Mason Ashford's eyes had lost their spark. When Eddie opened the door of his hotel room to find the ginger-haired cutie staring into nothingness, he knew there was something deeply wrong. Mason's freckle-specked nose was flared and his lips were set into rigid determination. He was panting desperately, his fingernails digging painfully into the palms of his hands, threatening to draw blood. Yet he said nothing. These emotions did not meet his eyes. His eyes were dead. Dead with sadness. With defeat.

The last time Eddie had seen him like this was when Rose had fled the school with Lissa. He had struggled to understand why Mason still insisted on liking her, even though it was clear she only wanted to be friends. Eddie could feel his heart burning, and he felt dizzy with frustration and heartbreak. Mason had insisted that he was over Rose, but had jumped at the opportunity to maybe be more than friends. Eddie knew that he had been happy with this, so who else could it be that would leave the boy in this state of anguish? Eddie wished he could lunge forward, to hold him in an impossibly tight embrace, stroke the fire-kissed locks and tell Mason that it would all be okay. He knew his place though. They were friends. He did not know how his friend would react if he knew –

No. Now was not the time for that. He would be a good friend, as he had always been. He would open the door wider and invite his best friend in, who would then sit on the bed and complain about women. He would push his own feelings down into his stomach and smile and frown in all the right places.

"What's up Mason?" Eddie asked uneasily. The sun was shining outside, and Mason had been missing for the whole day.

"Are you serious about killing the strigoi?" Well that was unexpected. Mason ran his hands through his red hair, his dead eyes darting about the hall to ensure they were alone.

"Of course I am, but –"

"Then let's go now."

"Mase," Eddie sighed, "It is four-o-something."

"So?"

"The sun is up."

"So?"

"Do you really think," Eddie started, exasperated, "that the strigoi will be out when the sun is shining? Can we not wait? Talk about this?" He opened his door wide and watched Mason walk in reluctantly and sit on his bed, closing the door behind him. Any other time, his heart would have skipped a beat at the sight. This time, though, concern was radiating through his body. "Do you want to tell me what is going on?" he asked.

"Not really. I –" Mason's voice faltered, emotion returning to his blue eyes violently, "it's just… Rose."

"Not this again, man." Eddie was so sick of hearing her name from Mason's lips. He liked her sure. They were really good friends. What he could not stand, though, was watching the guy he loved look at her in that pathetic way. He lent on the door, crossing his arms disapprovingly.

"No – I saw her… with that guardian – Belikov."

"Yes," Eddie tried hard not to roll his eyes. Mason was jealous of anyone who so much as looked at Rose. God, he wished Mason was that protective of him. "That is generally how training works, Mase."

"No. Not like that. I saw them, Eddie. They were making out." The redhead's face contorted into pure disgust.

"Shit" was the only response Eddie's mind could muster. "Shit" he repeated, softly, running his hand through his hair. Then, he started to laugh uncontrollably. "Rose and Belikov. Fuck me."

"This isn't funny Eddie. This is serious. I can't fucking take it anymore. I need to do something. I'm going to find some strigoi as soon as the sun sets, whether you come or not.

"What, Mase? If you go out and kill a few strigoi, get some molnija marks… then what? Rose will automatically dump Belikov and go after you?" Eddie could not help but be amused by this, but his lop-sided smile quickly disappeared when he looked into Mason's pained eyes. "Mason… I know that you two were kinda… almost… dating. I'm sorry that you saw that." He sighed and joined his best friend on the bed.

Mason's eyes lowered, and he stared as his hands, trying to fight back the tears. "You don't know what it's like… to love someone who doesn't love you back."

Despite himself, Eddie found that he was taking in Mason's aroma, his body tingling at their proximity. "It's confusing," he said absentmindedly, talking more to himself than Mason, "it's like… you can't help but feel happy when you see them… but then when you see how they look at the one they love… you feel like you're sinking. Like quicksand or something."

Mason's blue eyes were suddenly wide, inquisitive. All his pain was temporarily forgotten. "Who is she, Eddie? How could you not tell me? I'm your best friend."

Exactly, Eddie thought – but instead he just shook his head. "It isn't important. It doesn't matter."

"It's someone I know, then." Mason laughed. Eddie was glad to hear that noise again, but he could feel his ears going red with embarrassment.

"Can we just drop it?"

"Why don't you ask her out? You never know."

"Because it's not like that."

"Ed. You might be surprised. You should at least try to tell her how you feel."

"They don't like me like that. They've made it very clear."

"What's the point if you don't even try?"

