smiled in the semi-darkness and felt himself beginning to drift. He yawned softly, drawing part of the blanket over his arm to use as a pillow.
He lay his head down upon his arm and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of his lover. He could almost imagine Raidou was there with him, arm thrown over his waist as he slept silently.
Raidou wasn't there. He was far away in some unknown place, somewhere Genma may never be able to get to. A tear rolled from Genma's eye at the thought of never seeing his lover again, but it was caught in the fabric of the blanket when he yawned a second time.
The heat from the fire was making him drowsy and the edges of his consciousness were beginning to fuzz, his brain functions slowing as he drifted off.
"I want to be with Raidou," he whispered in the last few seconds of wakefulness. He drifted into a deep sleep, his body relaxing, his lover's blanket comforting him as he lay there.
The heat from the fire began to dwindle as it burned lower and lower. With no one to feed it, it flickered momentarily and went out, a thin stream of smoke rising invisibly into the air.
In the darkness, Genma's breathing began to slow, his body drawing in less oxygen as each second passed. His breath hitched in the silence, and his heart stopped, forever.