a/n: This is an Alternate Ending that is your choice to read.

Included Characters : Nick Gautier, Kyrian Hunter, Ambrose, Rosa.
w/: St. Richard's High School, Bourbon Street, Garden District.
Mentioned : Kody, Acheron, Cherise, Menyara, (Kyrian's wife), Alan.

Pairings: Nick/Kyrian slash (nothing to graphic, mostly feelings and a bit more), mentions of Kody/Nick.

Summary: Nick decides to take Destiny into his own hands.

Secondary Note: Continues straight from LESSON, an Alternate Ending.

Classification: Alternate Ending.

C—H—R—O—N—I—C—L—E—S ~ O—F ~ N—I—C—K

Nick remembered what Kody told him that day in St. Richards High, when he found out that she wasn't what she seemed. If he messed up—which seemed the thing that always, eventually, happened—everyone he loved would pay the price. So he knew that he should limit the people that he did. But how can you not fall in love with someone? How do you un-fall in love with that person when your body gravitated towards them? When your heart hammered when they looked at you? When all you wanted was to be around them, to have them in your life? When you didn't even need words to say what needed to be said, to fill the silence? Nick didn't feel that was possible.

His resolve on the matter hardened. He was going to stop hiding, he was sick of it. He was going to take control of his own life, he was going to do what he wanted.

Nick pushed himself to his feet.

Ambrose raised his brows at the sudden look of determination of the fifteen-year-old's face. "Where are you going?"

"I thought you knew everything about my future." He said.

"Trust me, I thought I did." He sighed and ran his fingers through his locks. "You were the one person that I was sure I would know what you were going to do."

"Because the scar," Nick held his hand out, palm up, showing the scar.

Ambrose nodded and held out his own scarred palm; a hand that was decidedly Nick's, just an older, worner version. "That's part of it."

Nick was quiet as he studied his uncle—or maybe not-uncle?—before he just shrugged his shoulders like he was shaking off the mystery, curiosity, and future weight and sleeplessness of this question.

One thing at a time.

He dropped his hand and turned back to the street.

"You're not going to tell me?" Ambrose mused.

Nick glanced at him over his shoulder and smiled. "Just to do something I should have done a while ago." Nick told him, marching down the street. His mom could kill him for not telling her he was leaving, later. "Happy Birthday!" he called back.

Nick had caught a street car and rode as far as the route would take him, and then walked through the Garden District, until he came to Kyrian's mansion.

It was still day and he knew that Kyrian would be home. The Dark-Hunter worked at night, and usually spent most of the daylight hours either sleeping or in his office.

Nick only paused briefly at the door before he opened it without knocking, and headed for the grand staircase.

"Nicholas!" Rosa said in surprise, standing in the kitchen doorway. "I thought that I heard the door."

He stopped, his foot poised on the bottom step of the staircase. "Hello, Rosa." Nick nodded his head respectfully.

"I didn't think that you were coming. Mr. Kyrian said he gave you the day off for your birthday."

"He did. But there's something that I need to talk to him about,"

Rosa eyed him with narrowed, dark eyes, seeming to size his intentions.

"It's important."

"Okay. I let you this once. He in his room."

"Thank you,"

"Good luck!" she called softly, sing-song like up after him as she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Still locked in his determination, he took courage from her encouragement (knowing full-well that she knew what he was up to). He went down the hall, that seemed to stretch even longer than normally, until he came upon Kyrian's closed bedroom door.

Now that he was actually here, standing in front of the bedroom door, he was unsure as to what to do. What if Kyrian was sleeping? He didn't want to be rude, just barging in. He should knock. Yeah. But what if he wasn't decent? It was his bedroom, it was his private space. He knew that Kyrian slept bare chested with a pair of loose pants—but what if he did something a little different when he had no visitors staying over?

A warmth spread through him suddenly, and he was startled, unprepared, when the bedroom door opened and a hastily put-together Kyrian stood in front of him.

"Nick, what are you doing here?" he sounded a bit breathless, and the teen wondered exactly what had the man been doing.

"Uh..." anything that the teen might have said seemed to fall out his ears as he gazed up at the man with his dark green eyes that threatened to pull him in.

"Nick?"