Eddie just wanted Mason to stop. To shut up. Before he realised what he was doing, he had crushed his lips against Mason's, kissing him passionately to silence the damned words of encouragement. Of course, Mason did not kiss him back, but he did not stop it either. He simply sat on the bed with his eyes wide in shock, allowing his best friend to kiss him. Seconds later, Eddie had pulled back, horrified with what he had done, and shot off the bed, standing to face the wall. A moment of awkward silence passed between the two of them.

It was Mason who broke the silence. "Oh," was all he said. "Oh."

"Yeah." Eddie replied. He did not know what else he could say. He could not even look Mason in the eye now. He just stared at a hardened drop of paint which had run halfway down the wall before freezing forever. Those gorgeous blue eyes which made his heart skip a beat – his own stupidity meant that he would have to avoid them from now on. "Sorry," he grunted.

"Why…why didn't you tell me?" Eddie could hear the frown in Mason's voice as he spoke.

Tears of frustration streamed down his cheeks, which he rubbed at angrily. He whirled around to face his best friend's startled expression. "Tell you what? That I am in love with my best friend? And how would you take that, Mason? You're in love with Rose!" He softened. "I just didn't want to lose you."

Mason stood, and Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to hear the slam of his door. He waited for his best friend to walk out of his life and never return, maybe even to tell the whole of the school that he was gay. Only, there was none of that. Instead he heard footsteps coming closer and closer to him. He felt Mason's warm breath against his lips just before his best friend kissed him softly, sweetly, curiously. He responded immediately with eager kisses, his mind exploding. This had to be a mistake. There was no way that Mason was kissing him back. Surely this was just some fucked up dream that would leave him feeling empty when he awoke. They parted.

"You will never lose me." Mason smiled. Then he laughed, touching his lips gently. "That was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be.".

"Don't fuck with me Mason."

"I'm not! Maybe I'm curious. Maybe I do want to know what it would feel like to –"

"If you're trying to get back at Rose, then please leave me out of it."

"Is that really what you want?" Mason asked mischievously, his eyes wandering down to where Eddie's pants had begun to bulge. "Fucking hell Eddie," he laughed, "I only kissed you and you're already excited."

"Shut up." Eddie's whole face had gone bright red, "I don't see how this is just a joke to you."

"It's not a joke," Mason sighed, "I don't want to lose you either."

"Mason. That is not a good enough reason to –"

Eddie felt electricity run through his body as Mason kissed him again, this time more passionately. He saw the red locks in the corner of his eye as his best friend wrapped his strong, dhampir arms around him and pulled him closer. His resolve completely disappeared and he felt himself responding once again to Mason's kisses, groaning a little.

"Shut up…" Mason repeated Eddie's words in a husky voice, smiling tenderly. The sandy-haired boy did not need to be told twice. He whimpered in response and allowed his best friend to lead him back to his bed. This was what he has wanted for years. There was no point in fighting it, no matter what Mason's ulterior motives were.

Eddie felt himself being pushed onto the bed, which creaked slightly under the sudden weight. Mason did not stop kissing him for a moment. His tongue brushed against Eddie's bottom lip, asking for entry. When the boy's lips parted, he explored Eddie's mouth, tongues wrestling for dominance. God. Eddie's groaning was so sexy. For once, someone wanted him. Rose had never been this keen to kiss him. He had always been the one to kiss Rose first. Rose –

To silence his thoughts, he bit down on Eddie's bottom lip roughly, earning a strangled cry in response. "Shh…" Mason silenced his best friend's whimpers by pushing him onto his back, and kissing his neck, sucking gently to leave faint hickeys. His hand wandered downwards, rubbing Eddie's crotch, groping his painfully hard cock underneath the fabric.

Eddie moaned loudly, thrusting his hips forwards and biting his lip to attempt to hush his noises. It was in vain, though, as he found himself repeating his best friend's name like a prayer, anticipating Mason's next move. "Mmm…Mase…Mason!" Eddie felt the redhead unzipping his pants and pulling them down past his hips. This was a dream. Surely this was a dream. Underneath, Eddie's boxers were sticking straight up, making a huge tent. Mason chuckled and kissed the tip of his cock through the material.

This was enough to drive Eddie wild. He sprang up, pushing Mason down onto the bed and kissing him rapidly, passionately. This was all too much. All he could think of was Mason. His scent was intoxicating, his eyes left Eddie feeling as though he was drowning in the sea. Mason wanted him. Bad. Eddie could feel his best friend's cock pressing against his thigh as he straddled him. He pulled frantically at the button on Mason's pants, which popped open compliantly, and then slipped his hand down to touch the redhead's cock through the soft blue fabric of his boxers. The moan that Eddie was met with spurred him on further. He had been waiting for this moment for a long, long time, but no dream could match how Mason's moan made him feel. His cock throbbed painfully and he bit down on Mason's lip as they kissed, his chest burning with lust and passion.

Suddenly, an idea sprang into Eddie's mind. He pushed his ass up against Mason's cock, feeling it hard as a rock underneath him. Then, he moved his hips slowly, hesitantly. Mason sucked in a deep breath and his eyes fluttered closed. Eddie thrusted forward, this time faster and more confidently. The two boys moaned in unison. Speeding up, Eddie made Mason pant and sweat a little, before slowing down completely, teasingly. He pressed his lips once again against Masons, kissing him sweetly in an attempt to feign innocence. He continued to ride his best friend, one of Mason's hands on each of his ass cheeks, pulling him down against him. If Eddie did not know any better, he would have thought that the boy was trying to force his way inside his ass, despite the walls of boxers between them.

Needing to feel Mason's skin against his own, he raised himself slightly, earning a strangled groan and a frustrated glare, and pulled the pants and boxers down to Mason's ankles. It did not take Mason long to catch on and flick the clothing off his feet quickly. They fell in a pile with Eddie's own discarded jeans at the other end of the room. Pretty soon, the two had stripped completely, toned bodies pressed hard against each other, hearts beating in unison through their chests. Mason's hand wondered downwards and found its way once again to Eddie's ass cheek, where he squeezed. Eddie looked into his best friend's mischievous eyes and smiled. He made his way down Mason's body, kissing the head of his cock, which jumped eagerly at the sudden stimulation. Then, he swirled his tongue around it before letting his lips encircle the head and sucking slowly to the base. He lifted his head up, sucking hard as he did, before deep-throating him hard. Mason moaned loudly, tangling his fingers in Eddie's blonde hair and forcing his head further, his cock throbbing hard at the sound of Eddie gagging.

Eddie sped up, bobbing his head quickly up and down, almost allowing Mason's cock to pop out of his mouth before letting his lips close around the base. The two moaned in unison as Mason thrust upwards.

"Ed… come here… let me… please you" Mason's voice was soft but deep between moans. His eyes were closed tight as he released the fistfuls of Eddie's hair from his hands to allow his best friend to get into a 69 positon. The two boys continued to suck each other's cocks, moaning in unison.

After what felt like no time at all, Eddie felt as though he couldn't hold back any longer. "Mason..." was all he managed to say. That was all he needed to say. His best friend understood all the unspoken words.

"Are you sure you're ready for this Ed?" Mason rolled Eddie onto his back and hovered over him, kissing from his neck down to his stomach, stopping just shy of his cock.

"I want you."

Without another word, Mason growled ferociously and cupped Eddie's ass cheeks in his hands once again. He positioned his cock at Eddie's entrance, stopping to look into Eddie's eyes, checking for permission. Eddie nodded and he pushed in, feeling Eddie's tight entrance grip the head of his cock almost painfully. The two boys moaned once again.

He made his way in slowly, pushing in slightly, making small, gentle thrusts as Eddie adjusted to his cock. Once he was completely inside, he waited, cock throbbing hard, for Eddie to feel comfortable

"Please! Don't stop! Mase!" The words were frantic, desperate.

Mason thrusted fast and hard, letting go of all worries, all concerns. He found himself moaning hard as Eddie clawed at his back, whimpering desperately. He pushed Eddie's legs forward, gaining better leverage and letting himself in deeper, before placing his hand upon Eddie's cock, stimulating his best friend, hungry to hear him moan.

"Oh Mase!" Eddie came suddenly, coating Mason's hand with warm cum. It was more than the boy could handle. He gave out one last roar as he came, emptying himself into his best friend as his cock pulsated hyperactively.

He stayed there for a moment, taking in the sight of Eddie. All his. Rose had never been so into him, so desperate for him. If this was what sex was like, he wanted more.

"Wow that was…" Eddie smiled dreamily.

"Amazing."

"I hope there's much more where that came from!"

"I'm not against that," Mason chuckled. He pulled himself out of Eddie and crawled up to the head of the bed, collapsing by his side. Eddie studied Mason's face, taking in his red hair, eyelashes and eyebrows; his spattering of freckles; his blue eyes. He really did love this guy. Maybe Mason didn't love him yet, but this was definitely a start.