Nick gave his head a rapid shake. Get it together, Gautier! he berated himself. He hadn't even started and he was already screwing up. "I came here to speak with you—" Gah, he sounded like a robot! He started over. "I just wanted to tell you, Kyrian—"

The man seemed amused as he leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb and watched the teen, his gaze piercing and caressing all at the same time. Nick felt a little shiver go through his spine at the pleasant attention. Yes, any feeling of unworthiness and fear of rejection were shrivelling at the man's calm stare. He could do this!

"My life isn't fun or fair or easy—especially since I met you," Nick explained. "I'm not blaming you, but thanking you. I never thought that I'd be fortunate enough to feel like this towards someone—or maybe have them feel it back—after everything I've witness (all the harshness and hate people have towards each other) before I met you, I just didn't think it existed. But after, now, everything that I'd seen—love is the most possible thing in the world... Not impossible. Kyrian, I came here, because I just wanted to say," he took a shaky breath, "... That I'm in love with you!"

There was a long silence, or at least, to Nick it felt like it went on forever as he waited for Kyrian's reaction and answer to his love confession. His heart was beating so hard in his chest, he was sure the man with his Dark-Hunter abilities could hear it. He wanted to look away, run away, but Gautiers don't turn their backs—so he planted his feet, lifted his chin and looked the man in the eye.

Out of all the things that Kyrian might have expected after being awoken to subconsciously feeling Nick in his house, this never actually crossed his mind. But who was he to deny this courage and boost that the teen's confession gave an old man like him?

"Acheron was right," Kyrian whispered, leaning close, "You are dangerous. And that's just the thing that I'm adept a dealing with, kid."

Nick looked at him in surprise, entertaining the hope of what the statement could mean. "You—"

"I." the blond agreed, now it was his time for a confession of love. "Nick, I have lived for a very long time. I was betrayed by the woman that I loved and trusted, and I sold my soul because of it. I sanctioned myself to live a lonely life, not trusting myself to get close with anyone like that again. I knew that my heart couldn't take it, once was too much already. I was scared. But when I saw you... when I met you, and got to know you—my heart started to beat to a new rhythm. To you, Nick. I never believed, that after all these years, I would find someone—deserved to have someone to love and love me back after all the things that I've done in this long life. Yet here you are,"

Nick's gasp of relief was so big and when he felt Kyrian's hand grasp the side of his neck, his knees almost gave-way beneath him. Nick's breath stuttered as the man leaned in close, there faces but inches apart.

"I have another birthday present for you," the man murmured.

"Y-you do?" Nick stammered.

"Yeah."

"What—What is it?"

Kyrian smiled, revealing his teeth, and Nick remembered the last time they'd been so close like this. If it hadn't been for his mom, this could have been a month or two in. But now was not the time to be distracted by what-ifs—not when a what-if was going to happen right now.

"A surprise," Nick could feel his warm breath brush against his mouth.

"I don't like surprises." He admitted faintly.

Kyrian smirked. "I think you'll like this one."

He was going to allow himself to be selfish—just for a moment, just this once as he ducked his head and caught the teen's lips in his own. It was like static electricity as their lips connected, making his hair stand on end, and his blood buzz. He never felt something so intense before, not in over his two thousand years of life.

Nick gasped against him, titling his head to the side as Kyrian gripped him closer. So different, so much better than Kody's, the only other person that he'd kissed in his life—him mother and Menyara not counting. He could feel the slight graze of the man's fangs, sending a twitter through him.

He pushed against the man, causing him to stumble back into the bedroom least he fall on the floor, taking the teen with him. Whether knowing it or not, the teen had spun a web around him, catching person after person, but he'd chosen Kyrian and no one else.

Nick didn't know where this was going to lead them. If it was into disaster or happiness. At the moment, he didn't care. He let the warmth flow through him, cleanse his blood, clear his heart of the lingering hate towards Alan for his betrayal. For the first time, in a long time, he felt unburdened, unthreatened, light, flooded with warmth.

This was what life was supposed to feel like, not a tangle of fear and any amount of other unpleasant emotions that had made up his life. No one could give that to him, but himself. He was a Gautier, and that meant taking what was deserved to him—and if that just so happened to be his boss...

Well, who was he to fight destiny?

(the end)

C—H—R—O—N—I—C—L—E—S ~ O—F ~ N—I—C—K

So, what did you think of the alternate ending? Some kissing, finally, I know! Like I said before, I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to continue on with this specific arc through the books, but it all depends on how I feel when I read INFAMOUS.

I have another fic bouncing around my head for CoN, an original this time, and hopefully I can write it out.

:)

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